dewbertdc

Good find - I saw someone near me in NE DC posted this on the cellmapper Reddit, too:

Oh good - maybe this will mean my T-Mobile iPhone 13 Pro will prefer the Sprint signal on the DAS in my office building now. I'll have to check that out next time I'm in.

It's unfortunate that T-Mobile's lax security got them to this point, but it does appear that they've hired some of the best outside consultants to help them get to where they ought to be. Let's hope they mean what they say here. There's another security issue that needs tightening up, too... store employees are often all too willing to make changes to an account without properly checking ID or account PIN information. That should become an immediately fireable offense.

RCN is owned by a telecom holding company that also owns some other regional broadband providers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astound_Broadband It would be interesting if T-Mobile bought them. T-Mobile has already shown they're not interested in being a video provider with their ditching of T-Vision in favor of YouTubeTV/Philo; I could see them shutting down the video service and just running a pure-play broadband/voice network. I was a happy RCN internet-only customer here in DC until Fios came to the neighborhood. Can't beat $39.99 for 300Mbps symmetrical service.

T-Mobile has updated their coverage maps to include 5G Ultra Capacity (N41) coverage. Shows how quickly they've added it to towers in the DC area.

Given that this mostly affects small cell mmWave deployments like the ones that Verizon and AT&T are using, I don't see much changing for T-Mobile. They're mostly focused on adding mid-band 5G to their existing T-Mobile and Sprint-keep macro sites, which have been happening in this area pretty quickly.

Looks like the Shentel deal is finally closed. https://www.lightreading.com/5g/shentel-finishes-sale-of-wireless-biz-to-t-mobile/d/d-id/770617

Sure, but it didn't matter how Sprint's 800 MHz was down there, since we have 1900 MHz LTE on the DAS. I'd rather my T-Mobile iPhone used the Sprint Legacy 1900 MHz LTE signal that's available down there than the 600 MHz 5G/LTE macro network, which is congested as we share it with a major transit hub in the area. My phone will hop over to the Sprint signal when it loses the T-Mobile signal entirely, but it's a hard transition to "Roaming," not seamless like the Sprint "keep" sites are around here.

Yeah, we're definitely getting LTE and 5G on 600MHz down in the depths of the building now, but it's slow and congested. I'd much rather have LTE on PCS, even if there's no 5G on the DAS!

Thanks, I might do that. I want to talk to the folks who run the DAS before I engage an external vendor - they're my colleagues and I don't want to step on their toes! As far as I know, they haven't had any communications from T-Mobile on changes.

Has anyone heard word of how T-Mobile is approaching Sprint's in-building DAS systems? We've got an older system at work that has the "big three" carriers from the early-2010s on it... so AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. 😜 I've been back to the office a couple of times and I eventually roam onto it when I'm in the bowels of the building, but my T-Mobile iPhone 12 Pro prefers the outdoor macro network, so I assume that they haven't added 312-250 yet. It's PCS-only for Sprint as far as I can tell.

DIGITS is a mess of a product family. There are a few different "flavors," as you said: The DIGITS App and Website are free and allow anyone to access their phone/text via secondary device(s). The backend of this is also what enables Apple devices like iPads and watches to receive texts and phone calls from a primary device. (I found out through trial and error that you have to have DIGITS enabled on your line, or this just won't work.) The DIGITS Wearable product is a secondary data-only line that is "paired" to a primary line (see screenshot attached for what mine looks like on the T-Mobile account site), and uses the same DIGITS backend to receive calls and texts from the primary line. DIGITS Talk and Text is available as an add-on if you want a secondary phone number for whatever reason. You have to access calls and texts to that number via the DIGITS app or some compatible Samsung phones. I believe they're offering one free DIGITS Talk and Text line for each account these days. As far as cancelling, yeah, T-Mobile doesn't make that easy. I've found the best way to get quick and easy customer care from them is to use Twitter messaging with T-Force (https://twitter.com/tmobilehelp)

Oh, this is really terrible. I had been keeping an eye on the old DCRA site and just searching for T-Mobile... up until the end of 2020 all I had seen were permits to add 2.5GHz antennas to existing sites, which match up with what I had been able to observe in my limited travels around the city.

What is DCRA's new system? I had been looking at this site but it stopped working at the end of 2020. https://eservices.dcra.dc.gov/DCRADataConnect/Home/Permits#

Unfortunately, there is not.

That's a good question... there's no mention of needing to change plans for this, I would assume Sprint-billed folks are eligible with the same 24 month credits that T-Mobile users are.

As long as it powers on and isn't cracked, they will.

Yup, these are crazy deals that I have to assume they offer on quarters where they want to inflate subscriber numbers... but I won't complain. I've got 8 Magenta Max lines for less than the price of 2 right now - my parents and sister all have free lines, and I've reserved 3 for my niece, nephew and mother in law if they want it.

This is funny, I just signed up for TVision Live to evaluate it as a Sling TV replacement. Everything worked OK, but the Android TV wasn't the most intuitive. I guess I'll be punted to YouTubeTV now.

I asked them that question today on Twitter, and I was told the opposite.

They'll honor hookup, free line promos from after 6/2/2019 and some others, according to an employee on reddit. I'm on Magenta Plus right now with 7 lines (2 paid, 5 free) and a $15 discount match, bringing my total plan cost to $125. If I am understanding it correctly, I can switch to Max for no additional cost. Guess I'll find out on Wednesday. I

This is the coolest thing! Thanks!

This is interesting. Android Police just published a list of older devices that will no longer work on T-Mobile's network come January 29th due to their inability to receive an update that will allow them to continue working. According to the article, "T-Mobile confirms the change is not connected to either VoLTE requirements in 2021 or its legacy network shutdown." I wonder what is going to change then...

Ah, thanks. The More You Know(TM).

That's Multiple Frequency Band Indicator (MFBI) and has been a part of the LTE spec since 2015. https://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=551 Sounds like it will be primarily a 20x20 B25 carrier broadcasting a 15x15 B2 MFBI so that older or foreign devices that lack B25 support will be able to use part of the spectrum. I bet they'll do this in all markets where they have contiguous C+G holdings.