RAvirani

I wonder if the free upgrade to HD and 10GB hotspot is available to new customers. Good move on Sprint's part IMO.

That is what I thought. Thanks!

B2 is a subset of B25…

In his last AMA, Günther revealed that it is already being tested in certain markets.

Downlink is actually in the 2100 range and uplink is in the 1700 range. I haven't looked at the map myself, but what you are saying does make it sound like VZW has more than a single 20x20 AWS channel.

See here: http://specmap.sequence-omega.net

What do you mean?

B25 is actually a superset of B2 (all frequencies covered by B2 are included in B25). B4 and B25 have quite similar ranges.

HPUE should bring B41 range to approximately that of B25.

Nope. HPUE is a power class change from 3 to 2 for B41 (only). It allows phones' transmit power to be increased from 23dBm to 26dBm. Generally, B41 uplink fails long before B41 downlink. For example, in my house, on a -124 B41 signal, I can pull a solid 20-25 mbps on the downlink but uploads will often time out or fail. HPUE will address this problem by making B41 usable down to lower signal levels, thus effectively increasing its range. HPUE doesn't have any effect on other bands or carrier aggregation.

Plus the PCS C1 block is adjacent to the PCS G block, so the acquisition would allow Sprint to expand its PCS LTE carrier to 10mhz FDD, while leaving room for another CDMA carrier is wanted.

That's what I've been saying...

See but that's an unnecessary complication for end users. Additionally, switching between plans is not simple. It takes a lot of time and is a big hassle if you, for example, run through your free gigabyte from Open World and want to continue with Global Roaming.

Yep - that's exactly what I meant when I said combining Open World and Global Roaming. Sprint could give us the free gigabyte of 3G data we get (in select countries) from Open World and default to 2G speeds when you use the gigabyte up or are in a non-included country while maintaining the option to buy gigabytes of 3G data at $30 per gig. It wouldn't be much different from what they already offer but it would make everything a lot easier and simpler for the average customer.

Just received this comment (as I was reading this thread) on an article I added to my flipboard magazine regarding the OpenSignal report. It's funny how peoples' experiences differ...

HPUE is a power class change from 3 to 2. It allows the power levels of UEs to be increased from 23dBm to 26dBm. A 3dBm increase in power levels should translate to a 19% increase in outdoor cell radius. This, of course, is theoretical and could only ever happen in a lab, but even if HPUE only increases B41 range by 10%, that would still be huge. I'm sure the effect will be positive a good deal, maybe even a great deal if we're lucky.

If anyone has the chance, it would be nice to see a speedtest on B26 with good signal to see if we can confirm 5x5. Speeds north of 21.7mbps on B26 indicate a 5x5 carrier.

Actually, 12.4kBps is 99.2kbps, which is over the Global Romaing throttle, hence my question. As to you other points, I completely agree. $30 per gig of 3G speed data on Open World is convenient, easy and cheap. Plus, the 64 kbps that Global Roaming offers is way too slow to get anything done in today's world. It would be nice if they bumped the throttle up to 128kbps like T-Mobile or maybe even higher, but past 128kbps, they would probably start paying enough in roaming fees that they wouldn't be able to offer the plan for free anymore. Flexibility between carriers is great too. I wish they would partner with Bell or Telus in Canada though because Rogers wasn't all that great when I was in Edmonton a few weeks back. I personally think Sprint should probably merge the plans for the sake of making things easier, simpler and less of a hassle for average customers. Average people just want for their phone to work and to spend as little as possible. Additionally, a consolidated Open World and Global Roaming would be very similar to T-Mobile's international offering (the throttled data would just be a little slower).

Please see quoted. I was replying to the comment regarding B41 not having the reach of midband spectrum.

Heard of HPUE?

Is that with open world or global roaming?

Man I wish ????.

Thank you for your usual constructive commentary.

This whole scanrio was based on the hypothetical idea that Sprint could use sub 815x860 spectrum for LTE…

Yes, but no. Although B26 covers 814-849 and 859-894, BC10 covers down to 806mhz on the uplink and 851mhz on the downlink. If Sprint were able to acquire some of the SMR spectrum below their current holdings, they could expand their B26 LTE carrier to a 10mhz FDD carrier (814-824 and 859-869) and push their 1x carrier into the spectrum below B26 but included in BC10.