milan03

And how would you resolve this issue in a timely fashion?

Need to root, then follow this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2303905

They should've hired Neal. But not sure if he'd be interested.

Exactly, but that seems to be the idea. Either way it's kind of win-win for T-Mobile as they've been poaching subs from AT&T in large numbers even without AT&T publicly acknowledging it. Except early on: Can't wait to see what's AT&T's strategy going to be in 2014.

Free advertisement for AT&T. They really want AT&T to start doing the same, but AT&T is rarely doing so. For now

It's the GSM/HSPA technology that's the common ground which makes very easy for subscribers to bring their own devices.

I have Verizon variants of Note 3 and iPhone 5s, and AWS is available literally everywhere in Manhattan. As soon as you walk outside your AWS capable UE will connect to AWS since Verizon is heavily steering LTE traffic to AWS to offload Band 13 using every known technique. In indoor environment you'll most likely going to be sitting at Band 13. In addition to that, Verizon seems to be the only operator here in NYC using Closed Loop Spatial Multiplexing (Transmission Mode 4) which further enhances peak throughput, while AT&T and T-Mobile use TM3. Not sure about Sprint, Note 3 users should be able to see this in ServiceMode. They all fall back to TM2 for robustness, except underground on NYC Subway platforms, where city is clearly trying to save money and has Transit Wireless install DAS that operates in SISO only mode with TM1 which effectively halves the throughput...

LG G2, Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy S4, Moto X, iPhone 5s/c, etc. Only the first two devices are Category 4, capable of 150Mbps on the downlink.

Here, not scientific, but comparable signal conditions, Verizon AWS and AT&T's current offering in NYC

Exactly.

You can activate iPad plan of your choice on the iPad itself. It's prepaid, and you don't even have to go to the store. Once the SIM is active, you can use it in any Verizon certified LTE device.

Get UML295 on eBay. You should be able to find it on the cheap side ~$50. Use your existing iPad SIM, you'll attach to both bands as long as AWS is available in your area. It's a Cat 3 USB modem Band 4/13 capable, also B7. That's as cheap as it gets.

Maybe in his satchel. He was definitely blending with all the tourists in that area.

Yesterday I was in Wall Street area, and noticed these new Verizon DAS attached to the light poles. They're CDMA/LTE (B4/13) so I've decided to stand right under and started taking a bunch of photos upwards since my smartphone couldn't adjust the freaking exposure. Cop car pulled over right behind me but I kept doing my thing since I really wasn't doing anything wrong... All of a sudden a guy dressed like a euro tourist with a satchel that looks like Zach Galifianakis' from Hangover approached me asking what am I trying to do. Tried brushing him off and he pulled out his NYPD badge... Took me a while to explain myself, and it wasn't easy. At all. Apparently NYPD cameras are also on that pole way higher above that Verizon's DAS lol... Anyways, this is the best my phone could do...

You do realize that for merger to go through divesture would have to be solidified at the time of the approval or shortly after, which would mean unused spectrum. I get that you'd like AWS to be that sacrificed divesture, but it's surprising to me that you find ok instantly rendering 40Million AWS subs and their UE completely obsolete... To me that's even worse strategy than Nextel failure, and would only strengthen AT&T's customer base and drive Sprint to the ground...

800Mhz spectrum is ideal for 1x voice and I'm sure that'll stay spectrum of choice for 1x and LTE. But in quite a few markets Sprint's PCS spectrum is contiguous with T-Mobile's which is a goldmine. Could be repurposed for LTE and in Release 12 they could aggregate B2 with B4 for example. But short term could provide NewCo HSPA+42 in the PCS and free up AWS for 20x20Mhz LTE.

What do you mean by "if nothing else"? 3GPP is where you'd want this to go, and assuming this merger is to happen Sprint finally has a valid reason to do so. Save on CDMA licensing, collect roaming revenue, simultaneous voice/data, and have a serious fallback HSPA+42 network. Reducing site count is also valid, but you don't just shut down a site because it's T-Mobile's... You take your time to strategically figure out which sites will provide the best coverage and capacity, how to avoid interference between the sites, and you shut down redundant sites regardless of the origin. Don't forget that 99+% of T-Mobile's HSPA+ sites are fiber fed. As I mentioned earlier, WCDMA could be easily added to existing Sprint NV sites, so that Sprint's existing WCDMA capable phones can fully utilize it. AWS LTE could follow as well. On T-Mobile sites TDD-LTE with 800Mhz LTE could be added since T-Mobile has already met and exceeded their LTE modernization goals.

Haha I don't like it either, but I think it's likely to happen.

Softbank US

Let AJ be the leader, Neal and myself would provide moral support, and Ray Neville will do what we demand

Why would you force T-Mobile subscribers to new CDMA devices if a large number of Sprint's existing devices already support GSM/WCDMA on 1900Mhz band? Not to mention the CDMA chipset licensing that even Verizon is trying to get rid of!

Still, it doesn't make too much sense since user equipment currently can't aggregate more than 10+10Mhz. Next year 20+20Mhz will be possible for theoretical peaks of 300Mbps. Let's assume that in 2015-16 frame Qcom figures out how to aggregate three 20Mhz component carriers, that's still under 50% of Sprint's 2.5Ghz spectrum nationwide capacity... By that time 600Mhz auction will take place, AWS-3 will take place, who knows maybe even 3.5Ghz, so if Sprint absolutely HAS TO divest their spectrum, the vacant spectrum is what should be utilized. Verizon has already expressed their interest in it, and I'm sure Charlie would be all over it. Cannibalizing the existing footprint is just not smart.

All of that is unnecessary because Sprint owns 100+ Mhz of EBS/BRS on average nationwide, and if they deploy 60-80Mhz they can still divest 20-40Mhz. That's already an insane amount of capacity! Why would you ever "thin out" fully capable T-Mobile's LTE network that Sprint subs can start benefitting immediately? I don't get it.

What's the reasoning behind divesting fully deployed AWS spectrum and rendering 40 million devices obsolete, and how's that less painful than divesting 2.5Ghz spectrum that's barely been deployed which Sprint has in insane quantities?

I hope you realize that there are 40+ million subscribers currently connected to T-Mobile's AWS, whether its their WCDMA or LTE. AWS isn't going anywhere unless T-Mobile uses greenfield licenses for trading purposes. I'd say adding WCDMA on PCS to Sprint's existing footprint, followed by B41 and 800Mhz on T-Mobile sites is more realistic.