Fast & Furious Multiple new T-Mobile 700MHz sightings around the nation

Shilohcane

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Aug 5, 2012
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I would like to make this thread to keep up with T-Mobile's 700Mhz Rollout around the nation. More important I also want remind people about the importance of T-Mobile customer to only buy phones that supports or will soon support T-Mobiles 700Mhz Band 12 block A. I think we need to send this message to people on T-Mobile and MetroPCS loud and clear. When customers get these new phones that supports Block A then 70% of T-Mobiles customers are going to get a gigantic seismic waves of 700Mhz signal that will penetrate building and extend LTE coverage. People need to tell their TMO friend the importance of getting these new phones even if they don't have 700Mhz where they live so when they travel they will get the best quality spectrum on TMO.

T-Mobile only closed its first deal for 700MHz low-band spectrum with Verizon 12 months ago. Since then, it’s acquired more band 12 airwaves from a number of small, mostly independent companies and has enough to now cover 190 million people

T-Mobile is rolling out 700Mhz around the country fast where they have the spectrum rights and no channel 51 interference. I think T-Mobiles biggest issue currently now is we only have two phones that support 700Mhz Band 12 block A (Note 4 & Note Edge). However that is going to change fast with the Samsung S6, HTC M9 and a few other current phones getting a software update to enable Block A.

Multiple new 700MHz sightings in Cleveland and Cincinnati, OH among others
 
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Shilohcane

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Aug 5, 2012
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The reasons why the new T-Mobile 700Mhz band 12 Block A is so important is sub-1GHz spectrum is the only reason that Verizon and AT&T has a better quality cell signal than T-Mobile. T-Mobile needs to have two, three or even four more cell towers with their 1.7Ghz, 1.9Ghz and 2.1Ghz spectrum. No one has said it better than this quote from Android's Central story I would like to quote here from their article; Relax, your smartphone and smartwatch won't — and can't — give you cancer


Our cell phones operate across a variety of radio frequencies, ranging from 700MHz up to 2.7GHz. That's well on the low-side of radio frequencies. The most-coveted bands are on the lower side, take the 2008 U.S. 700MHz spectrum auction that saw AT&T and Verizon spend a combined $16.3 billion on licenses to operate in the spectrum as evidence of how valuable they are.

The lower frequencies are prized because of their ability to better penetrate structures like walls and their wider propagation in comparison to higher frequencies. A carrier operating on the 1900MHz band will need 2-4 times as many towers to cover the same area as one on 850MHz, and will still see worse indoors performance. This is partly why LTE running on 700MHz has been more successful and spread much faster in the U.S. than Sprint's failed WiMAX initiative running on their 2.5GHz band ever did.

The reason that 700MHz can better penetrate solid materials than, say 2.5GHz, is due to that wavelength. A lower frequency has a longer wavelength, and is thus more easily able to pass through solid materials without being hindered by the atoms of said solid materials (when we're working at this atomic level, even solid concrete is really just a jumble of atoms with a lot of empty space between them — it's the strength of the atomic bonds that makes solid stuff solid, not the density). Higher frequencies are more likely to be reflected or absorbed.

The ability of radiation to pass through materials decreases as the frequency increases to the point infrared and visible light. After that, the ability to pass through stuff increases rapidly, but for a different reason. Where low frequency radiation has a longer and harder to disrupt wavelength and lower energies, high frequency radiation's shorter wavelengths may be more easily disrupted, but it also carries significantly more energy. That's why we can use gamma rays for eliminating brain tumors without opening the skull — instead of slipping through like low frequency radiation, they punch through.
 

Shilohcane

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Aug 5, 2012
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This is a good map of Current T-Mobile 700Mhz that just started rolling out last fall but is active in so many places that it is easier to show this map than post everywhere it is showed up in the past. The blue ( maybe purple) antenna icons show where the 700 Mhz is currently working.

Un-Official National Map of T-Mobiles 700 Mhz Spectrum..

Also, that map is from this site Spectrum Gateway that deserves the credit for putting it together and gives much more detail about both that map and even more important stuff about how channel 51 TV is slowing down TMO's rollout.
 

HawaiiD

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Feb 20, 2011
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No Hawaii yet?

Sent from my Sony Xperia Z3 via the Coconut Wireless \000/
 

anon(5719825)

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Coming to Denver soon. Map says that a TV station has requested relocation back in October and that it takes 6-12 months for that to happen before the 700MHZ band can be used by T-Mobile. Next fall then probably.
 

Jay Holm

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Mar 20, 2013
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If anyone knows of any 700mhz Band 12 sightings in Connecticut, Bridgeport, Stratford, Waterbury, or Southington, please let me know. Southington would be the most important, I'm dependent on wifi at my sisters house.

Posted via the Android Central App
 

Shilohcane

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Aug 5, 2012
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If anyone knows of any 700mhz Band 12 sightings in Connecticut, Bridgeport, Stratford, Waterbury, or Southington, please let me know. Southington would be the most important, I'm dependent on wifi at my sisters house.

Posted via the Android Central App


Connecticut has a lot of TMO's 700Mhz sighting on this map shown with the purple antenna icon. Waterbury shows up on the map with 700Mhz. Bridgeport, Stratford & Southington are all inside areas that TMO own's 700Mhz spectrum plus outside of the NJ Channel 51 exclusion zone so it should have 700Mhz now or will soon have it.

This is a Google Map that shows the areas where T-Mobile has 700Mhz spectrum in pink with the exceptions of the Channel 51 exclusion zone outlined in a red circle. The the purple antenna icon shows where the site has reported TMO's 700Mhz block A towers.

Map of T-Mobile's 700 MHz spectrum

This guy used the service screen on his Note 4 in New Haven and found a TMO 700Mhz tower on Band 12.
https://www.reddit.com/r/tmobile/comments/2rkbi4/band_12_lte_spotted_in_new_haven_ct/


Also, if you have a Android phone you can use CellMapper App from the Playstore (free) to upload your own cell tower data and find all the TMO cell towers that will on a PC which shows you which band spectrum they are using. BTW, my Nexus 5 has no issues getting hot with this App as someone said it did to theirs. http://forums.androidcentral.com/t-...d-app-map-your-t-mobile-towers-your-area.html
 

Jay Holm

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Mar 20, 2013
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Thank you very much for the info. I know the 700mhz frequency has a long range, but for more dense coverage and better data speed, I certainly hope T-Mobile intends to put up more 700mhz antennas throughout Ct, especially the northern part of the state, near Colebrook and Stafford Springs, way, way up there near the Mass border, it would be nice to have LTE coverage out there in the middle of no where near some lakes and state parks.

Posted via the Android Central App
 

tonyr6

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Nov 20, 2013
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WNJN is the reason why NYC won't get 700 mhz on T-Mobile. What is the deal with this stupid station. First they have about 2 or 3 other broadcast stations I can get WNJB which is on RF 8 from a roof antenna and I also get it on Dish Network who needs WNJN then.
 

Shilohcane

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Aug 5, 2012
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WNJN is the reason why NYC won't get 700 mhz on T-Mobile. What is the deal with this stupid station. First they have about 2 or 3 other broadcast stations I can get WNJB which is on RF 8 from a roof antenna and I also get it on Dish Network who needs WNJN then.

WNJN ( Moclair, NJ) is up for FCC renewal now and their FCC license ends on June 1st, 2015. Currently WNJN has a FCC Exclusion zone around Moclair that encompasses NYC. There is a chance that the FCC will drop the WNJN Exclusion zone under the FCC license renewal. Technically T-Mobile's Band 12 Block A was the old UHF channel 52 not the Channel 51 that WNJN is using now. The Exclusion zone was for a guard band on interference from Channel 52. WNJN is a very low power 200Khz Maximum effective radiated power that doesn't even reach NYC that is 13 miles away by air. https://stations.fcc.gov/station-profile/wnjn

If the FCC takes away WNJN's exclusion zone in the renewal then T-Mobile can light up their Block 12 band A in NYC just like TMO has done with KXLA that was a more powerful 400 khz power with a“concurrent operations” route.

T-Mobile now free to implement 700 MHz coverage in Los Angeles
 
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Shilohcane

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Aug 5, 2012
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I read that when you posted it a few days ago which is why I replied. :)

Sorry I apologize. Had a strange day today and have been distracted. Your Note 4 is good to go with Band 12. Depending where you live in Colorado it could takes some time. T-Mobile will only upgrade a few towers at a time and even then only where they already have great coverage from their other tower spectrum. Since few people have phones that support band 12 they have to pick areas where people that don't have phones that support band 12 still have signal. The only way I can find them is with Cellmapper driving around since the antenna all look a like to me. :)

You could have band 12 on one side of the tower and band 4 on the other side of that same tower since the cell unit points in only one direction from what I been told. I had no idea there were about 100 TMO cell transmitter in just Broward County Fl, so your phone is always going to pick the best signal regardless of band # where every you look.
 
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anon(5719825)

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I live about a mile west of the tower that my Note 4 connects to. It is a very strong signal. At night, I get close to 60Mbps down and during the day, 20-40Mbps.

I know the tower is close because I have an iPhone app called signal that shows where the tower is that the phone is connected to. I hope they upgrade it soon since it is what makes T-Mobile so impressive in my area.
 

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