Arysyn

I still haven't got use to the idea of large scale public WiFi, particularly with it becoming useful to wireless carriers, as I'm remembering the days when I use to support the idea of towns using mass WiFi. Then I remember reading about it, but that Verizon and AT&T were fighting it. Since then, the idea seems to be making a comeback, though I haven't quite yet readapted it back into my mindset, hence why I forgot about the option at Disney. Sounds great though!

I definitely don't like the idea of Comcast buying Sprint, or any wireless carrier being merged into Comcast. That would be a very bad thing for any wireless carrier to have happen to them. Certainly neither Marcelo Claure nor Jon Legere would be given any further power within Comcast, so no chance of them being able to improve Comcast as they're trying to do with their companies. However and unfortunately, I can see it happening, if Verizon were to purchase Dish, then either Sprint or T-Mobile likely will be chosen by Comcast to be able to better compete with the new more powerful Satellite television broadcast industry. Also, Time Warner cable could get into this by whoever purchases them, which currently sounds like it'll be Altice. Anyways, in my opinion, I'd like to see Google buy both Sprint and T-Mobile, or have shared owner operator status with Softbank, then buy or somehow bring Dish into their SB Google Dish Sprint/T-Mobile group, though I doubt this is going to happen this way. Finally, seeing as Comcast has been working with Verizon for quite some time, I'd be favorable to seeing them merge, if Comcast is going to merge with a U.S wireless carrier despite my objections to it, leaving T-Mobile to merge with Dish and Softbank keeping Sprint while looking at international partners not one of the big U.S. companies.

Well, that sounds like a very good reason too, likely even the main reason. Then again, perhaps I'm putting too much emphasis on what I've been reading about Dish's financial shape after the auction, which certainly if it is as bad as the articles I've read tend to make it seem, then Dish finances certainly would have been worse after buying Sprint, considering the huge sum of money it would have spent to win Sprint over Softbank.

I wasn't really worried about it or trying to make a big issue of that. You are right though about the importance of it working where used, which indeed is what really matters. While there are people who do make a big deal about these statistics and sometimes even obsess about them, I merely look at statistics as a means of basic interest, along with getting an idea of a general area's strong/weak spots, particularly where a signal is so weak, it loses a connection.

Also, sorry for the length of my reply above. I am trying to make an effort on shortening the length of my posts, which admittedly I haven't done well on today, for the reasons I mentioned in that post.

I agree with AJ about this. If Dish had purchased Sprint, they would be stuck with paying primarily for densifying the network, rather than purchasing additional spectrum, due to Dish having much more limited finances than Softbank. Also, and this is not an attack on Softbank nor Sprint, but I think Dish would have much more rapidly sped up on the network improvements, due to being more liberal with their finances than Softbank, which seems more conservative on spending. While Softbank obviously cares about Sprint and Sprint's reputation which obviously needs much improvement on, I think Dish would have been more in a rush to improve Sprint faster than Softbank is. Although I'm not criticizing Softbank's approach, and it very well may be that Softbank's more careful, cautious, and closely constructed financial strategy may be better for Sprint in the long run. However, because I believe Dish is much more quick to deploy their strategy than Softbank is with Sprint, this is a reason why Dish business practices in this regard, make Dish more compatible/suitable with T-Mobile's rapid style of deployment. Again, not bashing Softbank nor Sprint, but Dish seems likely to be a company that would have deployed as much of Sprint's spectrum on as many towers as possible, which while having some advantages over the current Softbank/Sprint, would also have the disadvantages of site density issues, where the deployed 2.5 spectrum is, among other downsides to a more rushed style of deployment. Please don't take this as bashing any of these companies, as I sincerely mean well by this. If there is anything in this wording that I could have done more fairly, then I apologize. I'm under a tremendous amount of stress today since having my aunt continue denying me the help with my disability she's repeatedly promised to me over the years today sending an email taunting me over the fact I can't raise the money for a disability assisted van I much need, especially as I'm getting closer to not being able to walk. I must have tripped over a dozen times yesterday while I was out dealing with the cell phone stuff.

I know there is the saying that if thieves are determined enough to steal something, they will do everything possible to do so. Well, that saying and variations of it, at least. My thought regarding this issue though, is that all companies ought to do the most they can to protect their investment. I should note my analogy wasn't the best at addressing the entire matter, as I meant for it to be more specifically about the air conditioning issue, not the part about the thievery.

Then I misunderstood one of the benefits of NV was to have all frequencies on most towers, or at least try to have 2.5 on them, seeing as it needs the most density. Some of the Sprint store employees I've spoken with have complained about the 800 being very slow for them though happy when they can get 2.5. I think Sprint is great with the 2.5, which it has lots of and ought to take advantage of fully. At least it would shut Craig Moffett up about how Sprint should sell its 2.5, something I strongly disagree with.

I'd imagine in the city, yes, but not in the suburbs. There are areas where 2.5 does connect to around here, just not as often as the PCS and the 800. Where the 2.5 does connect though, is very good, with speeds at least of 30mbps or greater.

Definitely agree here. If only they'd deploy their 2.5 fully, along with having the other bands available for backup when 2.5 signal is too weak, then things would be better on their network.

I definitely agree with this. It seems Verizon just wants to focus on wireless and only on that which would directly benefit its wireless business, something I think is all well and good. However, with these mergers around them, it is making for bad timing to Verizon's plans.

I've read the best wireless network in Disney is AT&T, because of some special arrangement they have with the park. It sure doesn't seem fair to the other carriers, and I wonder why there isn't more of an outcry about it from them, considering their loss. Unless of course I'm not getting the whole story about it from what I read.

Some people would say dogs are meant to be outside too. However, that is basically only good for large watchdogs kept as a security measure. Most other dogs are much better inside where they can be comfortable. It would be cruel to suggest all dogs should be kept outside for expense reasons, particularly when owners are gone to work for the day. Of course, I could leave my television and my computer outside too without any security, but I doubt that would work out very well. Likely they'd get stolen, obviously. Though, I don't understand why the same thought isn't applied to all wireless equipment.

Dish definitely wanted Sprint, though I doubt Dish is able to afford a purchase of Sprint away from Softbank now though. DT obviously is thinking big here with its mentions of Comcast and Sprint into the fold with T-Mobile. Problem is, T-Mobile just may not have enough time to wait until a potential administration shift in the U.S. government in 2017. They desperately need more spectrum in many areas, which the 600mhz auction spectrum set aside for them just may not be enough, especially if they don't win much of it. A merger with Dish may not give them access to Sprint's plentiful 2.5 spectrum, but it will give them a lot of AWS-3 spectrum which would double their current spectrum in many area, while providing a helpful boost in many others. Also, it is a merger which ought to be approved by the FCC fairly easily and take much less resources in the effort than it would trying to merge with Sprint.

I've also tried keeping those issues in the market thread, until someone brought what I said over here. I definitely agree that is the best place for any network observations, though it is off base to claim my mention of experience as "whining". Whining is when people gripe about a late fee on their bill they didn't pay on time, or a drop in speed when they are around several thousand people using the network, both which are vastly different examples.

Also, if anyone is going to read my posts, please don't try changing what I've said. I had Sprint for nearly two weeks back in May, which is much longer than a weekend. My second experience, which accommodated over a dozen hours of issues began on Thursday last week, June, not May, and lasted a bit longer than a weekend, though again, was over 12 hours driving different routes on the way to a dozen different places. I'm not arguing it though, just please don't twist my words. Now can we finally drop this? I was done after lilotimz politely asked a few days ago, and am disappointed that this was brought up again for me to need responding in my defense.

Robert, now you're really overreacting, I'm not even on Sprint anymore, so how can I possibly complain about coverage holes on Sprint from now on, when I no longer have Sprint. Besides, you're confusing me with people here in the past who've done nothing but to bash everything both big and small about Sprint. While I have complained about my experiences with Sprint, I've also praised many things about them, such as voice quality, their approach to publicity being much more professional than T-Mobile, etc. I'm not here to bash nor warn people against Sprint at all, so please just lay off on the accusations of me where I haven't done so.

From what I've read, many fanboys and fangirls of T-Mobile seem to really dislike the head of DT for all of his attempts and comments about his strong desire to sell off T-Mobile. While I'm not particularly a big fan of T-Mobile, I'd certainly agree with them regarding how this man seems to operate, but I'd also agree selling T-Mobile to a company with strong wireless assets, such as Dish or Sprint, is important for T-Mobile's future. However, I'm pretty shocked by the mention of Comcast in this. That must really anger a lot of T-Mobile fans. I think with T-Mobile alone, that would be pretty disastrous, though I find it very interesting he is thinking of Comcast/Sprint/T-Mobile, as I've already called out here on S4GRU of a potential Comcast/Sprint deal. While I have nothing against Softbank's ownership of Sprint, and I mean no offense by this thought, but I do see it as a possibility for Softbank to sell Sprint to Comcast or even Softbank purchasing Comcast, though the latter being much less likely. If Verizon does decide to attempt to purchase Dish, as being speculated on currently, then it seems even more likely Comcast would try to get Sprint. I'm doubting T-Mobile is going to be a suitable option for Comcast, unless T-Mobile is with Sprint. They may even have a better case for it to give to the FCC if Verizon goes for Dish, and AT&T has DirecTv.

By the way, the information here about Verizon has been helpful. I've been considering Verizon for some time, though the reports of a less dense network than T-Mobile does bother me somewhat. It would be good if there were some sort of specific Verizon tower location listing online, similar to what S4GRU has for Sprint, so I could check the proximity to that where I often travel. The nearest T-Mobile tower to where I live, is 2300 feet away, and gets around 65% signal strength, with speeds around 20-30mbps typically, though offpeak between 30-50mbps. Although, the importance for me is having at least 5mbps typically. I'm wondering if Verizon could provide that.

Robert, I have not once argued against anyone over this issue about Sprint, nor anything else, other than the issue of the length of some of my posts and writing style, which has been awhile now since that has happened. Even then, you accused me of arguing with people over their criticisms of my content, which I never did. Please stop saying that I'm arguing with people, when for the most part other than when my writing style/post length is being mentioned, I'm very fair towards others. I had nearly two weeks on Sprint back in May, which I never complained about the network. I made a casual mention of a particular road that dropped to 3g one evening, and when I tested it the next day, it didn't happen again. I was fair about it then, by mentioning here that it could very well have been the device stuck on 3g at the time I wasn't yet aware of the airplane mode trick, rather than it being the network. I also had an issue one evening with the device not connecting, due to what turned out to be an issue with Android Lollipop, something I read online others were having similar issues with. The main reason I cancelled service then, was because of the Family plan issue I've mentioned plenty about already. I are subscribed to a line on an active Sprint account last week on Thursday, which was June. I returned the device yesterday. Since I've already mentioned all those issues on another thread, I won't again here, but to address the issue you mentioned which suggests I've only had casual use of the service, I've mentioned both the bad areas of Sprint around here, but also the good areas of Sprint around here. Unfortunately, the problem last week was so severe, that while I'm inclined to think device issues, the Sprint managers I've spoken with, have blamed the network. One more thing, airplane mode did not solve the many issues I was having last week. Although, I've taken into consideration the various mentions by people of coverage holes and the need of variations to the network, which hopefully will resolve these issues which not only I, but others have reported having with Sprint here on S4GRU and on other sites.

Is the Chicago market in or out of those protection zones?

That is a shame, because both AT&T and T-Mobile really need to use that spectrum in certain areas, though I'm mostly thinking of Dish Network's potential merger with T-Mobile in regards to that spectrum, along with AT&T's spectrum here in Chicago. At least a dozen people I've spoken with the past few weeks in person around here say they have AT&T, but are hesitant to tell me how the network is for them. They seem to have it mostly in family plans and because of billing streamlining with UVerse.

That timeline does make me think a bit differently towards the 600mhz idea. Doesn't sound as good of a deal as the AWS3 auction.

When I had Sprint a month or so, it was quite a bit better than my recent experience. Then again, I had the Nexus 6 that time, the Kyocera Hydro Vibe this time. I really wanted to believe it was a device issue, though a few of the staff at Sprint told me it was the network and displayed a lot less hope about it than me. I'm glad your experiences were good though, especially with the 800mhz. The 800mhz helped while I was at my grandmother's last month, though not at my home here. One of the things I've seen people mention here is 800mhz optimization, which I'm wondering what that means and if that would have likely improved my experience.

Then again, a few Sprint employees have admitted to me that in this area of the Chicago suburbs, Sprint kinda sucks. Perhaps it is better downtown.