ericdabbs

Since we are talking about the FCC OET in this thread, an OEM and its testing lab would not be able to show that a transmitter operates within PCS/AWS-2 H block service rules because those rules have not yet been standardized. Hence, FCC OET authorization would not be possible.

 

The best that you can hope for would be that current panels, though not spec'd for it, can still support the modest 5 MHz FDD extension that is the H block and that current RRUs can be upgraded with new cards or even firmware, which would require then a Class II Permissive Change filing with the FCC OET.

 

AJ

Yeah this is what I was hoping for. A way to deploy the H block spectrum from the current RRUs and panels through upgraded firmware or new carrier cards without needing to replace the panels or RRUs up on the tower which will take a lot longer and add a ton of costs.

I know I am thinking ahead of myself since we don't know how aggressive Sprint will bid on the H block. I would have to think that given Verizon, ATT and Tmobile have been beefing up their spectrum holdings in the past year that Sprint would need to try to get the full 10 MHz in the H block in all the major markets and all of the < 20 MHz markets too and pay what it takes to get it.

I am not convinced that the 2.5 GHz acquired by Clearwire will help with relieving strain in the G block and enhancing capacity in metro areas nationwide if the plan isn't to expand into all major metro areas especially ones that were not covered by WiMAX.

This is good news that the new Sprint LTE phones in 2013 are starting to have removable sims. Hopefully the Galaxy S4 comes with a removable sim to confirm this trend for 2013 Sprint LTE phones.

This is the Engadget article that references a removable SIM on the Sprint HTC One.

http://www.engadget....-sprint-review/

Taken from the Engadget article

"For those of you just getting around to cross-shopping the HTC One against other devices, we'll give you a lightning tour of the handset. On board, you've got a standard micro-USB / MHL port along the bottom edge, as well as a metal volume rocker on the right side, and a micro-SIM tray on the left. Of note, the Sprint One is among the first of the carrier's LTE devices to offer a replaceable SIM. Up top, you'll find your requisite headphone jack and power / lock button, which doubles as an IR blaster. Meanwhile the back side is home to a 4MP UltraPixel camera with flash. Moving back to the front side, you'll find the 2.1-megapixel, front-facing camera, as well as an LED notification light, tucked under the top speaker grille, just above the screen."

I definitely hope they have 4x capacity on all 800 carriers. We want add many people as possible to be able to use that. In rural areas I think 70% more coverage would be much better suited. 4x capacity would be crazy over kill in those areas unless they are severely spectrum constrained.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

Yes I agree. In rural areas, Sprint should take advantage of the 70% bonus coverage option instead of the 4x capacity. Sprint should understand which areas it should take advantage of the 4x capacity and which areas should take advantage of the 70% bonus coverage. Right now we don't have any concrete evidence that Sprint is doing either.

When do towers get 1x Advanced? With 800Mhz or when a tower os 3G upgraded?

I believe when the tower is upgraded to Network Vision, it should have the 1x Advanced carrier card installed at the BTS. The big question is what advantage did Sprint decide to implement between 4x capacity or 70% more coverage?

IMO, Sprint should opt for the 4x capacity so that they can reduce the number of 1x carriers to conserve spectrum and the fact that the cell towers are optimized for 1900 MHz spacing already. I guess people can argue that there can be some areas where the 70% coverage would be the better option than the 4x capacity. Sprint should only have to deploy one 1x Advanced carrier at 800 and 1900 MHz with 4x capacity enabled on each and the saved spectrum should be invested into more EVDO and LTE carriers.

Do you think in time Sprint would acquire all of US cell? I mean they use the same frequencies and it will give sprint more 850 spectrum in rural areas

the problem is that Sprint has too many deals going on with the softbank/clearwire merger and the pending UScellular spectrum deal. Also if Sprint did buy US Cellular at a future date that Sprint would want to spend the resources to incorporate the 850 MHz band when its just for the rural areas. Sprint would contend that their 800 MHz CDMA and LTE services would do just the job not only in rural America but all over the US since they have all of the 800 MHz spectrum licenses.

A buyout of US Cellular would be useful only for their PCS and AWS spectrum. The 700 and 850 MHz spectrum licenses would be worthless to Sprint and would be better off selling them to ATT or Verizon for efficient use of the spectrum.

 

San Diego won't benefit until 800mhz is deployed which would be later next year. San Diego has a huge Nextel base as service was popular for cross border usage with Tijuana. How soon may we see 800mhz deployed in San Diego?

Technically a few weeks after the june 30th deadline, sprint can begin to deploy 800 mhz cdma everywhere they can in a massive scale. There r already areas in the US which have 800 mhz cdma deployed so it has already started.

I believe the US and mexico already signed an agreement last year about 800 mhz interoperability along the mexican border. It was posted on fiercewireless.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

Does all that mean HD Voice?

 

Has Sprint said if this phone supports HD Voice? What other Sprint phones do aside from the Evo?

None. Only the evo 4g lte phone supports hd voice. Sprint has been very hush hush about hd voice since last march. My guess is that sprint is waiting until more of the sprint network towers are converted to 1x advanced first. IMO I dont expect sprint to have hd voice ready phones until 2014

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

Once Nextel is died in a few months, will Sprint Direct Connect work over CDMA 800mhz when available? San Diego won't be getting 800mhz anytime soon and wondering because their 1900mhz service does not work well in parking garages in downtown San Diego.

 

Will Sprint Direct Connect benefit from Network Vision? Will it only work on CDMA 1900 or work on all 800/1900/2600?

YES!!!!! Sprint direct connect will work over cdma 800 and 1900 mhz. So this means that you will be getting the same coverage as nextel iden coverage since they both use 800 mhz. That is the point that sprint has been pitching to nextel customers for the last 1.5 years to convert to being a sprint customer.

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Here, check this out! RRUS 61 for TDD-LTE Band Class 41 by Ericsson AB. Approved March 14.

Nice find. You and AJ are so good at probing the FCC database to look for things like this that are important for Network Vision.

My only beef about the RRU is why does the Tx operating range only from 2496 to 2658 MHz but Band 41 ranges from 2496 to 2690 MHz. Why didn't Ericcson test the RRU in the full Band 41 range? It doesn't make any sense to me. I guess it only sorta makes sense since 2496 to 2658 is range of 162 MHz and Clearwire has stated that they have around 160 MHz on average in the top markets. It could be a coincidence or intentional.

While this sounds great, I wonder what Sprint is going to do if they win nationwide spectrum of the H block spectrum. Does this mean that all the OEMs will need to create new RRUs to account for the 1915-1920 and 1995-2000 MHz frequency ranges and Sprint would need to buy new RRUs to support it? I just don't understand why they OEMs don't just make RRUs that can operate in a wider range of frequencies. Its not like the wireless carriers are allowed to Tx in frequencies that they are not approved for anyways but the fact that if they end up purchasing the licenses to then Tx in those frequencies the wireless carriers wouldn't need to purchase new equipment.

For example, the RRU below is rated for 806-869 MHz. Even though Sprint can only broadcast from 817-824 and 862-869 MHz, it gives Sprint the opportunity for future expansion if for some reason down the road the 806-816 and 851-861 MHz becomes available for wireless services broadcast.

Yeah I am not sure what Samsung is trying to do here with the Samsung Mega and Note series. I am not sure how Samsung is differentiating between the two. I really hope the Note series will not cancelled and replaced with the Mega series. There is no evidence of whether the Mega phones will contain the S-pen.

The problem I see is that the trend for cell phone use has changed in the last few years from primarily using it for voice to data usage. Since more and more people are getting smartphones for mainly the data usage portion that means that fast data speeds are important. With the invention of LTE that can deliver broadband internet speeds on the go, it relies heavily on the amount of spectrum a carrier has and wider channels for each LTE carrier. Unfortunately these smaller regional carriers do not have sufficient spectrum to support the broadband speeds that the 4 major carriers can deliver. Therefore consumers flock to the 4 major carriers that can deliver them the broadband speeds and coverage that they so covet. This is why I believe the smaller carriers like Cricket and US Cellular will eventually be scooped up since they can't compete with the big boys.

In the early 2000s before the iPhone and 4G speeds, the regional carriers can compete because the cell phone was primarily used for voice and data was an after thought. Since voice does not require a huge amount of spectrum, the regional carriers could compete with the major carriers without a problem and their major selling point was probably price. Now the idea of paying 70-80 dollars/month for cell phone service turned from a shock in 2006 to a norm in 2013. People are now willing to pay double the price of cell phone charges as an accepted norm to get broadband speed data service.

So to sum it up, the two major factors you can say that can lead to the regional carriers demise are 1) cell phone usage priority has been shifted from primarily voice to data and 2) amount of spectrum needed to support broadband data speeds require a lot more spectrum due to wider channels which regional carriers do not have plenty of in the first place.

The Clearwire board has a fiduciary duty to examine any offer, whether for financing or merger or acquisition. I am sure that they realize that they cannot survive on their own without Sprint. I'm sure they want to stay independent, but the writing is on the wall. It was a totally disfunctional arrangement that created them in the first place and it is time to end it.

I get the whole fiduciary duty that Clearwire has to pursue for its shareholders but what I don't understand is if that is the case, Clearwire should not be tapping into Crest Financial or Sprint financing for the time being while they are doing their due diligence. Obviously Sprint, Dish and Crest Financial have money and if Dish was really serious about making a deal with Clearwire, why haven't they offered some upfront money as a down payment to try to secure the deal like Sprint has offered.

To me, once Clearwire decides to taps into either Sprint or Crest Financial for funding it should be a clear indication of who they want to go with. I have never seen a potential merger deal like this where the target company is allowed free reign to continue performing activities with other companies which are not related with the original merger agreement. I think at this point, Clearwire already knows the details of the Dish deal and Sprint deal. It already has been 3 months and they are still wavering on this decision.

Thanks for pointing out that my membership had expired. I didn't relaize it!! I'll get that resolved now. As for knowing what is going on. If you check back you will see I did a review on the Tri-band modem almost a year ago. I office right by one of the first towers on that was done on the North side of Houston in the Woodlands. I also cover 750 miles a week using the tri-band and my phones inside of Houston. It was fantastic at first as you will see in my initial reports made on here but it has steadily dropped to where in most areas a speed test with 100% signal will only get about 1.8 down 3.2 up. I can get 5.4 down with Wimax most of the time. The tower by my office has continously had problems and 75% of the phones in Houston had service issues three times in the last month!! I am still a customer but unless something happens fast it won't be for long. I just did a speed test test for you in Bellaire, Texas which is in downtown Houston. 2.54MB down 5.4MB up with 100% signal (-71dBm)and if you look at the test trace you can see speeds all over the map from 0.2mb to 14mb. I am praying it gets better soon!

Besides relying on speedtests for your actual speed, are you seeing any real decline in data speed service as in youtube, netflix or internet browsing. If you ask robert or AJ on this forum, those speedtests are not reliable at all and should not be used to judge your true LTE speed. Those speedtests do nothing but give us a reason to show off to people what speeds you think you are receiving but are not the true practical speeds it actually is using. Even if you get 20 Mbps on a speedtest, there is no way to confirm that you are actually getting 20 Mbps unless you are downloading some huge file and confirm the download speed is actually 20 Mbps.

My point is unless you are seeing some major decline in data service, does it really matter???? I wouldn't worry so much about what the speedtest value says because in reality you are never using that full speed amount anyways. In terms of your voice, I don't know what to say other than to call Sprint to file a ticket to see if its truly a tower issue. Have you consulted any other Sprint customers in your building to confirm they are having dropped call issues as well. It could possibly be your handset. It seems like you are relying on a tri-band hotspot for your LTE service which is not the same as having a pure LTE phone.

I get these speeds daily so maybe its your handset

 

Sent from my Sprint Galaxy Nexus rockin 4.2.2 using Tapatalk 2

Only problem is that your speedtests are out in Chicago while the previous poster is located in Houston. It may be his handset but it just seems like potential LTE issues in that part of Houston.

Is wait time after upgrade still 20 months?

Yes

Once this Softbank/Sprint/Clearwire merger gets approved, Sprint will continue to focus on Network Vision and its 800 and 2500 MHz LTE rollout. This merger is a major distraction but a necessary one that will help Sprint for their future.

So recommend to wait until later this year to use my Sprint device upgrade?

That is what I am doing. At first, I was set on getting the Galaxy S4 but after seeing that the Sprint Galaxy S4 still only supports 1900 MHz LTE and getting to like the Galaxy Note series more, I am definitely waiting for the Galaxy Note 3 to come out to upgrade. I just hope the Note 3 has tri-band LTE support.

Here in Houston, Texas the wait has not been worth it. We still don't have any consistent high speeds because the sytem is being oversold faster than they can build it and it crashes constantly. In addition we are now having constant voice issues as they scramble to deal with the data issues. I spend over 40% of my time on Wimax as it is faster than the the 4GLTE in most areas. I think network vision needs a seeing eye dog!! For the first time in 14 years I am having to move my business phones from Sprint to be able to do business!!

What do you mean the system is being oversold? You mean that too many customers jumped onto 4G LTE causing the LTE experience to decline? Houston is still being actively deployed and since you are not a sponsor, you obviously have no insight as to which towers have LTE in Houston. As a premier sponsor or a sponsor, you will have access to see which towers in any market deployed with Network Vision are active.

What I don't get out of this Sprint/Dish/Clearwire circus is that how can Clearwire be allowed to receive funds from Crest Financial or entertain deals with Dish when it is in the process of receiving approval for a Sprint/Softbank/Clearwire merger. Shouldn't Clearwire be in a state where they can't be messing around with other deals. If Clearwire accepts Crest Financial funding, doesn't it complicate things?

It just seems like in a way Clearwire is not happy at all about being bought out by Sprint/Softbank even though they have relied entirely on Sprint for funding for the last few years. If they think they can survive by themselves without Sprint they are drinking some Crest and Dish kool-aid.

Yeah, but they only have a finite amount of time to deploy before they get fined, or lose it?

All spectrum has a finite amount of time for deployment or else lose it so the S-band is not any different. The point is that S-band spectrum is still useful spectrum given that it has been blessed by the FCC and 3GPP for LTE use. Yes there are no antennas or radios that are built to take advantage of this spectrum currently but Sprint didn't have any of that either when it decided to use the PCS G block and ESMR spectrum for LTE. Its possible and it will be done for whoever plans to use the S-band spectrum.

Who is going to buy that spectrum from Dish. Dish wanted a partner but did not want to put money upfront and instead wanted to pay with capacity. Well, neither Sprint nor T-Mobile, after the merger, want to create a potential competitor. AT&T may have wanted to buy it, but they seem to be picking up plenty of 700MHz spectrum from Verizon and with their WCS purchases seem to be doing OK. They might or might not be interested. Sprint might have been interested before but only if Dish put up some money up front.

 

As I have said many times, I'm all for Sprint taking their 55MHz of BRS out of Clearwire and selling the rest to Dish. Then merge with T-Mobile, thereby creating a very viable competitor to the Big Two. At some point they do need to get some sub 1GHz spectrum, but that's just around the corner.

The S-band spectrum is still valuable in a sense that it can be used for LTE deployment. That is a huge contrast to the L-band spectrum that Lightsquared owned that is basically useless. Sure Dish can demand a huge premium for it and scare the major wireless carriers from wanting to bid for it but if push came to shove, if Dish does not do anything with that spectrum they would either just eat the cost of buying the spectrum and never deploy it or just fire sale it to at least get back their original cost and maybe a small premium. Dish in my opinion has more to lose than anybody. Charlie still thinks he can play hardball and bully the other wireless carriers to coming to his terms. Little does he know that none of the major carriers have any interested in helping him since they are all busy building out their own LTE networks to compete. The sentiment that the major carriers are displaying thus far for their interest in S-band spectrum indicate that Dish has no leverage but that does not mean its not valuable. S-band spectrum is located in nice frequency that has decent propagation and capacity that would be hugely beneficial to any network. All the wireless carriers have made significant spectrum acquisitions recently Verizon (SpectrumCo AWS spectrum deal), ATT(bought Echostar 700 MHz E-block spectrum, 700 MHz B-block from Verizon, WCS spectrum LTE approval), Tmobile (MetroPCS deal), Sprint (Softbank and Clearwire deal) so purchasing additional spectrum in S-band from any of the wireless carriers at this point would be highly scrutinized.

A deal for Tmobile/MetroPCS is not going to happen even after Tmobile and MetroPCS goes public for a few years. That is just a pipe dream. The US wants to have 4 major competitors in the market to compete for consumers. Sprint has a better chance of snatching up Cricket before they can snatch up Tmobile/MetroPCS. Analysts can weigh in and stuff and think that Sprint will eventually buy out Tmobile/MetroPCS but I don't see that happening now assuming Tmobile/MetroPCS doesn't fall into an abyss.

As for Clearwire, I would like to see Sprint definitely hold onto all of the 55 MHz of BRS spectrum and some EBS spectrum. Although I am not too sure if Softbank would be too thrilled if they just bought Clearwire knowing that they would access to a huge swath of 2.5 GHz of spectrum only to divest 75% of it away despite the complications with EBS leases. Also I don't know if it will be that easy to just sell the majority of EBS spectrum to Dish. Dish is not stupid and does realize that it is intensely fragmented all over the US and would have to deal with all the EBS leases.

The investment in the S-band has worked out for Dish so far in that it was able to get FCC approval for LTE use and got 3GPP approval which is a win in itself. This makes the S-band spectrum valuable. Whether Dish decides to use it build out a LTE network or sell the S-band spectrum, Dish will have made a profit on it.

I agree with your statement on 800mhz, but I was speaking more about the 2500mhz, not sure how much of that work is actually done, and as far as we've seen, no devices filtering through FCC which support that BC.

I think that at the moment, Clearwire is focused on trying to get the Sprint/Softbank/Clearwire merger completed that they have not worried too much about pumping out TD-LTE devices/hotspots out into the market since their major customer will be Sprint. I think once the merger is approved by the FCC hopefully in June and the vote is in favor of the merger, Clearwire will bring more focus back to TD-LTE for 2H 2013.

But the GTI effort is still working hard around the world to ensure devices and interoperability between FDD and TDD LTE is supported. Also since Softbank does have TD-LTE working in Japan, they can bring their expertise to Sprint and Clearwire to create compatible 2.5 GHz devices.

Josh, you might want to update your OP for the HTC One. It is going to be on sale for Sprint April 19th with preorders beginning April 5th.

http://newsroom.sprint.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=2547