maximus1987/lou99

You don't believe that TMUS will upgrade all their 54k sites with LTE by mid 2015?

In the premier sponsor section, do you have coverage maps, like those produced by cloudrf.com, for LTE, CDMA at both Sprint frequencies given all future NV towers? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Didn't know it was only for voice. How can LTE 800 be barely improved compared to PCS but voice 800 is hugely improved compared to PCS? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

I meant that Sprint is not going to put up more PCS sites because it's gonna rely on 800, thereby screwing with PCS-only LTE customers. The Atlanta slides from the link I posted are Sprint corporate slides. The whole point of those slides was "yeah, PCS LTE sucks but instead of putting up more sites, we're just gonna use 800 to fill in gaps and yeah, sucks for PCS-only LTE customers". Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

But what about all those people with "old" PCS LTE devices? I really don't think Sprint can afford to keep on screwing with its customers. They've amassed so much bad will that if their network sucks even after NV, it won't be pretty. First it was the $10 for WiMAX that never came and now it's "we don't feel like paying for small cells so you're gonna have to buy a new phone"? What if new iphone this fall doesn't have 800 LTE? How is Sprint gonna meet its $15bil commitment if in a given market, people start hearing that iphone 5 doesn't get good reception in building? Sprint has the money. No more excuses. Just pay for the $&@## small cells. Sure, long term it won't matter cause eventually everyone will 800 LTE on Sprint but its gonna take even more years to repair Sprint's reputation if next year, when someone buys an iphone 5, they don't get reception. In buildings. Not acceptable. I saw a Sprint slide showing the coverage improvements in Atlanta and actually, it looks like that's exactly what they're planning: poor PCS building penetration and making up for it with 800. http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/106007 That's unfortunate. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Interesting decision by Sprint. I wonder if they're gonna infill with small cells? Is it just LTE or even 3G that has a hard time penetrating? I was in Southfield, MI in a Sprint store, ten feet from a window and on iphone 5, went from LTE to 1x while moving the phone around. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Please note the big red channel 51 exclusion zone over Chicago. A block is a no-no.

With the 800 MHz LTE, why would you NOT stay with Sprint, especially if you buy a phone with TDD-LTE? Of course, TDD-LTE will take a long time to appear. They're only finishing the PCS, SMR LTE deployment in June 2014 but as Robert said, next they're gonna convert the remaining GMOs so it'll be end of ?2014? till you see TDD-LTE everywhere. Plus, Miami is not very dense so you dont need TDD like NY. So it may be a long time till you see TDD-LTE. Still, once Sprint finishes the 800 LTE, it'll definitely be better than TMO.

Sprint is very lucky to have that 800 MHz cause its a key differentiator to TMUS. I guess that was ONE positive to come out of the Nextel purchase, though they could've built A LOT of PCS coverage for $36 BIIILLLLIIOON DOLLARRSS. ATT and Verizon spent $16.3 bil on 700 MHz auction. It's sad thinking about it.

Not as many TMUS subs use sensorly as Sprint's and unfortunately, TMUS doesn't show LTE on a map and Sprint is too embarrassed of its POPs so you can't compare the two easily. But I don't think Sprint has more than 157mil POPs. However, TMUS' advantage is temporary since June 2014 Sprint will have 250mil and TMUS will possibly have 250mil if the fiber backhaul is in place.

Good points. Forgot VZW would need to add band 17 to devices. And compared to AWS, remainder of B17 is peanuts. Good catch.

Did you read the quote or the entire article? You directly contradicted the article. It specifically states that's EXACTLY why they sold the spectrum. I understand being too lazy to do a google search but at least when an article is quoted and cited, please take 2 mins to read it before you reply. "Verizon has said the sale of its Lower A and B Block spectrum is contingent on the carrier getting regulatory approval to buy more attractive nationwide AWS spectrum from cable companies." Read more: Verizon: 36 buyers interested in our 700 MHz spectrum - FierceWireless http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/verizon-36-buyers-interested-our-700-mhz-spectrum/2012-05-24#ixzz2Ze0skldm Subscribe at FierceWireless

With Sprint reaching 250mil LTE mid 2014, I don't think TMUS will be able to stick to their plan of 37k towers to LTE. That plan was formulated when Philip Humm was still CEO, before anyone knew Softy was gonna rescue Sprint with billions AND buy Clearwire. TMUS has to upgrade all towers with AWS LTE, HSPA+. Also, AJ says 600 MHz won't be available for ?deployment? or cleared until late ?2016? TMUS can't wait 3 more years to upgrade the 2G sites to LTE. Go to the Tmobile data coverage maps and zoom in till you see yellow(2G), green(3G/4G/LTE). You'll see green spots surrounded by yellow. That yellow - the native 2G - means that TMUS has the towers but they're not upgraded. If all that yellow turned into green, TMUS would not have such a bad reputation. Also, AJ said W-CDMA voice would have farther reach than GSM on the same frequencies so with those GSM-spaced towers converted to W-CDMA, you wouldn't have a drop in voice coverage like going to VoLTE. One thing we do know is that TMUS isn't going to expand footprint until 600 MHz is available. Ray said that the company is not currently looking to expand its network footprint and is eagerly awaiting next year's scheduled incentive auctions of 600 MHz broadcast TV spectrum. He said using such spectrum is "a far more effective way to go and build those opportunities out" Read more: T-Mobile to expand MetroPCS footprint by 100M POPs - FierceWireless http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/t-mobile-expand-metropcs-footprint-100m-pops/2013-05-15#ixzz2ZdzDGYEZ Subscribe at FierceWireless

The lower the frequency, the fewer towers you need for same coverage.

Can't wait for TMUS to get 5x5 600 MHz nationwide!

Does anyone know how much AWS TMUS had before the USM purchase in the affected areas? T-Mobile scoops up some of U.S. Cellular's AWS spectrum for $308M Read more: T-Mobile scoops up some of U.S. Cellular's AWS spectrum for $308M - FierceWireless http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/t-mobile-scoops-some-us-cellulars-aws-spectrum-308m/2013-06-28#ixzz2ZclyE5KQ Subscribe at FierceWireless

Importantly, Verizon has said the sale of its Lower A and B Block spectrum is contingent on the carrier getting regulatory approval to buy more attractive nationwide AWS spectrum from cable companies. The FCC had asked Verizon to explain what steps it has taken to build out the 700 MHz spectrum, what difficulties exist in deploying that spectrum, why the 700 MHz sale is relevant to a review of the AWS spectrum purchases and what Verizon would do if the entirety of the AWS purchases were not approved Read more: Verizon: 36 buyers interested in our 700 MHz spectrum - FierceWireless http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/verizon-36-buyers-interested-our-700-mhz-spectrum/2012-05-24#ixzz2ZcMxmu68 Subscribe at FierceWireless

Let me clarify: Verizon is not selling useful spectrum unless required by regulators. Was it A block that was sold? Then it was useless. Was it B,C block it sold? That was a condition of the SpectrumCo AWS purchase. AWS is prime because it's gonna be supported by both ATT and Verizon so device ecosystem is huge. Sprint doesn't have any but its strategy is TDD-LTE: more expensive to buildout but longterm huge payback.

Verizon is not selling spectrum. Also, why didn't they use the $480 mil for faster rollout? Or rolling out AWS faster and then use that extra capacity to attract customers with lower prices? The iphone also supports AWS LTE.

Their PCS sale to Sprint and recent AWS sale to TMUS makes me think USM would rather sell itself off than compete. Otherwise, they'd be more aggressive in pricing so that they would NEED as much AWS as possible. They don't "need" capacity? What kind of telco doesn't need capacity? Only the ones who are waiting to be bought up. Proof they don't want to compete: The company's previously announced transaction to sell its Chicago, St. Louis, central Illinois and three other markets (the "Divestiture Transaction") to Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE:S) has closed and the company has received $480 million. Read more: U.S. Cellular Declares Special Cash Dividend Of $5.75 Per Share - FierceWireless http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/us-cellular-declares-special-cash-dividend-575-share#ixzz2ZcAMzKtc Subscribe at FierceWireless Why didn't they take that $480mil and use it to build out 850, AWS? Cause they don't want to compete. TMUS could take that AWS and put it to good work. It's wasted on USM.

That's good from our perspective but not what the four carriers are thinking. USM is not using AWS so it's being wasted. TMUS could put it to use immediately.

USM's stock value is $3.35 bil. Sprint would have to add a premium to that. USM is not small fry compared to Softy's $21.5 bil Sprint acquisition. How much did NV cost? $5-7 bil. $3.35 bil plus a premium is not small fry. Sprint could do a lot to its current network with that $3.35 bil+ like extending contiguous TD-LTE to most dense markets and getting 100mil+ coverage. Not sure some extra rural coverage is worth $3.35bil. If anything, USM can be stripped by Sprint et al: PCS spectrum to Sprint, AWS to TMUS and everything else to duopoly; duopoly could let S, TMUS have whatever they can afford so they don't complain to FCC. Sprint could take however many customers it can needs to sustain the costs of expanding NV to areas where USM has coverage but Sprint doesn't. Rinse and repeat same process on Cspire. Cspire would be huge for TMUS cause it's using AWS for LTE but it's CDMA so it would have the same transition period like Metropcs.

The FCC is not gonna let that happen. TMUS was losing customers and Feds said no to att. How much more likely are Feds gonna allow TMUS to be acquired now when they're gaining customers. Canadian Feds are desperate for a viable 4th competitor - they're gonna have to settle for Verizon - but FCC is gonna throw away a very viable 4th competitor already improving? No. 4 competitors is what is necessary for consumers to win. Look at 3 UK's prices and what happened when Free in France entered as a 4th competitor. If TMUS is eliminated as a competitor, what makes you think Sprint would lower prices? TMUS is a pro-consumer force in the telecom industry. Give them nationwide 5x5 600 MHz and we'll finally have pricing like in UK.

Softy just spent $21.5 bil on Sprint. They're not gonna buy USM for some time.

I hope if ATT or VZW attempted to buy it, FCC would say no. But I'd guess it'd be allowed since USM is a flea compared to duopoly, same as Leap.