Switching to sprint a mistake?

[EatMyTracers]

Ok so right now I have an original Motorola droid on verizon. At my house I get about 1mbs download on 3g, with this speed I'm not impressed but it may be that I have an old phone. From what I hear sprint will have even worse speeds but my parents want to switch to sprint. Should I try to convince them not to? AT&T is not an option because my parents hate them. Only good thing about sprint for me is there is the possibility of getting a samsung galaxy note 2, if not then a galaxy s3. Is sprint really not as bad as people say?

 

[541rrhse]

Ok so right now I have an original Motorola droid on verizon. At my house I get about 1mbs download on 3g, with this speed I'm not impressed but it may be that I have an old phone. From what I hear sprint will have even worse speeds but my parents want to switch to sprint. Should I try to convince them not to? AT&T is not an option because my parents hate them. Only good thing about sprint for me is there is the possibility of getting a samsung galaxy note 2, if not then a galaxy s3. Is sprint really not as bad as people say?

1Mbps on 3G is very good be it Verizon or Sprint, if you are wanting faster you would be best served looking at 4G LTE. With regards to your parents, you could always get your own line I suppose. Chances are they may be trying to save money.

 

[EatMyTracers]

1Mbps on 3G is very good be it Verizon or Sprint, if you are wanting faster you would be best served looking at 4G LTE. With regards to your parents, you could always get your own line I suppose. Chances are they may be trying to save money.

Yes they want to save money and I can't get my own line because I'm in high school and don't have money for that. I thought 1mbs wasn't that great because I have seen people getting like 4mbs but that might be LTE. So what about sprint speeds? Is it as slow as a lot of people say?

 

[541rrhse]

Yes they want to save money and I can't get my own line because I'm in high school and don't have money for that. I thought 1mbs wasn't that great because I have seen people getting like 4mbs but that might be LTE. So what about sprint speeds? Is it as slow as a lot of people say?

As with any carrier it depends on many variables per market location. If you are located in a market that has or will be getting LTE / "Network Vision" upgrades soon then chances are you will be in good shape.

 

[thenameisnigel]

As with any carrier it depends on many variables per market location. If you are located in a market that has or will be getting LTE / "Network Vision" upgrades soon then chances are you will be in good shape.

Sprint is trying to do upgrades on every tower. Network Vision is not necessarily LTE.

Sources: I work at Sprint.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[541rrhse]

Sprint is trying to do upgrades on every tower. Network Vision is not necessarily LTE.

Sources: I work at Sprint.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

Yes Sprint is shuttering many sites and rebuilding every one they keep. Moving from a total of 68,000 sites down to 38,000 total sites.

If you are referring to the network upgrades prior to the physical teardown those upgrades are shown here: https://network.sprint.com/
"Network Vision" is much more than just LTE.



Sprint Newsroom | Sprint Network Vision Information Center

Network Vision, originally announced in December 2010, is Sprint’s plan to consolidate multiple network technologies into one seamless network with the goal of increasing efficiency and enhancing network coverage, call quality and data speeds for customers across the United States.

On Oct. 7, 2011, Sprint announced its plans to accelerate deployment of Network Vision and its plans to roll out 4G LTE on its 1.9 GHz licensed spectrum. Sprint expects the rapid deployment to reach 250 million people by the end of 2013.


Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO
“Our progress deploying Network Vision enables Sprint to extend and evolve our 4G leadership and to improve the experience for 3G customers. Our next-generation network and cutting-edge device lineup, combined with the industry’s best pricing plans, give Sprint customers the best experience in wireless.”


Current vs. New cell site

Today, Sprint uses separate equipment to deploy services on 800 MHz and 1.9 GHz spectrum. Through Network Vision Sprint will install new network equipment and software that brings together multiple spectrum bands, or airwaves, on a single, multimode base station. The new equipment makes it easy to accommodate additional spectrum bands.

With Network Vision, Sprint will make substantial changes to the cell sites that power its wireless network. The top image shows Sprint’s existing base stations, which require single, refrigerator-sized cabinets for each technology. Large black coaxial cables must run from each cabinet to the top of the cell tower, which has an inherent loss of signal. The Network Vision multi-mode base station will require less space. Other advantages will include the ability for Sprint to use spectrum bands on multiple technologies, replacing coaxial cables with fiber that is not affected by signal loss and improved remote radio heads that replace existing less efficient radios.


Multi-mode technology


The implementation of multimode technology throughout the Sprint network will:
• Enhance service
• Create network flexibility
• Reduce operating costs
• Improve environmental sustainability

? Berge Ayvazian, Senior Consultant, Heavy Reading
“This is a very bold move. Sprint was first with an all-digital wireless network; the first to upgrade to EVDO; and more recently, the first to broadly offer 4G services. Sprint is once again first to deploy a common converged mobile network that will strengthen its 3G services; enhance its 4G technology options; and continue delivering the industry’s leading push-to-talk offering.” -- December, 2010

Network Vision Progress: Sprint and its Network Vision partners, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson and Samsung are executing detailed deployment plans, with deployment of 22,000 cell sites currently underway and many technical milestones achieved.

Roll-out of LTE on 1.9 GHz spectrum: Sprint will extend its 4G leadership position in the U.S. by adding LTE technology to enhance its current 4G offerings, with plans to launch LTE on its existing 1.9 GHz spectrum by mid-year of 2012. Sprint expects its 4G coverage footprint to cover 250 million people when the build-out is completed by the end of 2013.

Sprint Direct Connect: On October 2, Sprint launched Sprint Direct Connect, the next generation of push-to-talk service with broadband data capabilities. Operating on the CDMA network, we expect Sprint Direct Connect to give customers 3x greater coverage—from 900,000 square miles to approximately 2.7 million - a broader lineup of devices including smartphones, and all the benefits associated with broadband capabilities.

3G Network Improvement: Sprint expects a significant improvement in customers’ 3G network experience, including expanded coverage, improved network reliability, better voice quality, and faster 3G data speeds. Based on forecasts of data demand, Sprint is confident its 3G network will meet customers’ growing data demands.

Financial benefit to Sprint

? Sprint expects the Network Vision plan to bring financial benefit to the company.

? This is to come from reducing operating costs and also by avoiding future expenses as wireless data traffic continues to grow.

? The total estimated incremental cost of the Network Vision program over the deployment period is between $4 billion and $5 billion.

? Sprint estimates the total net financial benefit over a seven-year period will be between $10 billion and $11 billion.

? Cost savings are expected to come from capital efficiencies, reducing energy costs, lowering roaming expenses, backhaul savings and the eventual reduction in the total number of cell sites.



EV-DO Advanced, while offering operators a way to improve network performance via a software upgrade, doesn't address peak download speeds. It does, however, improve overall network capacity and latency through techniques such as load balancing, adaptive frequency reuse and single-carrier multilink. Moreover, the upgrade is compatible with existing Rev. A devices.

1X Advanced builds on 1X technology and adds techniques such as BTS interference cancellation, radio link enhancements and others to provide boosts to performance including up to a 4x increase in voice capacity and up to a 70% increase in coverage.

Sprint -- LTE-Advanced, FD-LTE + TD-LTE, VoLTE, HD Voice


[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkOIQT3-J8g[/YT]

Uploaded by ConvergeDigest on Oct 31, 2011

Iyad Tarazi, Sprint's VP of Network Development and Engineering, discusses the company's Network Vision, including:

* Phase 1 of the LTE rollout now and into 2012
* Phase 2 with LTE-Advanced, including 4x4 MIMO, in 2013
* Extending the Clearwire partnership by running FD-LTE alongside TD-LTE using dual mode devices
* Voice over LTE and the HD voice over the CDMA network

 

[thenameisnigel]

I agree with you, but intially Network Vision upgrades was just to inhance the 3G network, but somewhere along the line came rolling in the LTE network.

Thats what I was trying to say.

 

[dchawk81]

If your parents want to save money, and you're not able to go on your own/pay for your part, they'll do what they want to do. You can present your case until you're blue in the face but at the end of the day they aren't going to keep spending that extra money so you can tweet faster.

 

[EatMyTracers]

If your parents want to save money, and you're not able to go on your own/pay for your part, they'll do what they want to do. You can present your case until you're blue in the face but at the end of the day they aren't going to keep spending that extra money so you can tweet faster.

Well my parents probably won't want slow speeds as they use smartphones also and actually them need for work. Also you're very ignorant if you didn't know.

 

[541rrhse]

Well my parents probably won't want slow speeds as they use smartphones also and actually need for work. Also you're very ignorant if you didn't know.

What metro area are you located near? Others may chime in to give some first hand experiences.

 

[EatMyTracers]

What metro area are you located near? Others may chime in to give some first hand experiences.

I'm in San Diego. Thanks for being helpful.

 

[cgardnervt]

The Sprint 4G LTE network is here!

 

[Zhara]

I'm in San Diego. Thanks for being helpful.

Um yeah, they have a ton of upgrades planned for the San Diego area. You shouldn't have anything to worry about, unlike me, who lives in a small town in Oklahoma. Lol.