NYC Cabs to Test Cell Signal Strength

I hope since this is Ericsson, it won't just be a GSM test. This better include CDMA.

Which brings me to my next point, how do you include Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, Cingular, and Nextel into one modem sized thing?

 

Yankees, Isn't this just one company testing their own network through the NYC cabs???

 

So this isn't really unbiased? And the public will likely not get the results I assume.....

 

At least they mention that it's nothing new. When I was contracting to a carrier a few years ago they offered additional money if I was to put the box in my truck while working. At that time I think the carrier had them on taxi's, some private busses and some delivery trucks. It's a great way of both cheaply and randomly testing the network for dead and blocked spots though it doesn't help with specific areas. You still need fulltime drive testers for specific projects and new cell turnups.

 

Jones, read the article, it's not an "unbiased test, . Far from it..
This is being paid for by ONE cell company, which will be given the data & "decide" how to interpret it. .. The cabs are "open" to other carriers if & when they ever wish to run & control their own version of this program.
Sound like what happened with the "fewest dropped calls" CING data ... The company that ran the tests was quoted as saying they "did not" draw that conclusion, & wasn't even sure how CING interpreted their raw data to come up with that ....
This sounds like it could be a good idea, though ... if it was actually run independet, & tested every carrier equally at the same time/same cab.
Seems like carriers such as Sprint & T Mbl/Next would get better results/ PR benefit, since their big coverage gaps are in the outlying counties, vs. NYC 5 boroughs ... I wouldn't be surprised if this is a T-Bobile or Sprint sponsored Test ...

 

I didn't think you were that dense jones. The article states that the Commission is being paid for doing this. While they are doing the physical half of the test, someone is paying them to do it. Why would they do it for free?

 

The old saying goes:

A$$, gas or grass, no one rides for free

It would I imagine apply here.

The unnamed provider will use/skew the data to their benefit.

We will see the results only marginally if there is a big rollout at some point in the future with bells and whistles.

If it is cabs you know that Bed-Stuy is not getting a lot of signal mapping done.

 

The article says it is Ericsson who is concucting the test very clearly: "The Stockholm-based firm Ericsson recently got approval from New York's taxi commission to place mobile sensors in the trunks of at least 50 cabs in an attempt to better map dead zones in mobile phone networks."

So it is easy to conclude that they are the ones paying the cabs to run around with these sensors.

Ericsson has always been anti-CDMA so the test may be GSM only. However, it can also include all technologies (CDMA, GSM and IDEN) in an attempt to test every carrier.

What bothers me about this article is that they write that they are mapping dead zones as if there are any in NYC. At street level, which is where these cabs will be running around on, we should understand once and for all that there are NO dead zones in NYC except on the Battery Tunnel and the Midtown Tunnel. However, there are spots on certain roads where you can drop calls, but it is not due to dead zones, it is due to interference and other factors.

Therefore, a signal strength test will fail miserably because they will find that there is signal all over every NYC street in every corner. So let's hope the article is simply not written correctly and that this test is more than just a signal strength test. They have to test actual phone calls for call quality and handoffs if they are to conclude something significant.

By the way, you can make a suitcase-sized box containing everything necessary to test every network in NYC. It can contain computer hardware and software and the needed transceivers to conduct the test efficiently and that will fit nicely in any car trunk.

 

The line in the article that caught my eye was:
...."The research program is being conducted on behalf of an UNDISCLOSED wireless provider. Cab companies will be paid for participating....."
This "seems" to indicate that the program is being conducted for one single carrier, & that they are paying for the test.
The parts about which company was chosen to furnish the equipment, & that the cabs are "open" to any other carriers wishing to run a similar test seem to just confirm that.

As you mentioned, there are almost NO dead zones outdoors at street level in NYC, (especially in a cab with a trunk or roof mounted gain antenna), & most cabs can drive for months or more without ever venturing into "bad" or outlying areas, so I can already see the results hype:

"XXX Wireless" recently ran a test using 80 NYC cabs, & after 45 days & xxx miles of total driving, found that there is not a single dead zone in Manhattan..."
This, or something similar, will be the end result of this PR stunt, since they all already have the info they need from their own more specific drive tests, vs these random cab rides...........

 

I am sure it's going to be either Cingular or T-Mobile running these "Tests" being Ericsson is involved, but do think other carriers will get on board.

Maybe they can get the bike messengers to put a device on their backpacks (or give them one) & see how coverage is indoors vs just on the streets. Then they could really get into the game of which carrier has the better network.

 

Or it's a CDMA carrier trying to prove their network is better, though I'd wager it's a GSM carrier.

 

Old news. This has been going on in LA for years. It is an Ericsson funded benchmark that is sold to Cingular...at least that is what they have been doing in SoCal for the last 5+ years. One of my RF Engineers at Andrew used to be on the team at Ericsson that did the taxi drive testing.

 

Don't forget that what may show in the results as a 'dead zone' could be the inability to initiate a test call due to lack of signal that is actually co-channel interference from too much coverage and poorly planned sectors. A large outcome of the data from these tests will be optimization of the existing network.

 

But we all know that Pepsi is better than Coke.

-Jay

 

Are you kidding me? HAHAHA

They are getting paid to use their cars as a packmule to carry the test gear. That is all. The testing is being conducted by a RAN OEM for a Carrier. It is not to put out a press release about coverage, it is for the carrier to improve their network and Ericsson to tell them where they need to purchase for radios.

 

Sprite isn't a choice. Coke or Pepsi. If you caught me in a good mood I might have even accepted RC, but no. Sprite is out. And before you say anything else so is Fresca, Crystal Pepsi, Coke II, TAB, Diet Rite, TEEM, and MR PIBB.


-Jay

 

You might as well be drinking Orangina then.

-Jay

 

The thing is there isn't any of those problems in NYC. The only thing you will find are areas where calls will drop due to an incomplete handoff when driving, but you won't have persistent problems initiating calls due to RF problems. I can already tell you where those places are without having to pay taxi cabs to find out. Get on any major bridge coming out of Manhattan (Williamsburgh, Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Triborough) and your call will likely drop. The 59st Bridge and the GWB seem to be the only ones where they got it done ok. None of the small bridges have any problems since they remain closer to ground level. The problem seems to be when you are on elevations which happens on the larger bridges.

As for the Whitestone and Throgs Neck, those are ok because the airwaves are not as congested since they are not as close to Manhattan. I haven't been to the Verrazano in a long time so I don't know how things are going there, but the Tappan Zee has no problems dropping calls either.

The only time you won't be able to initiate a call is probably when the phone can't get an open channel due to the sectors being full to capacity, and that only happens during parades or times when there are lots of people packed in a small area. Usually, if you try again, it will go through as the phone will have a chance to switch to a better channel.

 

There may not be areas that are actually dead, but there are many areas where service is quite low. Go uptown and you will find some areas that certain carriers are just poor and could use improvement.

 

c'mon we all know who has the best network in nyc..........verizon.

 

Don't forget that in order to drop calls, you have to make calls first. On the Triborough I've had the call continue and not drop, but it drops just about 50% of the times.

 

Baloney. There are plenty of sectors for every carrier in NYC that step on a neighbor and cause problems. Not enough down tilt, or for GSM improperly laid out channel plans...I am very aware of it as it caused significant problems for E-911 locates and under deep investigation the problem was the network, not the E-911 system.