ericdabbs

I'll be monitoring to see how fast Tmobile starts deploying LTE markets this year. So far they have said they would launch LTE in Las Vegas within the next 2 weeks. I wonder if any other markets are scheduled to launch by the end of this month.

If Tmobile starts deploying LTE out like gangbusters that doesn't look good on Sprint who has been at least a quarter behind schedule in LTE/Network Vision deployment.

Looks like Sprint is also monitoring Tmobile's new handset pricing model. Should be interesting to see how this plays out for Tmobile.

Last paragraph of the article.

"We're working on some interesting things" in this area, Van Norman hinted, without providing details.

Interestingly, Van Norman also said Sprint is closely watching T-Mobile USA's new approach to handset pricing. T-Mobile recently announced it would soon discontinue offering subsidies on devices, instead allowing customers to either buy their device upfront of pay for their device in monthly installments.

"I think we're watching what T-Mobile is doing closely," Van Norman said. "We're evaluating it to see if there are opportunities."

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/softbank-sprint-plans-challenge-rivals-handset-purchases/2013-01-11

Does this mean that Sprint and Dish are actually talking to each about a network sharing agreement but both companies don't see eye to eye on the terms? I honestly dont believe that Dish has any true intentions about making a serious bid for Clearwire. If anything Dish is just trying to punk Sprint for having to shift 5 MHz to account to avoid H block interference and wants more favorable terms. Time will only tell.

Clearwire is planning to upgrade at least 2,000 WiMAX Sites to TD-LTE by June 2013. I am betting that T-Mobile will have more LTE Sites than Clearwire by June 2013 because they were originally planning to convert at least 5,000 WiMAX Sites.

The thing that confuses me now is that since Sprint bought out Clearwire. I am not sure if the plans changed for TD-LTE deployment strategy for 2013. I would think that Sprint would ideally want to deploy TD-LTE on any of its 38,000 Network Vision sites they plan to keep plus a X number of sites that Sprint will keep from Clearwire for simplicity. I think deploying TD-LTE on Network Vision sites is best for the long term strategy and be future proof since Sprint can save costs on tower leases, power, waiting for build permits for Clearwire towers, etc.

I don't mind if Sprint delays for the time being and doesn't meet its 2,000 cell sites by June 2013 if it means the TD-LTE deployment planning is for Network Vision sites only. Sprint will have to add all new antennas and RRUs for TD-LTE anyways so most of the WiMAX equipment is useless.

I think the whole deployment plan for TD-LTE is up in the air.

 

Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk

But wouldn't Sprint and Clearwire have to start deploying now in order to meet the 2,000 TD-LTE sites in 31 markets by June 2013? I know this was based on the assumption back then when Sprint and Clearwire were separate. Obviously the Sprint buyout of Clearwire changes things but I am hoping that Sprint is planning to deploy TD-LTE some time this year and have its high end LTE devices (HTC M7, SGS4, LG Optimus G2, SGN3, Moto X) that support Band 41.

Another big question I have is if Sprint does deploy TD-LTE on its Network Vision sites wouldn't Sprint have to modify build permit plans for a ton of towers in the targeted markets to add the TD-LTE antennas and RRUs. I agree that Sprint should try to leverage adding TD-LTE to its own Sprint Network Vision towers as much as it can so it save costs on paying for unnecessary tower leases from Clearwire. This whole Clearwire debacle still has a long way of sorting itself out.

There are no plans to replace existing Huawei Equipment, but there are plans to update its existing software to TD-LTE. Deployment has already began in several markets.

I wonder if Clearwire is going to display a coverage map of where the TD-LTE hotspots are going to be. Some color coded map that displays WiMAX and TD-LTE coverage would be a nice addition. Although I don't really expect to see much coverage for only 2,000 sites spread out among 31 markets initially.

It's my understanding that sites deployed since the beginning of 2010, they do not need to do any work with panels. They are ready to receive LTE upgrades. However, older sites prior to 2010 need to have everything replaced or run an new overlay. They will need to install side by side base stations, radios and panels on older sites, where WiMax and LTE are completely separate. Otherwise, they can replace the old WiMax equipment with new equipment that will run both. As a result, the oldest Clearwire markets would likely be the last upgraded to LTE.

 

However, I think Clearwire's deployment strategy could completely change now with the Sprint buyout. And may even be on hold. If the deal with Sprint/Softbanks closes without issue, it makes more sense for Sprint to deploy TD-LTE 2600 on Network Vision sites, and not on Clearwire sites at all. Then Sprint can work on mothballing WiMax as soon as feasible and just completely decommissioning all those Clearwire WiMax sites and save a lot of money.

 

Robert

Whatever Sprint plans to do with Clearwire LTE, I just really hope that Sprint comes out with LTE devices in 2013 that support 1900 and 2500 MHz LTE. If 800 MHz LTE support were also added to 2013 LTE devices it would be icing on the cake.

Does anyone know if Clearwire will install new antennas and RRU equipment on its towers for its deployment of TD-LTE? I don't know how robust and future proof Clearwire's current tower infrastructure for its WiMAX network. I expect Clearwire's TD-LTE equipment to be put to heavy use in the future for capacity once Sprint starts kicking 2.5 GHz deployment into high gear. I would be curious to see if Sprint will deploy Clearwire LTE on some of its own Sprint NV towers.

In the Sprint documents, they say that these sites with Ground Mount RRU's will not get 800MHz service. They do not address LTE at all. One of my concerns is that they may not replace the panels on these sites also, based on some other things I have seen lately. And if they do not replace the panels at these Ground Mount RRU sites,I'm thinking they may not get LTE either. I want to see some sites that are labelled Ground Mount RRU No 800 go live with LTE until I feel that is not the case.

 

Here are some permit drawings for a site in Florida: http://www.mywakulla...-12/SP12-16.pdf . In my docs it says that this is a "Ground Mount RRU - No 800" site. However, in the permit drawings, they call it "Ground Mount - No Touch". No Touch meaning they reuse the existing panels. And clearly it says in these drawings there is no LTE, just CDMA 1900.

 

Is this the way all Ground Mount No 800 sites will be? I don't know yet. But I'm concerned. There is a Shentel site in Mont Alto, PA that has ground mount RRU's and LTE. But Shentel may be an exception.

 

Robert

Didn't Sprint officially say that they plan to touch and add LTE all 38,000 of its towers? If that is the case, this is not good news since they are clearly ignoring LTE on these ground mounted RRUs and using the legacy antennas. Why they are still using the legacy antennas instead of the NV antennas for these sites still boggles me. Sprint should just spend all the capital it can to upgrade every single tower site with future proof cell site equipment. I wish Softbank could have a say in it and force Sprint to spend the money to upgrade these ground mounted RRU sites.

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A picture is worth a thousand words:

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<iframe frameborder="0" height="650" scrolling="no" src="http://batchgeo.com/map/e8ba36e8e9763dfcb50e4b0e056db98e" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170);" width="100%"></iframe>

 

49 sites out of 415.

At least the ground mounted RRU and No 800 MHz sites are outside of the main city of Las Vegas. I just hope the remainder of the NV sties get 800 MHz and 1900 MHz LTE and CDMA.

I personally won't be buying any 5" devices. The EVO LTE and GS3 are plenty big enough. So if they do end up with a 5" device, they also better come out with a device in the 4.3 to 4.8" range.

I hope so but Sprint needs to release more than 1 HTC device per year.

I think the M7 phone should be a 5 in device like the droid dna. I went to a verizon store and played with the droid dna and it is a beauty. Im pretty sure the sgs4 is going to be 5 in and it would be nice tothe see a competing product.

Only problem with sprint is that they only come out with one flagship phone for htc and those that dont like the 4.7 - 5 in display category wont be happy.

Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2

Nothing new regarding Sprint to report where I work. However, Verizon/AT&T are building out their network like crazy.

*sigh* Verizon and AT&T always ahead of the game. I just hope that Tmobile doesn't lap Sprint in deploying LTE in Phoenix.

In the ABQ market playbook, it was always labeled "Ground Mount RRU, No 800" for my site, long before S4GRU was a going concern. So I'm chucking it all up to coincidence.

 

My site is pretty unimportant, all things considered. For me, it's just the convenience of LTE testing. It's not like I need LTE in my home. However, I am concerned about the significant amount of Ground Based RRU's in New Mexico. If all these sites do not get LTE, then that is problematic for Sprint. Especially since Verizon does have their LTE panels on all these sites where they are colocated. Including the one looming over my head.

 

Robert

I am also very concerned that Sprint would still use legacy antennas even if it wasn't deploying LTE. I would still think even if they are just deploying just CDMA 1900 that they would want to use the NV antennas since I am sure there are improvements in tilt and capacity that legacy antennas do not provide. Who knows if in the future the opportunity can present where they can add LTE to this site. For gosh sake's the new NV antennas is capable of 800 and 1900 MHz support while the legacy antennas only support 1900 MHz. I assume its a cost savings issue but I still think its worth the investment in the long term. I can't imagine using legacy antennas for the next decade *shivers*

Personally I think Sprint needs to get rid of every single legacy antenna, cabinet, radios, backhaul, etc as if its building an entire cellular network from the ground up.

I was able to get back to my site yesterday before the electricians left. They were much less nice the second day. They told me I could not come inside the gate and refused to talk with me. He said he didn't want to get in any trouble. I was disappointed. It's the first time in a long time I had someone at a site be less than friendly with me.

 

So I stood outside the fence and took pictures. They installed the Ground Mount RRU's and base station cabinets. See photos below.

 

In this photo, you can see the RRU's (2, one for each of the two sectors at this site) mounted to the legs of the cable tray that runs from the legacy base cabinets to the tower. There is also a junction box installed on the right side with a new conduit sweep to the new NV base cabinets. No wiring or power connected to the RRU's yet.

 

 

Here is a zoom in on the RRU's installed yesterday.

 

 

Here are the cabinets for the NV equipment. Compared to the day before, you can see they are now secured to the platform. There are now conduit sweeps in place and so are panels enclosing the base of the right cabinet.

Nice pictures of Ground mounted RRUs and NV cabinets of your nearest tower. I wonder what the power loss difference is between Ground mounted RRUs and RRUs mounted on top of towers next to the antennas? I am sure these ground mounted RRUs must still be an improvement on the legacy ground radios that there are currently.

I work in City Planning for a Phoenix metro municipality. Within the last month, Sprint contractors have brought in preliminary plans for a couple sites in the West Valley. It's a very slow trickle of sites to be upgraded, but I believe NV is in the "plans" stage of being deployed in PHX.

Any update on more sites for Phoenix since?

Anyone from Salt Lake City can report their data speeds or any NV progress?

I would love to see how this super antenna work in action in a smartphone. If this super antenna works as advertised then they will become very popular quickly.

Josh, Leap has already been through one bankruptcy, so it is watching every penny.

 

And, honestly, it may have trouble meeting its financial obligation to Sprint. I believe that you can personally relate to that, yes?

 

AJ

I wonder if Cricket goes under if Sprint can nab the PCS spectrum from them as payment so that Sprint can bolster their PCS holdings. I feel like Cricket at some point will be bought out eventually and Sprint would be the perfect player since Cricket is already deploying CDMA 1x Advanced on its towers.

Are the NV running list percentages going to be updated to reflect the 200 sites that were accepted last week? I guess since its so close to new week that the number of sites can be lumped into this upcoming week and be updated. Hoping to see more progress made in LA Metro and NYC since Sprint needs to get those markets closer to being launch ready as well as major progress in Chicago so that they can hurry up and move its crews to other Samsung markets which are in need of getting started.

Crest Financial, a minor investor of Clearwire, owns around 8.3 percent of Clearwire shares, is planning to file a formal complaint to the FCC before the Jan 28th deadline to urge the FCC to look at the Sprint/Clearwire transaction more carefully. Crest Financial believes that the 2.2 billion offer for the rest of Clearwire is a slap to the face and is undermining the true value of the vast 2.5 GHz spectrum assets which in their opinion is worth a lot more.

What do you guys think will happen with now Crest Financial and Dish Network attempting to block this Sprint/Clearwire deal? IMO Crest Financial and Dish Network just have sour grapes that Sprint was able to nab Clearwire for the price they did and they could do nothing about it. I hope the FCC overlook the complaints from Crest and Dish and can see how this deal can help Sprint compete with the big 2 and approve both the Sprint/Softbank and Sprint/Clearwire deals.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/clearwire-investor-crest-urge-fcc-block-sprintclearwire-deal/2013-01-04

Those speeds are perfectly within Verizon's range considering that they advertise LTE speeds as 5-12mbps down and 2-5mbps up.

The latest I've heard from them is that by this summer their 700Mhz LTE is gonna overlay their entire EVDO footprint, at which point they'll be deploying AWS for capacity. Now, that's a pretty vague statement as we have no idea if they'll be staying at Release 8 and just deploy a second carrier for capacity, or if they'll be upgrading their cell sites to Release 10 in the process. It would make sense to start upgrading to Rel 10 as they could use HetNet and other LTE-A tools down the road.

Oh I know that 6-8 Mbps is definitely within the Verizon advertised speed range for LTE. However I am talking about the consumer perceived LTE speeds which the criteria is way higher. The perception I read on forums and tech blogs is that Verizon LTE speedtests can do 40-50 Mbps on a consistent basis which I know only occurs on a non-loaded sector and yet when Sprint LTE speedtests show 20-25 Mbps, it is rated as "slow" compared to Verizon LTE. That stigma that many bitter and unknowledgeable consumers have of Sprint 4G no matter if it is WiMax or LTE is that Sprint can never win since it is still slower than Verizon or AT&T LTE.

The point of my post is that Verizon's crazy 20+ Mbps have really come down to Earth within the past year as more and more people rush to Verizon to get LTE. I am sure if I went to an AT&T store and did LTE speedtests, I would find that speeds have come down to Earth since the crazy 20+ Mbps speedtests back then.

I am very glad that Sprint has stood up and started harping down on all the OEMs for being behind schedule. In all of 2012, only 9 markets have been announced and the top 2 population markets in NYC and LA have yet to show anywhere near launch ready

(LA = 28% complete and NYC = 19% complete). This is not good at all. Its going to take another 3 months before I anticipate NYC and LA will be officially announced as launch ready unless Sprint announces only certain NYC and LA counties as Network Vision ready. I just hope bird nests are still not holding up progress for Network Vision.

Sprint has major catching up to do and Sprint needs to launch between 500-600 sites per week to stay on track to be mostly complete by end of 2013 even though they have stated that they are one quarter behind but still remained firm of the "mostly complete by end of 2013" schedule. Who knows how Sprint is going to factor in adding 800 MHz LTE to their deployment plans post June 2013. I hope that cities like Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, etc that have already launched with LTE have the 800 MHz LTE equipment installed on the tower already and are just a flip switch away from turning on or else there will have to be a lot of rework to do.

I went to my local Verizon store today to check out the LTE phones particularly the Droid DNA phone because I am intrigued with the 5 in screen. I did several LTE speedtests on several phones (Droid DNA, RAZR MAXX, SGS3, SG Note 2) and the average LTE speeds were in the 6-8 Mbps range. This is a far cry from when I first went to that exact same store when the HTC Thunderbolt, Rezound, RAZR MAXX first came out when LTE speeds averaged 20-25 Mbps.

This makes me wonder how soon Verizon really needs to deploy LTE on its AWS spectrum to help alleviate capacity to keep up their lightning fast speeds. Verizon would have its work cut out for them since they need to upgrade its base station equipment to implement LTE-Advanced ready hardware.

I just hope when Sprint LTE is live on every single Sprint tower that I can get a consistent 10-12 Mbps and I will be happy.

Here is a link to the article and video.

And the article and video please?