T-MoblieUser207

I took a glance across the city on Cellmapper to see if anymore keep sites popped up, and there is quite a bit to share.

4 more converted sites have been added, 2 in the Bronx, eNB 894559 and eNB 895040, and 2 in Brooklyn, eNB 877322 and eNB 894799.

There are 2 new "Possibly converted" sites. T-Mobile conversion eNBs have been spotted near the Sprint sites, the Brooklyn one is a confirmed keep, the Queens one isn't, but no visual confirmation they have been converted for either.

There is a new "Estimated keep site" in the Bronx, T-Mobile eNBs 895027/895028. No idea where it is yet.

Sprint's network
I don't know about non-keep sites, but Sprint keep sites are broadcasting all 3 of Sprint's bands still. Passed by Sprint eNB 9339 and locked all bands and was able to map and speedtest them all. Album of screenshots here.

Gig+ backhaul sites
I have added 3 new gig+ sites to the map, 1 in Lower Manhattan (eNB 45734), 1 north of Grand Central (eNB 45639), and 1 in Brooklyn (eNB 42895). There is also one in Queens that Milan posted on Twitter, but I haven't figured where that one is yet.

On 1/24/2022 at 7:28 PM, AirlineFlyer said:

Looks like eNB 875868 was a high capacity Sprint site with a sector pointing at Citi Field. Wonder what T-Mobile does with it.

The NYC street view car website finally updated, and it shows an even clearer view of the former Sprint site panels. That was a LOT of wires.

NYC's car also caught the latest setup recently, and its the standard T-Mobile config, 2 RFS panels with a 6449. Looks like the 2nd panel from the right is a former Sprint one, as I don't recognize it. Link to the location.

Keep site map
I have added/modified all mentioned sites, plus I have changed the Sprint unknown site in Astoria a little south of the RFK bridge to converted, eNB 879497. Finally, I have added a new Sprint convert to the map, T-Mobile eNB 880681.

On 6/25/2022 at 4:41 PM, Paynefanbro said:

T-Mobile eNB 875364 (40.63328556538357, -74.02370674293812)

Added! I found a keep site, Sprint eNB 6714, near the corner of North End Avenue and Vesey Street, but I didn't have enough time to find it.

Speaking of Sprint, I think the LTE will be shut down fully on June 31st now, as all my devices mapped that tower under 312-250, not one did via 310-120 like 2 of them usually do. None of them are rooted, so I don't know how to check PLMNs and see if 310-120 is still live, as it probably still is. Guess its time to find the Sprint SIM for one last spin around the city.

2.5 GHz holdings in the Bronx
I took a trip over the weekend north of 161st Street across the Bronx to see if anything changed with B/n41. LTE B41 on T-Mobile has dropped from 20 MHz (2538.2) to 15 MHz (2599). I would assume n41 has 2 carriers in the Bronx now, with one of them at 40 MHz, but I don't know what the second one is, and the EARFCN didn't change as I mapped across the borough to pick up the other one. Its time for me to get a S series device to keep up with the network changes now ha.

Been awhile since I did a post about Philly since there really was much new to report. The convert sites I have visited are pretty much empty, as even though I am deprioritized, I still got to 750+ on speedtests with n41, with 2 approaching 790 Mbps very easily. Still no gig+ sites found.

If anyone here is looking to check out keep sites within the Philly area, I made a list a few days ago of the sites I have found and others which I'm monitoring:
 

5 hours ago, thisischuck01 said:

I guess we've all been in the same neighborhood recently. 

Was passing by this site and noticed that it was upgraded once again, this time with an unshrouded Samsung RT4401-48A (CBRS).

Funny enough, I wanted to mention the site, but I couldn't get a clear photo to figure out what was changed.

Speaking of Verizon, I know C-band/CBRS expansion is more important, but has B5/n5 coverage increased? I know Verizon does DSS so they have both LTE and NR live, so I locked B5 to map it recently since AT&T long time shut their B5 down, but there were either plenty of holes, or not many towers have it yet. I probably should wait until I get a SIM for them though.

1 hour ago, Paynefanbro said:

I literally have a pic of that same small cell that I took on Saturday lol. I couldn’t remember if anyone had already posted it or not.

I would have definitely remembered if someone did, as its walking distance away from my home lol.

JFK Terminal 5 DAS
Compared to last year July 2021 when I passed through T5 at JFK, the DAS today is downright awful. They changed it to allow Sprint bands to broadcast as 312-250, and it might help with capacity, as T-Mobile's bands are congested badly. All of T-Mobile's bands (B2 20+B66 20+B12) on it don't pull more than 2 Mbps down independently or with Carrier Aggregation (CA), as when CA is added, it's not active on speedtests, no matter the server. B2 and B12 have some upload speeds, good luck with B66. Sprint has B26 plus 5 MHz B25 and 40 MHz B41, and is decently better. The 40 MHz of B41 is fine, but upload is low even with upload CA active, B25 is fine on download, and B26 is pretty much empty. Album of screenshots here.

NYC subway DAS
While B2 being expanded to 20 MHz is slowly making its way around to the stations, some stations have B2 at 15 MHz now, and some others have the Sprint keep PLMN active. Sprint B41 is still active at Fulton Street, 20 MHz too, and it was under the keep PLMN, pulling nice speeds as well.


Sprint's LTE network
I would have thought T-Mobile would have kept Sprint's LTE active for basic coverage until June 30th, but I guess not, as the sites T-Mobile are co-located on with Sprint seem to have gone dark, and B26 signal sometimes drops now. The keep sites are still active as I expected. Unlike CDMA which had "final warning" and shutdown dates (March 31 and May 31 respectively), its possible Sprint LTE's shutdown date is June 30th, with no "final warning" date.

ExteNet moving along quickly with the small cell buildouts. Corner of Monaco Place and Atlantic Avenue. (40.676388, -73.909347)

2 minutes ago, thisischuck01 said:

I've noticed that T-Mobile will typically file a permit for removal and then Dish will file an entirely separate permit for install (with no mention of the Sprint equipment T-Mobile removed). The Dish site I found in Harlem (1700 Amsterdam) had the Sprint equipment removed months prior to the deployment of the new Dish equipment. 🤷

Ergen and Co. really don't like talking to Sievert and Co. and/or vice versa, as I understand Dish isn't using any hardware equipment from Sprint, but at least the racks/mounts could stay if they plan on using the tower, and Dish could rollout their equipment faster. Oh well

Keep site map updates
I have added all data for the keep sites, and I will go back through what I pinned in NJ to add them to the map as well. I think Interstate 287 is a decent enough west border from NYC for what to add/not to add to the map.

Sprint towers
I was expecting Dish to take over Sprint eNB 6798, but as of today all traces of it being a cell site are gone. T-Mo also removed the leftover Sprint equipment on eNB 15893 after shifting one of their sectors into the location of Sprint panel area, so it looks like Dish doesn't want it either.

AT&T midband
AT&T eNB 110790 has the C-band panel up now, I would guess they aren't waiting for DoD spectrum equipment to do a one-touch build anymore.

Added/modified all sites, and here is a view at the current totals:

10 hours ago, thisischuck01 said:

Also, I know this technically isn't NYC, but here's a Jersey City conversion. Not 100% sure on either eNB.

Speaking of Jersey, I have wondered if Newark fall under the Central or Northern NJ, since there is a 2 separate threads for New Jersey. T-Mobile eNB 893356 is another NJ keep site, and there are a quite a few others along the NEC.

I have thought of adding NJ info to the map, but I would like some opinions on it first.

5 hours ago, Paynefanbro said:

12 hours ago, T-MoblieUser207 said:

T-Mobile eNB 876480. Looks like its located at (40.62210996397784, -73.97627312607108), as the tower looks like a Sprint setup.

Confirmed

Thanks! This looks like the same Commscope panel I saw in Huguenot for eNB 41639. Its also not the tall Commscope version seen on Nokia builds in Nokia markets, so I wonder why the difference. 

18 hours ago, thisischuck01 said:

Another confirmed keep site:

Sprint eNB ? -> T-Mobile eNB 895067 (40.73485489368193,-74.0089370311213)

Added, and 2 more estimated sites:

1. T-Mobile eNB 876480. Looks like its located at (40.62210996397784, -73.97627312607108), as the tower looks like a Sprint setup.
2. T-Mobile eNB 875632. Both this site and Sprint eNB 9022 seem to be located at (40.61640722407462, -73.96985178560767).

16 hours ago, thisischuck01 said:

1. I think this site is actually at (40.70170960850086,-73.83302208208359). Whatever is at (40.702222459831056, -73.83051329597173) hasn't been touched since first install (late 2009).
2. Yeah, I think you can mark this as confirmed. Looks like it needed landmark approval, which is why it took so long. Lots of cool info in that document:

1. I kinda figured I was a bit too far east, since only Cells 2/12/22 were found, and nothing from Cells 3/13/23. Moved it to the location you mentioned.
2. Done!

14 hours ago, Paynefanbro said:

Interesting that they're keeping that Band 25 Sprint RRU and cabinet. I'm pretty sure they did something similar when they kept T-Mobile eNB 875872. When I visited it a while back it was still broadcasting the keep PLMN on Band 25 but my phone would throw me back onto T-Mobile in less than 10 seconds if I tried to connect to it.

When Sprint eNBs 6695 was converted, B25 from Sprint was still being broadcasted as well. At the time the keep PLMN wasn't a thing in NYC yet, and I don't know if they have a Sprint RRU up there, but I would guess broadcasting 310-120 B25 on converted sites is a way to maintain coverage for legacy Sprint users.
 

2 New estimated keep sites added.

1. Sprint eNB 253741 -> T-Mobile eNB 875537/875538
(40.702222459831056, -73.83051329597173)

2. Sprint eNBs 843179/80/81 -> T-Mobile eNB 880563
(40.705603020960396, -73.79917111257114)
This one has a work permit filed under Job#  Q00514589, so I would assume its a confirmed keep.

On 5/13/2022 at 5:27 PM, thisischuck01 said:

Seems to be happening on multiple sites. It doesn't happen every time, though - sometimes I'll have no issues and other times this will happen

I don't know if its a network issue or device one, but when the device is idle/not doing anything data intensive, it will use and stay on SA, but once a speedtest starts, the device will switch to NSA for the faster speeds. The hand off isn't seamless, hence the packet loss.

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On 5/13/2022 at 5:27 PM, thisischuck01 said:

Here's another conversion:
Sprint eNB 75733/4/5 (40.73427357479022,-73.99206117098873) --> T-Mobile eNB 216068/507263/216069

20 hours ago, Paynefanbro said:

Permit submitted on May 5th for Sprint eNB 196271 to be converted into a T-Mobile site.
Location: 40.594170548244925, -73.98153574104246

1 hour ago, Paynefanbro said:

I also attempted to confirm the site at (40.737745921347205, -73.88466508925949) on the keep site map but it still has its Sprint equipment up. I didn't see any T-Mobile antennas on it.

I have added the two sites, and removed the Sprint info for the 3rd. Its most likely north of Queens Blvd instead of south of it. I also have 2 myself which I modified:

Sprint eNB 5790 pin removed; its the same location as eNB 8999
Sprint eNB 6877 pin removed; its the same location as eNB 9452

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1 hour ago, Paynefanbro said:

Got my highest upload speeds ever today. This is on eNB 56637 in Long Island City. Those 256QAM + 100MHz n41 speeds are gonna make some TMHI users happy.

I went to Manhattan on Friday to see if the A71 could handle 256QAM up, and it definitely can. Funny enough, I got this while deprioritized. Also found a few more gig+ sites to add to the list as well, as I went with someone who has a better device to pass 800 with lol.

 

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On 5/13/2022 at 5:27 PM, thisischuck01 said:

I'm wondering if the 216xxx numbering scheme is the new go-to. I've also spotted them using it for Sprint conversions upstate.

I think it might be. I was about to ask about it, as I have seen it pop up more within the city. There are 2 towers with B41 eNBs in the 216xxx range, 1 in Queens and 1 in Brooklyn.

----
Back to Dyker Heights. As I stopped by to map T-Mobile eNB 875844, I went through my usual band locking things to collect the data for Cellmapper, I realized n41 connected when I band locked B41. I made sure to run a few speedtests. I toggled airplane mode to see if it would drop and if service mode was bugged, but B41 continued to anchor n41. The device and the speedtest app were confused just as much as me, as the Upperlayer Indicator was wrong, hence the LTE icon for the tests and in the status bar.

 

On 5/12/2022 at 10:34 AM, Paynefanbro said:

Once again, the only thing holding T-Mobile back is backhaul.

Everywhere that they had 80 MHz live got the bump it looks like, but they did miss a tower or 2 in Manhattan when I was there yesterday. Its varies from 200-650 with peaks of 700-750 from where I passed through yesterday, so that is definitely still their Achilles heel.

23 hours ago, thisischuck01 said:

Has anyone else been seeing a lot of packet loss during speedtests (5-30%)? Was finally able to troubleshoot this - when my device is locked to NR-SA, NR-NSA, or LTE-only I don't see any issues. But when I let the device/network chose, it'll vacillate between NR-SA and NR-NSA mid-test (causing packet loss). Not sure if that's a device issues (S21U), network issue, or site config issue. From some preliminary testing, locking my phone to NSA also seems to fix the issues I've seen with speedtests peaking at 500+Mb/s but then finishing at 250Mb/s.

Since losing the n41 SA option I haven't had any SA band active, but I'll enable n71 SA and see what happens. Like Paynefanbro said, it remains low/non-existent for me as well, but I have been on NSA only for months now.

T-Mobile eNB 875531 has been switched from estimated to confirmed, I passed by the site yesterday. I missed my opportunity to check T-Mobile eNB 880561, but I did add B12 for it, but not B41, so im leaving it alone for now.

4 hours ago, Paynefanbro said:

Looks like this site's location was already confirmed by @thisischuck01 on Cellmapper.

Location: 40.68386106415719, -73.87804143759858

Moved and updated!

4 hours ago, Paynefanbro said:

It's probably gonna stay that way until Crown Castle gets around to upgrading all of the small cells they have littered throughout the borough. They've already started the n41 small cell upgrades in LA so hopefully they'll start here this summer.

Ah, that's what it is, as I realized quite often n71 signal was low/nearly non-existent, but midband LTE was fine. Can't wait to see what next year brings for the borough.

Officially spotted 100 MHz in Brooklyn, but the EARFCN hasn't changed yet. I'll see what happens in the morning.

Well there is a explanation for Sprint macros moving to the top of the band now, the NR block will be moved south and expanded from 80 to 100:
 

21 hours ago, Paynefanbro said:

Sprint eNB 6438 is broadcasting the keep PLMN. Not NYC but the site is part of ex-Sprint's NYC market.

Location: 41.108970886700284, -73.80691442283441

Added! I also have 2 of my own that I added today:
Converted: Sprint eNB 253737 -> T-Mobile eNB 894563
Planned, location unknown: Sprint eNB 900047. I was able to pull this screenshot when my device found it. I may need to pull out the Sprint SIM from the drawer for a check of B41 on Sprint, as if a macro is using the 10 MHz that small cells have(had?), I wonder what are the small cells that T-Mobile are keeping using.

22 hours ago, thisischuck01 said:

Sprint -> Dish conversion. And I believe the first Dish deployment anyone has spotted in the city?

I haven't spotted any yet, so it probably is! Sprint eNB 6798 still has its panels and rack up, even though it has been decom'd for months, so I expect Dish to move in on it, unlike other Sprint sites that have been wiped clean.

Staten Island

I did a trip on Monday through the borough, and n41 experience is much better than last year August. South of the mall is still a mostly LTE experience with pockets of NR, but north of the mall is mostly on n41 now. n41 is still 40 Mhz, I think its 40+20 like in South Brooklyn but I don't know. B41 is still 2680, but like the rest of the city, some towers get a boost to 40 MHz of B41 (2660+2680).
Also found this unique tower in Huguenot, eNB 41639. Funny enough, I think I could have approached the gig cap with it, but the speedtests weren't helpful, as it would go up to 300, dip mid test, then peak around 550 when the test ends.

On 4/27/2022 at 6:05 PM, thisischuck01 said:

A couple more confirmed conversions:

New:

• Sprint eNB ?? (40.84778722663444,-73.90112347661943) --> T-Mobile eNB 879602

Existing (confirmed via DOB permit):

• Sprint eNB ?? (40.771670921303496,-73.90858392917544) --> T-Mobile eNB 880569

20 hours ago, thisischuck01 said:

And one more:

Sprint eNB 9015 (40.611676310378726,-73.95661853395423) --> T-Mobile eNB 895054

Added!
 

1 hour ago, Burgher said:

How do I access maps? Thanks

I would assume you are talking about the map for the planned keep/converted Sprint sites, it can be found here: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=18sy-e8DozwMNlLwcxIbDJ8IxE2U0iotI

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There is a post on the AT&T subreddit about C-band sites, I commented on it with the sites everyone has found in this thread, and a new one I recently spotted: eNB 114239.

1 hour ago, thisischuck01 said:

Looks to be a part of the 7133/7134/7135 cluster, which I've located (40.70141059365565,-73.95256124180243)!

Wow, Added! The RSRP from where I added it to the 312-250 map made it seem closer, but that is crazy good range!

Quote

Also I'm pretty sure that eNB 6858 that's marked as "Planned, location unknown" on the map is located here: 40.66112542160009, -73.87490219960173

Adjusted accordingly!

A few more updates for the map:

Estimated to Converted (T-Mobile eNBs):
895056 (40.85217, -73.91657)
894570 (40.86626, -73.86809)
894624 (40.87344, -73.87937)
895014 (40.86617, -73.92761)

New estimated (T-Mobile eNBs):
880569 (40.77172, -73.90851)
880561 (40.73782, -73.88496)
875531 (40.73128, -73.86656)
895059 (40.67629, -73.86435)

New Converted:
Sprint eNB 9266 -> T-Mobile eNB 889771 (40.85846, -73.88462)

Removed:
T-Mobile eNB 889940. Small cell oDAS eNB in LIC

In total, 106 Sprint keep sites are on the map now, broken down as follows:
Converted: 45
Planned: 43
Estimated: 14
Location unknown: 4

There is another Sprint site in Bed-Stuy that is a keep site, Sprint eNB 6708. However, neither the 310-120 or 312-250 maps are helpful for finding it, so I haven't placed it on the map.

The gig+ section has been stuck at 12 sites for ages now, I think its time to make some changes for that soon 😂

I have added all mentions of Sprint keep sites, plus I have a few others added/modified:

Sprint eNB 5882 has been converted to T-Mobile eNB 894636.

Compared to Google streetview, Sprint eNB 6854 is wiped clean off that rooftop.

Sprint eNB 5782, a keep site, is no longer under the "unknown location" tag. I would guess Sprint eNB 6877 is also not unknown, its the B25/26 eNB for the same location as eNB 9453, but I'm not sure.

I think Sprint eNB 6853 is converted, as T-Mobile eNB 894799 is new and everything around already has a B12 eNB, but I'll wait until I learn more.

In the subway system, I can't find a recent screenshot (too many to be honest), but the stations with T-Mobile B2 widened to 20 MHz also have Sprint equipment broadcasting the keep PLMN when I locked to B26.

South Brooklyn has been bumped from 40 MHz to 60 MHz n41 (40+20), I would assume the same for the Bronx/upper Manhattan. I no longer map with the Sprint SIM, so I don't know what has changed for B41, last time it was 15+10. Screenshot from a relatives' S21.


--

AT&T has two other towers with C-band equipment up, 110417 and 110154.

I also spotted the new 5G small cell, corner of Caton Avenue and East 16th Street. Verizon wasting little time.

I took another trip to Philly, and added some more data to Cellmapper, same thing as last time, NYC to Philly and back via Amtrak. This time, I expanded my mapping a bit, as I mapped the Norristown SEPTA line from a little south of Temple University all the way to Norristown, end to end on both the Norristown High Speed line and Market Frankford Lines, and quite a bit of Center City. There is quite a bit of small cells within Center City, worse Benjamin Franklin Parkway is a hot mess of small cells everywhere, as I think I was able to see 10 or 11 at once from all carriers in some locations. Figuring out who is who is going to be a challenge.

I would guess the sea of red dots will stay that way for some time, but I did find quite a few converted sites within the Philly region, and on the NEC in New Jersey, matching the numbering scheme I found in NYC (8xxxxx). I also found 312-250 sites along the NEC in New Jersey and in Philly. I wondered if there is any gig+ sites within Center City, but I found none. All sites got 500-700 down pretty easily, and the 30th Street station n41 issue has been fixed.

22 hours ago, thisischuck01 said:

23 hours ago, Paynefanbro said:

I'm also curious as to how many of these Sprint small cells they have broadcasting the keep PLMN citywide.

I'm guessing very few - I'm kinda under the impression that there are not many active oDAS nodes left overall. I haven't found an active one in Bushwick/Williamsburg/Harlem in ages. 

I'll need to recheck across South Brooklyn at some point, from Dyker Heights to Brighton Beach to confirm this. Last time I was there was quite a few of oDAS nodes from Sprint still live in Bath Beach, but it was via the Sprint SIM I picked them up on, and I haven't been back since the keep PLMN was flipped on. Problem is T-Mobile B41 is nearly ubiquitous now, so roaming onto the oDAS to check if they have the keep PLMN active will be a challenge in some areas, as I think Sprint eNB 8188 might be kept from the azimuths of the sectors from the nearby towers, but I don't know.

On 3/9/2022 at 7:06 PM, Paynefanbro said:

Looks like it's an upgrade of an Extenet small cell just like the one posted on Reddit a few months ago. 

The common theme that I see is that they're using this design on wooden poles. Maybe the city carved out an exception.

If I'm recalling correctly there's another Extenet small cell near the one in your photo on Snyder and Troy that got upgraded around December 2021. It's also a on wooden pole and using the same design.

I think you are right, they may have carved out an exception. Church Avenue and East 53rd Street, southeast corner, has the same design, wooden pole with MmWave panels below and a cantenna at the top. The MmWave small cell buildouts is definitely starting to ramp.