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gusherb

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Everything posted by gusherb

  1. gusherb
    I agree. I think Sprint and a cable company would be good for each other. Even despite how much I despise the cable companies.
  2. gusherb
    I understand that but I specifically said 26+25. Think about it, you're stuck on B26 but B25 still has enough range to use as DL, that means you can utilize that bandwidth and not overburden 26 as much. Also the network does not at all treat B26 as a "last resort" around here or in most parts of the country. They never did get optimization right in many places.
  3. gusherb
    It's about time! Hopefully they're firing up 26+25 CA
  4. gusherb
    This is a typical Crown Castle small cell in downtown Chicago, they all have Verizon on them and a number of them TMO is adding to: https://i.imgur.com/3ccB6aD.jpg]
  5. gusherb
    Bingo! You got it! Verizon has at least a dozen different site variations in my market alone. I had to learn how to identify some of the equipment vendors in order to confirm which was Verizon. There are some consistencies that help despite all the variation in panels; the surge protectors they use are all the same from every site I've looked at, they tend to either mount RRU's on a separate pole next to the panel or right behind the panel, on the newer sites the racks are all the same, and the newest sites since 2016 have been using a raised platform with sloped roof instead of the shacks. Another consistency is every site has a generator, usually a Generac or less commonly Kohler.
  6. gusherb
    Really it was just two networks, Clearwire dealt with WiMAX. Really even after Sprint bought them there wasn't a whole ton of redundancy, they kept most of that around for B41 LTE. WiMAX was shuttered more to free up the spectrum than to remove redundancy.
  7. gusherb
    Here is a 3 panel per sector setup getting mounted to the rack before it gets lifted up on top of the water tower. I believe those are Amphenol panels used on this one: https://imgur.com/a/ZRbNq Here is the rack mounted on the water tank, I'm guessing AT&T is gonna come out and move its panels to the new outer rack: https://i.imgur.com/MZ7okIW.jpg https://i.imgur.com/akLAZPT.jpg This is a typical metrocell style setup they use all over my area, always mounted low on a macro tower. Not really sure what their goal is with many of these setups as they seem to be in areas that really needed a full macro instead: https://i.imgur.com/ZhvGkFK.jpg https://i.imgur.com/f4f1yzY.png This is a standard two panel per sector setup but using JMA panels instead of Amphenol (the photo was taken while the build was still in progress so the RRU's weren't up yet): https://i.imgur.com/byeVMD6.jpg The 3 panel per sector setups have been the most recent ones in the area, they have many different site variations around though. Some look like AT&T and even TMO so it can be hard to tell sometimes.
  8. gusherb
    Doing what they did sure took some initiative and a lot of guts. They could've just left all the legacy gear in place and added LTE on top like the others did. But I think in the long run replacing everything was the way to go. I can't help but wonder if they could've transitioned over more smoothly though.
  9. gusherb
    The other carriers definitely didn't do a 100% rip and replace on every site in the country. They've all over time replaced most of everything but it's been done slowly and methodically in stages. The last major overhaul TMO did in my market was around 2008-9 for 3G, they replaced all the panels and I assume added base equipment for UMTS support. They didn't go around and take everything offline. Verizon and AT&T obviously just added LTE equipment to their existing 2G/3G equipment, so LTE was all new. Now currently they're going through and replacing hardware for extra band support, 4x4, and 256 QAM which is basically a rip and replace. Base equipment is getting replaced too. But again the 3G stuff stays as is. By comparison sprint just tore everything out and sorta left you hanging for days or weeks. I remember being in downtown Chicago on 1x everywhere.
  10. gusherb
    I still feel that they need to reoptimize the entire network before they do a VoLTE launch. Once you're doing VoLTE one thing you gotta do is stretch that low band signal as far as it will go, congestion issues be damned. As things are currently for my area I'd probably lose calls on certain roads. Right now not even AT&T and it's garbage density in my area loses VoLTE calls very easily, they're also stretching B12 out as far as it needs to go, and B2 is pushed out about as far as B12. If Sprint can get those Magic Boxes in businesses and homes all over Chicago the indoor LTE coverage might actually be pretty decent for once.
  11. gusherb
    I signed up 8/23/12 according to my profile. At the time I had AT&T and was unhappy because of some network optimization issues so I started looking for another carrier at a better price. For whatever reason I settled on Sprint and made the switch on iP5 release day. My immediate area was an original NV FIT so all sites around me had LTE which was awesome. Up in the city was a hot mess for the first few months though, but it got better quickly. I was happy through 2013 and part of 2014, I ultimately left in 2015 because the competition had surpassed Sprint in my area and I was tired of the LTE drops by then. I attribute most of my wireless knowledge to this site, especially learning all the basics about cell networks and getting pretty deep into technical details. The info on this site helped lay a solid foundation for what has turned into a pretty much full time hobby for me.
  12. gusherb
    I just read the article. Seems like this device has some high potential if Sprint can get it deployed widely. I would want one for work and home if I still used them. I like the sound of this much better than a repeater or device that feeds off your home internet.
  13. gusherb
    That makes sense. Somebodies gonna take that chart from the article and run with it completely out of context to make fun of them.
  14. gusherb
    Am I right in assuming this is one step above being a repeater? I remember a year or two back them talking about deploying small cells powered by B41 carriers, this seems like part of that deployment. (Which makes more sense to deploy this as an in-home solution than out on the street where I'd think they'd need fiber, not B41 to adequately supply it).
  15. gusherb
    So they're showing results from one little cherry picked area from a huge metro? I feel like every carrier is number one SOMEWHERE in every market no matter how bad they are overall in said market.
  16. gusherb
    Far East ended up being read into a little too much. He ended up going to a Yankees game... https://twitter.com/johnlegere/status/858128448505688065
  17. gusherb
    Yeah I'm trying to figure that out but apparently can't find a picture of one of these small cells, which I think are really oDAS nodes. If it's Crown Castle I would bet the OEM is Ericsson is what I was saying before though, because these small cells are mainly built for Verizon and it seems TMO is hopping on them too. Chicago is really a hotbed for small cells, home to many different kinds since it was kind of an experimental test grounds for AT&T about 8 years ago, and again 3-4 years ago. I know theirs are all Ericsson.
  18. gusherb
    T-Mobile is using Crown Castle for many of its small cells in Chicago, sharing with Verizon. I think I saw Ericsson RRU's the last time I looked at one.
  19. gusherb
    Yeah that's what happens when they're someone's "only choice" for so long and feel they're paying way too much but have to suck it up. Now they see another option and are gone. I feel this way about Comcast, I'd dump them in a heartbeat and never go back if we got fiber based Internet from a new competitor.That's what they get for continuing to act like they're the only game in town.
  20. gusherb
    That makes sense. I only see these in the city and suburbs where Clear existed, they probably went up last year some time. I was puzzled what these new short panels on what were obviously sprint sites were until you made this thread.
  21. gusherb
    Must be replacing some Clear sites here since we have 8T8R stuff on everything else. Maybe even some USCC/Nextel conversions I guess.
  22. gusherb
    I've been seeing those around lately. What are they doing with them? Replacing clear LTE sites? All the ones I've seen went on existing sites.
  23. gusherb
    I finally got a chance to do some drive testing with Sprint the other day, put an inactive sim in the new Moto G5 Plus and gotta say that thing has some very good RF capabilities because nothing has changed with their network optimization wise in my area but the device was really clinging tight to B41, hanging on well into places I used to drop straight to 3G. It did end up dropping to B26 and then to 3G after about 5 minutes though, only about 1.5 miles from the nearest site. B26 was about -118 dbm, while B13 on my iPhone was -108 dbm, both serving cells in the same place. I noticed that the device was on B26 ALOT of the time, with B41 a close second to that, and I hardly saw B25. Other than that nothings changed in 2 years with Sprint's network here (other than a few USCC/Nextel conversions). Impressed with B41 range but B25 and 26 are the same garbage range/signal I left two years ago. P.S. My suburban home serving site has 3xB41 which I was pleasantly surprised to see.
  24. gusherb
    Yeah I had a bad run in with telesales reps. Rule of thumb; try to do as much as you can on your own with that stuff.
  25. gusherb
    I've been with Verizon for awhile, took advantage of the 2 GB bonus per line offer and get an 18% discount. I don't think I'll be going to UDP for now. Service is night and day compared to the shit I put up with on AT&T over here.
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