tommym65

There seem to be 3 threads discussing tri-band hotspots (2500 LTE, Sprint Tri-Band Hotspots, and this one), so I am guessing which is best for this post. I bought a Netgear Zing at a big box store tonight, being too impatient to mess with "free" offers and shipping. A couple of observations: 1. No LTE 2500 in the northwest Chicago exurbs (yet?). I drove near multiple Clear Wimax towers, within 200 feet of 1, but only saw band 25 LTE (1900) and CDMA, no band 41. 2. The menus take a little getting used to, but the device will show you a lot of information. 3. The Zing has a very good antenna. I live on the very fringe of current Chicagoland LTE, and my GS3 connects only intermittantly, and has been virtually useless as a hotspot at my home. The Zing gets about a 4-8 dBm better RSRP reading than my GS3 in exactly the same spot (unfortunately, this spot has to be in an open, 2nd floor, south facing window -- told you I am on the fringe!), and is consistently connected and useful. I am browsing the forum and editing this entry from a tablet connected through the hotspot, and responses are quite good, especially considering how "fringy" my location is. With apologies to A J and digiblur, this is a speed test using LTE on my GS3 (2nd line) and using the hotspot (top line), for what it's worth. Note that the ping is better when using LTE directly from the phone, but the speeds are significantly worse.

Likely Sensorly will have to create a new map, because, as you note, LTE 2600 is a different network ID, and also because it would conflict with Wimax on the Wimax map and with LTE 1900 on Sprint LTE map. It will be interesting to see what they do with LTE 800.

Astounding!!!!!! Now someone has to figure out how to map it. Sensorly, are you listening? [Vacation, my patootskies! This was nothing more than a ruse so that you could be the first one to discover LTE 2600! You sneaky son of a gun!]

Just curious if anyone knows the answer: Clear has already installed 2500 MHz LTE on some of its sites (don't recall the exact number). Will these new hotspots be able to pick up LTE from these sites, or will they have to wait for a later-date Sprint re-implementation of LTE 2500? Also, has Clear used the dreaded Huawei LTE hardware on all of the sites they have implemented so far (which would render my first question irrelevant)?

Rode my bike from north Crystal Lake to Ringwood this morning, Sensorly mapped LTE from just north of Bull Valley Road to just south of Ringwood, apparently from the cell site north of 120 and east of the Fox River in the center of McHenry. Also got a blip of LTE between Edgewood and Hillside, from what source, I cannot determine. It's all on Sensorly already. First time I've seen usable LTE in that part of McHenry Co. The tower at 31 and Bull Valley Rd., which has had new antennas and RRU's for months, still seems totally quiet for LTE, however. I know its status, but this is not a sponsor thread, so I can only express puzzlement here. "Puzzlement!" Virtually all of Crystal Lake north of Dartmoor Drive continues to be an LTE desert. Just in case anyone is interested.

I knew that. Spent many happy hours there myself in the late 70's & 80's. Sadly, didn't have mobile telephony to (pick 1): a. Keep me sane; b. Drive me insane.

Ate you saying that it isn't? Or maybe it's all the nuclear radiation leaking downhill from Los Alamos!

No, I haven't been reading any of the 89 91 (so far) posts, I just make random comments. OF COURSE I have been reading them. What we have seen so far is a single, not formally released, sales slick. What will be the exact price impact? The jury is out -- some types of new subs will pay more, some less. At this moment, not a single current sub is demonstrably affected by this yet-unannounced "plan", because it doesn't force any current sub to change plans. Will this stay the same? I have no idea. But be sure of this: If Son & company plan to increase Sprint's US market share, they know that they can't do it with big price increases. Son is not a dummy, and didn't get to be a billionaire by pissing off his customers. It is not reasonable to think he spent billions more so that he could be just like AT&T or VZW: That road leads only to ruin.

Disagreed. Sprint/Softbank's objective is to add subscribers, which will automatically increase revenue without significantly adding to costs. Softbank has a bewildering array of plans and prices in Japan, but their success so far has been achieved by creating more attractive price plans than their Japanese competitors, within a framework of improved technology. Thus, they have been able to convince customers to jump from the Japanese "duopoly". To argue that Sprint plans to "raise . . . prices to match [AT&T & VZW] " contradicts Softbank's visible Japanese strategy. Even if that argument somehow were to ultimately prove correct, Sprint is certainly at least years away from major price increases, just as they are likely years away from abandoning unlimited data -- if they increase prices/abandon unlimited at all. Particularly in light of Sprint's currently challenged (and challenging) technical coverage, Son's and Hesse's missions are to rapidly improve technology and rapidly increase subscriber counts, so that they can begin recovering the massive costs of implementing NV, finally completing the Clearwire deal, and cementing the "merger".

For what it's worth: The "One, Two, Kalamazoo . . ." TMo commercial from last year counted 35,023 sites. Before anyone attacks, I know perfectly well that this number came from marketing, and is inherently unreliable, but add a few, and it comes pretty close to 37,000. Of course, is doesn't say what is the mix of 2G/3G/~4G. In fact, other than the sexy little kitten on the sexy motorcycle, it doesn't communicate much of anything. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CC0QtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Da5JLZJkcxCE&ei=YpzUUYutCo3YyAGdu4HoAw&usg=AFQjCNHJjOHIlGFDoVOWB5YKL3TjOexH1g&bvm=bv.48705608,d.aWc

Short answer: Yes, there will be 4G LTE everywhere there is Sprint coverage. Sites are popping up nationwide, including about 30 4G LTE sites in the Milwaukee/Madison market so far (many more to come), and many more in the Northern Wisconsin market. Consider spending $10 or $20 to become an S4GRU Sponsor, which will give you access to maps showing all installed, and many in-progress, Network Vision sites, and also provides access to many in-depth discussions of the markets and technologies. http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/1195-information-about-s4gru-sponsorship-levels-and-how-to-become-a-sponsor/ And welcome to S4GRU: It is a very interesting place right now. Added: Damn, that Dkoellerwx sure does type faster than I do!!!

Nope. The 1x800 SID's are 5 digits, 224xx if memory serves.

Keep in mind that theg00ds0n was on a GS3, which because of its current PRL can easily move to 800 SMR for voice and text (800 is widely available in Chicago), while you were on an iPhone 5, which for unknown reasons has a PRL which favors 1900 PCS where present. Thus, he may have spent much of his time on a less cluttered voice/text frequency with better signal strength, while most Sprint subs in the area (including you) would likely have been stuck on 1900, and might see overloaded channels and poorer performance. This would not affect LTE, but the GS3 also has a very good LTE radio. Just thinking out loud.

I guess I should have used the "/sarcasm" and "/no sarcasm" html tags.

But all those empty squares -- Where's the coverage? How does Sprint get those radio waves to turn corners like that? It must be aliens!

It seems to be working right today.

Fascinating.

Anyone else being blocked from sensorly.com with a "Forbidden" error? I cannot get in from a browser, although I can see coverage maps on my GS3 using the Sensorly app.

Actually, North Wisconsin, which is separate from both Milwaukee & Minnesota. Oops, actually at the north end of the Milwaukee market.

I'm sure a restart would do it, but they take forever -- OK, you'll call me on that : They take up to a couple of minutes. I've tried toggling airplane mode and have also tried Signal Check Pro resets (they are supposed to do the same thing), and neither one works, at least on 2 of my GS3's, though they are very good at finding LTE. However, PRL Update checks seem to work every time, and I am curious if my explanation makes any sense to the informed and enlightened (in other words, mainly, you and Digiblur). EDIT: OK, now I've pissed off the other experts. Please give me a break: I'm trying to flatter AJ, and you know how hard THAT can be!! Note that I even capitalized his initials, which is difficult for an old geezer like me with feeble "Shift" fingers!

The PRL update process seems to force a 1x reset, even when no new PRL ia available, at least on my GS3, which apparently causes the phone to re-read the PRL list for my current geography, and will therefore find 1x800, where available. Or is my cold medication causing hallucinations? Expert, non-drugged, opinions would be welcomed.

Fascinating reading. While the whole proceeding is now essentially moot, given Softbank/Sprint's increased tender offer, it is clear that the judge is outright telling Ergen's people that he will reject their so-called tender offer as fraudulent, should they be stupid enough to pursue it. He makes it crystal clear that that DISH's offer blatantly and without precedent violates Sprint's rights as the majority shareholder. His paraphrase of Orwell that DISH seeks to make "some pigs . . . more equal than others" is a real thigh-slapper. [Okay, I have a warped sense of humor.] While not granting immediate relief to Sprint, he makes absolutely sure that Ergen knows that the DISH offer is doomed should Ergen try to proceed. I would not want to be Ergen's lawyers, once Ergen finds out what the judge said.

Don't forget our hog butchering and little-cat-feeting. Oh, and Bruin butchering I'd better not say that, Mikejeep might be watching.

I am a little confused here. I can't find any markets that are 100% NV complete, nor 100% LTE complete. For example, the Chicago market is 98% "complete", but that only means that 98% of its sites have had 1 or more NV technologies completed: Only 77% of Chicago sites have LTE at this point, and from personal experience, where LTE is complete here, it is virtually wall-to-wall, even to a large degree inside buildings. And no part of the market, whether we're talking about "cities" or large geographic areas of any kind, is 100% NV or LTE complete. Even Atlanta, which seems to have the most LTE completion, is at only 81%. Please help me understand what I am missing here?

But then we would be besieged by hordes of sun-seeking Canucks! Florida is for New Yorkers, not for a bunch of hockey-playing, Loonie-spending, kilometer-breathing curlers from the Arctic!!!!!!!!!