Verizon Wireless to add 16 more EV-DO markets by year-end

[DanPFW]

I'm kind of starting to wonder if they maybe aren't finally going to bring this to Minneapolis?

I've noticed 1 site has been reconfigured in the past week. Now, instead of 4 large panels, it has 3 large panels and 2 small panels between them. Incidentally, this site is close to the regional office in town.

It's been interesting and confusing watching how they upgrade the network. I thought all along that they would've put up the 1900 Mhz equipment when they upgraded this market to 1x, but now to see this site changed again, I am really confused. They must really like to visit all 200 sites every once in a while?

Originally, all sites had 5 large panels, then around the time 1x came to town, they removed one and there were 4. Now it looks like they will drop 1 more 800 panel and add 2 PCS panels.

Needless to say, my service has already degraded from this asinine move. They failed to put up another site to pick up the traffic from this already overloaded site when it had 4 panels.

I'm really starting to lose any confidence that they have a clue of how to optimize a network, let alone any initial setup. Maybe they should start following the 5 9s rule network administrators use. 99.999% uptime of systems?

I'm also losing faith in this Qwest purchase. I've already come across a half-dozen or so sites that Sprint has taken over. Does the purchase price change with every piece of equipment that Sprint takes? With this current trend, all worthwhile locations will be taken by Sprint.

I'm also learning that Sprint actually seems to give a heck of a lot more attention to their network around here. In my experience, minus the building penetration issue with 1900 Mhz, the signal is just as strong as 800 Mhz. They have 30 Mhz and VZW has 25 Mhz, correct? Sprint has maps that show all of their sites, and future sites. They continually add new sites, and are currently up to roughly 350 sites in the counties comparable to VZW's market. In contrast, VZW only has about 275 sites. That's about 75 sites. Sprint has added 10-12 this year alone, VZW has maybe added 2. This large gap can only mean a couple of things, either 1, Sprint has many more customers, or 2, Sprint actually gives a damn about the service around here. Yes, Sprint has problems, just like VZW, but in general, they cover more places. It's just too bad they can't sign some roaming agreements like VZW has.


Dan

[jones]

VZW is not Telling where those 16 markets are, so maybe in their next press release.

[AnthroMatt]

I think the discrepancy in number of sites (VZW vs. Sprint) is directly related to the 800/1900 issue you mentioned. Any 1900 network can be just as good, and can allow building penetration nearly equal to that of an 800 carrier, as long as they have enough sites. So although Sprint has many more sites than Verizon, it is possible the coverage is equal or that Verizon is better. A 1900 carrier just has to have more sites to obtain an equal footprint.

As an example, T-Mobile and Sprint, two 1900 carriers, both work very well in my basement. A Sprint tower is about 1/4 mile north of me, the TM tower about 1/4 south. Cingular is 800 and switches over to ATT (also 1900) in my basement. ATT is located on the same tower as TM. The Cingular tower is about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile from me. So at my house anyway, Cingular is not very good, despite it's use of 800MHz band. I get better building penetration from three 1900 carriers simply because they have towers located closer to me.

[DanPFW]

I guess I'm just a little amazed at the proactiveness of Sprint. I've always heard horrible things about their network. Now it seems like new sites are popping up daily!

Maybe some of this is attributed to the Qwest deal? If so, more power to them. I can only hope we get a 1/4 of this result once VZW gets the rest of the company, but I'm not holding my breath.

I realize they would need many sites near downtown areas with tall buildings and many people, but most of these sites are going up in residential areas where VZW doesn't have signal either. You can't tell me if both companies have equipment on a tower a half mile away that has absolutely nothing in the way; the signal strength would be that much different between them.

No, it appears to me that Sprint is finally taking the signal off of the freeways and into the neighborhoods! Something VZW needs to start doing around here. It seems that the network gets overcrowded with the freeway traffic, and there is nothing left in for people at home to place a call with. I live between 3 freeways and have this problem constantly as the cell breathing effect takes place, however, Sprint has about 3 more sites in the area. The Sprint sites are about the same distance as the VZW sites, and in very similar locations, but since they have 3 more sites, their signal actually works in my house. The signal strengths are about the same between the networks, but Sprint's signal is usable, because there is bandwidth to spare.

Dan

[AnthroMatt]

You are correct, if both companies had equipment on the same tower outdoor (and even indoor depending on the type of building) would not be very different. In the example I gave above, Verizon is also on the same tower as ATT and TM, and they work just fine too. They are not "better" than the two 1900 carriers in my basement. But if you could build some kind of "magic" building where you could keep going deeper and deeper into the building, with everything else being equal the 1900MHz signal should fade first.

But you are right, kudos to Sprint for being proactive. That's always a good thing!

[DanPFW]

Maybe this is why Sprint is investing so much in neighborhoods?

Telular Corporation Announces Market Trial with U.S. Wireless Carrier for Phonecell® Fixed Wireless Terminals

New CDMA2000® 1X Terminal Provides Residential Telephone Service

http://www.telular.com/profile/relea...lay.asp?ID=187

At least Sprint realizes their customers want to do more than talk on the phone while driving! Like perhaps having usable service in their homes?

Dan