narf

correct me if I'm wrong, but seems to me the downside of spark is that it relys on 2500 mHz for all that speed, and those frequencies have really poor propagation and building penitration characteristics. The upside is that there should be plenty of spectrum with 3 bands in use, plus it appears that they are doing the back haul right. If I can get consistent 5 mHz or better on my mobile I'll be happy. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

It's been mentioned before that the maps are pretty far behind with the " in progress" sites. I've seen several sites around Boulder County just appear as 3G while never being marked as "in progress".

So I'm inferring from these discussions that areas outside the old Wimax footrprint are not going to see Spark for quite some time. Am I right?

Nope. Gave it a try on Hampden today, not a hint of LTE on a non triband phone Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

I was down in that area today, drove along Hampden between Quebec and I25 and didn't get a hint of LTE with my Galaxy S3. I also haven't been able to pick up LTE along I25 between 58th and US36 like I could before. Makes me think that these sites were only up for a short period for testing and we caught them in the act.

Sensorly shows LTE on Hampden between I25 and I225.

So, I have another question: In another month I'll be eligible for a phone upgrade. Considering the current issues picking up LTE with spark enabled devices, is there an advantage to waiting for a while to upgrade to a spark enabled device?

All of these new uses for the spectrum sound great, the only down side is I'll have to get a new phone every 6 months to keep up with the changes!

Rumor has it that there will be new stadium wide wifi at Coors Field.... But you didn't hear it from me. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Thanks Merlin, You've been pretty spot on with your information so far.

Obviously most of us don't "need" to carry around lots of data on our phones, just like we don't "need" 30 meg download speeds, 5" screens (or even color for that matter). But for those of us who work on the road a lot it's nice to be able to keep our big music libraries, a few movies and lots of photos and docs in the phone. Right now I have a 64GB microSD card on my phone with about 40GB used. I also like the utility of being able to take the card out and plug it into a computer for fast data backup. Way faster than OTA or through a data cable.

The address is in the screen capture.. Louisville. I've also gotten 1x800 from a Lafayette tower.

If they would put an SD slot in Nexus phones I'd be all over that. Without it, I'll probably move on to the S5, especitally if they come out with one with a metal body.

Another 1x800 sighting in Boulder County. !

And I just got home and discovered 1x800 voice! Signalcheck says it's coming from 162 High Country Drive, Lafayette, about 2 miles from me. That's new too! Just compared that to the top secret member only maps, and that site is marked with a brown dot, indicating it has yet to be upgraded. Since 1x800 would indicate that NV is up an running on that site, that would confirm that the work in Northwest Denver metro is farther along than the maps indicate. One further note, I usually get 0 to 1 bar of service on the ground floor of my house. With 1x800 I am getting 3 to 5 bars. What a nice surprise!

Picked up LTE on I25 and 58th Ave in North Denver this morning. Uploading to Sensorly now. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

If you are referring to my post about incomplete map updates, this is something that has been mentioned several times in this thread publicly. I don't think I was sharing anything said in confidence. If I was I apologize. Edit: Found this public reply from Merlin from a while back. No secrets were reveled. http://s4gru.com/index.php?/topic/2172-network-visionlte-colorado-market-denvercolo-springsfort-collinspueblogrand-jct/?view=findpost&p=238034

I have been reassured by Merlin that the work is much further along in the NW quadrant of the Denver Metro area than the maps would indicate. I hope he's right

Doesn't Sprint believe in COWs?

Not quite. They are the sites where work hasn't begun yet.

As a former Wimax user I'll tell you that Wimax was very spotty in Denver and had horrible building penetration. It might not be that much on an improvement, especially with LTE very close now.

That's very good news. I guess I could have guessed that since I noticed a new antenna install in downtown Louisville that never showed up on the map.

As I look at the secret sponsor only maps it shows one quadrant of the Denver metro area that is virtually untouched by any work in progress. So I hope that the equipment is not nearly done.

Perhaps the backhaul isn't ready for the influx of users yet?

According to Merlin, you've got good news coming soon: