ericdabbs

I'm going to Toronto at the end of May. What steps or plan do I need to do before arriving?

 

You don't have to do anything.  Sprint Global Roaming is already enabled onto your services.  Sprint Open World no longer exists.  If you want to buy High speed passes in most countries for $5/day or $25/week or Canada/Mexico for $2/day or $10/week.

 

https://www.sprint.com/en/shop/services/global-roaming.html?ECID=vanity:globalroaming

Judging by the fact the S8 is being launched with only 7.0, I think Samsung doesn't even have a 7.1 build ready for their phones.

 

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Ah ok...hmmm I wonder why Android 7.1.1 is being delayed.  It seems silly since at least Android 7.1 has been available since Oct 2016.

I am kinda disappointed that the carriers decided to go with Android 7.0 build number instead of 7.1.1 after all this time.  It seems like 7.1 had some significant changes and was hoping for at least Android 7.1.1.  Carriers should never go with the base build of the first Android release since there are always improvements and bugs that they need to be incorporated.  Normally the carriers go with at least the X.1 build version.

What are people's experiences with HPUE phones either LG G6 or Samsung GS8/GS8+? Is the B41 coverage significantly improved?

I hope you are right with T-Mobile getting Dish. I'm fully in support of this happening, and it'll be a great deal for T-Mobile customers, especially in the boosting of the 600mhz spectrum to a minimum of 15x15 in most places, with many areas going up to 20x20. Having Dish will give the Chicago area 20x20, which will be simply amazing for the network here. Although, the current 15x15 should be great too.

 

I am rooting for the same.  Dish bought 10x10 in the LA/OC/SD regions in California and that would work great alongside the current 15x15 block that Tmobile bought during the 600 MHz auction.  In addition the mid band spectrum in the AWS-3/PCS-H/S-band (B70) will be real useful since Tmobile did not participate much in the AWS-3 auction and is in desperate need of more mid-band spectrum to support LTE/HSPA/GSM operations.

T-Mobile is using Crown Castle for many of its small cells in Chicago, sharing with Verizon. I think I saw Ericsson RRU's the last time I looked at one.

 

Thanks.  I was just really eluding to the OEM for the small cell equipment which nowadays is mainly Ericsson or Nokia.

Does anyone know what brand and model Tmobile uses for their small cells.  Neville put this tweet out below regarding the launch of 700 MHz along with small cell deployment going on in Chicago.  I assume the small cell equipment is made from Nokia.  

 

Anyone have any insight?

 

https://twitter.com/NevilleRay/status/854682259621781504

Legere is nothing but LOUD... Quite frankly I am now tired of his act.... I fell for it and jumped ship to them back last Jan... For all his blah blah blah... quite frankly their network is worse off then Sprints.... I get it depends on where etc etc....

 

Just went on a trip/cruise.... Long beach area...SUCKED... Catalina SUCKED.. I mean it was sooo bad I could barely get tweets out to vent my frustration.... The map "claimed this and that" but really should be as light of pink as possible...

 

Its nice and dandy they get the custys... but it is sooooo full, the capacity cant sustain it anymore.. and soon, they will go backwards

The thing is Legere is polarizing and it is working. Say what you want about him but there is no denying that its working. Of course Legere cant take all the credit. He has a wonderful management team in Mike Sievert and Neville Ray that execute and carry out his plans. Still the boldness and the way he has changed the US wireless industry is amazing. He has turned the Tmobile brand to be "cool" and has in many cases kept the network on par with the big 2.

 

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Compared to what T-Mobile won and how much they paid, Dish got taken for a ride. They overpaid for Nationwide 5x5 and the only place they got more spectrum than T-Mobile is in New York and the Bay Area. For a $2 Billion difference, I would have sacrificed NYC and SF-OAK-SJ for equal or more spectrum in the rest of the US markets and rural 20x20 spectrum.

 

I am not sure what Dish's thinking was there in trying to focus on SF and NYC markets.  What is Dish's footprint for service?  Is it nationwide?  Either way Dish still looks pretty ripe IMO for Tmobile to scoop them up to add more spectrum.

I added some info in the thread below in the OP of how to determine which transition Phase is for your market and the FCC transition phase timeline of when the 600 MHz channels are expected to be cleared.  This way it gives yourself a more realistic expectation of when 600 MHz can be deployed in your market. 

 

http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/6553-600-mhz-auction-results-posted-and-transition-schedule/?p=377042

Updated OP post to include more information about the 600 MHz FCC transition Phase schedule and how to determine which Phase(s) your home market is currently allocated to in order to determine the timeline of when the 600 MHz channels are expected to be cleared.

You very well may be right, as you make a good case for Verizon. It is possible Verizon may pass on the idea of going after cable, and trying for Dish. There is quite a bit of speculation pertaining to both, and I'm not sure which to believe is more likely to happen.

 

Verizon needs spectrum badly. They definitely will get it some way. What is certain, is they are aiming for high-band spectrum for 5G, and their current mid-band and low-band spectrum is their 4G fallback for 5G. The issue is if that will be enough spectrum still. AT&T certainly has plenty of 4G spectrum, as will T-Mobile, if T-Mobile gets Dish. Verizon would be smart to get Dish, both for giving themselves enough 4G spectrum, as well to keep that away from T-Mobile.

 

However, if T-Mobile gets Dish, and Verizon goes for cable, then Verizon will be in a bind for enough 4G spectrum. I think that is why Verizon might consider going for Sprint, because it'll give them both additional PCS spectrum they need, along with "beachfront" 5G spectrum, using Sprint's band 41 spectrum.

 

Either way, it'll be interesting what happens.

 

Yes Verizon does need spectrum and they are looking for high band spectrum as part of their acquisition.  Verizon is even considering a counter offer for Straight Path spectrum of $1.6 billion by AT&T for their 28 GHz and 39 GHz spectrum assets.

 

http://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/verizon-may-challenge-at-t-s-1-6b-bid-for-straight-path-report

 

I don't think Verizon is going to ever consider Sprint as a possible merger.  Verizon has much more to lose with a merger with Sprint especially if it involves a breakup fee.  Sprint wouldn't want licenses as a breakup fee but rather large sums of cash to continue their 2.5 GHz LTE and small cell deployment activities.  That is what I would want if I were Sprint considering their debt load and need for network CapEx.

 

So that remains to be seen what will Dish do with their spectrum assets just sitting there.

Sprint finally got International Roaming done right. I'll bet SoftBank, with its clout, helped negotiate this.

 

http://newsroom.sprint.com/news-releases/sprints-industry-leading-international-service-just-got-even-better-for-connecting-while-traveling-abroad.htm

 

 

Very competitive offering in my opinion. Well done, Sprint. Well done.

 

ROFL...Sprint messed up for Tmobile category for Data-High speed.  It says "Doubles slow-speed to max of 256 Mbps".  I think they meant to say "Doubles slow-speed to max of 256 Kbps".  I would love the Tmobile free 256 Mbps international data which is way faster than current LTE speeds in the US      .

What build version is the Nougat build for the Note 5?  Can someone post a screenshot on the Software About page?  Thanks.

Its good to know that about the PCS spectrum here in Chicago. I thought that was the case, but wasn't entirely sure if it was that, or 10x10.

 

Again, excellent news that T-Mobile went bigger than just the 5x5, which was being rumored, contrary to the hopes I and many others had with this. Sure enough, our hopes came true, in that T-Mobile went for a minimum of 10x10. Having 15x15 here in Chicago, will be a major benefit to people in this area.

 

So now that there is 45mhz of downlink spectrum, part of 15x3,and a single 5mhz of 700mhz downlink spectrum, I'm curious what would be added to this, if T-Mobile got Dish? Also wondering what is happening with the AWS-3 spectrum Dish decided to give up in the Chicago market, due to the auction ruling?

 

You can look at spectrum gateway's map for Tmobile's holdings and search for each market below.  Keep in mind the numbers listed are just summarizing the downlink.  So if it says 15 MHz, they really mean that they own 15x15 or a total of 30 MHz.

 

http://maps.spectrumgateway.com/t-mobile-spectrum-holdings.html

 

If Tmobile acquired Dish they would get more low band (600 MHz) and mid band (S-band: 1695-2020 and small parts of AWS-3) spectrum which would be great for Tmobile since even with the recent 600 MHz spectrum acquisitions they still have the least amount of spectrum nationwide out of the 4 big carriers.

I know I'm a few days late responding to the T-Mobile auction results here, so I'll post now about it. I think this is one of the most proudest times I've ever been towards T-Mobile, as a company. As we all know, T-Mobile eliminated taxes, they had their great two for one promo at $100, gave hundreds, possibly thousands of customers an additional 20% off discount for some time, same with a free third line deal, which that extra line I ended up not taking advantage of after all.

 

Now, all the talk was that T-Mobile's plan in the 600mhz auction, was going to be for them to get a nationwide 5x5 chunk of it. I vehemently argued against T-Mobile going for such a limited amount, hoping they'd go for at least 10x10 of it nationwide, while focusing on more for larger markets, such as 15x15 or 20x20. Although, I was skeptical they'd do what I was hoping for.

 

As it turned out, T-Mobile blew away my expectations, and did exactly what I wanted them to do. The Chicago market has 15x15 of the 600mhz spectrum. This matches along with the 15x15 of AWS spectrum, and from what I think is, but not sure of, 15x15 of PCS spectrum. This is a great thing here for Chicago. Now I am hoping DT and T-Mobile work towards buying Dish, to add both their added spectrum and service offerings to T-Mobile, which would turn T-Mobile into a competitive force against AT&T, matching their spectrum and some of their service offerings, while keeping up with whatever Verizon might do, which I suspect will be in a large cable merger and an attempt at large-scale spectrum grabs in the higher frequencies, possibly involving Sprint, though that isn't certain.

Yes chicago also has 15x15 PCS spectrum. I too am glad that tmobile did well in the 600 mhz auction getting at least 10x10 in every market and 20x20 in almost all of rural america. I am sure tmobile will work with the broadcasters to vacate the spectrum quicker than people expect and can start to see the 600 mhz network deployed.

 

I am glad LA/OC got at least 15x15 MHz but was really hoping for 20x20.

 

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Since me plan qualifies, this is a better plan, it just needs one improvement: increase the 2g speeds to 128kb/sec. 64 is unusable.

 

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Totally agree, 64 kb/sec is a joke.  They should at least up it to 128 kb/sec to be usable for anything.

I wonder if with HPUE the importance of band 25 will diminish to sprint. Maybe, with enough execution on B41, B25 could be a bargaining chip if a merger was proposed.

 

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Not until Sprint network fully phases out CDMA/EVDO and is 100% LTE.  Sprint would be dumb to give up any PCS spectrum at this point.  There are also phone holdouts who have not upgraded to a Spark LTE phone that do not have B41 LTE access.

See the open world thread, we've been discussing the changes there.

 

You have a link to the Open World thread?

I'm looking at the FCC PRS. Is there any easy way to see who got which blocks here or elsewhere yet?

 

 

Yes you can find the assignment blocks here.  Enable Search toggle switch and type under Market Name for the market you are interested in seeing.  For example LA/OC got the C, D, E blocks for a total of 15x15.

 

https://auctiondata.fcc.gov/public/projects/1000/reports/assignment-results_by_license

Precisely what burst that bubble, time is the enemy of all tech.

 

But the thing is Tmobile is working on other initiatives in the mean time to help alleviate that pressure of 600 MHz like LTE-U deployment, small cell deployment, etc.  Time and time again people doubt Tmobile especially when they bought 700-A block licenses.  People were saying "OMG how are they EVER going to get the TV broadcasters to clear their spectrum and make it useable" and "what a waste of money".  Tmobile surprised everyone and was able to get B12 LTE deployed in a short time.  

 

I am not saying that the 600 MHz is in the same boat but we will just have to see how things start to progress towards EOY 2017 to see how much on that front is being accomplished.  Regardless Tmobile has enough momentum and goodwill to buy themselves some time whereas Sprint is in the opposite position.  

 

I hope HPUE works out for Sprint and they can truly claim that the 2.5 GHz spectrum is an expansion of mid-band spectrum and can draw customers again but fundamentally Sprint still has financial issues in trying to deploy their network initiatives.

Does T-Mobile have plans for small cells?

 

Ultimately when it comes to capacity it seems like adding small cells is the way to go and that's what Verizon is doing. 3x20 B41 sounds nice and all, but in high density areas where even more capacity is needed small cells will be used. Sprint's small cells are capable of 2x20 B41, which isn't a huge advantage over a 20X20 layer over B4 (what is it, like 168Mb max download vs 150Mb max download?)

 

It doesn't seem like having 120mhz of B41 available in a single market is that much of an advantage versus if Sprint only had 2x20 or 3x20 B41 CA.

 

Yes Tmobile does have plans for small cell deployment.  Tmobile is working on a variety of things in 2017 including the deployment of LTE-U, small cells, and working with OEMs on 600 MHz field testing for equipment and procurement.

I don't know....60Mhz of B41 3XCA+2xCA UL running HPUE/4x4MIMO/256QAM just seems way simpler and more robust..

 

Throw in 2XCA B25 and B26, not even accounting for Massive MIMO.

 

Sprint just needs to execute, which they are, just not fast enough for some folks.

 

I don't think Sprint is executing fast enough for some most folks.  There would be more patience if this was 2015 but its been the same type of deal for 2 years now.  Getting the small cell deployment off the ground is key and 3xCA.  I know that small cell deployment is underway but its just a very very small footprint right now and Sprint really needs to ramp up small cell deployment in 2017.

 

To note, T mobile seemed to be the only notable carrier that got the spectrum. This might make it hard for them to procure phones with that boutique band. Especially since it's not going to be a band used worldwide.

 

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No... if you have 50MHz, you can deploy ONE 20x20 and ONE 5x5. 

 

20+20+5+5. 

 

Yes you are correct.  I messed up on the math.

Has Band 71 (600mhz) been formally approved by 3GPP yet? I'd assume manufacturers are already working on equipment, but I don't believe the most recent flagships have that right radio built in.....

 

No.  The earliest B71 can be approved by the 3GPP is September 2017 because the OEMs are currently doing field tests with test equipment for the 600 MHz band..  It is being put on the docket for 3GPP band approval in September 2017.