BRUCEinGR

10 hours ago, iansltx said:

They'll definitely announce TVision, but I rather doubt that they'll push it heavily along with their home broadband. Remember that the home broadband is LTE based right now, so there isn't a ton of capacity. They may allow folks to use the two together, but they won't encourage it.

With that said, if you can hand out new boxes with AV1 support, or even VVC, that might drop stream size down to the point where they're comfortable throwing it over LTE and actually promoting that arrangement.

This is in contrast to the Layer3 original product, which just threw a ton of bitrate at everything, resulting in both high quality and high bandwidth requirements.

Yeah, I'm now very sure it will involve TVision, not sure on all the details, what I posted above was just a guess.

After my post above, I remembered this article from 3 months ago...

https://9to5google.com/2020/07/23/t-mobile-android-tv-fcc-leak/

The logo on the device remote, has the same "arrow in the O" as the O in "It's ON" that is seen on Mike's screen in the background of that video.

Unfortunately, in the limited areas where TVision is available now, $90/mo. for 154 channels is not a real compelling price point.  Probably not out of line with other options, (royalty and carriage fees need to be passed to the consumer) but still, not cheap.  Packaging all the services together, might make things more appealing to the masses.

My guess, a new bundle.

T-Mobile has had their core mobile phone business

They also have the T-Vision service, that required the subscriber to provide a separate Internet connection.

The more recent T-Mobile Home Internet, is now more widely available.

I live in Grand Rapids, the first place they released Home Internet on a wide scale, and I have had the service since August, and it works great for streaming, and everything else.  It has been stated, in the past by T-Mobile, that you could NOT use T-Vision on a T-Mobile Home Internet service, yet, but they hoped to someday have such an offer.  (Oddly, they don't seem to have a problem with me using it to stream Hulu, or Sling, or YouTube or Amazon or any other similar service).

So, I'm guessing provide T-Vision, with Home Internet service, that you can combine with your mobile service, one company, one bill, MOST of your communications needs in one step.

That would go head to head with Comcast and Spectrum, that have wired Internet & TV service, and mobile service through their MNVO with Verizon.  Also  ATT, with their wired Internet and TV packages (or DirecTV) and their own mobile service.

Everything could all be handled through one customer service point, and no more waiting on installers to come to your home, they send you a box, you hook it up and are ready to enjoy in about 10 minutes (for most reasonably tech savvy people).

Such a plan could be a big announcement, if priced at an affordable amount.

Something that showed up in my Google recommended articles today...

https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/how-t-mobile-weaved-cisco-ericsson-nokia-into-its-5g-sa-core/2020/09/

Just something from my local TV news that might be of interest here.

https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/kent/5g-internet-antennas-being-installed-in-east-gr-not-everyone-happy-about-it

****  Ya know, you people are all wanting this 5G stuff, but if you took the time to learn about it, you would realize it causes Corona-Virus, which will lead Bill Gates to administer a vaccine right through your Windows 10 computer, that will indoctrinate you into a baby eating zombie cult. 

/sarcasm

My guess, Verizon is having whatever is the opposite of "buyer's remorse".  Maybe regretting that they decided to sit it out on the 600 MHz "Incentive Auction", that they laughed at T-mobile for bidding in.

I'll drop a couple links below, no big breaking news in them, they are all many years old, but offer insight into how things were playing out years ago, like this:

https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/verizon-exec-takes-aim-at-t-mobile-over-600mhz-sale

Of course, Verizon may have thought they could work some deals with Dish, until the T-Mobile/Sprint merger left Dish entwined so closely with New T-Mobile.

https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/why-verizon-didn-t-buy-any-600-mhz-spectrum-and-what-it-means-for-big-red

Ah, the taste of sour grapes.

Maybe it seemed like fun to laugh at T-Mobile's 600 MHz idea's, until they saw it in action... 

https://www.rcrwireless.com/20130917/carriers/cca-fall-2013-t-mobile-us-looks-to-keep-pressure-on-with-un-carrier-strategy-courts-rural-partners

...and realized Neville Ray might be smarter than they thought.

It might even be that those comparison 5G coverage maps already make Verizon look silly!

Hey folks, I haven't been around here in a long time. I guess I just got distracted by other things, especially after Sprint 4G LTE became commonly available for me.

Then, in February of 2018, I defected from Sprint to T-Mobile. That move allowed me to get on the "T-Mobile ONE 55+" plan, (yeah, I'm an old geezer) and at the time, grab a limited time offer add-on called "ONE Plus International" that adds a lot of features, but most importantly "UNLIMITED 4G LTE Hotspot" on a phone.

The move was both for the service and price. I was paying Sprint $179 for service on one phone, and one USB 3G modem. The modem was what kept me with Sprint for so long. I bought it in 2007, when mobile data was just starting to catch on in popularity. Everyone else had low data caps and high overage charges at the time, but, Sprint was slow to jump on that bandwagon. They even had an ad campaign at the time, something like: "Use all the data you want, have fun"! I bought the modem outright, and paid $59.99/mo for unlimited 3G data. As an over the road truck driver, at the time, that was the same price I paid Comcast for home Internet, that was hardly home to use. I canceled Comcast, and that USB thing became my only non-phone Internet connection.

The bad part of that was, shortly after I got that deal, Sprint discontinued that plan, and I was stuck. If I made ANY changes to that line/device, I would lose that plan, and have to take whatever offers were current. I couldn't activate any new device on the data account. So I milked that device and plan for just over 11 years, until Feb. 2018. After so long, the device was struggling, and the data was just damn slow.

After my upgrade to T-Mobile, I have my main phone, (currently a OnePlus 7T Pro 5G McLaren edition), an Aristo 2 Plus, used mostly as a hotspot, and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 10" with unlimited 4G LTE, all for $132.41. About $45 a month less than what I gave Sprint, and I have one extra device, and all with much faster data.

On Sprint, my average speed was usually less than 15/2, on T-Mobile I get over 100 down and around 40 up.

Of course with this arrangement, one day I will find myself in a similar situation, a line stuck on old tech, even though I CAN upgrade my T-Mobile device, the data add-on specifically says "4G LTE data", So I hope that sticks around for a while as 5G becomes a thing. If I make any changes on that line, I will lose that add-on.

Sorry for all the rambling, I just looked at all the stuff I just typed, and can't bring myself to delete all that work. I guess I just got nostalgic when Facebook on Tuesday showed me a memory post from 2013, the pics are below. My first cell phone was a Nextel, that's how I wound up on Sprint, after that merger. It was 7 years ago already, that Sprint shut off Nextel. Now, Sprint is about to be shut off by T-Mobile. Everything changes. You can't see the date on the pic with "NO SIGNAL", those old Nextel phones didn't even have a proper clock, it just displayed what the network sent it, so, no signal, no clock. How far we have come.

Anyway, I guess with the merger, I'm back in the family, so here I am looking to learn about a new rollout, this time 5G on 2.5 GHz, specifically in the West Michigan area.

Sent from my HD1925 using Tapatalk

Try *#*#DEBUG (33284)#*#*

OK, I got it, not sure why I can't get it to work with Dialer Codes, but I can get it using the shortcuts in Signal Check Pro.  Actually that is probably an easier way to do it, I had just forgot about it.  Not to mention, it looks like Signal Check shows frequency on it's screen, just noticed that.

Anyway, thanks for your help!

Try *#*#DEBUG (33284)#*#*

Just tried it, same as before, it clears the dialer entry area and nothing more.

I believe that you just go to the LTE engineering screen.

Tried that, but for some reason when I enter *#*#DATA (3282)#*#* it just clears the dialer entry area and nothing else.

Hey folks,

 

I haven't been around here much lately, but tried looking around and didn't find what I'm looking for, so maybe someone can offer some input...

 

I went to Best Buy last week and did a pre-order for the new HTC ONE M8. They still haven't gotten the device in, and I haven't given them any money yet. I've been bummed it was gonna take so long to get my hands on it, but maybe that was actually better.

 

I was reading some reviews about the device on a few Android related sites and noticed people talking about missing calls/texts on Sprint. It is most likely that Circuit Switched FallBack thing. So my question is, does anyone have a Spark compatible device, and are you having any issues in the West Michigan area?

 

If this is going to be an issue, I might need to back out before I go any further into this transaction. I've already been a bit ticked off at the idea of losing simultaneous voice and data (even though I know that puts me in the minority around here, because for some reason most people just seem to think that's no big deal, just get used to it, well I for one will really miss that) But, if I have to disable the high speed data and go to CDMA only mode just to make sure I can get calls and texts to work properly, I'd probably be better off just to run my EVO LTE until it goes dark.

 

Any input about the status of the Fallback system in the West Michigan area, or if anyone has had problems with it would be appreciated.

Well I guess I can answer my own question now. Saturday I strolled into one of the local Best Buy stores and left with a brand new M8 and was happy to find that at least CSFB or maybe even eCSFB are active in my area since I get LTE! Not sure if there is a way to tell the difference or not.

I was also surprised (and happy) to see the SPARK logo show up and it even spins like a happy little pinwheel sometimes, so I must be connecting to it! Didn't know that was active in my area yet.

Overall this phone ROCKS! As so many other reviews point out. I'm still a bit disappointed about SVLTE, but for everyone else's sake, I'll quit beating that dead horse.

I'll get a better idea about how well the device works compared to my EVO on Monday when it goes riding with me in the truck for work. And more importantly for this thread, how much SPARK I can find in the West Michigan area.

Oh, one more thing, does anyone know if there is a way tell which band my LTE is using? (800, 1900 or 2500)

Sent from my HTC one (M8) with Tapatalk.

Just a quick note, I was in a hurry when I typed my previous post that ended with...

So it looks like more waiting, first it was waiting for 3G, then 4G LTE, then TriBand and now SvLTE.  Seems like always waiting, and as Tom Petty said "The Waiting, is the hardest part"!

SvLTE is something I'm not waiting for, I'm lamenting it's demise after a brief cameo appearance.  At least in current devices.  What I actually meant there was VoLTE.

Anyway, something I noticed tonight, if this is to be believed, it looks like Big Red somehow managed to have SvLTE capability on their variant of the M8.

http://forums.androidcentral.com/htc-one-m8/376693-verizon-one-m8-supports-svlte-but-not-svdo-volte-radio-info-inside.html

Long time, no see. Welcome back. I would have to imagine in a mature market like West Michigan, where NV 3G and eCSFB is supposed to be complete that you wouldn't experience significant CSFB problems except where they may be working on further optimizations occasionally. But I'd like to hear from other member in your area to confirm that too.

 

As for the simultaneous voice and data thing, most of us don't need it. But we recognize that some do. And given your profession as a truck driver, I could imagine that you would need to use your phone as a hotspot frequently and/or navigation. That would probably make it so you needed voice at the same time in some instances.

 

Simultaneous voice and data would be very handy for you. But you won't see anymore Sprint devices that will have it until VoLTE devices hit the market. I think the earliest Sprint would do that is another year or two. Their latest comments about VoLTE don't sound imminent. That's for sure.

 

Robert via Samsung Note 8.0 using Tapatalk Pro

Hi Robert, thanks for the info.  I might have over reacted when this notion first hit me.  I had been waiting for the M8 to come out (still waiting to get my hands on it) and when I saw some of those posts on other sites about the missed calls, I remembered reading your wall article last fall.  That hit not just like rain on my picnic, but more like a Severe Thunderstorm on my picnic!

Yeah, things like using navigation and having a voice call come in (I still use voice a lot) and stop the nav is a bit of a headache, had that a few years ago with Blackberry Curve.  I was so happy it went away with the EVO.  I'm still not thrilled with the idea of losing it again, but having to stay on CDMA to not lose voice function would really suck, especially on a high end device that has some awesome data capabilities.  There are other times too, like while in a voice call with other truckers (I do that a lot) and we talk about weather, road conditions or routing in certain areas, the ability to look up these and other things while in a call (parked of course) is pretty important.

Anyway, was just looking for info from real people in the area with real experience on the fallback thing.  Your words are encouraging.  The LTE/NV in my area seems to be very good, I would estimate at least 80-90% of the time I now get good data connections in the places I'm at most. (and that's on an EVO)  I guess the thoughts of having an awesome device like the M8 and tri-band seemed like it had to be an all win.  Then the SvLTE snag was kind of a disappointment.  One lucky thing for me is my plan has always been to retain my EVO as a spare, so I can always go back if need be.  I guess I will just take my chance, continue with getting the M8, and check the hell out of it during my 14 day window.  I really do want that device.

So it looks like more waiting, first it was waiting for 3G, then 4G LTE, then TriBand and now SvLTE.  Seems like always waiting, and as Tom Petty said "The Waiting, is the hardest part"!

Bruce, I can't help you but just wanted to drop a note saying welcome back to the forums.  I always enjoyed following the West Michigan deployment when it was happening. 

kineticman, thanks for the reply.  I do need to check in more often, but with life sometimes, things divert our attention in other directions and in this case, with LTE being widely available in the West Michigan area, I guess it seemed less urgent to stay on top of developments in the market.

Hey folks,

I haven't been around here much lately, but tried looking around and didn't find what I'm looking for, so maybe someone can offer some input...

I went to Best Buy last week and did a pre-order for the new HTC ONE M8.  They still haven't gotten the device in, and I haven't given them any money yet.  I've been bummed it was gonna take so long to get my hands on it, but maybe that was actually better.

I was reading some reviews about the device on a few Android related sites and noticed people talking about missing calls/texts on Sprint.  It is most likely that Circuit Switched FallBack thing.  So my question is, does anyone have a Spark compatible device, and are you having any issues in the West Michigan area?

If this is going to be an issue, I might need to back out before I go any further into this transaction.  I've already been a bit ticked off at the idea of losing simultaneous voice and data (even though I know that puts me in the minority around here, because for some reason most people just seem to think that's no big deal, just get used to it, well I for one will really miss that)  But, if I have to disable the high speed data and go to CDMA only mode just to make sure I can get calls and texts to work properly, I'd probably be better off just to run my EVO LTE until it goes dark.

Any input about the status of the Fallback system in the West Michigan area, or if anyone has had problems with it would be appreciated. 

It might be overloaded due to ArtPrize.

 

Downtown GR doesn't have LTE yet, so everyone's trying to use it from the towers North and South of downtown.

 

I just drove through downtown about one hour ago today, and I had data working, but LTE was crazy slower than usual (I clocked less than 200k down).

The ArtPrize idea might be right on, looks like the local news is reporting big red was having some problems this weekend...

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/268764/14/Verizon-resolves-to-fix-ArtPrize-voting-issues

Yep, still going strong, even down in the basement! Solid from 44th in GR, all the way to the east side of Lowell!

On a side note, check the Meijer site @ Rivertown. Looks like some TD-LTE goodness. I would do no justice submitting pics from my phone. I'll leave the HD photo uploads to you. You have locked in that arena for sure!

Well, I had 800 a week ago today, but after it disappeared on Friday, it hasn't come back to me.  Maybe that just means that my 1900 coverage is good enough and it doesn't need to switch to 800 (at least in the phones 'mind').  There are a couple of indoor places that I was hoping 800 would improve very poor coverage, and I plan to be in both placesin the next 48 hours, guess I'll just have to keep an eye out in those places and see what happens.

I'll try to get out by the Meijer tower over the weekend and get a few pics.  Thanks for the heads up.

 

I haven't gotten any 800 yet. Been keeping an eye on the phone since you mentioned it, but when I drive by the area I get nothing...

 

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 4

Matt, 

Not sure, but I think it might be your device for why you haven't seen it. I think I read something somewhere about it using a different PRL, and I think that is what jefbal99 was referring to above.  Maybe he can chime in with more.

Or just do a manual update on your prl, it will hold until you connect to a tower without live 800. I have to drive to saranac before I lose it!

Danny, 

So, you are saying you are still getting 800 this week?  I have tried the PRL update, reboot phone, even tried making signal weak so it drops and reconnects.  Nothing for me.  Good to here that 1x800 is still active in the area, bummer for me that I can't pick it up anymore... oh well.  Thanks for the info.

Just curious if anyone is experiencing the the same thing. As I reported last Wednesday Night I started getting 1x800. It was everywhere I went in GR on Thursday, then sometime on Friday I lost it, and can't get it back. I must still be getting signal from the new NV equipment, since all the geo. info shows the correct address, but no 800. What are others seeing around GR?

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 4

Sprint.com Coverage maps do no good at this time if LTE isnt listed on their site for my area yet..

 

I am currently fascinated with cell towers and the coverage areas. The new LTE and sensorly make it bit more fun with discovering. I am trying to get a grasp on how accurate sensorly is and how much LTE signal the towers in my area are sending out. With that said.... not sure why the comment "put sensorly down"!!   I am not a guy coming here to complain about my service....just seeing weird observations (in my noob opinion) and posting here to kick it around. I still dont buy the it must have been the only spot mapped by the users, one would think mapping would be left on and more dots connected. Plus with LTE not be Official out in these areas I think its just a tad bit of signal leaching out but then again I may be wrong and here to learn. As said I am fascinated with all this tower/signal/LTE and mapping thing.

 

I took a trip to MT Hood today (took the boy to camp) and drove most of the country back roads and was mapping. Brought back memory's of the wardriving kick I was on back in the day..

 

There is a tower about 5 miles from my house which showed some LTE when up close (not on sensorly), rolling hills and lots of tree between my house and it. I have another about 10 miles away, large tree also but way less hilly and the one which my phone hits on mostly. I post up some more info and pics on it soon but have some info to gather first . I was out in my yard tonight and got an LTE signal. NEVER seen it before.

 

Ya I know this post is spuratic and rambling but I am having fun

Emphasis in the above quote was added by me.

Look dude, no one here is trying to mess with you, what I posted a few posts back was a basic summary of how this works.

Let's try something and see if you can prove it to yourself, first the easy way...

You say that you got a signal in your yard, that you don't usually see.  Go back out into your yard, see if the signal comes back, if it doesn't, turn your phone off, then right back on, see if your phone will acquire that signal again.  If it doesn't, move to a different spot in your yard and try again.  Ideally, start from standing in the same spot where you first got that signal.

When/if you finally get the signal back, open the Sensorly app (best to wait until you get a 4G signal before starting the app), then hit the MAP TRIP in the lower right of your screen, then on the next screen that comes up, hit START.  After you see the LTE count go above ZERO, hit the stop button.  Wait for about 5 minutes for the data to upload, then close the app.  Wait about one hour, then go back and check the map.  If every thing went well, you should see the one lone area, right in your own yard, where there is a purple spot showing on the Sensorly map.

Before doing any of the above, make sure you have your settings right, hit MENU then PARAMETERS, and then scroll down to "REPORT TO SERVER", click that option and make sure that if it is set to upload only while charging or on WIFI, that you either change these settings or, make sure you are plugged in or on WIFI  before closing the Sensorly app (this will allow your data to be uploaded).

If you can't get the signal to come back in your yard, go to an area where the is signal showing on the map, get an LTE signal then start Sensorly as mentioned above.  Now move to a street that was previously NOT showing LTE, collect some data, once you know you have been receiving signal in an unmapped area,  Again, allow 5-10 minutes for data to upload before closing the app.  Now wait about an hour, check the map and see coverage in the areas that you were!

It's really quite simple and makes a lot more sense than to think that Sprint has towers that send out signals that only travel down main roads.

I can take pictures of all the SAmsung equipment since Samsung is what they went with here inFW

I will not have time to do a big write up, but if you (or anyone else) wants to do something for Samsung equipment, I have tossed a few of my better pics of Samsung NV Equipment here...

https://www.dropbox....m9lh/yXJvcevJcI

If these will save anyone some time, feel free to use them as needed.

I do have some additional pics, they just aren't in my Dropbox. If more are needed, just ask.

Finally looks like a bit of an Allegan area site got mapped.

I think that was me (or at least it originated from my car). I took a trip with a friend to a ham radio swap meet in the Marshall area, and both of us were running Sensorly on our EVO's.

The spot in the Marshall area that we went to was just West of I-69, just off from W. Michigan Ave. While there was already some coverage showing in the area before we got there, neither of us could connect to it Sat. AM. We did get some LTE just a bit further West, coming up towards the Interstate, but I think that was already logged.

We were in a hurry on the way down, but did grab some LTE between Martin and Plainwell, so we planned to scout that out on the way home. We hit the same signal again on the way back to drop my friend off at his home in the Wayland/Hopkins area. Since he's from that general area and has an EVO he was into it for a bit. We scouted out the tower that was serving up the LTE and I got a good visual look at it, but like a dummy, I was running late on the way out of my house around 06:00 and forgot my camera!

We cruised around Allegan just a bit after that, but my friend was getting bored, so I took him home and gave up.

I plan to head back out that way this afternoon, this time with my camera and will get a pic of the site we found, along with another site just a little North of this area that I spotted work happening to on Wednesday. The second site is not "on the air" yet, but has panels and radios up.

Make sure to check the Michigan thread in the sponsors section later and I will post the pics there, along with site IDs.

For those people viewing this that aren't yet sponsors but want to know more, sorry, but like the saying goes... "Membership has it's privileges". (my little teaser plug for Robert today)

If you enable the vibrate alert, does that work? What is the default notification sound on your phone? This version does not play the chimes sound like version 2; it uses whatever you have set in your sound settings.. so if you have something quiet (or no sound) by default, that could be the cause. User-selectable tones will (hopefully) be working soon.

 

-Mike

Well, that explains something for me. I was wondering why you chose to have the notification for text messages be the default tone for your app. the correct answer is... YOU DIDN'T!

I use "CHIMES" for my text alerts and that's what made me confused. I was one of the folks that requested user configurable tones, but it wasn't as much for me to have a choice, just the ability to distinguish one audible alert from another.

If it's easier for you to have just one tone for the app, that's fine for me, just so long as it is unique for that alert. If you decide to go with CHIMES again, no biggie, I will just change my text alert sound. Problem solved on my end!