Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Science and Technology > Cell Phones and Smartphones
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-28-2011, 09:54 AM
 
Location: Downtown Harrisburg
1,434 posts, read 3,909,653 times
Reputation: 1017

Advertisements

Could this be the death knell for WiMax?

Sprint and LightSquared reportedly to deploy LTE network | Android Central

I think we all saw this one coming. Rumors have been persisting forever, and now they're confirmed. Sprint will be deploying LTE nationwide via LightSquared. This is a smart move that will help them leverage the economy of scale in today's 4G war.

It's uncertain on how this will impact Clear. I sincerely hope that Clear finds a way to continue, as despite what AT&T's PR department will tell you, more competition = better for consumers.

If you currently have a Sprint 4G / Clear / WiMax device, don't sweat it -- it will take years for LTE to be fully functional, which means your WiMax device will long outlast its contract.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-28-2011, 12:00 PM
 
Location: Tyler, TX
23,490 posts, read 23,829,344 times
Reputation: 14850
I'm in Las Vegas, which was one of the first cities in which Clear deployed their network. I gave it a try when they first launched, and I have access to it via my Evo.

It sucks, for several reasons.

Signal strength is marginal, unless you're very close to a transmitter and you're outdoors. We couldn't even use it in our home, despite their telling us that we should have coverage. Their radio/modem/router FORCES you to use a private IP and nat through their device, which is completely unacceptable. Their USB dongle would give a public IP, but it doesn't work on linux.

Maybe they've changed their hardware config since then, but considering that the signal is spotty anyway, I see no reason to reconsider them for our access at home. I don't even use it on my phone most of the time. If it can't get a signal, it kills the (aftermarket extended) battery within a few hours trying to acquire one.

I'll be very interested in upgrading my Evo after Sprint deploys LTE. We're also looking at Cricket, but their phone selection isn't up to par and the data won't work if I have them flash the Evo. I have a little less than a year on my contract, so I'll revisit my choices then.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-28-2011, 10:27 PM
 
7,934 posts, read 8,551,075 times
Reputation: 5889
Interesting. I've been pretty happy with Sprint since I started up with them about 4-5 months ago. I ditched T-Mobile after they announced the merger, (wanting not a damn thing to do with AT&T), so I'm glad to hear they've decided to go with the flow and use the technology that pretty much the entire rest of the world has already decided on. Standardization is a good thing when it comes to stuff like this IMO. Focus on one technology and make it great. (The whole GSM vs. CDMA thing always annoyed me) Sprint puts a good LTE phone on the shelf and they've almost certainly got a buyer here.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-29-2011, 11:27 AM
 
Location: In Phoenix by way of San Antonio
1,692 posts, read 3,112,927 times
Reputation: 1257
... Sprint 4G / Clear / WiMax device, don't sweat it -- it will take years for LTE to be fully functional, which means your WiMax device will long outlast its contract.[/quote]

So basically I'll have to continue with this sluggish 3G speeds in getting for a while.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-29-2011, 12:42 PM
 
Location: Downtown Harrisburg
1,434 posts, read 3,909,653 times
Reputation: 1017
Quote:
Originally Posted by FastFerrari View Post
So basically I'll have to continue with this sluggish 3G speeds in getting for a while.
Maybe ... maybe not. I'm reading conflicting information on the proposal, but the key detail is whether Sprint or Lightsquared manages deployment.

But ... yeah, probably maybe. Just be glad you don't have AT&T 3G!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-31-2011, 11:39 PM
 
Location: The Brightest City On Earth
1,282 posts, read 1,896,962 times
Reputation: 581
Quote:
Originally Posted by DowntownHarrisburg View Post
Could this be the death knell for WiMax?

Sprint and LightSquared reportedly to deploy LTE network | Android Central

I think we all saw this one coming. Rumors have been persisting forever, and now they're confirmed. Sprint will be deploying LTE nationwide via LightSquared. This is a smart move that will help them leverage the economy of scale in today's 4G war.

It's uncertain on how this will impact Clear. I sincerely hope that Clear finds a way to continue, as despite what AT&T's PR department will tell you, more competition = better for consumers.

If you currently have a Sprint 4G / Clear / WiMax device, don't sweat it -- it will take years for LTE to be fully functional, which means your WiMax device will long outlast its contract.
LightSquared is DOA. Dead, dead, dead. And Sprint will be on life support after ATT-T Mobile finalizes this spring. My prediction is that Verizon will snap up Sprint at a fire sale price.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-31-2011, 11:41 PM
 
Location: The Brightest City On Earth
1,282 posts, read 1,896,962 times
Reputation: 581
Quote:
Originally Posted by swagger View Post
I'm in Las Vegas, which was one of the first cities in which Clear deployed their network. I gave it a try when they first launched, and I have access to it via my Evo.

It sucks, for several reasons.

Signal strength is marginal, unless you're very close to a transmitter and you're outdoors. We couldn't even use it in our home, despite their telling us that we should have coverage. Their radio/modem/router FORCES you to use a private IP and nat through their device, which is completely unacceptable. Their USB dongle would give a public IP, but it doesn't work on linux.

Maybe they've changed their hardware config since then, but considering that the signal is spotty anyway, I see no reason to reconsider them for our access at home. I don't even use it on my phone most of the time. If it can't get a signal, it kills the (aftermarket extended) battery within a few hours trying to acquire one.

I'll be very interested in upgrading my Evo after Sprint deploys LTE. We're also looking at Cricket, but their phone selection isn't up to par and the data won't work if I have them flash the Evo. I have a little less than a year on my contract, so I'll revisit my choices then.
I use Metro PCS here. 4G works well in the city and fairly well in Henderson where I live.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-01-2011, 12:28 PM
 
Location: Downtown Harrisburg
1,434 posts, read 3,909,653 times
Reputation: 1017
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vegas Joe View Post
LightSquared is DOA. Dead, dead, dead. And Sprint will be on life support after ATT-T Mobile finalizes this spring. My prediction is that Verizon will snap up Sprint at a fire sale price.
Possible. I won't be shocked when / if Verizon buys Sprint, but as Verizon themselves has repeatedly pointed out, Sprint has very little to offer them. Verizon is sitting pretty for spectrum, market share, and revenue. And remember, Sprint is bleeding cash right now and has been for some time. While their CEO shows promise for eventually turning things around, any potential buyer would still assume all that liability.

A Sprint purchase offers no immediate gain -- except perhaps bolstering their already-first-place market share -- and substantial financial liability.

I think your prediction is true, but the timing is still years away. And for all we know, AT&T could just as well purchase Sprint for the sole purpose of creating a carrier twice the size of Verizon.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-08-2011, 12:31 PM
 
Location: Downtown Harrisburg
1,434 posts, read 3,909,653 times
Reputation: 1017
Clear just announced that they will begin deploying LTE as well. They're hoping to offer "50 to 90" Mb/s downstream, which would be great. No word on deployment timetables. An interesting footnote to this is that Clear intends to deploy LTE on a single-channel interface (TDD), meaning they will be more susceptible to interference. For comparison, both AT&T and Verizon both use the FDD variant of LTE, which uses one channel for the uplink and another for the downlink, allowing for better network throughput and better mitigation of interference effects.

Is this the end of the road for WiMax? Obviously, anyone with a WiMax device now will have service for years to come, but after Sprint and Clear finish off any deployments currently in the pipe, any additional WiMax deployment is unlikely. Why build two competing parallel networks?

One final interesting footnote - Clear's press release said that all of this was "pending additional funding".
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 08-08-2011, 12:36 PM
 
24,488 posts, read 41,005,852 times
Reputation: 12919
Clear indicated in their PR that they will continue to build their WIMAX network alongside LTE.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Science and Technology > Cell Phones and Smartphones
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top