Manny789

That's good to know. It seems about a dozen sites or more were upgraded to B26 at once last week.

 

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

 

Just by chance I checked and I have some B26 over on Falkenburg near US 301!

"Sprint will pay you to switch from a rival carrier to its Framily plan"
http://www.engadget.com/2014/04/03/sprint-will-pay-you-to-switch-to-its-framily-plan/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget&ncid=rss_semi

S4GRU referenced again on Engadget.

I also just got 60657 on my iPhone in Chicagoland. Now before I'm scolded for the correlation between prl's and lte connectivity; I can't get lte on my phone with this update.

 

This also happened to me for both my iPhone 5s & my sister's iPhone 5. Neither of them even scan for LTE anymore.

I honestly think that Tampa Bay has a disproportionately high number of Sprint users too. Anecdotally, my family, my family's friends, my friends... Everyone in my break room at work... Mind you, most everyone I named has LTE iPhones on Sprint, including me.

 

Even with 2.5 GHz and SMR band, we could still use an additional PCS carriers for all the single band devices. Yesterday I was at a bar and couldn't even send an iMessage on LTE. It took a good two minutes.

I'm at Brandon Mall using the LTE adjacent tower. Signal strength is fantastic, as EVDO always has been. Data speeds are also fantastic, unlike legacy EVDO, about 19 Mbps down and 6 up.

 

However, the mall is kind of dead right now. It's filling up for lunch, but the kiddies are still in school. The real test of the improvements will be the upcoming holiday season. Of course, I avoid the mall like the plague due to traffic, so I likely won't be around to test things.

What's funny is that I emphasized this very point in a post a while back, but totally forgot until you just said it.

 

Alternatively, I've gotten so used to the network fluctuations- LTE here, but not there - that it didn't really phase me when I lost LTE.

What a difference a day makes... So now the LTE is active again in my workplace. It came back about an hour or so ago after a week being AWOL. Still not not seeing any proof of my 3G upgrade theory, but it could also be that this tower serves a lot of people.

Since Tampa is a launched market, you can call Sprint and put in a ticket that the tower is down...

What's funny is that I emphasized this very point in a post a while back, but totally forgot until you just said it.

 

Alternatively, I've gotten so used to the network fluctuations- LTE here, but not there - that it didn't really phase me when I lost LTE.

Is anyone having signal issues today? At multiple locations I kept dropping LTE where I never did before. Its like they lowered the power on all the towers or something. Maybe there testing LTE 800 or something else is causing interference today.

The tower that serves my workplace has been off for the last week. But I assumed in my case they're working on adding NV 3G upgrades.

My prayers are finally being answered! I spotted LTE at work (Windhorst/Falkenburg-ish area in Brandon/Tampa) today. It doesn't seem to be fully active yet. Every attempt to load anything always times out. But it reaches indoors! Here's hoping it'll be all set up Monday.

Disregard. Phone did a post on its own.

2) This is the T-Mobile NATIVE network which means you get about as much coverage as a G-string.

Best line ever!

There are 2 towers in that area, Woodberry and Faulkenburg and one at the Brandon Mall. Both as of 2 weeks ago had no work done to them yet so it might be a while. The Brandon Mall area has been notorious for years with bad data and dropped calls especially when the area is crowded.

I retrospect, this is likely what happened. Strangely enough, I was back on EVDO not two minutes later. Maybe is congestion and tower work? (Still keeping fingers crossed.)

 

Side note: check out this post by Robert.

 

http://www.s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/4083-Clearwire-LTE/page__view__findpost__p__171447

 

TD-LTE in Tampa? Too bad no devices to find it with at the moment.

 

 

 

Edit: Not sure that link works. But it's in the Clearwire LTE, post 123.

 

More network issues at work...

 

A few weeks ago I was bouncing between EVDO and 1x, both really slow. Today on my break, I noticed I was on 1x. As I browsed the web, I got kicked off complete and am now roaming in 1x. Like before, I'm hoping this just means I'm one step closer to LTE at work.

 

Near I-75 and Woodberry in Brandon.

The tower closest to me is still down for calls and data still as of today. It's been out all weekend and hoped it would be back up.  Since my work phone and personal are on Sprint it is starting to get annoying as I have to go outside to keep a decent call going.  I'm hoping its due to updates and not sure whether or not I should even bother calling.  One question is, without any calls (if it is a different issue), would they not know a tower was down already based on any network software telling them that?

I just got decent EVDO back over by my job. It was heavenly compared to going between 1x and EVDO.  1x wasn't bad, just slow, but EVDO kept timing out. I wished I had a way to make my iPhone 1x only last week.

I'd be surprised if they would launch anytime soon with add many sites that are still left and the spotty coverage going on.

 

Funny I had a guy at the airport wanting to complain about our airline app and said his phone app just kept spinning. Where he was at the airport was a bad spot and he locked on a weak 4G signal and that was his issue. He said he had Sprint and I explained they are in the process of build out in our area and I told him it would get better in a few more months.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

I had the same thing happening yesterday. I presume that they were working on the tower where near my job, around Falkenburg and Windhorst in Tampa/Brandon. Everyone there with Sprint service mysterious had low battery life that day. Sure enough, EVDO was acting up. Extremely slow, if any response time loading data. A couple if times I got a 'Cannot activate cellular data' error, but I spent most if the day on 1x. Of course, I explained that they they were probably doing tower work. Hoping this means I can get LTE at work soon!

Tampa is now showing in Sprint.com. Not sure how I feel about that, given how spotty things still are. It's just inviting complaints from the Sprint haters.

 

Does downtown Tampa have coverage at all?

 

 

 

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

 

 

 

According to Sprint it 'does'. But it's listed as 'Fair'. Most if the market has 'fair' coverage. And if course, my iPhone being unable to lock on to weak signal, get nothing. It's like the threshold for official launch has dropped.

Tampa is now showing in Sprint.com. Not sure how I feel about that, given how spotty things still are. It's just inviting complaints from the Sprint haters.

 

I found the TMUS band plan proposal

http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=7022116151

 

And on page 7/17, TMUS included relative propagation distance as a function of frequency.

I've actually been looking for something like this FOREVER!

 

But, this is linear distance so if you want to know how much more area is covered, you square it.

 

If you want to compare PCS vs VZW LTE, you divide both their values by PCS(value) and then you square the result.

So, 1.3/1.3 = 1 (duh) and 3.5/1.3 = 2.69

Now, the meaning of this number is: if you have a signal on PCS and VZW transmitting from the same tower at same power level, then for a given signal threshold you set, the signal on VZW's spectrum will travel 2.69 x the distance it travels on PCS before degrading to that same threshold.

So, for example, if the signal from PCS LTE dies after 5 miles, then the equivalent VZW LTE signal would die after 5x2.69 = 13 miles

 

But, if we want to figure out how much more area - square miles - VZW spectrum covers as compared to PCS, then we take 2.69^2 = 7.24

 

This number means that for coverage, not capacity, PCS spectrum needs 7x as many towers compared to VZW's spectrum.

 

I'm not sure if this is all correct so if it's not, someone let me know and I'll remove/modify things.

 

Isn't the formula for area of a circle (pi)r^2? You used the area of a square.

Stupid tapatalk....

 

Anyway, I have not seen new work or LTE at the intersection as of yesterday. A strong LTE signal does 'leak' from accrue the Alafia River from a site directly to the south.

Someone on Android Central said the Bloomingdale Ave and the Kings Ave site in Brandon is active now.

<br /><br />The site at the actual intersection

I'm having 3G issues over in Brandon. It seems to work when I disenable LTE, leading me to think that the EHRPD/LTE core is down.

Whoa! Let's get a grip on this whole "accountability" thing. You can report service problems on a deployed site after launch. If you call that accountable, then fine. But if you plan on calling to bitch because your site isn't converted yet after the market has launched, then you should probably go find another carrier now.

 

There will not be some miraculous accountable relationship that will magically appear after launch. Sprint is still Sprint. They will still do business they way they have. Work will still continue all over Tampa. Things will still go off and on. Some sites may stay off for extended times. And you will be inconvenienced. Count on it. The only difference is you can open a ticket to report a problem.

 

Sprint will not be complete in the Tampa area for 8-12 more months. The only way to hold Sprint accountable for their actions is to leave. And the actions Sprint is taking now, and over the next 8-12 months is to bring you a brand new state of the art network, that gets activated one site at a time.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

 

Sprint accountability according to me... Fix an issue or explain the reason for an issue. If a customer isn't satisfied with that, they can leave. Despite what your intimating, I believe the same as you on this. there is no obligation on Sprint's part do do anything whatsoever about a service that they do not acknowledge.

 

After sprint announces launch, are they 100% accountable or 40% accountable. I only ask because sprint will be about 40% complete when they announce the launch.

 

That's a good question to which I have no definite answer. Even at 100% completion there is no such thing as 100% accountability. As I said, there is no guarantee when it comes to wireless. Ultimately what is considered acceptable is up to the consumer. That said, it's up to Sprint to set reasonable expectations. And to at least deliver what they say they will.

I disagree. There's a difference between a launch and a completion. Just because sprint announce a launch doesn't mean they are going to change the rest of the build out. They're still going to have to test the panels they put up and ajust for maximum coverage. And unil the build out is complete, there will still be holes in the coverage.

 

But accountability matters. I can't hold Sprint to the promise of LTE because it isn't launched. It doesn't officially exist. If I have problems with it, there is no recourse except turning off LTE or changing providers. This is not the case post-launch. With launch comes the expectation of a certain level of service. And if this not provided, I can call Sprint and have a reasonable expectation that they look into the problem.

 

In the world or wireless there is no such thing as a guarantee. I get that. Most people don't. Which is why Sprint setting expectations is so imperative.

 

But at the same time, I worry that 'under construction' will become a cop out for not providing what they advertise. I'll rest a lot easier once this first round of NV is fully done.

While seemingly a superficial distinction, I think that an official launch is important because with it brings responsibility and accountability. The 'beta' nature of an unlaunched market allows Sprint to get away with substantial holes in LTE coverage or lower that expected speeds. However once launch occurs, Sprint is obligated to deliver on its promises of an improved network and 4G speeds. This is a very significant thing to me, and I'm sure to many others.