RedSpark

The other side of the grass is looking really green...

Interesting bit about who's working on what for the Merger.

Just upgraded one of our lines from a Pixel 5 to a Pixel 6 on a good trade-in deal. It was cool that I could use the QR Code on T-Mobile's website to download the eSIM to the device: https://www.t-mobile.com/support/devices/t-mobile-esim#heading4 However, it certainly didn't help that the current activation instructions on Sprint's website "activation flow" specifically said to select "Sprint" as the mobile network for Pixel devices (even though all of our lines are TNX'ed). Following those instructions in the activation flow actually caused an activation error, so I erased and reset the eSIM to do it again. Contacted the Support Chat and they said to select T-Mobile as the network and then to download the T-Mobile eSIM from the T-Mobile website using the QR Code. That worked and the device activated. Pretty ridiculous that you have to use two separate websites to activate a new device on a Sprint account that uses TNX and eSIM: 1) Sprint's site for the Account Level Upgrade where you click to switch over/activate the new device onto the line/account; 2) T-Mobile's site for the QR Code to actually download the T-Mobile eSIM to the new device. This QR Code should at least be linked to in the Activation workflow on the Sprint website. Seriously, has anyone there actually "use tested" this? It's terrible. Dare I say that it's worse now than Sprint's activation process pre-merger was? It also didn't help that you still can't enter/update the E911 Address for WiFi Calling directly on Pixel devices. You have to do on the Sprint website from the account dashboard, and the website still uses the pre-historic Sprint website interface for doing this. They didn't even bother re-skinning it. It's just contained and virtualized inside the "newer" page design, but you can tell it hasn't been touched in 10+ years. It's pretty awful. I'm actually looking forward to getting this legacy stuff shut down and switched over as part of the merger/synergy. It's being held together with bubble gum at this point and it really hinders the overall user experience. Since I specifically knew to go to my account dashboard and manually enter an E911 address, I did it. Otherwise, the WiFi Calling would not have been enabled with a "registered" address even though it said "enabled" on the device itself. That's ridiculous and dangerous.

What does this 3G shutdown mean in terms of overall network improvements/changes?

About that Spectrum Auction: https://www.fcc.gov/auction/108

Here it is: https://www.t-mobile.com/our-story/network-and-innovation Interesting development.

Possibly? "innovating beyond your phone....." I honestly have no idea.

Curious what this is about....

Some good info here about this: https://www.rcrwireless.com/20220310/carriers/t-mobile-us-says-almost-50-percent-of-traffic-is-carried-on-its-5g-network More context and info here too: https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/t-mobile-stokes-mid-band-5g-coverage-rivalry

Interestingly, the letters from T-Mobile’s law firm also said that access to T-Mobile’s 2.5 GHz leases are only known by fewer than .1% of T-Mobile employees. “Employees with access are educated as to the confidential and proprietary nature of the payment and pricing data in the Lease Agreement. Employees also undertake annual trainings on how to protect confidential and proprietary information. The Lease Agreement and its pricing terms are only accessible via a segregated T-Mobile data base." Auction 108 should be very interesting....

Substantial progress.

I've seen pretty great speeds and lots of 5G UC all around DC, Bethesda and Fairfax. No complaints at all.

That's a good point. Synergy is going to drive this. T-Mobile has talked about how much money it's saving from synergies on its earnings calls, and the billing system is a big one. When they're able to finally deprecate Sprint's system, hopefully they can put those funds towards network expansion and densification.... or that 2.5 GHz auction that's coming up. Q4 2021 Earnings Release PDF: https://s24.q4cdn.com/400059132/files/doc_financials/2021/q4/TMUS-12_31_2021-EX-99.1-vFinal.pdf Q4 2021 Investor Factbook PDF: https://s24.q4cdn.com/400059132/files/doc_financials/2021/q4/TMUS-12_31_2021-EX-99.2-vFinal.pdf Synergy is mentioned a lot....

Sounds like a change for the better. Probably a long time coming.

Should be interesting. Predictions?

Guess they worked this out: https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/dish-and-t-mobile-resolve-their-cdma-shut-dispute https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/dish-marks-5g-progress-plans-launch-5g-25-major-markets-june

Yikes.

Great point. First I've heard about it as well. The Big Game is a great platform for putting the latest tech out there to a worldwide audience.

Some additional background on SoFi's Network Infrastructure and DAS: https://stadiumtechreport.com/editorial/cellular-carriers-bring-5g-blitz-to-sofi-stadium-for-super-bowl-lvi Perhaps that explains Verizon's high usage numbers? There are also some great insights on how usage is modeled/anticipated in this article. Definitely worth a read.

Some great stats from this article: https://stadiumtechreport.com/news/verizon-att-hit-new-highs-for-big-game-cellular-data-use-at-super-bowl-liv Wish we could see those usage stats for T-Mobile. Sprint used to report its usage stats. Oh well. That usage for Verizon is crazy high... More than double AT&T's... and that's with Verizon's autoconnect agreement for WiFi at the Stadium. What explains this? The article mentions that in addition to its cellular numbers Verizon customers likely contributed to the usage of the Wi-Fi network at SoFi, since Verizon has an autoconnect agreement which can quickly switch customers to the Wi-Fi network. I'd be curious to see those numbers, which will be reported by Extreme Networks: https://www.extremenetworks.com/nfl/ Perhaps this is a first? Wi-Fi Coaches?: I think it's a great idea.

Great game! 1.4 Gbps. To a mobile device. At the Big Game. It’s pretty incredible.

Nothing in this thread (running for seven years now!) has anything to do with the cost of tickets or "elites". It's purely focused on the network/upgrades that each carrier deploys in the Host City for the Game. Each carrier is deploying the best network that it can for a high profile/huge capacity event, and it's neat to see their talking points about what makes their network the best vs. the others. The really cool thing is that many of these upgrades are permanent. So as time has gone on with the Game being hosted in different cities, these Host City networks have substantially improved as technology advances.

Some pretty solid upgrades here! Summarized: $100+ million investment in 5G infrastructure across the city. More than 95% of people in Greater Los Angeles are now covered with T-Mobile’s super-fast Ultra Capacity 5G network. At SoFi Stadium, T-Mobile deployed a brand new state-of-the-art 5G system with upgraded 100 Gigabit backhaul and the deployment of Ultra Capacity 5G service using mid-band and millimeter wave spectrum. Gives SoFi the capability equal to nearly 100 traditional macro cell sites. T-Mobile customers could experience peak download speeds of 1.5 Gbps. Across the city, indoor systems have been upgraded at more than a dozen venues, including Los Angeles Convention Center, Crypto.com Arena and LA’s most popular and largest hotels. At LAX, T-Mobile now provides 5G service at Tom Bradley International Terminal and Mid-Field Satellite Concourse. Hundreds of macro sites have been upgraded and nearly 200 small cells across the city have been installed or upgraded with Ultra Capacity 5G increasing the density and capacity of the network and providing peak speeds up to 1 Gbps. Here's what AT&T is doing: And Verizon: More info: https://www.verizon.com/about/news/speed-january-31-2022 Nice overall analysis here: https://www.lightreading.com/5g/verizon-atandt-and-t-mobile-again-rally-around-5g-for-super-bowl/d/d-id/775159

Hopefully T-Mobile is able to deal with this well in the coming years. Sounds like a real potential mess.