Develop Bugs

Understanding Sprint's Strategy

Today’s Sprint strategy meeting revealed a significant amount of information about the future of the Now Network. Sprint has began the rollout of its new network and the rapid deployment of LTE on their 800 and 1900MHz frequencies. In fact, the “Network Vision” deployment is going so well that Sprint is expecting to be completely finished by the of end of 2013, rather than the speculated 3 to 5 years.
Sprint is investing $4 to $5 billion into “Network Vision,” with an expected net return of $10 to $11 billion by 2017. Sprint is expecting to launch it’s first LTE device by mid-2012 (posibly an LTE EVO device) and close the year with 15 LTE devices in it’s lineup. The agreement between Clearwire and Sprint is set expire at the end of 2012. Sprint will sell WiMax devices all the way through til the end of 2012, but support for WiMax devices will continue for an unspecified period beyond 2012.
Sprint is progressively turning over the Nextel 800MHz spectrum for use on CDMA. The 800 and 1900MHz spectra are owned and operated by Sprint, and will provide for voice, data, and 4G as per “Network Vision.” Pending FCC approval due to GPS interference, LightSquared’s 1600MHz spectrum will also be used exclusively for LTE on Sprint, in addition to the 800 and 1900MHz frequencies. There are no plans to use Clearwire or their 2.5GHz spectrum after 2012. However, Sprint is waiting to see what happens with their network change to LTE.
Many of you have numerous questions such as: “Why is LightSquared paying Sprint to use their LTE network?”, “Where is Sprint getting the money to invest in “Network Vision?”, “What is going to happen to my WiMax device?”, or “How does this effect me?” Keep reading for answers to all these questions.
http://briefmobile.com/understanding-sprints-strategy

My question is why do they need so many frequencys of lte
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gtuansdiamm said:
My question is why do they need so many frequencys of lte
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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Because it answers spectrum issues while allowing for building penetration when needed.

gtuansdiamm said:
My question is why do they need so many frequencys of lte
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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1900MHz will be the primary LTE usage. 800MHz will be used by around 20% of users, and that's mainly deep in buildings and in extremely rural areas. 1600MHz is basically a bonus that came with LightSquare. There is still a chance the FCC might not pass it's usage of the frequency because it is so close to the GPS frequency. It's only 20MHz of spectrum in the 1600MHz realm, so it's no big deal. It's the money that Sprint needs.

Does this mean that our Wimax devices will be worthless? I hate that we have to pay an up charge for 4g devices using a technology that will not be in service in two years and Sprint really dragged their butts in trying to implement in the first place. I will probably upgrade to a new device by this time, but it is really pissing me off that they do this and cancel the one year upgrade.
Not that my Wimax is really doing anything in the first place, whenever I go to a place that has Wimax coverage (per Clearmax's maps) I can get just enough signal for my phone to tell me it has 4g. I get excited and then find out that its not strong enough and this is with two different phones (Epic & Epic Touch) and then the phone gives up on connecting to 4g anyway.
I paid the 3g up charge around 2006 when I lived in a town that did not have 3g coverage. I did not mind as Sprint upgraded their towers and eventually got me 3g. I would be pissed to pay this fee on phone using technology that they will abandon requiring me to buy something else to take advantage of newer technology that I have subsidized through a charge that I have never really taken advantage of.
Thanks Sprint for selling us devices with an up charge for a technology that you will abandon in a few years.

mag44 said:
Does this mean that our Wimax devices will be worthless? I hate that we have to pay an up charge for 4g devices using a technology that will not be in service in two years and Sprint really dragged their butts in trying to implement in the first place. I will probably upgrade to a new device by this time, but it is really pissing me off that they do this and cancel the one year upgrade.
Not that my Wimax is really doing anything in the first place, whenever I go to a place that has Wimax coverage (per Clearmax's maps) I can get just enough signal for my phone to tell me it has 4g. I get excited and then find out that its not strong enough and this is with two different phones (Epic & Epic Touch) and then the phone gives up on connecting to 4g anyway.
I paid the 3g up charge around 2006 when I lived in a town that did not have 3g coverage. I did not mind as Sprint upgraded their towers and eventually got me 3g. I would be pissed to pay this fee on phone using technology that they will abandon requiring me to buy something else to take advantage of newer technology that I have subsidized through a charge that I have never really taken advantage of.
Thanks Sprint for selling us devices with an up charge for a technology that you will abandon in a few years.
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WiMax will be supported for around 2 to 3 years after 2012. I will bet on that.

newalker91 said:
Stop it. You're not paying any fee for 4G, you're paying for having a data intensive smartphone. So tired of hearing people whine about $10 saying it's for a service they don't get. It is not a charge for 4G. Go price a plan on another unlimited carri- oh wait you cant.
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Yes, corporate double speak from from Sprint. They did the exact SAME THING during the 3G roll out. I remember I had a Samsung A900 phone at the time. You are paying to subside their 4G roll out and I personally don't care about this if they didn't bungle it with this Wimax crap that they are abandoning in a few years.
Data intensive is just a joke after they realized that they weren't going to get 4g into many markets and even the markets that they got into implemented it in the coverage was too spotty.
Anyway If they really wanted to tax "data intensive" phones why didn't they do this earlier, they had phones that sucked up data before this whole charge.
I'm not complaining about the charge itself, I would appreciate it if it was used like the 3G charge. Which I believe helped the speed of the 3g implementation. I have been with Sprint since 2002 moved from a big city to a smaller town since then and was impressed with their service upgrades in the 2006~2007 time period.

mag44 said:
Yes, corporate double speak from from Sprint. They did the exact SAME THING during the 3G roll out. I remember I had a Samsung A900 phone at the time. You are paying to subside their 4G roll out and I personally don't care about this if they didn't bungle it with this Wimax crap that they are abandoning in a few years.
Data intensive is just a joke after they realized that they weren't going to get 4g into many markets and even the markets that they got into implemented it in the coverage was too spotty.
Anyway If they really wanted to tax "data intensive" phones why didn't they do this earlier, they had phones that sucked up data before this whole charge.
I'm not complaining about the charge itself, I would appreciate it if it was used like the 3G charge. Which I believe helped the speed of the 3g implementation. I have been with Sprint since 2002 moved from a big city to a smaller town since then and was impressed with their service upgrades in the 2006~2007 time period.
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So what if you are? They have to pay for it some how!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

newalker91 said:
Stop it. You're not paying any fee for 4G, you're paying for having a data intensive smartphone. So tired of hearing people whine about $10 saying it's for a service they don't get. It is not a charge for 4G. Go price a plan on another unlimited carri- oh wait you cant.
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Dude, it's not worth it.
It's been discussed and proven 10000000000000000000000000000 times on this boards.
They're trolls.
They should honestly get a ban for not reading and just trolling.

Korey_Nicholson said:
So what if you are? They have to pay for it some how!
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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The whole point is they picked the wrong 4g technology. They decided to charge people for 4g initially, then realized that they messed up and decided to call the extra charge to a "data intensive" fee to cover their butts so people would not complain about not having 4g. And people like me would get labeled as whiners for even bringing up the issue. I travel a lot and even when I am in 4g cities the coverage is spotty at best. Now Sprint has changed paths, along with their upgrade offer, potentially leaving people in the dust with their extra fees.
Like I said in my earlier post I paid the extra fee to have a 3g phone when they first came out, but I would be pissed if they changed to some new 3g technology and my phone lost one of its selling points. I didn't mind that I got no 3g service at first in my home town but it eventually came.

mag44 said:
The whole point is they picked the wrong 4g technology. They decided to charge people for 4g initially, then realized that they messed up and decided to call the extra charge to a "data intensive" fee to cover their butts so people would not complain about not having 4g. And people like me would get labeled as whiners for even bringing up the issue. I travel a lot and even when I am in 4g cities the coverage is spotty at best. Now Sprint has changed paths, along with their upgrade offer, potentially leaving people in the dust with their extra fees.
Like I said in my earlier post I paid the extra fee to have a 3g phone when they first came out, but I would be pissed if they changed to some new 3g technology and my phone lost one of its selling points. I didn't mind that I got no 3g service at first in my home town but it eventually came.
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1) At no point was it ever labeled a 4g fee.
2) By the time the Wimax network is shut down no one on XDA will have one and most of the rest of the population will have moved on as well.
See newalker91....its pointless.
Its literally the same pointless and rehashed arguments that have been used the last year and a half

newalker91 said:
They have openly stated that the Premium Data fee is to help carry the costs of both 4G roll-out and 3G backhaul improvements. The reason they need to do these things is because of the fact that a smartphone can now burn through 5-10 GB of data in a month without much effort at all. With the increase in data streaming/file hosting/social networking applications, it will only get higher. Add in the addition of the iPhone, the network cannot handle it. People want more than what they pay for, it's a rule of thumb with any service, it just gets really frustrating after hearing it day in and day out.
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I keep hearing the iphone will take down your network argument but how is an iphone any different than any top line android phone. They run the same or similar applications.
Anyway, I don't think anyone understands my frustration or bothered to read my posts. I DO NOT MIND PAYING THE EXTRA DATA FEE. I just feel used by having to pay to subsidies for some crappy "4g" technology that Sprint is abandoning and changed their phone upgrade policies to screw people who are attempting to take advantage of at the moment.
I have been a Sprint customer since 2002 and like their service for the most part, they provide value that I have not seen with the other carriers. I also love move Epic Touch it is a great phone its just stuff like this that gets me pissed off.
---------- Post added at 01:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:53 AM ----------
mattykinsx said:
1) At no point was it ever labeled a 4g fee.
2) By the time the Wimax network is shut down no one on XDA will have one and most of the rest of the population will have moved on as well.
See newalker91....its pointless.
Its literally the same pointless and rehashed arguments that have been used the last year and a half
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Okay not a 4g data fee but a PREMIUM DATA FEE. The 4g was not the total decider but it was a major decision point in their implementation of this fee. And I think that you are missing the point, I honestly don't care about the fee if they were using this to improve their Wimax. As far as phones using more data, they've had plenty of smartphones on the network before they did this, it was the 4g that allowed them to charge people.
http://androidandme.com/2010/05/new...s-mandatory-10-premium-29-for-mobile-hotspot/
Argument is also not "rehashed" as Sprint didn't decide to abandon their technology until this week but reading comprehension is beyond you so I will have to forgive you.
Again not complaining about the fee itself, I'm complaining about Sprints Wimax wasteland. If you read my posts I paid a $10 fee for my Samsung A900 3g and did not care because it garnered results. But here it ends up subsidizing some worthless and eventually abandoned technology. But, I am just a troll so what do I know.
And saying that nobody will have a wimax phone by the time they are phased out is an excellent argument. First, Sprint has changed their upgrade polices so many people NOT ON XDA (I do care about people not on this website) will be stuck on second tier wimax crap. Next, if you have a 4G phone right now you are paying for 4g wimax coverage (Yes you are also paying for the great camera on the phone and your facebook usage but if you read Sprint's statement this is mainly driven by 4g). I know that Sprint's official statements say that this extra charge is to cover the amount of data used by these phones but they decided to wait until their 4g phones were release and their poorly implemented 4g roll out. Its not smart to say its okay because by the time it comes through "we'll all have new phones".
And one more question, "Is the regular user burning through 5~10 GB of Data of their phone?". The only people that I know doing this are people who stream Netflix or something similar, who are not in the majority and Nextflix is not on every phone yet. I understand that there are users using an healthy amount of data on their phones but these people are NOT in the majority.
Although take my words for what its worth I just a troll though I've been here longer than the people who think that I am

newalker91 said:
They have openly stated that the Premium Data fee is to help carry the costs of both 4G roll-out and 3G backhaul improvements. The reason they need to do these things is because of the fact that a smartphone can now burn through 5-10 GB of data in a month without much effort at all. With the increase in data streaming/file hosting/social networking applications, it will only get higher. Add in the addition of the iPhone, the network cannot handle it. People want more than what they pay for, it's a rule of thumb with any service, it just gets really frustrating after hearing it day in and day out.
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Except we were just sold shiny new $600 phones, of which 4G is a prominent selling point... and now the majority of us in the country who don't currently have WiMAX are now hung out to dry for 2 years because we have no hope of ever GETTING 4G unless we want to fork out ANOTHER $600 for a new phone.
If I knew I was going to benefit by eventually being able to use 4G with this device, or even get reasonable 3G speeds in the major city I live in, I wouldn't be resentful of the fee at all. However, I will never be able to use 4G on this phone, and they could triple my current average 3G speeds and I'd be up to a whopping .5mbps.

Dalmus said:
Except we were just sold shiny new $600 phones, of which 4G is a prominent selling point... and now the majority of us in the country who don't currently have WiMAX are now hung out to dry for 2 years because we have no hope of ever GETTING 4G unless we want to fork out ANOTHER $600 for a new phone.
If I knew I was going to benefit by eventually being able to use 4G with this device, or even get reasonable 3G speeds in the major city I live in, I wouldn't be resentful of the fee at all. However, I will never be able to use 4G on this phone, and they could triple my current average 3G speeds and I'd be up to a whopping .5mbps.
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More like 1.5 mb/s consistently
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Dalmus said:
Except we were just sold shiny new $600 phones, of which 4G is a prominent selling point... and now the majority of us in the country who don't currently have WiMAX are now hung out to dry for 2 years because we have no hope of ever GETTING 4G unless we want to fork out ANOTHER $600 for a new phone.
If I knew I was going to benefit by eventually being able to use 4G with this device, or even get reasonable 3G speeds in the major city I live in, I wouldn't be resentful of the fee at all. However, I will never be able to use 4G on this phone, and they could triple my current average 3G speeds and I'd be up to a whopping .5mbps.
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If the gimmick that is "4g" is that big of a deal to you then sell your phone, go back to whatever phone you had and use that money when the LTE devices are available.
When Sprint Vision is released the 3g will be plenty fast.
Believe it or not, I know Verizon has convinced people of otherwise, you don't need 20mbit/s on your phone.
Or any speed close.
Christ, most people don't even have 20 mbit/s in their home!
Is that a server in your pocket? Didn't think so...

Nice XDAdvertisement, Mr. Nicholson.

k0nane said:
Nice XDAdvertisement, Mr. Nicholson.
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Hehe , attack strategy
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

I am fine with 400-600KB/s

I must say I'm sad that I bought the ET4g and will never in its lifeget to turn on the 4g radio... seriously though its a little saddening I see both side of the story. When I got my evo4g I had 1.2Mb/sec download which is less than half of verizons 3g speeds on kauai and now in the last 6 months I'm at .3-.2 Mb/sec. Just makes me sad is all. I have a ferrari of a phone with a moped engine of a network hahahaha

mattykinsx said:
If the gimmick that is "4g" is that big of a deal to you then sell your phone, go back to whatever phone you had and use that money when the LTE devices are available.
When Sprint Vision is released the 3g will be plenty fast.
Believe it or not, I know Verizon has convinced people of otherwise, you don't need 20mbit/s on your phone.
Or any speed close.
Christ, most people don't even have 20 mbit/s in their home!
Is that a server in your pocket? Didn't think so...
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No, 4G isn't a big deal to me... And no, I don't need 20 mbits. You are right.
However, when I'm paying a "premium data fee" and the vast majority of the locations I go in the large city I live in have data speeds of about 15-20 kbytes/s, I get irritated. That's 1xRTT speeds. Three blocks from a tower. How do I know? Because I can force roam onto Verizon and get the same data speeds as I do native on Sprint.
If I lived in the middle of nowhere, I would expect bad 3G coverage, but I don't. I'm three freaking blocks from a Sprint tower, in a top 20 city in the country. I get the same speeds at 4am as I do at 4pm when all the 15 year olds get home from school and play on their phones.
And now, I get to wait until some mysterious time between now and the end of 2013 for them to implement their Network Vision plan in my area. Then my speeds can triple, and I'll get and average of 60 kbytes, which is still slower than Verizon, AT&T, and even Billy Bob's Cellular Emporium.
Believe me, I stay because I get a 25% discount from work, so my monthly bill is far cheaper than anything Verizon or AT&T can offer. But that is the ONLY reason. I generally discourage people from moving to Sprint, which in the long haul is worse for Sprint than if just left for Verizon.
Maybe Network Vision will result in finally getting the same, or at least similar, 3G speeds as everyone else on the planet... I'll be a happy camper. But with Sprint's history of a decreasing network footprint and decreasing data speeds, I'm not going to count on it.

Verizon 4G

All I have to say is Ouch! The entire 4G network is down (and some of their 3G too it seems), has been since last night, and no ETA for repair...

VZ users are probably still getting faster speeds than us though

Guess that depends on how fast their 1x is (It was slow as balls on my Eris...)

This is the 5th outage of its kind for them. The last one was just last week. Verizon's got the faster/superior network but obviously something's not right there. I hope they fix this once and for all, for the sake of those 70 million customers they rape with their nickel-and-diming

Well now verizon has sprint like 3 g speeds
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

kindaskimpy said:
This is the 5th outage of its kind for them. The last one was just last week. Verizon's got the faster/superior network but obviously something's not right there. I hope they fix this once and for all, for the sake of those 70 million customers they rape with their nickel-and-diming
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They should be forced into taking those commercials about being superior, and most reliable.
Clearly a lie.

kindaskimpy said:
This is the 5th outage of its kind for them. The last one was just last week. Verizon's got the faster/superior network but obviously something's not right there. I hope they fix this once and for all, for the sake of those 70 million customers they rape with their nickel-and-diming
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Verizon easily has the most reliable network, I was with them for almost two years. Their 3G speeds easily beat our 4G speeds in actual use speed and I experienced one outage the whole time I was with them. I only left because they started throttling the "unlimited" data they sold me after just 2gb. Managed to get out of the ETF only after a bunch of complaints, including one with the attorney general's office.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

jmejiaa said:
VZ users are probably still getting faster speeds than us though
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Post of the day. It made me smile
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Damn I must roam on verizon a lot my data coverage has been crap for the last 14 hours. Places where it is normally slow are showin no data at all for me.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using xda premium

kingsway8605 said:
Verizon easily has the most reliable network, I was with them for almost two years. Their 3G speeds easily beat our 4G speeds in actual use speed and I experienced one outage the whole time I was with them. I only left because they started throttling the "unlimited" data they sold me after just 2gb. Managed to get out of the ETF only after a bunch of complaints, including one with the attorney general's office.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
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Five nationwide outages in one calendar year is not reliable and as far as your comment of their 3g beating wimax speeds.... um no.
Not even in crappy wimax areas.

mattykinsx said:
Five nationwide outages in one calendar year is not reliable and as far as your comment of their 3g beating wimax speeds.... um no.
Not even in crappy wimax areas.
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Speaking from experience in my area. It is a simple fact that Verizon 3G beat my wimax speeds in Jax, FL.
I just tell it like it is, unlike some people, I don't have "allegiances" to corporations unless they are paying me. I will never get fanboyism. Have you ever even used Verizon lol?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

Im taking 5 outages in a year over 300 kb/s download speeds all day everyday

I'll take decent Sprint speeds with cheaper service anyday. Once Sprint gets their **** together, their speeds will be just as good if not better than Verizons on 3g. 4g is nice, but unless you are tethering it, it really doesn't make a difference when you are browsing the web on your phone.

kingsway8605 said:
Speaking from experience in my area. It is a simple fact that Verizon 3G beat my wimax speeds in Jax, FL.
I just tell it like it is, unlike some people, I don't have "allegiances" to corporations unless they are paying me. I will never get fanboyism. Have you ever even used Verizon lol?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
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Yes I have and it's not even close to as good as the commercials try to suggest it is.
Also, in the last speed tests released a few months ago the average 3g for Verizon was around 700k while the average Sprint wimax was either 6 or 8 mbps (can't remember which)
Not even close.
brownhornet said:
Im taking 5 outages in a year over 300 kb/s download speeds all day everyday
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Unless you were actually subject to these outages, then it would be a different tune.
Obviously the speeds are just fine for you (or you're exaggerating) since you're still with Sprint even though you've been complaining about them even on the evo forums for a full year now.

mattykinsx said:
Yes I have and it's not even close to as good as the commercials try to suggest it is.
Also, in the last speed tests released a few months ago the average 3g for Verizon was around 700k while the average Sprint wimax was either 6 or 8 mbps (can't remember which)
Not even close.
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Speeds vary greatly depending on location, congestion, and capacity. In real world use, my 3G was noticeably faster on Verizon than my wimax is on Sprint. In addition, finding a spot where Verizon didn't have coverage was rare. It is unfortunate that they started throttling.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

kingsway8605 said:
Speeds vary greatly depending on location, congestion, and capacity.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
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Hence the word average.

Beejis said:
I'll take decent Sprint speeds with cheaper service anyday. Once Sprint gets their **** together, their speeds will be just as good if not better than Verizons on 3g. 4g is nice, but unless you are tethering it, it really doesn't make a difference when you are browsing the web on your phone.
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Lmao, decent sprint speed? I love my phone but sprints network makes me miss T-Mobile on a daily basis... My 3G was just as fast as sprints 4G and that not even close to an exaggeration... Sprint network as a whole is abysmal and the only reason they beat out AT&T in customer satisfaction is because big blues customer service is worse then sprints network. If sprint was GSM I would take my ass back to magenta who I only left because I was afraid of the merger... That being said my phone makes me happy enough not to pay the etf and I only have good things to say about sprints customer service (from my experiences with them)
Rant over lol
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

I was with Verizon for 2 years before the EVO 4G. Not a hitch, always had 4 or 5 bars, now i get 2 max with Sprint (same location). Speeds with Verizon were better too hands down. Sprint had their bad days where the internet would have made no difference if it were completely dead or producing less than 15kb/s. Unfortunately, i was stuck on those 15kb/s days in jersey. However, when i first switched to Sprint with the EVO 4g, data and signal were FLAWLESS. i honestly don't know what happened to Sprint now...

Making the switch to Sprint

So I've decdied to make the switch to sprint and boycott these scammers! VZW just throttled my connection because I reached 1gb in data, half of my shared data. something a Verizon rep swore they never practice unlike Sprint. I asked a Sprint rep and she mentioned they don't charge for overages like Big Red, they notify you and lower your speeds.
Can anyone else confirm that Sprint throttles coconnections and not just for overages? I'd like a little more info before I switch over. Thanks in advance.
Sent from my Verizon GSIII with a LOCKED BOOTLOADER

I dont think sprint 3g speeds are throttlable.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

Sprint does not throttle. At one point I used about 20+ GB a month for 3 months and never got throttled. Same on verizon before I gave my line to my gf. I would use about 80+ GB a month for 9 months and I was never told anything
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

shook187 said:
I dont think sprint 3g speeds are throttlable.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
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Yea if they even attempt to throttle it that means you're watching waaaaaay too much porn or you're watching way too much HD porn lol :crying:
They can't throttle 0.5kbps lol

It was BitTorrent beta that got me downloading stock touchwiz, still less than half the 2gb/mo.

Yeah, Verizon has some really scumbaggy business practices as I've seen before. They will do anything legal to be able to get the most of your money.
Sprint doesn't do most of the crap that VZW does. There have been 0 documented cases of someone being throttled, even when this one guy reached 1TB of data on 4G, all they did was send him a letter asking him to stop. I usually go around 20-50GB on 3G per month and I haven't been throttled or anything.
One thing to watch out for is that speeds can be slow - Depending on where you live, you could be getting either 200kbps or 2000kbps.. A lot of markets are undergoing backhaul increase and other network vision enhancements. During this period, a lot of places can get to really low speeds. After it, however, there will probably be a consistent 1000-2000kbps everywhere on 3G.
Not to mention that they also plan to cover most of their existing 3G places with LTE by the end of 2014 so you won't have to care about speed after 2014 - It'll always be consistent LTE speeds.

Where are you located at? If you are in a good Sprint area or even better... a new LTE area... you should have switched yesterday. But I'd read into more so you not disappointed. Sprint is far better on a lot of things. But 3G speeds can be slow at times. I am a big fan of theirs.
My overall experience.
1. Sprint
2. T-Mobile
3. Verizon
4. ... any others...
5. AT&T
Lol
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

I just switch two weeks ago from Verizon to Sprint because of the crap Verizon is doing.
I will say this Verizon's network and data speeds smoke Sprint's but I'm not willing to deal with Verizon's BS anymore.
I have found some places I go it takes longer for a web page to load on Sprint but nothing I can't deal with.
I even paid Verizon almost $1100.00 in ETF's for my 5 lines just to get away from them.
All in all I'm good with Sprint and so far happy I made the switch.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

Sprint would need faster data speeds to be able to actually throttle them. As it is now, its just a slight step above a 56k modem.

I'm in pretty much the same boat as bp328i. I moved from VZ to Sprint just about a month ago because of all the "Share Everything" garbage at VZ. I am fortunate in that I live near Chicago and although they have not officially rolled out 4G they are already in the testing phase so I get 4GLTE about 90% of the time. When it is up, it is great, but there are some significant "holes" in their coverage. I guess, at least while I'm here in my local area, I am pleased with Sprint and its unlimited data, etc. So I'm not sorry that I made the move.

That's the one thing Sprint has going for them, no BS. When they say unlimited, they mean it. As stated, totally depends on your area if you can actually use it or not. I'm around Chicago, so 3G speeds are pretty horrid, but obviously get better the further out from the city you get.
The only remaining question is if Sprint will retain unlimited data once they have good LTE coverage. IMO, that's the only thing that will keep people with them. It's the single selling point they have over everyone else. If they get rid of it, they don't have the network VZW has, so people will jump ship I'm sure.

hayzooos said:
That's the one thing Sprint has going for them, no BS. When they say unlimited, they mean it. As stated, totally depends on your area if you can actually use it or not. I'm around Chicago, so 3G speeds are pretty horrid, but obviously get better the further out from the city you get.
The only remaining question is if Sprint will retain unlimited data once they have good LTE coverage. IMO, that's the only thing that will keep people with them. It's the single selling point they have over everyone else. If they get rid of it, they don't have the network VZW has, so people will jump ship I'm sure.
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Click to collapse
I would most likely "jump ship" back to VZ. You can't argue with their coverage. Loved their anti-iPhone campaign: "There's a 'map' for that."

Neil Fruit said:
I would most likely "jump ship" back to VZ. You can't argue with their coverage. Loved their anti-iPhone campaign: "There's a 'map' for that."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm with you on this, if Sprint gets rid of unlimited I'll be right back to Verizon. If my only choice is a limited data plan I'll might as well have the best coverage.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

hayzooos said:
The only remaining question is if Sprint will retain unlimited data once they have good LTE coverage. IMO, that's the only thing that will keep people with them. It's the single selling point they have over everyone else. If they get rid of it, they don't have the network VZW has, so people will jump ship I'm sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think Sprint will retain its unlimited smartphone plans. But they may well crack down harder on unauthorized tethering, which is a violation of the current terms. (I hope they do.) I'll bet that since Verizon and AT&T have moved to close down their unlimited plans, the tethering pirates have migrated even more to Sprint to take advantage of the last remaining opportunity. Enforcing the contract better against abuse can keep unlimited smartphone contracts viable, and I understand the new network will provide better tools for detecting it.

Thx guys, going with Sprint. I'm already 3/4 up on my data for this month (Easytether PRO) and unlimited with Sprint is just about as much as 2GB w/VZW.

Shibby87 said:
It was BitTorrent beta that got me downloading stock touchwiz, still less than half the 2gb/mo.
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The BitTorrent is what got you throttled on Verizon.
All the major carriers have a clause in their contracts that look for certain data apps, torrents are one of them. IF they see you using one you can get a nasty letter, or throttled..

IAmSixNine said:
The BitTorrent is what got you throttled on Verizon.
All the major carriers have a clause in their contracts that look for certain data apps, torrents are one of them. IF they see you using one you can get a nasty letter, or throttled..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope Sprint looks for the same thing then. I don't have a problem with people who tether now and again when in a bind, but I'm not a fan of those who tether just because they can and abuse the crap out of it. If that keeps happening, Sprint will ditch their unlimited data too, or worse, lock/encrypt bootloaders so it's tougher to root your phone and get free tethering.

IAmSixNine said:
The BitTorrent is what got you throttled on Verizon.
All the major carriers have a clause in their contracts that look for certain data apps, torrents are one of them. IF they see you using one you can get a nasty letter, or throttled..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can vouch for this. On sprint I went three months in a row with 30gb+ usage(tethering wimax and torrenting). After the third month I got a call and they said if I didn't stop torrenting (against tos) they would have to cancel my service. However they never mentioned tethering, so I said I wasn't aware that torrenting was not allowed and stopped and no issues since. Sprint is best as long as it stays unlimited.
Sent from my SPH-L710

raiderep said:
I can vouch for this. On sprint I went three months in a row with 30gb+ usage(tethering wimax and torrenting). After the third month I got a call and they said if I didn't stop torrenting (against tos) they would have to cancel my service. However they never mentioned tethering, so I said I wasn't aware that torrenting was not allowed and stopped and no issues since. Sprint is best as long as it stays unlimited.
Sent from my SPH-L710
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, with Verizon, I was usually within 1-5GB depending on WiFi, I rarely exceeded 5GB, and the first time I used BitTorrent was for stock touchwiz. Those of us who use hotspot/tethering daily, Sprint seems most logical.
Technically, Verizon has no right to block 3rd party tethering apps and actually just paid out $1.25 million for trying to
Verizon Wireless To Pay $1.25 Million To Settle Investigation
Verizon Wireless offers customers its 4G LTE service on C Block spectrum. Verizon Wireless bid at
auction to acquire that spectrum, understanding that it was accompanied by open device and application
obligations. Specifically, licensees offering service on C Block spectrum “shall not deny, limit, or restrict
the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice on the licensee’s C Block
network,” subject to narrow exceptions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Guys, just got off the phone with Verizon to transfer my number to Sprint, they asked why, I told them I was dissatisfied with their share packages and viola, they added my old unlimited plan back, strait 4G LTE, no sharing. Just thought I'd share my mediocre victory with Verizon. If you have VZW and hate their share packages, you can try telling Verizon your swiching to Sprint and see if they let you into their unlimited grandfathered data plans

Wanting to try out T-Mobile. Got questions.

Hello fellow XDAers. I'm currently a Sprint user on the GS3 and I'm not getting LTE until early next year so my speeds everywhere I go are typical 3G speeds. (I get 2.7mbps at my house, but anywhere else is usually around 300kbps or so.)
I hear T-Mobile has 4G in A LOT of places and I'm seeing a lot of speedtests on T-Mobile that are on HSPA+ that have LTE speeds. I am a fan of unlimited data and that's why I'm with Sprint. But with T-Mobile being unlimited now, I was wanting to try them for 14 days. I'd use the SGSIII on my 14 day trial. Does anyone know the best place to order the GSIII (with a line of service) that has a good return policy (no restock fee) if things didn't work out for me?
I hear T-Mobiles reception isn't as good as Sprint though so this is why I want to try them out in my area.

Where are you located, if you're in a big city and you usually stay around the area.. you'll be perfectly fine.
There's also Wifi calling that t-mo has, so you won't use minutes (if you have that part added onto your plan/for free).
I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile and haven't regretted a thing. Sprint sucks now.

Walmart has the gs3 in both white and blue for $198. They also give u 14days to bring it back with no questions.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

jpirog said:
Where are you located, if you're in a big city and you usually stay around the area.. you'll be perfectly fine.
There's also Wifi calling that t-mo has, so you won't use minutes (if you have that part added onto your plan/for free).
I switched from Sprint to T-Mobile and haven't regretted a thing. Sprint sucks now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in Jacksonville florida.
Wouldn't it be easier to handle it all online and just ship the phone back if I decide I don't like it?

I just moved from jacksonville to atlanta. Jax was wonderful with 4g. Never seen anything below 8mbs. You will be happy
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

RobbyRob said:
I just moved from jacksonville to atlanta. Jax was wonderful with 4g. Never seen anything below 8mbs. You will be happy
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
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I'm a little south of Jacksonville in Saint Johns (zip: 32259).

It all depends on location. The only I switched from Sprint in June and get better coverage, and data speeds and a little bit cheaper bill with tmobile. I am in North Carolina and don't have a problem. I am and having wifi calling helps if you are in low signal areas but have access to wifi.
I made the switch and have had positive results.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda app-developers app

Hey, just to specify on the very first post, the "unlimited" data is capped at 2,5, or 10. But, they do offer an upcapped version that "doesn't let" (use a tether app other than T-Mo and you can) you tether.

I was stationed at NS Mayport so I was in Mayport, Jax, Saint Johns, Orange Park, and I lived in South Side on Gate West. Never had a problem with T-Mobile anywhere. Now Sprint... I got kicked out of the store for cussing out an employee because they called me a liar when I told them I could NEVER ever ever ever get over 200kbs down and upload... yeah ok... never could get a picture to update to Facebook on that ****ty network. I shoved that iPhone 4 up Sprint's ass went to the Amaze 4G when I was in Jax, now I have went through HTC One S and Galaxy S3 in Atlanta and I have never had a problem anywhere. I have had AT LEAST edge (2g) and call signal everywhere I have been and I use to make constant drives down to West Palm. Edge on T-Mobile maxes at aboutt 500Kb/s, and that is what Sprint's 3G runs... I hate Sprint... RUN AND NEVER LOOK BACK! Take a Xanax before you call and cancel the service... You will need it they are f****ing retards.

Don_Perrignon said:
Hey, just to specify on the very first post, the "unlimited" data is capped at 2,5, or 10. But, they do offer an upcapped version that "doesn't let" (use a tether app other than T-Mo and you can) you tether.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's epic.

Wifi calling is great because it means using your cell as a house phone with unlimited minutes. It's nice to only have one number without using any additional services. Also with wifi you get a great signal so there's no worry about connectivity at home.
T-mobile is CHEAP, especially their value plans. I've had them a few weeks and coverage is good so far. I did notice frequent dropping of 4g to edge today while on BART here in the SF Bay Area and was a little frustrated. But overall it's good. Like others said, if you're in a major area you should be fine.

psykhotic said:
Wifi calling is great because it means using your cell as a house phone with unlimited minutes. It's nice to only have one number without using any additional services. Also with wifi you get a great signal so there's no worry about connectivity at home.
T-mobile is CHEAP, especially their value plans. I've had them a few weeks and coverage is good so far. I did notice frequent dropping of 4g to edge today while on BART here in the SF Bay Area and was a little frustrated. But overall it's good. Like others said, if you're in a major area you should be fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the value plan and how do I qualify for it?

Here's something else I'll add. Even if you don't get 4G in your area with T-Mo, their Edge and 3G is faster other carriers' Edge and 3G, usually.
But, I know what you mean on Sprint. My friend has Sprint and their non-LTE 4G is terrible. I'm not exaggerating when I say that with T-Mo, I could load things faster on Edge.
But, that's here. Not sure how it will be in your area.

Ascertion said:
What's the value plan and how do I qualify for it?
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Click to collapse
The value plan is where you pay off the remaining balance of the phone in 20 dollar increments over a certain period of time. Anyone can get the value plan when signing up. Unlimited everything including uncapped data is 70 dollars a month. That's unlimited data text and talk. It's a really good plan to go with.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

michaeldotson817 said:
The value plan is where you pay off the remaining balance of the phone in 20 dollar increments over a certain period of time. Anyone can get the value plan when signing up. Unlimited everything including uncapped data is 70 dollars a month. That's unlimited data text and talk. It's a really good plan to go with.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like it'd be more if I'm paying $20 a month lol.

Ascertion said:
Sounds like it'd be more if I'm paying $20 a month lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are not obligated to pay the minimum of 20 dollars a month.You can pay more if you want or pay it off anytime.
Sent from a Galaxy far far away

Don_Perrignon said:
Here's something else I'll add. Even if you don't get 4G in your area with T-Mo, their Edge and 3G is faster other carriers' Edge and 3G, usually.
But, I know what you mean on Sprint. My friend has Sprint and their non-LTE 4G is terrible. I'm not exaggerating when I say that with T-Mo, I could load things faster on Edge.
But, that's here. Not sure how it will be in your area.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the GS3 does not have 3G, its just 4G and Edge. I live in Las Vegas and when im not on 4G im only on Edge. I don't know if it's just Vegas or not but when I'm on Edge my phone wont even open a web page, email or anything thsy uses data.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium

neotoky said:
You are not obligated to pay the minimum of 20 dollars a month.You can pay more if you want or pay it off anytime.
Sent from a Galaxy far far away
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And once you pay it off you can upgrade to another phone instead of waiting for the 2 year upgrade like the other companies. Or just continue to pay 70 a month for the unlimited.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

Markor13 said:
But the GS3 does not have 3G, its just 4G and Edge. I live in Las Vegas and when im not on 4G im only on Edge. I don't know if it's just Vegas or not but when I'm on Edge my phone wont even open a web page, email or anything thsy uses data.
Sent from my SGH-T999 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What?? This sounds wrong I think.

Do I have to get it from T-Mobile if I wanted the Value plan? Bestbuy doesn't appear to have the option.

Verizon, T-mobile or AT&T

Hi all, I have a 2 year contract with Sprint, but I just cant take it anymore, I am planning on cancelling my contract and sign with another company, but I am not sure which one is the best (or less bad) for me in NYC.
Can anyone recommend one with good reception and real data (not the 30kbps 3G sprint has)
Thanks.

In NYC i get 2mbps on where ever the subway is above ground
1.5mbls when ever I'm outside
1mbps ish in building
All on 3g
But i would go use Verizon
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium

gtuansdiamm said:
In NYC i get 2mbps on where ever the subway is above ground
1.5mbls when ever I'm outside
1mbps ish in building
All on 3g
But i would go use Verizon
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get 2.5 mbps in NYC but that is at 3 am. other wise i get between 1-2 mbps. I am also fed up. TMO has a new unlimited no throttle for about 80 per month..My co-worker speed on tmo is 10-14 mbps....

I am starting to think that my phone is broken, because on cloudy days I dont get reception inside buidings, I serious, I am having a bad experience with sprint
Sent from my SPH-L710 using XDA Premium HD app

Been hearing that we should be getting lte soon in NYC, but even then that is probably gonna be spotty at best...I had T-Mobile for a long time and never had any issues speed wise, and its fairly cheap, do some research on their new unlimited plan if you can't wait.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

30Glock said:
I get 2.5 mbps in NYC but that is at 3 am. other wise i get between 1-2 mbps. I am also fed up. TMO has a new unlimited no throttle for about 80 per month..My co-worker speed on tmo is 10-14 mbps....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't slightly over 2mbps the max for 3G speeds? If you're getting consistently over 1, I wouldn't complain. There are plenty of people elsewhere getting a fraction of that...like 10% of that.
I'd be thrilled with consistent 1-1.5mbps 3G speeds. I'm around Chicago, so LTE is in a few places which is nice, but I'm excited about when they finally upgrade the backhaul for 3G so the speeds will be better.
As for the OP, I would also try changing modems as well, see if some of them work better. Check with other NYC people and see what they're using. Modem can have a HUGE impact on speeds.

hayzooos said:
Isn't slightly over 2mbps the max for 3G speeds? If you're getting consistently over 1, I wouldn't complain. There are plenty of people elsewhere getting a fraction of that...like 10% of that.
I'd be thrilled with consistent 1-1.5mbps 3G speeds. I'm around Chicago, so LTE is in a few places which is nice, but I'm excited about when they finally upgrade the backhaul for 3G so the speeds will be better.
As for the OP, I would also try changing modems as well, see if some of them work better. Check with other NYC people and see what they're using. Modem can have a HUGE impact on speeds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Usually here that from sprint users. Some seem to conform. Others like me who tried sprint realize that's not the 3G full potential.
So I rather pay less for tmobile And get awesome speeds. IMHO
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Mark's ollars
Having tried Att and Sprint....I got pretty $hitty coverage with both and this was living in the Bay Area.
For my previouscontract, I selected ATT based on reading the online reviews about them having absolute the fastest service. What the reviews didnt mention was that I couldnt get ATT service 10% of the time which got annoying real fast.
When it works...ATT and Sprint work great....but the 10% of the time you don't get connection, you'll wish you went with Verizon. They might be a tad slower based on the bandwidth test results online...but at least the coverage is more consistent

I will try changing modems, and see if I can get a better reception, thanks.

diazf09 said:
Usually here that from sprint users. Some seem to conform. Others like me who tried sprint realize that's not the 3G full potential.
So I rather pay less for tmobile And get awesome speeds. IMHO
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't mean Sprint 3G, I mean the technology limitations themselves. Even if I hop onto Verizon's network with a 3G PRL, I don't ever remember seeing anything over 2mpbs. I have plenty of friends and co-workers who have Verizon and I've never seen anything over that on any of their phones either.
Is it more of a CDMA/GSM 3G thing? Is GSM 3G faster than what you could get on a CDMA network?

hayzooos said:
I don't mean Sprint 3G, I mean the technology limitations themselves. Even if I hop onto Verizon's network with a 3G PRL, I don't ever remember seeing anything over 2mpbs. I have plenty of friends and co-workers who have Verizon and I've never seen anything over that on any of their phones either.
Is it more of a CDMA/GSM 3G thing? Is GSM 3G faster than what you could get on a CDMA network?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gsm carriers use a backhauled network capable of much faster speeds ....at least on speedtests
Sprint is implementing backhaul tech over the next year or so.
On 3g (hspa+) I have seen as much as 12mbps down but average 3-5 . This is on our att phones.
Funny thing is though side by side we did some comparisons last year and web pages actually loaded slower on attempt s2 vs sprint s2 .. we never really found an explanation.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

Have you considered forcing the phone to roam and having Sprint cancel your contract due to that? They shouldn't charge a ETF for that either.

88EVGAFTW said:
Have you considered forcing the phone to roam and having Sprint cancel your contract due to that? They shouldn't charge a ETF for that either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great way to get out of this miserable non existing service.. In NYC I can get between 1-3 mbps, this is acceptable to me, however where I live sprint is unusable 12kb D/L up does not exist. I called to complain and their attitude was pay the 350 ETF and you can leave.....Well I'm leaving w/o paying this fee..Thank you Roam Control....

Put a post on the marketplace offering to let another user assume responsibility for the contract. I know i would have considered a cheap s3 that way earlier
Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

Sprint is actually getting better. With the softbank deal, Sprint controls a majority of the lte footprint. They are also getting an $8 billion cash infusion that will help them finish building out their lte footprint faster and at a higher quality. I know a few people that work for Sprint corporate. They have big plans and are actually executing those plans
Sent from my Jelly Bombed SGS3

Will they be bringing service to places that do not have it (is western Washington)
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Personally i would toughen it out good things are to come for those who wait
Sent from my phone

I'm near Baltimore and over the past 11 years have had Verizon, ATT, T-mo, and Sprint. Each provider had pros and cons. I eventually stuck with Sprint (6 years now). They are the most reliable and ever present. Not the fastest but the only time I've been without service is in the Shenandoah mountains south of us where there is no service coverage by anyone. Sprint has addressed every problem I've ever had as long as I was patient with the rep. Oh wait I was patient with the reps from every provider and they bent over backwards to help me. A Sprint rep have my wife an iPhone for $25 during her last upgrade. We presented then with a problem on our bill and they hooked us up with the phone and fixed the bill.
I don't think any service provider is going to be perfect in all situations. I myself would pick reliable over fastest speed.
Just my opinion but stick it out things are changing with Sprint.
- Sent from my Sprint Galaxy S3 running Paranoid Android 2.22, KT747-Kernel-AOSP-JB-SPRINT-10-14.zip using XDA Premium.