rmorrisonva

nTelos (Sprint's affiliate in SWVa and WV) has announced a long-awaited network agreement extension including deploying B25/26/41 LTE on Sprint's spectrum, part of the CCA initiative.

For a look at what they've deployed on to date (which to date is unavailable to Sprint subs) their Galaxy S5 variant supports LTE1700/2100 (B4), LTE1900 (B2), LTE700 (B12). Our Nexus 5's support several of these bands at least at the hardware level. However, given the Spark update I suspect a separate update would be needed to enable these bands -- OR perhaps this is part of the reason for the delay, and talk of late-radio revisions in 4.4.3. If so, this would be awesome, and at least for folks in the nTelos footprint who have a Nexus 5 -- would be a concession prize for the Spark update coming rather late.

One can dream right?

Unless your device supports the bands they are currently deployed on (LTE1700/2100 (B4), LTE1900 (B2), LTE700 (B12) are good bets since the nTelos Galaxy S5 variant supports those bands), I know my Nexus 5 supports some of these frequencies but given how the Spark update is working out I suspect a software update would be needed for my device to connect even on supported bands, if nTelos is allowing it yet.

As much as I'd like a CDMA-free world, when I hike in the netherlands (not the country) VZW does seem to provide a nice backstop on CDMA.

You guys are convincing me to switch, carry on!

... this was part of the reason I held off on buying my Nexus 5 until I couldn't resist it any more ... knowing that the Nexus 5 thread would devolve into cascading self pity ...

But seriously, I love my Nexus 5 even sans-Spark... and I'm ok with waiting a little longer (I survived the WiMax years, and the early NV years).

Friends, this too shall pass!

I actually find good EVDO can even give HSPA, and sometimes HSPA+ a run for it's money, at least latency wise.

Warning folks... resist the urge to feed the trolls, it only makes them think that you actually care!

Just thought that I would mention that last evening, in the lowest level underground D Level of the garage where I work in Tysons Corner VA, I was getting strong 3G signal via 800mhz. The speeds were actually very Fast!

 

Sent from my RCT6378W2

I've noticed the same thing in the garage under the office in Tyson's where I work. PCS used to penetrate down to P1 (1st level underground, under 10+ story office building, it was marginal at best for voice and data simply didn't work. Now I get workable data down to P2 and voice to P3 on 1x800 service. I think the only other carrier that even remotely works down there might be ATT but they have a tower directly across the street I believe. Note that I've noticed the 1x800 effect on my prior device (Galaxy Nexus) and now even more so with the far superior RF performance of my day's old Nexus 5.

In Economics we call the situation a "Tragedy of the Commons" and I think the theory is applicable here... a primer for those unfamiliar via Wikipedia: "The tragedy of the commons is an economics theory by Garrett Hardin, according to which individuals, acting independently and rationally according to each one's self-interest, behave contrary to the whole group's long-term best interests by depleting some common resource."

IMHO throttling the biggest consumers of the good/resource (bandwidth) in situations where there is a palpable scarcity of it and otherwise no incentives to consume less of it is a good bargain, and a good way to deal with a problem that really can't go away without SOME sort of cost imposed on a individual's consumption of said resource/good.

There is no free lunch folks. This seems about the most reasonable and least onerous solution to the problem of network saturation AFAIK from any major carrier.

I don't think I would go to anything other than the next Nexus after having the Nexus5.  Just a huge breath of fresh air after doing ROMs for HTC and Samsung.  I didn't have to do my own ROM for the Nexus5 and there's a huge reason why.

Amen to that. 

Times three. On my Galaxy Nexus I always felt as thought I needed a Custom ROM (CM) to have the phone working as well as it could (which was till a little wonky at times... !@%$ the trash CDMA radio they put in that thing, I am no longer in denial about that digiblur)... the Nexus 5 on Stock 4.4.2 does exactly what I need it to, and flawlessly, no BS.

Long live Nexus (or whatever Google decides to call it)...

Please don;t feed the trolls :-)

Not correct in all cases. One market thread hasn't had a post in almost a month, down from 30 or so a day 6 months ago. Work has stopped and people got tired of bitching about dead LTE so no posting has been going on.

Perhaps not all cases, but I still find it to be an encouraging sign in general!

I've noticed that thread volumes are directly proportional to the number of problems (and complaints) folks have which is in turn inversely proportional to progress in said market. Thus, a quiet thread means things are going swimmingly :-) At least that's my theory :-D

I'm pretty sure these issues are all capacity and that once LTE 800 and 2600 light up things will get better. Check out what my friends here in DC deal with on the vaunted "Verizon network":

https://community.verizonwireless.com/message/1006964

But in reality we are all seeing what a bandwidth crunch looks like, hell I even pop into overloaded LTE sectors on occasion in unusual places and it's readily apparent. I honestly don't expect things to get better until we're running on something a little heftier than 5x5 FDD LTE over PCS.

It's informative to see the various issues everyone is encountering, however, keep in mind there are markets far less complete than yours with plenty of other subs waiting for the LTE network to even go live, many of these folks have LTE devices too.

For all the "we paid for" "we were promised" etc re: LTE service and NV it still stands to reason a network upgrade as expansive and complex as NV is going to have hiccups. Some will be worse than others, for all the problems here I suggest folks take a look at what G2 and Nexus 5 (and any triband device) users are experiencing. It's not helpful to come on here and vent over and over about the same thing, observations are helpful to a point, but hammering over and over again on the same problem is not going to get it fixed faster. That said, there are plenty of other issues out there, this is not the only one.

Like fraydog says, if you aren't OK with the issues a major network upgrade like NV can bring to the table (both POSITIVE and NEGATIVE) then maybe Sprint's network is not for you at this particular moment in time.

I definitely care about Sprint. I have gotten at least 4 friends and family members to switch to Sprint over the past 2 years or so, despite the NV growing pains I know it was still the best deal out there.

I myself have been with Sprint since 2002, and my friend (who I share an account with) since 1996, we're definitely invested.

I just know seeing a bunch of hardcore Sprint folks (not regular folks as on Sprint's own forums etc) discussing their terrible service and threatening to leave etc. is not the sort of constructive discussion that's going to help Sprint keep and gain new customers WHILE improving said network.

I can understand how frustrating it must be in Chicago right now (reminds me of the bad old days around DC on 3G, 10k Up/Down was the norm in some places) but just keep the faith. I know Sprint must be aware of the problems and are surely working hard to resolve them.

You are right, morrisnova, there are other places on the web 'to do so'.

 

I, too, and my family of four, are 11+ year Sprint subscribers.

 

I am the IT guy in my family. I try to learn all the acronyms thrown around here. I know more than most and less than some. I read this forum daily because knowledgeable people post here, people who care dearly about Sprint and its future. I understand what you are saying about complaints but the two that you seem to be complaining about are from people who, to my eye, really do care about Sprint.

 

So do I.

 

One of our kids goes to school in Chicago; the LTE snafu in Chicago is of vital import to me as we decide which provider gets our business next. I, like the previous posters, have waited and waited for Sprint to follow through on its promises.

 

I am still holding out...but my patience is wearing a bit thin. I will continue to read this forum and hope that all reasonable voices are heard. I anxiously await good reports.

 

In the meantime...the 3G service in the Hyde Park area seems fine, as far as voice is concerned. I am always on the lookout for real-life 4G reports from this area. Thanks for reading.

Just a reminder, this is not a Sprint forum and is not a place to merely post complaints about Sprint service. If you wish to complain there are other places out there on the web to do so.

OMG *head explodes* I am pretty sure this is going to replace my GNex! I swore off LG after some poor past experiences (admittedly pre-smartphone mostly) with handsets... but Tri-band LTE, and Nexus... I'm sold

Yeah, my bad :-(

http://www.rcrwireless.com/article/20130819/carriers/ntelos-stock-plunges-on-sprint-overbuild-concerns/

As someone who travels in crap-telos territory (and Shentel) a lot, all I can say is YESSSSS!

I actually got a little 4G on route 7 westbound in Sterling (close to the Dranesville Road intersection)....hit about 10M down once but tried it several times and 6+ was more the average.    Wasn't there this morning though when I was driving back into work.

Yup there are several LTE towers live in that area. I get a pretty reliable run of 4G from Lewinsville Rd (just West of the Toll Rd.) up to near Cascades, although there are a couple of valleys where it will drop the 4G on occasion. You have an EVO LTE so I think that might be why you see it sporadically (I've heard similar stories here about the EVO and LTE issues). I have a GNex so my 4G is fine, but my 3G really blows in fringe-y areas... funny thing is as the fringe areas I travel in have started lighting up w/ 800SMR and LTE I get useable 4G service in places where I never really got decent 3G service. Each device has it's quirks, some more than others... but the GNex and the EVOLTE are both known to have some rather irksome ones :-(

Yeah I noticed the 4G lit up on Monday, the LTE site over next to the mall (in the vicinity of the MicroStrategies-signed building) is the one thats live. I get solid 4G on 3/4 sides of my building (which is across 7 behind the McDonalds). I actually just got in from running a few tests. You can see how NV/LTE will perform under load right now because this area is SOOOO dense w/ subscribers in the daytime (all the offices and the malls) and a lot will have LTE-enabled phones that are going to that one site. I got 0.5-3Mbps w/ pings under 50ms with a solid signal. Considering there are like a good 4-5 other sites nearby w/o LTE upgraded my suspicion is as those go live the load will be spread out a lot more and the speeds should go even higher. With my WiMax phone, and with a solid signal I averaged 2-4 Mbps in Tyson's during the day so it looks like LTE is going to kncok the socks off of that (and should be a little more stable in buildings since it's a lower frequency than WiMax)

As a former GNex user, I will agree with Digiblur's assessment. I'm on number 3 as the 1st 2 overheated. As a result, I went and got an iPhone 5 and went back to iOS where I came from when I switched to Sprint. When (and if) the Tri-Band GS4 comes to Sprint, I will get one, but nothing less than a flagship phone for me from now on.

 

Not to mention, that crappy VIA Telecom chipset drove me crazy at home where my signal isn't the best because of the extremely large trees in between me and the closest Sprint tower.

 

 

Sent from Josh's iPhone 5 using Tapatalk 2

The VIA Telecom baseband is most certainly bad, although I have noticed a dramatic improvement on 800SMR vs PCS as far as acquiring a stable signal in the fringes of coverage (ie. up in a National Park) which surprised me because I always assumed PCS attenuates less w/ clear line of sight than 800SMR would, but maybe I'm wrong there.

When it was released the Galaxy Nexus was one of the first two handset released that supported LTE, and since the GSIII wasn't yet available I would call the Galaxy Nexus a "flagship" (at least when it came out, around when I bought mine).

Some of my friends have the GSM model and don't seem to have any data issues. I think the unique way eHRPD and the CDMA and LTE basebands interact (and the fact that the VIA chip is trash) is really to root of most problems (including, coincedentally, the periodic overheating the device has been know to experience).

That said, I consider myself lucky because while my GNex can get rather hot in the vehicle dock I don;t seem to have problems otherwise. My friend who also has one on Sprint has mentioned his will overheat from time to time. My theory is that the VIA baseband is so terrible on the fringes that it hunts and pecks for signal much more than it ought to, and this is what is usually the culprit.

Tri-band GS4... that would be heaven... and LTE-A please too!

Nahhh, it is just called one of the worst current Sprint handsets.

I always thought the EVO LTE takes the cake there.

It's not perfect but what exactly makes it "one of the worst"? The CDMA baseband? RF performance?

I mean I've had mine over a year and have my complaints (keep in mind the GNex was introduced a year and a half ago), but honestly not sure that assessment is entirely fair.

And ##pleasebrickmeforeverandsendmetothelandfillwhereibelong#

Oh c'mon guys, it's not THAT bad. Just the sh*tty CDMA baseband (but the CM10.1 stable build seems to be playing nicely, FINALLY). Another reason not to hate: POGO+Samsung Car Dock=money. That said, I am craving a Google Edition GS5 (since thats about the time I'll be up for my upgrade... man I miss the old Premier upgrade cycle!)

After my Epic 4G (which wasn't TERRIBLE either) I swore off TW forever.