payturr

We were speaking specifically for NYC, but he did tell me that depending on the vendor, it might be accomplishable on current equipment through a software upgrade. So they must be looking into other locations. He said several sites have it enabled for trials.

I was just on the phone with Sprint network management. Guys, band 25 carrier aggregation is in the works!

If Verizon is doing LTE Advanced, they would need new equipment. Do you not live in one of those markets? Or are you just seeing a handful of GMOs and some modernized sites? Edit: ignore this, I'm a dumb and am bad at reading.

These plans aren't profitable Arysyn. $45 basically for service is selling product at a loss, they have so much overhead to cover. Paying site leases, energy, and back haul gets EXPENSIVE. And that's not including the millions that go into R&D, maintenance, and the credit they have to return to accounts where their is service issues. You can't even consider capex at $45 a month. You know how often single line people jump around plan to plan? That's why it's easier to sell 4 lines for $160, it's basically a guarantee they won't easily switch. And even if they do, there's a high chance Sprint will get their 2 year's worth of revenue from them. $45 isn't even FEASIBLE, and imagine what Virgin and Boost would have to sell plans at. They need to turn a profit not post bigger losses. They're on the right path, their plans aren't complex, and nobody is losing sleep over the fact the first like is $60 and the second is $40.

I wouldn't count on it to be honest, small cells are a lot lower power than a tower so I wouldn't expect a difference. Plus it only broadcasts LTE, no EVDO. If I were you, hope Sprint releases an LTE range extender.

1) No salesperson will ever mention speed limits. "You get unlimited data including unlimited standard definition video". Who cares about 500Kbps of streaming music or 2Mbps for gaming? No one is that hardcore, no need to mention it. Want HD video? $20 on top of $602) At 9Mbps you can watch HD video, and at $45 that would destroy the quality of the network because everyone would be on it. Bad idea.

That's definitely not because of tower issues then. Sounds like the entire building is mostly concrete, brick, and sheet metal. That'll keep RF out for sure.

I think Sprint is doing fine. I reached out to the CTO recently about network issues. He redirected me to the regional manager, who redirected me further to a more local manager, who gave me information on what neighborhoods are gonna be affected by incoming upgrades. He said full builds, local tower upgrades, and small cells are incoming, and he gave me his number so he can give a deeper insight into what the plan is. Sprint HAS a plan. I'm guessing they're just spending at a controlled rate to improve the numbers on their quarterly statements. This isn't the same Sprint that was falling behind years ago, they're even planning to address new neighborhoods that have poor service where I live. There's definitely change coming, and for the first time in a long time, I'm more optimistic about Sprint than ever before.

Just quietly rip and replace LTE equipment, let the CDMA stuff continue to sit and rot.

You forgot Optimum

Actually U-Verse can be good! The issue is its fiber optic to a node, then copper line to the house. If it was coax, or fiber to the premises/home like FiOS, they could be really competitive. But they're an ISP, so competition wouldn't happen. ????

Here's a history lesson for you Arysyn, since I know you'd appreciate it - the New York Telephone Company merged to become Verizon. Verizon controls all the copper lines here, and FiOS is their initiative to replace all copper with fiber optic.

NYC doesn't have U-Verse. Deval, depending where you are you can get DirecTV. Maybe not in Manhattan, but I know for a fact in Brooklyn some apartments you can install the dish right by your balcony or by a window.

AT&T has WCS, which is 2.3GHz. Close enough.

I'm aware of Google Maps, you're right about that, but he uses Apple's Maps because it's well integrated into iOS. He can't tell Siri to give him directions to a place with Google Maps, and if someone sends him an address it defaults to Apple Maps. So workarounds aren't really easy in this case. And we know about SMS over 1x of course, but again most of the people I speak to (and also he speaks to) use iMessage.

You know, you can joke all you want about that, but when there's a solution to this problem and you're paying a good chunk of money, you'd kinda hope the problem would be solved.

The biggest issue is iMessage. Now, I don't know if your close friends or significant other or family also have iPhones like you, or how frequently they message you, but personally, everyone I know has an iPhone. And when I have a phone call, it's never for 5-10 minutes, it's usually an hour or two. And that usually translates to me hanging up, and seeing all the messages pour in late or get double messages (one as SMS, one as iMessage). It's EXTREMELY frustrating, and part of a bigger reason why I want VoLTE so damn bad. Plus, my dad uses his iPhone for calls & navigation in the car. If mom calls him while he's on the road while he's using Maps, there's a reasonable chance he'll miss an appropriate exit or something like that.

As everyone has said, VoLTE is a touchy fragile calling tech. T-Mobile even has issues with it, but they have UMTS to back it up. Plus, there are still costs associated with decommissioning networks, and Sprint just can't shut down CDMA overnight. It's far too important right now. They would need new cabinets and hardware to support both of the networks used LTE bands. You just can't remove a T-Mobile site and expect all T-Mobile phones to just use band 25 and 26. You still need band 4 and 12 at the local site, which Sprint equipment doesn't support. The costs associated with the merger would be high.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you here AJ. VoLTE answers a huge problem other than simultaneous voice and data for Sprint, and that's the use of spectrum. Sure Sprint could just run 1x voice carriers forever on PCS, but it's not efficient. More work today is data intensive, as you know, and LTE makes the most efficient use of spectrum for both voice and data. While I agree that ISPs should be a dumb pipe, VoLTE should be present on all networks once their LTE networks are dense enough. Phone numbers have a purpose, and it's impossible for society to embrace one service as their primary standard for VoIP to replace the traditional dial the number system. I understand your argument regarding its fragile air link, but this is something Verizon has been working hard to solve by throwing as many towers and small cells into the fray as possible without breaking their bank and making subscribers happy.

My family is also on ED1500, 4 lines. I got my whole family on 6s, all contracted except my dad who's leasing because his phone broke before his upgrade became available. We're gonna run out his 18 month lease and figure out whether or not we wanna stay on Sprint and switch to Unlimited Freedom or go somewhere else. ED1500 has been a fun ride but looks like its time is running out.

According to the subreddit, the second killing of 2 year contracts for new subs that was supposed to happen on August 26 has been moved up to tomorrow: https://www.reddit.com/r/Sprint/comments/4yx9b6/psa_2_years_ending_823/?st=is6gsgax&sh=bbbfa462 After tomorrow, you gotta go online or go through telesales. I'm hearing mixed things about third party retailers like Best Buy.

A merger would NEVER help Sprint for many reasons, and here's why: 1) The cost of adding up debts - if Sprint was to buy T-Mobile, or T-Mobile buy Sprint, they would have to combine their total debts. Think about it. They would have to go further in debt just to buy the other one, and Sprint has large debts to pay for soon. 2) The cost of new equipment - not only would they have to remove redundant cell sites, but they would need to get all new panels and radios and cabinets to support band 4 and 12 at Sprint sites, band 41 25 and 26 at T-Mobile sites. 3) Conflicting tech - this new carrier would have to find a way to bring VoLTE everywhere because of T-Mobile's existing VoLTE plans, but CDMA network subs wouldn't have access to VoLTE because no handoff unlike the UMTS subs. 4) Regulatory hell - you think FCC would let them get 600MHz or 5G frequencies with their total spectrum holdings? 5) This wouldn't fix a damn thing - what Sprint needs is more capex going to an efficiently fast install of new towers and small cells. Why would buying a second, more redundant network with totally different tech help? We have a greater chance of seeing Sprint go bankrupt than a merger happen because a merger of the two would be complete hell.

ROAD TRIP!

If that's the case AJ, can Sprint do bonded calling like Republic Wireless offers?

This is honestly the best news and I'm very excited to try it out. Is this on iOS 9 or iOS 10 beta?