bigsnake49

This is a question for the more technically inclined. Does anybody know what Sprint's voice strategy is going to be going forward? Is VOLTE mainly going to be riding on top of Band 26? How long will 1x800 will be kept around? Will sprint install Band 26 on all their non-IBEZ sites?

The cable TV business is in trouble—in fact, it is "failing" as a business due to rising programming costs and consumers switching from traditional TV subscriptions to online video streaming, according to a cable lobbyist group. "As a business, it is failing," said Matthew Polka, CEO of the American Cable Association (ACA). "It is very, very difficult for a cable operator in many cases to even break even on the cable side of the business, which is why broadband is so important, giving consumers more of a choice that we can't give them on cable [TV]." https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/06/cable-tv-failing-as-a-business-cable-industry-lobbyist-says/ So they are talking to cable cos and of course Dish. Don't be surprised if let's say a cable co or two acquire both Dish and either T-Mobile or Sprint. Or if T-Mobile and Sprint merge then don't be surprised if the cable cos acquire Dish if only for the spectrum.

Thanks for all your work!

I knew you were on top of it. Here is the fiercewireless.com article: http://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/verizon-sprint-at-t-detail-spectrum-exchanges-covering-pcs-aws-licenses

I can't really tell but here's the link to the FCC document: http://assets.fiercemarkets.net/public/007-Telecom/verizon-sprint-swap.pdf Is that just the closing of the previous transactions between Sprint and Verizon or a new transaction?

You can get the same deal from Verizon and you don't need a Comcast high value account to get it.

I guess that Sprint is moving its download to upload ratio to 10:1 or even 12:1 to reflect the way their customers use data. AUSTIN, Texas—Sprint’s VP of technology said the carrier is in the process of tweaking its network to align it more closely with actual customer usage. Specifically, Sprint’s Ron Marquardt said the carrier is changing its upload/download ratio from around 2 to 1 to around 12 to 1. In a presentation here at the 5G North America trade conference, Marquardt explained that Sprint’s upload/download network configuration was previously 2-1, largely because of the carrier’s now-shuttered WiMAX network. He said that, because Sprint shut down its WiMAX network, the carrier is now able to adjust that ratio to more closely match how Sprint’s customers actually use the carrier’s network. He said that Sprint’s customers download roughly 10 to 12 times the amount of data that they upload, and that Sprint is adjusting its network to more closely match that usage ratio. “Now we’re free to do it how we want,” Marquardt said, explaining that Sprint was unable to change that ratio while it continued to maintain its WiMAX network. http://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/path-to-gigabit-lte-sprint-moving-upload-download-configuration-closer-to-12-1-traffic-ratio

Roads can certainly be monetized. Tolls roads is how they're monetized whether they're built by a public or a private entity.

Comcast and Charter to cooperate on wireless: Cable operators Comcast and Charter Communications have made a deal in which they will join forces to increase their operational efficiencies as mobile virtual network operators on Verizon Wireless’ network. The companies, which each have separately activated a mobile virtual network operator agreement with Verizon Wireless, said that they have agreed to “explore working together in a number of potential operational areas in the wireless space, including: creating common operating platforms; technical standards development and harmonization; device forward and reverse logistics; and emerging wireless technology platforms.”Comcast and Charter said for one year, they will “work only together” in commercial arrangements or other “material transactions” with national mobile network operators. http://www.rcrwireless.com/20170508/carriers/comcast-charter-will-work-jointly-on-wireless

Softbank has not being able to put any money into Sprint because of covenants with the Japanese banks. I was Softbank to invest a lot more money into the business as far as expanding the network and possibly bidding in the 600MHz spectrum. Dish still has a pretty decent cash flow to subsidize wireless.

There is an app for that that will properly display all the pertinent info.

Remember that HPUE only affects the uplink not the downlink. Now granted, uplink is the limiting factor in a phone because of battery concerns.

Actually the $12 per GB is pretty good since it already includes unlimited text and talk. If you have 5 lines and you want to share 5GB that's $60/month including unlimited text and voice.

It also, surprisingly doesn't have Voice over WiFi.

This will fail just like the ones they tried to implement with Sprint.

They could do the WiFi first thing and lower the prices so that they are competitive. This plan is not.

It's not. Might as well go with Verizon's unlimited. You don't have to have one of their more expensive X1 plans.

Yes at that time it was.

In the past M2M was used for tracking trucks security alarms, etc. IoT (Internet of Things) can be used for all kind of things. For example autonomous vehicles, Vehicle to vehicle communication, traffic sensor networks, smart grid applications and all sort of other things.

I hope it does since I have both Sprint and AT&T.

It’s no longer about when LTE Category M1 will be widely available. Verizon announced that it will launch the first nationwide commercial 4G LTE Cat M1 network tomorrow. It’s a game changer, according to the company, representing a new class of LTE chipset designed for sensors running on data plans as low as $2 per month per device, with customized options available for bulk activations and volume purchases. That's a big deal in the U.S. Internet of Things space, closing the gap where some solutions not based on LTE standards enjoyed an earlier time to market. Companies like Ingenu, Sigfox and those using LoRa-based technology have been able to offer IoT solutions, while products that were in the pipeline to meet LTE standards took longer to bring to market. But as Mike Lanman, senior vice president of business products and IoT at Verizon put it, “I think it more than closes the gap.” Because most of those technologies are fledgling, and they might have a few deployments here and there, "when you wake up tomorrow morning, the entire 2.4 million square miles of coverage on the Verizon LTE network will be enabled,” Lanman explained, meaning you don’t have to wait around for long-term deployments “that may or may not happen.” http://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/verizon-launching-nationwide-lte-cat-m1-network-for-iot

AT&T has won a lucrative contract to build and manage a nationwide public safety network for America's police, firefighters, and emergency medical services. The First Responder Network Authority, or FirstNet, was authorized by the federal government in 2012 and operates as an independent authority within the US Department of Commerce. AT&T has just been selected by FirstNet to build the wireless network and said that construction will begin later this year. "FirstNet will provide 20MHz of high-value, telecommunications spectrum and success-based payments of $6.5 billion over the next five years to support the network buildout," AT&T said in its announcement. FirstNet's spectrum is located in the 700MHz band often used for consumer LTE networks. The Federal Communications Commission raised $7 billion to fund the network in a spectrum auction that concluded in January 2015. Some of that money came from AT&T itself, as the company led all bidders with $18.2 billion of winning bids. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/03/att-gets-6-5-billion-to-build-us-wide-public-safety-network/ This will benefit AT&T in suburban and exurban locales where there will be some leftover capacity which they can sell to local utilities and or use for their own benefit.

What made you decide to come back?

I wish the 600MHz auction was over so we can learn who won what! There were some rumors that Comcast participated.

It seems that they have been included in the carrier settings of the iPhone. I wonder if Charter will follow suit. "Comcast is quietly partnering with Apple as it prepares to launch wireless service under the brand Xfinity Mobile. The cable giant’s name has been added to behind-the-scenes—but publicly available—code that lists carrier bundles for the iPhone. The list of carrier bundles is used by iTunes and iPhones to determine whether the iPhone’s SIM is supported by a service provider with whom Apple has an agreement, then provisions the phone accordingly. The iPhone’s latest list of carrier bundles includes “Verizon_Comcast_LTE_US,” and mentions the service “Xfinity Mobile.” A source pointed out the reference to FierceWireless, and a different source with knowledge of the matter confirmed that Comcast has indeed partnered with Apple ahead of the launch of Xfinity Mobile. The updated code appears to be related to the release of an update for Apple’s iOS platform." http://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/comcast-quietly-taps-iphone-ahead-launch-xfinity-mobile