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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.
With all the hubbub surrounding the Clearwire Wimax deal that was signed for the next few years, and the looming launch of LTE (mid-2012?), is it really foolish to sign a new contract and get a Wimax device?
All of the LTE devices I've seen on VZW/AT&T have atrocious battery life at the expense of crazy speeds (20Mbps+). A few coworkers got the Droid Bionic and barely make it to the end of the work day. Old college roommate works for AT&T and he says most of their LTE stuff needs extended batteries in order to be usable for a whole day.
Frankly I can live with Wimax's 3-5Mbps if it means I don't have to keep hovering around a charger all day. The Epic 4G Touch is so very tempting but I'm afraid I'm committing to "old" tech and that in 12 months I'll have regretted it.
(current VZW customer off-contract with an OG Droid)
dparm said:
With all the hubbub surrounding the Clearwire Wimax deal that was signed for the next few years, and the looming launch of LTE (mid-2012?), is it really foolish to sign a new contract and get a Wimax device?
All of the LTE devices I've seen on VZW/AT&T have atrocious battery life at the expense of crazy speeds (20Mbps+). A few coworkers got the Droid Bionic and barely make it to the end of the work day. Old college roommate works for AT&T and he says most of their LTE stuff needs extended batteries in order to be usable for a whole day.
Frankly I can live with Wimax's 3-5Mbps if it means I don't have to keep hovering around a charger all day. The Epic 4G Touch is so very tempting but I'm afraid I'm committing to "old" tech and that in 12 months I'll have regretted it.
(current VZW customer off-contract with an OG Droid)
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First and foremost the spectrum allocated to Sprint's WiMax sucks. It's a razor thin chunk. That is why Sprint's 4G sucks...LTE isn't inherently better in this regard. If LTE was on the same crappy spectrum it would suck too.
When you can connect to WiMax it's fantastic. I used to get 12-15mbps all day long in my area. Now it's in the 3-8mbps range depending on time of day.
That razor thin strip of spectrum allocated to Sprint/Clearwire's "4G" WiMax makes your connection easily disrupted by such disturbances as a closed window or a stiff breeze...seriously. If you aren't in a very solid 4G area (don't ask Sprint or Clearwire, ask people who have the service in your area) I wouldn't bank on getting a 4G signal very often, if at all. When a rom comes out that doesn't support 4G I don't care at all...yeah, it can be that bad.
With that out of the way it should be noted that you likely won't have Sprint LTE coverage in your area for at least a year, likely 2, maybe 3 or 4. Sprint has some rosy estimates flying around right now, but, I remember how their 3G and 4G rollouts went, so, I wouldn't take their word with a grain of salt...I would outright disregard it.
So where does this leave you? Most likely in an area with sparse (if any) 4G and LTE anywhere from 1.5-3 years away and you want a phone now.
Luckily Sprint's 3G service is improving quickly around the country--quicker in some places than others of course. Also the level of improvement will vary wildly depending on many factors, so, don't even bet on the future...especially when it's in Sprint's hands.
My advice? If you want to be/stay on Sprint and are currently satisfied with your service and would also like the ET4G, well, just go get it. By time your contract is up the LTE devices will actually exist and the LTE will be rolled out and WiMax will still be up and running and hopefully the 3G network is up to snuff.
EDIT: As a current Vzw customer you will likely be either disappointed or even horrified by Sprint's current 3G speeds. Ask around, some markets/areas have amazing performance. Where I live is so-so. I'm now getting 600-1000kbps regularly, though last month it was 300-500kbps. However 5 miles away at my friends house I actually saw 2.8mbps and killer 15mbps 4G all the time. Many people here are nowhere near as lucky as either me or my friend, so, ask around....you can never tell.
I'm in downtown Chicago, so I'm sure that it'll be a high priority area for deployment.
My job is 100% travel though, so for a few months at a time I could be anywhere else in the US (Mon-Fri). Typically it's big cities though, like Houston, NYC, Miami, Denver, etc. I just want something fast but consistent. Voice quality/coverage is priority 1, then battery, then data speeds.
I visited two Sprint stores in different parts of the city this week and the web browsing on their 4G seemed plenty fast.
dparm said:
I'm in downtown Chicago, so I'm sure that it'll be a high priority area for deployment.
My job is 100% travel though, so for a few months at a time I could be anywhere else in the US (Mon-Fri). Typically it's big cities though, like Houston, NYC, Miami, Denver, etc. I just want something fast but consistent. Voice quality/coverage is priority 1, then battery, then data speeds.
I visited two Sprint stores in different parts of the city this week and the web browsing on their 4G seemed plenty fast.
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I travel for work sometimes. Chicago is covered in 4G as are most major metropolitan areas.
So far as voice/text ("2G") is concerned you will be well served everywhere. Sprint has pretty thorough 2G coverage and you will roam on Verizon if not. You get "Unlimited" Roaming. If you roam too much they'll give you the boot. I wouldn't worry about it.
So long as you understand all said about 4G and are fine with that 3G is the only real sticking point and is as I described earlier. You will roam on Verizon (at 1x, ick...but we have ways around that if you are forced to roam momentarily), but, it's usually not Sprint's coverage so much as the performance. I personally have never experienced horribly un-usable 3G anywhere...even tethered to my laptop. But I haven't gone on any business trips in the past 9 months when things have gone downhill rapidly--or so the posts here would have me believe.
I'd say buy a VZW phone outright and stay out of contract. Their speeds will be faster as well as the reliability. If this were my only phone I would've dove headfirst off a bunk bed.
I have a company Blackberry on AT&T and a regular feature phone on AT&T so I'm covered service wise. To give you an idea AT&T's HSDPA (3.5G) technology is faster than Sprint's faux 4G.
I love this phone but something needs to happen soon or people are going to leave in droves. The phone is awesome but the service is something to be desired.
I'm in Northern NJ by the way.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
Lately the Verizon 3G coverage in downtown Chicago and the burbs have been sucking. I have updated my PRL several times and even flashed a different ROM just to be certain.
I get 4g in plenty of places. (I live in the bay area). Sprint just gave clear some money so I'm still good with buying my next wimax phone. From what I see and hear, lte isn't better than wimax just yet. Fastest speed I've seen is on hspa+ 22mbps.
I think its a waste if you live in an area like I do that doesn't have Wimax and never will.
I am coming from Verizon and the Thunderbolt and until phones get better battery's lte is not worth it unless you want 8 to 12 hours of battery depending on your usage(on my wifi and 4g and 3g service with sprint after 16hours of usage moderate I have 33% life left) In a few years when sprint gets lte maybe batterys will be caught up. Or if sprint doesnt ill switch to at&t or Verizon again. But I am happy with sprint. And I love this phone
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
I have known since the beginning of the year when the Galaxy S II became available internationally that that was the phone I wanted to upgrade to. The decider for me to go for the Epic Touch 4G variant on Sprint was the truly unlimited data. I was off contract on AT&T, and even though I was fortunate enough to actually get very good service in my area on AT&T, I liked the idea of never having to worry about my data usage, no matter how I might choose to use my phone.
I don't generally get as good data coverage on Sprint as I did on AT&T, but when I do have service it is generally faster than what I got on AT&T, most especially on 4G. And when it does lose Sprint coverage, it roams on Verizon towers, so I really am never completely without service.
And the phone itself is great. No regrets there.
Thanks. Like I said, Verizon's coverage down here lately seems really lousy. The data speed is "acceptable". My OG Droid is still hanging on by a thread and I am still on an unlimited data plan, though I rarely go over 2-3GB per month.
I'm having trouble finding Chicago Sprint owners to comment on coverage and data speeds, though. Only one or two friends of mine have it and they're not really geeky enough to know what I'm interested in...they see a phone as a phone.
dparm said:
Thanks. Like I said, Verizon's coverage down here lately seems really lousy. The data speed is "acceptable". My OG Droid is still hanging on by a thread and I am still on an unlimited data plan, though I rarely go over 2-3GB per month.
I'm having trouble finding Chicago Sprint owners to comment on coverage and data speeds, though. Only one or two friends of mine have it and they're not really geeky enough to know what I'm interested in...they see a phone as a phone.
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You definitely needs to find someone. You do have a buyer's remorse period you could use.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
CODteabagger said:
You definitely needs to find someone. You do have a buyer's remorse period you could use.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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Yes, the 30 day return period is nice. Would give me a shot at really test driving the thing.
Any suggestions on how to get some real details on Chicago Wimax and voice?
wimax will be around thru 2015 at the least... buying a wimax device now wouldnt be the end of the world.
also.. the first sprint lte devices wont get super awesome. and we wont be seeing the good lte chips(the ones that work on multiple bands) until 2013(sprints 2nd lte gen).
Upgrading to a Wimax phone this year seems fine. And you can enjoy the unlimited data. It will set you up to upgrade in 2013, when new phones will be ready to utilize Sprint's LTE (800MHz/1.9GHz) and Clear's LTE-Advanced (2.5GHz).
dparm said:
Yes, the 30 day return period is nice. Would give me a shot at really test driving the thing.
Any suggestions on how to get some real details on Chicago Wimax and voice?
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It's 14 days now.
daneurysm said:
It's 14 days now.
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Ooo that sucks. It'll probably get ****ty 3G speeds on the 15th day.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
CODteabagger said:
I'd say buy a VZW phone outright and stay out of contract. Their speeds will be faster as well as the reliability. If this were my only phone I would've dove headfirst off a bunk bed.
I have a company Blackberry on AT&T and a regular feature phone on AT&T so I'm covered service wise. To give you an idea AT&T's HSDPA (3.5G) technology is faster than Sprint's faux 4G.
I love this phone but something needs to happen soon or people are going to leave in droves. The phone is awesome but the service is something to be desired.
I'm in Northern NJ by the way.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
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Yea Im gonna have to disagree here, one of my customer just bought a skyrocket from att and my touch destroyed his phones speeds while he was on the socalled 4gLTE hspa+ network and I was only in a 3g area (all of san diego county) there is nothing faux bout WiMax, it is all a money issue when it comes down to it.
Yes I am anxious for LTE-A as well as more power efficient radios. I remember when the first "3G" stuff came out years ago (HSDPA or whatever)...the battery life sucked but within a year or two they got it worked out.
daneurysm said:
...Sprint's 4G sucks... When a rom comes out that doesn't support 4G I don't care at all...yeah, it can be that bad.
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Yeah, it's not anything to write home about.
But I mostly use wifi at home and work so I'm not too put out by the slow speeds.
It is good enough to have a halfway decent skype session, youtube, etc...
I was hoping to get some gaming action though.
That ain't happening unless it's on wifi, at least in my area.
I was reading cnet and I came across this article. We all know by now about Sprint transitioning toward LTE, but what I didn't know according to cnet "Of course, this won’t extend to LTE, but offering unlimited 3G and WiMAX plans may be enough to keep many customers from jumping ship until Sprint’s a bit more competitive in the LTE market."
I thought we keep our unlimited data plan, after all I am paying $10 extra for the so called 4G, and when Sprints 4G speed catches up to all the other carriers, I have to switch to a capped plan?! I hope this is not true.
Source:
http://m.intomobile.com/2011/12/05/sprint-launch-lte-devices-2h-2012/?page=1
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprints-first-lte-handsets-coming-second-half-2012/2011-12-05
Article in OP seems out of context.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
xcharles718 said:
http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/sprints-first-lte-handsets-coming-second-half-2012/2011-12-05
Article in OP seems out of context.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
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I read this before, what caught my attention is that folks on 3G and "clearwire 4G" keep their unlimited plan. So if I want 4G LTE, I have to switch plans?
Maybe I'm a bit jaded, but i've learned to expect nothing in concessions or good will from Sprint. There is a clear movement toward penny pinching with current subscribers (fees, SERO) and crowd pleasing with new subscribers (iPhone, "unlimited" data... for a fee).
Who knows, maybe they parlay the current premium data fee into a double-premium data $20 fee for LTE devices, with a $10 admin fee. Probably not, but rewind two years and ask yourself if you'd expect them to do what they did in the last 6 quarters...
It will probably depend on the success of current spectrum deals and LTE rollout speed. Sprint's LTE on its own is not enough because they have only half the spectrum of Verizon. However, if Clearwire and Lightsquared successfully develop their LTE networks, then Sprint may still be able to offer unlimited 4G LTE to subscribers.
Jayavarman said:
It will probably depend on the success of current spectrum deals and LTE rollout speed. Sprint's LTE on its own is not enough because they have only half the spectrum of Verizon. However, if Clearwire and Lightsquared successfully develop their LTE networks, then Sprint may still be able to offer unlimited 4G LTE to subscribers.
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Hmm... ok. Well would it be worth it to stay with Sprint IF they limit data since Sprint's LTE is apparently only half of what Verizon has?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
niv3d said:
Hmm... ok. Well would it be worth it to stay with Sprint IF they limit data since Sprint's LTE is apparently only half of what Verizon has?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
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If unlimited data plans disappear, I will probably leave Sprint. But it will also depend on pricing and coverage where I live at the time.
Jayavarman said:
If unlimited data plans disappear, I will probably leave Sprint. But it will also depend on pricing and coverage where I live at the time.
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+1 for me also
Alex1x said:
I thought we keep our unlimited data plan, after all I am paying $10 extra for the so called 4G, and when Sprints 4G speed catches up to all the other carriers, I have to switch to a capped plan?! I hope this is not true.
Source:
http://m.intomobile.com/2011/12/05/sprint-launch-lte-devices-2h-2012/?page=1
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That is funny.. A while ago I was on the phone and I was *****ing at sprint in my most professional manner and I said that.. "I'm paying extra for this 4g that I can't even take advantage of because of my area" The lady was quick to correct me and call it the premium data package. I love how they change the wording to avoid issue.
I'm confident that I too wil be leaving sprint. My bill really isn't much cheaper than my friends who have Verizon or ATT. Pretty much what pushed me over the edge was when they got rid of my ability to upgrade every year and then also took away the 1 year contract. I'll more than likely buy whatever phone I want and never be held to a contract again but the value in me being able to get a new phone every year and sell my old one.. Well that was too good to pass up. With out that ability.. See ya.
One thing I found crazy is that Sprint has a deadline for when they expect to have their LTE deployment finished. That really makes me feel like where I live.. I will never see it. I doubt that they are still deploying WiMax and their 3G network is absolutely slooooowwwww.
If it were not for the Galaxy S II with a notification light I might not be with sprint now hahah.
tuna-83 said:
That is funny.. A while ago I was on the phone and I was *****ing at sprint in my most professional manner and I said that.. "I'm paying extra for this 4g that I can't even take advantage of because of my area" The lady was quick to correct me and call it the premium data package. I love how they change the wording to avoid issue.
I'm confident that I too wil be leaving sprint. My bill really isn't much cheaper than my friends who have Verizon or ATT. Pretty much what pushed me over the edge was when they got rid of my ability to upgrade every year and then also took away the 1 year contract. I'll more than likely buy whatever phone I want and never be held to a contract again but the value in me being able to get a new phone every year and sell my old one.. Well that was too good to pass up. With out that ability.. See ya.
One thing I found crazy is that Sprint has a deadline for when they expect to have their LTE deployment finished. That really makes me feel like where I live.. I will never see it. I doubt that they are still deploying WiMax and their 3G network is absolutely slooooowwwww.
If it were not for the Galaxy S II with a notification light I might not be with sprint now hahah.
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I too am switching...this Thursday or Friday when the galaxy nexus arrives. I'm going to take advantage of Verizon's awesome service in my area, that's almost 2mbps 3g and over 20mbps lte, my employer discount of 19 percent, double data promotion and the Google supported galaxy nexus.
Coming from sprints 200 kbps 3g speeds here and no 4g, this is gonna be a hell of an upgrade.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Jayavarman said:
If unlimited data plans disappear, I will probably leave Sprint. But it will also depend on pricing and coverage where I live at the time.
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Well said.
Jayavarman said:
If unlimited data plans disappear, I will probably leave Sprint. But it will also depend on pricing and coverage where I live at the time.
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Same for me
I've been waiting for 3G to be fixed in Milwaukee since 2009 when I had the Hero. Every month I get a new excuse that they're upgrading the towers in my area later on in the month.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
I really wish that the people leaving would stop threatening it and just do it.
These idle threats have been going on since January on XDA.
Leave. Please, so we can get back to actual discussions about android and developing etc instead of whining about a problem with a simple solution to no end.
Err0rist said:
I've been waiting for 3G to be fixed in Milwaukee since 2009 when I had the Hero. Every month I get a new excuse that they're upgrading the towers in my area later on in the month.
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Data here in Wauwatosa is sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Just sitting in my house, I can go from 150KBps (kiloBYTES) to 5KBps in the same evening from one day to the next at the same general time.
However, when I'm in Chicago, Sprint has far better data speeds than my co-workers who are on Verizon.
So weird.
To clear up one misconception: we're not paying the $10 for 4G. Sprint stopped claiming that early on. It's on all premium phones, even the ones that don't support 4G. They claim it's a premium for premium phones which are more likely to use the network more heavily. No tie directly to 4G at all anymore.
Dalmus said:
Data here in Wauwatosa is sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Just sitting in my house, I can go from 150KBps (kiloBYTES) to 5KBps in the same evening from one day to the next at the same general time.
However, when I'm in Chicago, Sprint has far better data speeds than my co-workers who are on Verizon.
So weird.
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Anecdotal speed test conducted today at a Chicago area Starbucks:
My ET4G w/ EK02 modem: 4 megabit down
Friend's Thunderbolt LTE CM7: 17 megabit down
We ended up tethering my phone off his device so he can play around with it and render a few commonly visited webpages to "experience" dual core/1gb ram.
He's gonna buy the Nexus Prime off-contract next week D:
I always forget about 4g, since we don't (officially) have it in the Milwaukee area.
The one unofficial 4g tower I'm ever around (near the airport) gives me about 12mbit. Of course, in that area I pull almost 2mbit on 3g there...
I know the sprint 4g towers have a very short range... Once I get more than a mile away from the 4g, the speeds drop dramatically fast. Knowing Sprint, they probably have just four towers covering all of Chicago.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App
I never see anything over 250 kpbs at home, sometimes it's lower than 30 kbps. I can't drive and stream music or even watch youtube videos on 3G. When I had my hero (2009) I was getting 1.3mbps constant.There's no way they've been working on the towers for over a year with no results. We're paying for 3G and 4G and not getting either.
There's a rumor on the sprint forum that sprint sold half of their towers to cricket mobile.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Alex1x said:
Source:
http://m.intomobile.com/2011/12/05/sprint-launch-lte-devices-2h-2012/?page=1
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Here's how I honestly read this article:
Yadda yadda yadda... yadda yadda yadda...
....yadda yadda yadda...
....yadda yadda yadda...
nothing new here at all...
...same ol' stuff we've been talking about for several months....yadda yadda yadda...
...yadda yadda yadda.... unsubstantiated claim with absolutely no evidence and in fact evidence to the contrary likely put in the article to cause drama and increase viewership...yadda yadda yadda...
end.
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AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.sprint.com/landings/lte/index.html?ECID=MA:AB:20120109:CES:GLX:NXS:300x1050
16GB version huh? The price will probably undercut the VZW version..
Then that explains the Sprint Nexus thread from yesterday. Too ouSprint advertises it with LTE even though Sprint has no LTE network yet and will be in at most 4 mid sized markets by July.
I just left Sprint for Verizon for the Nexus and LTE. I have banned Sprint for life becuase of thet horrible Wimax service. It will take Sprint several years to get LTE to the coverage level Verizon has today. And by then....
Sprint said that everywhere that has 3G will have LTE, and if I'm not mistaken, the roll-out is to be completed by the end of this year. However, where I live in CA, I have 4G everywhere anyway.
cool, but after whole Wimax rollout, or lack there of..... I'm sticking with Verizon.
Hakizi said:
Sprint said that everywhere that has 3G will have LTE, and if I'm not mistaken, the roll-out is to be completed by the end of this year. However, where I live in CA, I have 4G everywhere anyway.
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Lol. They will not have their LTE roll out completed by the end of the year.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
L3rry said:
Then that explains the Sprint Nexus thread from yesterday. Too ouSprint advertises it with LTE even though Sprint has no LTE network yet and will be in at most 4 mid sized markets by July.
I just left Sprint for Verizon for the Nexus and LTE. I have banned Sprint for life becuase of thet horrible Wimax service. It will take Sprint several years to get LTE to the coverage level Verizon has today. And by then....
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I feel the same way. Sprint is just too late getting into the game to be competitive for at least another 2+ years.
EDIT: Just noticed they are specifically saying it will come with Google Wallet...
These talks of being late to the game are absurd. Sprint was first with 3G, first with 4G, and will be first with LTE-Advanced. Just because they didn't cover where you live doesn't mean tons of people weren't covered.
I thought the agreement was already made for Sprint to utilize Verizons LTE as they do 3G now?
Hakizi said:
These talks of being late to the game are absurd. Sprint was first with 3G, first with 4G, and will be first with LTE-Advanced. Just because they didn't cover where you live doesn't mean tons of people weren't covered.
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not absurd. If they want to compete with Verizon, they better damn well compete, not just be first to do something then allow Verizon to blow by them like they're standing still.
They are competing. That's why they're going to be rolling out their LTE network so fast. http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/sprint-converts-its-cdma-network-to-lte/?m=false
Hakizi said:
These talks of being late to the game are absurd. Sprint was first with 3G, first with 4G, and will be first with LTE-Advanced. Just because they didn't cover where you live doesn't mean tons of people weren't covered.
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Verizon LTE rollout begins: December 2010.
Sprint's LTE rollout begins: Mid 2012.
I'd say that's pretty late considering Verizon has LTE in like 190 cities right now.
Sprints rollout already began, and you act like Sprints been stuck on 3G since then. They haven't, we've had 4G for years.
Hakizi said:
Sprints rollout already began, and you act like Sprints been stuck on 3G since then. They haven't, we've had 4G for years.
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Dude, I've had Sprint for over 4 years. Now I have Verizon. Compared to the overall coverage and consistent network speeds, Sprint BLOWS.
Yeah well i was a total Sprint "fanboy" for quite a while... was a customer since 2000 until last month.
After putting up terrible 3g speeds for years and no Wimax in my area (Buffalo, NY) on my Evo 4G(paying an extra $15 a month for having a 4G phone), and a Nexus S 4G, and then an Evo 3D.... i finally had enough.
Verizon has been fantastic and i don't see any reason to go to Sprint at any time in the foreseeable future.
BTW, i'm not arguing, Sprint is probably great in some areas. That was a bit of venting, from all the years of crap on Sprint in Buffalo, NY. lol.
Just ditched Sprint for the Verizon Nexus. I'll totally consider going back to Sprint in another 19.25 months if this whole network vision thing actually plays out like they say it will.
Hakizi said:
These talks of being late to the game are absurd. Sprint was first with 3G, first with 4G, and will be first with LTE-Advanced. Just because they didn't cover where you live doesn't mean tons of people weren't covered.
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I am pretty sure we still don't have 4G in Greater Metro Detroit area with Sprint, where as Verizon' LTE was launched later than Sprint's WiMAX and already covered the area pretty well...
RacingManiac said:
I am pretty sure we still don't have 4G in Greater Metro Detroit area with Sprint, where as Verizon' LTE was launched later than Sprint's WiMAX and already covered the area pretty well...
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As I said earlier, just because you don't have it doesn't mean other people don't.
Sprint's marketing campaign has a Popeye influence: "we will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."
Hakizi said:
Sprints rollout already began, and you act like Sprints been stuck on 3G since then. They haven't, we've had 4G for years.
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You've had WiMax in very limited capacity with very little real-world availability since mid 2010. That isn't "years" of having 4G.
Look at it whatever way you want, Sprint is never going to be able to keep up or roll out LTE as fast as Verizon. They don't have the money to do it. They're talking about their first markets (only 4) in "mid 2012". And it will require all new devices because its not compatible with current WiMax ones. They would have to launch 100's of markets in 2012 to match Verizon.
I have read a lot of opinions about what the new 4G LTE will mean to current 4G phones from definately won't work to it will just need a radio update. Is anyone really in the know on this subject and what is the correct answer?
Of course it probably doesn't mean anything for my EVO as we still do not have Wimax 4G in our area, only got to use 4G once on a layover in Dallas, makes me glad to continue to pay the $ 10 monthly fee that was started with the EVO 4G phone service plan requirements.
It will NOT work with ANY phone currently out now. Wimax and LTE are completely different technologies, a simple radio flash will not make wimax phones connect to LTE. You will have to wait until sprint releases LTE phones.
great question. I was wondering the same thing. I thought that they were different radio chips but I am not positive, Look forward to an answer from an expert.
A simple OTA won't fix that. if the radio was built in, then perhaps [what they're considering on the galaxy nexus]. But sprint plans to support wimax til 2015 I believe, so basically if you don't have an LTE phone by then, you won't be supported.
I upgraded to a Motorola Photon for a week just before Sprint started to switch over to the LTE and asked this question on the Photon forum, had answers all over the place, but the one thing that Sprint did tell me is if you currently do not have 4G Wimax in your area you will not as Sprint is not expanding the 4G wimax, only the 4G LTE will be expanded into new areas. This leaves me with a PROMISE that I got when I first started to pay the $ 10 per month that Sprint will be expanding it and you will sometime in the future be able to use the 4G.
erikemb said:
great question. I was wondering the same thing. I thought that they were different radio chips but I am not positive, Look forward to an answer from an expert.
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Not exactly an expert here, but Sprint re-sells Clearwire WiMax operating in the 2.6GHz range of the spectrum. Sprint plans to deploy LTE in their existing 1.9GHz range of spectrum holdings. They are planning a 5x5 Frequency Division Duplexing scheme here.
So, to answer the question: There's no way existing WiMax devices will ever support Sprint's upcoming LTE deployment. Chipsets, frequencies and overall technology built into your EVO 4G is simply incompatible. Case closed.
Sprint always seems to want to sell a new wimax phone. I am wondering if they have an upgrade plan for those holding a wimax phone when wimax goes away?
If they do not have a plan when the best time to switch is and is it even worth it.
So is the extra $10 we pay for data for the 3G or the 4G we are supposed to get? Sorry it may be a dumb question but I'm on a plan with my fiancés parents.
scottypeterson said:
So is the extra $10 we pay for data for the 3G or the 4G we are supposed to get? Sorry it may be a dumb question but I'm on a plan with my fiancés parents.
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The 10$ is for the 4G.
scottypeterson said:
So is the extra $10 we pay for data for the 3G or the 4G we are supposed to get? Sorry it may be a dumb question but I'm on a plan with my fiancés parents.
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It was initially referred to 4G, but then a lawsuit brewed because consumers were forced to pay for a service that wasn't available. Therefore, Sprint changed it to a Smartphone fee. That's why all new headsets purchased is subject to the $10 fee. While people with old contracts don't pay.
Sent from my PC36100
spyd312 said:
It was initially referred to 4G, but then a lawsuit brewed because consumers were forced to pay for a service that wasn't available. Therefore, Sprint changed it to a Smartphone fee. That's why all new headsets purchased is subject to the $10 fee. While people with old contracts don't pay.
Sent from my PC36100
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actually I think it was to just soften the blow of the 10 data add on I remember paying this on my instinct. although I am in the Phoenix area and have only 5 or 6 areas with 5g (none near me) I still think $10 is a good value for unlimited data compared to other carriers.
jayshocka said:
actually I think it was to just soften the blow of the 10 data add on I remember paying this on my instinct. although I am in the Phoenix area and have only 5 or 6 areas with 5g (none near me) I still think $10 is a good value for unlimited data compared to other carriers.
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I signed a 2 year contact for 4 lines 18 months ago. 1 evo, 2 intercepts, 1 flip phone. 3 out 4 are smartphones, but I've only been paying $10 for only 1 line (Evo). My contract states that the $10 was due to the fact that my phone is 4G capable. Since the other 2 phones aren't 4G capable, the $10 fee didn't apply. For a while, there was a class action lawsuit filed against Sprint because it wasn't fair to be forced to pay for a service premium, if the service wasn't even available in the consumer's region. Sprint got around this by changing the $10 fee as a smartphone surcharge. Sprint has always been providing unlimited data and the $10 fee never constituted to obtaining unlimited data usage. I just got lucky that I'm saving $20/month since my contract isn't subject to the new terms and conditions.
Reference:
http://classactionlawsuitsinthenews.com/class-action-lawsuit-complaints/sprint-class-action-lawsuit-complaint-filed-over-sprints-htc-evo-4g-cell-phone-samsung-epic-4g-cell-phone-sprints-4g-network/
Sent from my PC36100
There is some good reading if you do a Google search on the topic.
One article put it in perspective for me..... the "hype" of something new sells phones... think of how many EVO's flew off the shelf awaiting 4g that never came. Technology is ever changing.
LTE is gonna be the same. For those living in the very large money making metropolitan areas it will be a reality. For those on the outskirts ........ well it may never come.
4g would have been nice but since it's release ( I was a lucky first) my EVO has locked 4g less than 10 times. I love my EVO cause it was/and still is an awesome phone. My next phone probably will be an LTE but not because of LTE availability. The technology is growing and sad as it may be.... hand cranking the model A wont make sense when I can start the car with the push of a button while the key is in my pocket. My EVO will however, hold a place on my display case next to my startac analog. Thanks to ICS.... it might even get taken out for Sunday drives!
Sent from my reincarnated EVO chilled on Decks ICS
The old phones like the EVO, EVO 3D, EPIC 4G and even the GALAXY SAMSUNG S II won't work on their new LTE. I went to a Sprint store and I asked the guys and they told me that it will still have the WiMax network, but those phones won't work on LTE network. Shame, I really want to get the S II
That is what got this thread going, I wanted to upgrade and the Sprint store salesperson told me the 4G phones would work with 4G LTE so I upgrade to a Motorola Photon. It was a good upgrade from the EVO but as most state on this thread would not work on LTE. That made the phone not work the upgrade to be locked in for two years especially since I didn't have 4G now, if 4G LTE came out in my area I still wouldn't be able to use it even though I've been paying the $ 10 / month from intro date of the EVO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yet another in the never ending string of lies misrepresentations from Sprint, as well as being yet another sign of just how little their customers mean to Sprint.
After having their 4G available for over two years they still have only a fraction of their users with 4G coverage.
Worse, search back and find the first articles about Sprint moving from Wimax to LTE, and you'll find that the Sprint representatives stated that during the transitional time (this would start about...now?) Sprint would be offering phones that supported BOTH Wimax and LTE so that its customers could get the phones that they want and enjoy whichever 4G service is available to them. Of course if you're part of the vast majority of the population of the U.S., this means neither.
But, the point is that Sprint representatives said to multiple sources that we would be offered phones that supported both, and once again they are failing to do as they said. No doubt they were just saying what they felt they needed to in order to halt the easily anticipated storm of customer inquiries upon the announcement of the switch. Since the well trained U.S. consumer has the memory of a gnat and believes whatever they are told, Sprint no longer cares what their customers want, need, or deserve because their customers don't remember what they were promised and have been trained to be sheep and eat whatever slop is poured in the trough in front of them.
Of course, from talking to family and friends with service from other providers, as well as researching on the web, I know that Sprint isn't any worse than any other provider. Cell phone service providers have some of the lowest customer service ratings period. The number of complaints regarding cell phone service providers is also among the very highest. None of this is any secret; one only has to seek out the readily available information and knowledge.
When it comes to cellphone service providers, there is no clear winner. And in sprite of their generally crappy 3G service and minimal 4G coverage, Sprint does still offer mostly free roaming and mostly unlimited data, so they are not going anywhere regardless of how horrible their cell service and customer service is.
I'll give them this...they've positioned themselves beautifully within their market.
No 4G here and LTE is all hype to sell phones.... suckin em for all they are worth on 3G now and refuse to use Wifi on either of my EVO4Gs.
If I could get wife to ditch cable internet/tv I'd get em for even more.