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RedSpark

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Posts posted by RedSpark

  1. 6 hours ago, Dkoellerwx said:

    I don't typically run a ton of speed tests but I noticed that n41 CA was on air in the Kansas City area on my current trip. I haven't seen it live before. Gave me my first ever Gigabit test. Specifically the tower at 87th and Lackman in Lenexa, KS for anyone interested. 100+40 n41 + 20 B2 + 15 B66. (Ignore the NR 71 from SCP, it had gotten stuck on that).

    XC4E6bo.png

    When sufficient spectrum meets sufficient backhaul.

    Spend the money T-Mobile. Spend the money.

    • Like 7
  2. Some more info from the Earnings Call yesterday: https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/t-mobile-adds-723k-subs-q2-despite-shaky-economy

    T-Mobile said it achieved a significant milestone with the shutdown of the Sprint network. Nearly two-thirds of the 35,000 targeted sites had been decommissioned as of the end of the quarter, and the company expects to complete pretty much all the decommissioning by the end of the third quarter.

    Substantial progress!

    • Like 2
  3. 2 hours ago, Paynefanbro said:

    T‑Mobile Delivers Industry‑Leading Postpaid Service Revenue and Cash Flow Growth in Q2 2022 and Raises Guidance Across the Board

     

     

    Per the Factbook: https://s29.q4cdn.com/310188824/files/doc_financials/2022/q2/Q2-2022-Investor-Factbook-vFinal.pdf

    Page 14: Sites (Combined LTE + 5G): 88K Macro Cell Sites, 39K Small cell/distributed antenna systems sites.

    As that "Ultra Capacity 5G" POPs number/percentage keeps climbing this year and in 2023, we should expect T-Mobile's Rootmetrics performance to further improve.

    • Like 3
  4. 18 hours ago, dkyeager said:

    The biggest improvement in a national level test for T-Mobile likely will be when the auction 108 in concluded and the 2.5 GHZ spectrum is awarded.  That won spectrum can almost immediately be turned on in T-Mobile's existing sites that already have band 41.

    The 108 auction is scheduled to begin in 8 days.

    Great point. When will we know the outcome of Auction 108?

    • Like 2
  5. 3 hours ago, dkyeager said:

    It's impressive how quickly T-Mobile is integrating Sprint's network assets. Its dramatic improvement over the last time period in the Rootmetrics report reflects that.

    • Like 1
  6. Includes 200GB of Hotspot per line at $50/month for 6 or more lines. Definitely says something about T-Mobile's network capacity.

    Each line gets an iPhone 13, and they're throwing in all of the benefits of the Sprint/Magenta MAX Plan: Unlimited Premium Data, Unlimited In-Flight Wi-Fi, International Roaming, etc.

    The Sprint/Magenta MAX plan normally comes with 40GB of Hotspot included. You can upgrade to 50GB (+$10/Month) or 100GB (+$35/Month) of Hotspot.

    I guess if you need/want more Hotspot, it's an option.

  7. Dish, T-Mobile agree to new terms of master network agreement

    https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/dish-t-mobile-agree-new-terms-master-network-agreement

    "Dish and T-Mobile today said they’ve agreed to new terms related to their master network services agreement (MNSA). As a result, Dish will pay lower rates to T-Mobile for the use of T-Mobile’s network, with these reduced rates applied retroactively to January 22, 2022. And Dish has agreed to a minimum purchase commitment to T-Mobile of $3.3 billion over the course of the MNSA. The MNSA was first entered on July 1, 2020 with a seven-year term, so there are five years remaining on the agreement."

    Interesting development.

    • Like 1
  8. 50 minutes ago, mmark27 said:

    Okay, just pulled the trigger on the MAX plan for us as well. Worked out to be $12 more per month for us for the MAX but the feature adds are worth it. Over 5 lines and 3 watches, this is miniscule difference. the 40 GB hotspot is per line so said the rep I spoke with. Anyways, thanks for the help and clarity. First time I've changed plans in lord knows how long. Been with Sprint since 1998! lol. 

    Glad to hear you got the info you needed and that it worked out to switch to MAX. That's correct: It's 40 GB of hotspot per line, and you can add-on more hotspot for specific lines via the website under "Change Services" if you need to. Yeah, I felt the same way, and the pricing comes out to be very close to what we were paying on Unlimited Freedom. If you're going to use/enjoy them routinely, then the additional features are worth it IMHO: 4K Streaming, Unlimited Gogo Wi-Fi, International Roaming, Scam Shield Premium

    We've been on Sprint for a while too. We were on an Everything Data 1500 Plan, which I recall got Unlimited Minutes thanks to Marcelo's "Loyalty Benefits". We then switched to Unlimited Freedom (with the Free HD add-on that Sprint originally wanted $20/month per line for.... remember that?) because the pricing was better with "iPhone for Life", vs. the "Loyalty Credit" for staying on a Legacy Plan. Now we're on Sprint MAX and enjoying these newly announced benefits. Some family on our plan just traveled abroad and they're already making use of the new International Roaming High Speed Data, so it was definitely worth it to switch to MAX for us.

    • Like 2
  9. 14 hours ago, davidtm said:

    Thanks, @Redspark! Unfortunately, I couldn't get a response from either Sprint customer service or T-Mobile this evening. Seems like I'll get at least passable data for navigation, and hopefully will be surprised with better. I thought Unlimited Freedom was a good plan, but things probably changed over the years. 😉

    No problem. Do the math and see if it's a better plan for you. Sprint Max is a better value for what we need/want/use than what we had before. (Unlimited Freedom)

    • Like 1
  10. On 6/21/2022 at 9:36 AM, mmark27 said:

    This might be the thing to get me to actually switch over to the T-mobile billing. I fly enough that this would be a great benefit to me. I haven't switched out yet because the plan they offered me was $40 less total (on like a $500 monthly bill) and had less streaming quality (something I use) and seemingly less hotspot data, but the woman couldn't answer my questions straightforward so I bailed. However, this might be worth me wasting several more hours dealing with CS drones.  Does anyone have a line to good CS? I've always just tweeted at the executive Sprint team, but is there a corollary at T-mobile? 

    These are the plans/pricing currently being offered on Sprint: https://www.sprint.com/en/shop/plans/unlimited-cell-phone-plan.html

    We were on Unlimited Freedom, but I switched our lines to Sprint Max for these new benefits/features: 4K Streaming, Unlimited Gogo In-Flight Wi-Fi, International Roaming, Scam Shield Premium, etc.

    Sounds like Customer Service was offering you the Sprint One Plan with SD Streaming and 5 GB Hotspot. Sprint Max offers add-on hotspot if you need more than what comes with it (40 GB). You can add-on to have 50GB (+$10/Month) or 100GB (+$35/Month) of Hotspot on a per-line basis.

    We have T-Mobile SIM's in all of our devices, but our account hasn't been migrated to T-Mobile Billing yet. I'm sure that will happen soon.

    If the Rep you get doesn't seem to know what's going on, end the chat and try again with someone else. Also, you can have the plan change be effective immediately. You don't have to wait until the monthly billing cycle date for it to start.

    • Like 3
  11. How about that....

     DISH will file its FCC buildout report no later than July 14, 2022. 

    https://www.fiercewireless.com/5g/dish-confirms-its-offering-5g-more-20-us-population

     

    "They estimated Dish would need about 4,000 cell sites to cover 125,000 square miles intended for the 20% target."

    "The next deadline is 70% of the U.S. population by June 14, 2023, and New Street estimates that will require 17,000 cell sites covering 375,000 square miles, based on the geographic coverage milestones that Mayo outlined during Dish’s analyst day."

    • Like 3
  12. 22 hours ago, davidtm said:

    Where would Sprint Unlimited Freedom plan fit in this?

    See the FAQ's at the bottom of this Page where Sprint is mentioned: https://www.t-mobile.com/benefits/travel

    Everyone on qualifying plans gets these benefits, including those on Sprint MAX and ONE plans. If you have free in-flight Wi-Fi and/or free global data today, you’ll get full-flight connections on more flights and even faster international data starting June 21. Some international benefits will require a T-Mobile SIM. Everyone with an active voice line on a compatible plan gets a year of AAA on Us, and anyone eligible for T-Mobile Tuesdays can unlock discounts on Shell gas and hotels, rental cars and more on T-Mobile TRAVEL via the T-Mobile Tuesdays app.

    Here's what I can glean from it as far as the in-flight texting and Wi-Fi goes:

    https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-in-flight-texting-and-wi-fi

    T-Mobile customers on eligible plans including Magenta and Magenta MAX and Sprint customers on Sprint ONE and Sprint MAX plans can take advantage of this great benefit.

    So that doesn't seem to include your Unlimited Freedom plan.

    As for International Roaming: https://www.t-mobile.com/news/un-carrier/coveragebeyond

    Starting June 21, when touching down in a foreign country, T-Mobile customers will get 5GB of free high-speed data each month, up to 5G speeds where available, in 210+ countries and destinations on T-Mobile’s most popular plan, Magenta MAX, and on the Business Unlimited Ultimate plan. No passes to buy. No hoops to jump through. No BS.

    That doesn't seem to include your Unlimited Freedom plan either.

    Plus, customers get the same experience of 5GB of high-speed data in 11 European countries — Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — on Magenta, most business plans and equivalent Sprint plans thanks to T-Mobile’s partnership with Deutsche Telekom. Essentially, everywhere a phone says “T-Mobile” customers will get the highest speeds available for their plan.

    This might include your Unlimited Freedom plan. Ask Customer Care.

    And T-Mobile is doubling the speeds worldwide across all 210+ countries and destinations (from 128kbps to 256kbps) so customers’ phones just work from the moment they touch down for things like basic navigation and email. This is in addition to the free texting customers already enjoy in those destinations. And it all comes on top of 5GB of high-speed data and free calling and texting for Magenta, Magenta MAX and eligible T-Mobile for Business customers in Mexico and Canada.

    This first part might include your Unlimited Freedom plan. Ask Customer Care.

     
  13. T-Mobile on track to gain ‘synergies’ from Sprint merger

    "They’ve already done one-third of the 35,000 target sites to be decommissioned and are well on their way to complete the rest of them by the end of this year."

    "As of April, some 37% of Sprint subscribers completed the migration to T-Mobile."

    "During T-Mobile's first-quarter earnings call, Osvaldik said they were looking at 2024 to achieve the full $7.5 billion of run rate cost savings from the merger."

    Some great info/context in this piece. Definitely worth a read.

  14. 52 minutes ago, schmidtj said:

    It would be great if they increased the domestic roaming allowance on non preferred partner systems. What is it? 200Mb? You can burn through that in minutes with Apple Carplay or Android Auto. 

    The other carriers must be charging them exorbitant rates for roaming on their networks. I hope T-Mobile keeps on building out native coverage to eliminate roaming as much as possible. That 600 MHz spectrum goes a long way and it's got to be much more efficient to build it out compared to other spectrum.

    • Like 1
  15. In light of T-Mobile's Uncarrier Announcement today, this page has info on the Sprint Plans that are eligible for GoGo Wi-Fi, https://www.t-mobile.com/support/coverage/t-mobile-in-flight-texting-and-wi-fi

    Data

    • Most T-Mobile rate plans are eligible for one free hour of Wi-Fi and unlimited texting on Gogo-equipped flights to, from, or within the U.S. You can surf, email, and post to your heart's content. Those rate plans include Magenta and T-Mobile ONE plans, among others. Sprint customers on the Sprint ONE plan are also eligible.
    • Some T-Mobile rate plans are eligible for unlimited Wi-Fi and texting on Gogo-equipped flights to, from, or within the U.S. These include Magenta MAX, Magenta Plus, PlusUp, and ONE Plus, among others. Sprint customers on the Sprint MAX plan are also eligible.
    • To upgrade to an eligible plan, log in to your T-Mobile account, log in to your Sprint account, or contact customer care.
    • Most video streaming is not available with this benefit.

    I switched our lines to Sprint Max for this benefit.

  16. 5 hours ago, Paynefanbro said:

    T‑Mobile Expands Coverage Above and Beyond Its Own Maps

     

     

    That's pretty great! Our lines are on the Sprint Max plan with T-Mobile SIMs. I ran the numbers and it came out to be a better value to switch from our Unlimited Freedom plan.

    This reminds me of how SoftBank gave Sprint customers roaming access in Japan way back when: https://shop.sprint.com/global/pdf/shop/japan_roaming_add_on.pdf

    • Like 1
  17. 17 hours ago, iansltx said:

    Guessing n25 at 20x20 won't be here for another couple years, as our setup here is 25x25 + 10x10, with the latter including the G block. Betting we see at least 10x10 as of July 1 here though, maybe 2x 10x10 if TMo is willing to drop their B2 LTE carrier to 15x15 (otherwise they'd only have 5x5 to play with there). As they bleed LTE traffic off, guessing we'll see 15x15 n25 sometime in 2023, and 20x20 in 2024, though at that point they'll be at 5x5 B2. Which will mean they're leaning heavily on 2x 10x10 + 5x5 on AWS to handle heavier-duty LTE...which is probably fine.

    I do think we'll hit 100+90 MHz n41 here early next year though. Pointless without backhaul, but they have the spectrum for it here AFAIK.

    Is sufficient backhaul already laid to the sites, or will new lines have to be dug/run/provisioned?

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