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Sprint Details Shift To LTE
New submitter jmeboi writes "Engadget reports that Sprint has announced a rollover from WiMAX to LTE for its 4G needs. The company is 'converting its 1900MHz holdings and LightSquared's 1600MHz spectrum ("pending FCC approval") to LTE,' and also re-purposing the section of 800MHz spectrum that was set aside for the defunct iDEN push-to-talk network. 'The company plans for a rapid deployment of this new 4G, with the first LTE markets and handsets to hit in mid-2012 with the full rollout mostly completed by 2013. Current subscribers signed up for WiMAX plans won't have to worry, as their devices will continue to be supported throughout 2012.'"
So my new Evo Shift 4G will no longer have WiMAX/4G capability after 2012? Unlike some people, I don't buy new phones every 2 years...
I sure feel lucky!
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
LTE should work much better, and it will align with the rest of the industry.
-- Erich
Slashdot reader since 1997
The summary misrepresents what Sprint is saying. They are saying they will continue to sell Wimax phones through 2012, so if you want to use Wimax you can still get new phones, as far as supporting Wimax itself, I assume if your still selling Wimax phones in 2012, wimax will continue for at least two years after.
We've had 4G here now for over a year. (Real 4G, not the 3G+ that I heard some providers in the US has been marketing as "4G") I'm running it on my laptop right now. Works like a charm... 20-80 mbit wireless is sweet. Now if only they'd remove the monthly 40GB cap... also the proprietary windows only mobile internet client is utter and total crap. Hopefully they'll build it into all operating systems soon so I can connect just like Wi-Fi.
I wonder if this is a subtle way of saying the Nexus Prime is coming to Sprint. All rumors I've seen are pointing to an exclusive Verizon release, but with Sprint moving to LTE, let's hope the Prime is on the way!
Isaac
Wait What Hu????
I throught that Sprint was about to get the iPhone that worked with their 4G offerings now??? So everyone that buys one now will have to buy a new phone for the new system in 1 year??? Me thinks someone did not think this through long enough.
Despite this meaning that I will have to buy a new phone in 2013 or lose 4g access, I'm still very happy with it.
Sprint is by far the cheapest cellular provider so I have no intentions of switching. This means that my next phone will have faster and more reliable internet. It's worth needing to buy a new phone as far as I'm concerned.
Right, it doesn't actually say anything about discontinuing Wimax.
The image clearly shows the WiMax phones will continue to be sold through 2012. WiMax support will probably exist for 2 years after that (2014)
Two years? And what happens after that? The phone stops working? I still use a handspring visor (circa 1999). I expect a phone to last at least as long. There'd be no point switching if the phone is going to die in a couple of years.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Finally got that facial I've been waiting for from Sprint! Was delighted to receive a letter last week letting me know that they're ditching my unlimited data plan for my mediocre Evo, but not to worry, I can simply pay more to retain if (if I act now!!) Isn't that nice of them? I didn't even have to wait for my contract to come up! Was delighted how they can change the contract mid-stream, but if I were to ask for a phone upgrade before the two year mark....well you get the picture. I'm sure all of this is in preparation for the DATA HOG that is iPhone. Apple's off to annihilate another data network!! Think I'll buy the iPhone just to drive their tech support nuts with issues.
Rate hikes on data plans for new LTE data on Sprint has not yet been announced.
Stop faffing about with this fake 4G crap and bring us in line with Europe and SE Asia, which is miles ahead of us in mobile.
Since they use Sprint's WiMax network, I suppose Clear's customers will all have to throw away those $100 modems and buy new $100 modems?
I bought an HTC Evo when they first came out. I love the phone, but Sprint charges an extra $10 for 4G for the phone, even though it isn't available here. The plan was that it would be available here within 12 months, and in the mean time I had to pay for it because I could go to places where 4G works - I got to use it in an airport once for about 20 minutes.
aargh, I am happy with Clear, it works well all over L.A. Cable modems are oversubscribed in my area and evening "rush hour" crawls. I loved cutting the cable a few months ago, would hate to have to come crawling back to them for internet. Nevermind the fact that I am on the road around town and need decent mobile internet.
I knew they were no longer pushing (sorry) the iDEN PTT network in their ads, but have they actually turned it off?
Save Maine's economy: write stuff down. All comments are exclusively my own, not my employer.
Sprint's WiMax network is provided by ClearWire. ClearWire is trying to switch to LTE, is already running trials, and is seeking funding. It's not clear to me what exactly Sprint is doing...are they going to pay ClearWire to upgrade to LTE? Or are they abandoning their relationship with ClearWire?
I'm a recently-added ClearWire customer, and I have a 2-year contract to be on WiMax. If Sprint puts together their own LTE network, ClearWire will be dead. As a doornail.
Hello little man. I will destroy you!
So it looks like X2 and K56flex have a new challenger...
I'm dreaming of a future where the USA will be like the rest of the world, where we'll be able to buy an unlocked phone, and use it on any carrier we chose. I'm currently using an unlocked phone, but my choice in carriers is limited to just AT&T (being as T-Mobile doesn't cover here). It's still cheaper, if you buy an unlocked phone, and then get a prepaid SIM card. Life would be so much simpler if all the carriers supported one standard, and an LTE phone would work with any network.
It might be Apple that pushes us to this point. As they've repeatadly shown, they prefer to only build one model of phone. The iPhone finally got a CDMA variant last year, but this year, it's all one model again, because they found a chip that supports both CDMA and GSM, as well as all 3g frequencies. Apple wants to build an LTE phone, and all carriers want to have it, and Apple will not want to build two different LTE phones. Meaning we'll get one LTE phone, and as LTE is backwards compatible with GSM, it requires a SIM card. When they do that, and other manufactures start doing it, we'll see an era where it might just be possible to buy an unlocked phone in the USA, and be able to buy a SIM card from any network you want to use.
This is my dream, but I'm thinking there has to be a catch. Why would the carriers want this kind of arrangement? They want to be able to lock people in, because they don't want to compete based just on who has the best service / price. But maybe, this is just an inconvenient fact for them, as the rest of the world moved on and developed standards, and in our global world, it just doesn't make sense to have your own proprietary standards anymore. CDMA is dying, and now so is WiMax. Both standards were only used by a few carriers, manufacturing phones and equipment to support them was more expensive just based on economies of scale, and they were unfriendly for the consumer. GSM is vastly more consumer friendly than CDMA, in terms of convenience and customer choice.
So, does the USA finally enter the 21st century, and have mobile phone systems that don't confuse the rest of the world?
I wrote a comment a few days ago here about the intentional balkanization in the USA and Canada, where a network owns "spectrum" and handsets work only on that network frequencies.
2bits.com, Inc: Drupal, WordPress, and LAMP performance tuning.
Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. Several senators, congressmen, the FAA, and the DoD are against LightSquared.
Wimax is pretty much useless. On my Evo it takes like 30 seconds for the 4G antenna to turn on. At which point, it's basically guaranteed that it won't actually connect to 4G. Not only is coverage super spotty, Its ability to penetrate buildings is almost non-existent. And if it has to switch from 4G to 3G, connection is disrupted.
Bah.
They charge that same 10 bucks for all smart phones now, not just 4g.
You, my friend, need to re-evaluate your expectations. This isn't 1999 anymore. Sorry to rain on your parade, but it's time to put on your big-boy pants and return to reality.
kthxbye
But things were so much better back at a point when I was younger and more impressionable! The technology had SOUL, and you young whippersnappers wouldn't understand that! Oooooooo! It makes me so mad, I just have this urge to... I don't know... yell at you to... um... get... off my... lawn? Why am I being drawn to yelling at you for that? WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!??!??!?
In all seriousness, from this and other "the technology and societal norms *I* grew up with should stay with us FOREVAR" whinings tell me that our generation got OLD , with a capital OLD, reeeeeeeeeal fast.
I live in Huntsville, AL and our sprint coverage has actually been getting worse. I don't know what they're doing, maybe upgrading the towers. (The local store said that they'd been enabling wimax which may be true as I can get it in my house, and no-where else.) Ultimately though, the strength of 3G has decreased horribly. I'm at the point where I'm seriously considering replacing my cell plan witha verizon mifi (4G and great coverage) and a VOIP subscription.
I do security
The FCC sold of spectrum to Lightsquared without understanding its effect on GPS receivers. The entire aviation fleet would need to have upgraded instrumentation if LightSquared deploys in their spectrum, which was not intended for terrestrial use. There's a good chance GPS, which is now essentially safety critical, is going to win.
Saying GSM is "better" than CDMA implies a technical benefit, that the standard itself is superior. That is not the case. GSM is much more widely adopted than CDMA. Now that is a very legit reason to use it. But let's not confuse "widely adopted" with "better".
As to what is best for you to use, well that is up to the individual.
Read the fine print of your contract. Any changes to the contract can void it without a early termination charge. The account holder has to notify Sprint in writing within X days that they do not accept the changes; which automatically cancels the contract. Bring on GSM!!! You will be assimulated...
We've had 4G here now for over a year. (Real 4G, not the 3G+ that I heard some providers in the US has been marketing as "4G")
No you haven't. "Real" 4G as defined by the ITU doesn't actually exist yet. You may have LTE networks, but they're Rel 8 or Rel 9 stuff. As far as LTE goes, only LTE-Advanced is "real" 4G, and the standards for LTE-Advanced haven't even been finalized yet, let alone any commercial products available that support it.
This article is about Sprint rolling out an LTE network, and in case you didn't know, LTE is basically state-of-the-art in mobile access technologies. Of standards on the horizon, only LTE-Advanced is superior, but the standards for it aren't even finalized. There won't be any LTE-Advanced products for a few years.
The US carriers have been lagging europe and asia for a while, but they can catch up very quickly with LTE rollouts since there really isn't anything better than LTE right now. And once LTE-Advanced is finished, it's basically just a software upgrade to existing LTE infrastructure.
They may stop pushing WiMax, but the article makes no mention of repurposing the 2500Mhz band that spring/clearwire use for WiMax. The only thing I've seen about anything being turned off is their legacy iDEN equipment, the spectrum for which they will use for LTE rollouts. I haven't seen any indication that Sprint plans to turn off their 2500Mhz WiMax, or deploy LTE on that spectrum.
CDMA is a multiplexing/multiple access technique. GSM is a standard (and a rather old one at that). UMTS/HSPA, though they use SIM cards and were developed by the same standards body as, and somewhat backwards compatible with, GSM, they are not GSM. GSM is a 2G standard like cdmaOne. UMTS is a 3G standard like CDMA2000 (the actual standard that Sprint and Verizon use).
Good thing someone actually recognized the technical merit of CDMA though, because UMTS/HSPA ditched the TDMA scheme used in GSM for a CDMA-based scheme.
I beg to differ. I am from the Balkans (Bulgaria) and we have cheap broadband, cellular and cable TV. You can get 30mpbs symmetric over copper for less than $14 per month. Cable - the most expensive package is like $45 with premium and pay per view extra. Internet over cable - 30mpbs/8mpbs on DOCSIS 2 (yes, not like the lying US cable that require docsis 3 for anything above 15mpbs) for $35 bundled with a lot of cable. PON to the home - no problem starts from $3 per month and can go up to $20. Installation cost is never more than 1 month cost. As well as DSL which is not that competively prices considering the subscription for the landline. Cellular carriers are 3, all are GSM//GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA/HSDPA+ (in the 900 and 1800 MHz GSM bands) all handsets work on all networks, they all share the same spectrum. WiMAX is available as well as far as I remember - two players with 80MHz bands and 5 with 40MHz bands all between 2.1 and 2.3 GHz. Balkans for the most part have a very good internet, cable and cellular service, it is the US that $uck$ and is ridiculously expensive. My cellular carrier also offers SIP (yes, they do not advertising it, and most people would not know what it is, even if they find it on their site, but for the $3 more per month, I can make free calls. Oh, and yes, all inbound calls and sms are free.
Assuming this isn't a troll, you might be unfamiliar with the English-language term "Balkanize".
If you read the posting that asserted that "GSM is superior", the author started out by saying "regardless of the technical merits", which makes it very clear that he's not saying that the standard itself is superior. He's saying that because GSM is much much more widely adopted than CDMA, it makes it better for the user, because you can actually use it almost everywhere (and in general, you get more choice of carriers in places that have choices.)
CDMA's radio technology may have been better than GSM's, for the 2G/2.5G/3G versions, though everybody's now heading to LTE for 4G, but GSM's technically hokey authentication system was at least designed so that you could use SIM cards from different carriers in different phones.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
And just one other note.. Coverage is pretty good, you are never associated with less than 4 cell towers, calls never drop during tower handover and yes, population density, hence handset density is probably the same as in New York, like like say Phoenix.
Your also in a country smaller then the state of Virginia with less population.
What works for a small country does not necessarily work for a very large one.
US pop 300m+ / Size 9.8m sq Km.
Bulgaria pop 7.3m / size 111k sq Km.
Well, if that were to happen, and Sprint hasn't said it would, but if it were, your phone would continue to work fine for calls and 3G data. I agree though that this is a little awkward....I was going to be upgrading my phone soon, but now I think I'll be waiting longer to see what happens with LTE models rather than another WiMax one as WiMax buildouts seem to have stalled, and I'll want better network coverage for 4G with my next phone.
Some bring out the best in others, some the worst. Some bring out far more.
I meant Balkanization as a geo-political term meaning fragmenting an area.
That the Balkans is more advanced in mobile phones proves my point: the USA with all its might are not up to smaller countries because there are no common standards, and companies are allowed to monopolize frequencies AND control the handsets as well.
2bits.com, Inc: Drupal, WordPress, and LAMP performance tuning.
Sounds like just in time for the iPhone 5. No doubt Apple (formerly Jobs & Co.) told Sprint, "Sure, will supply you with lots of iPhone x's over the next 4 years. Just convert your network over to what I tell you to do. What do you mean you'll have trouble telling your users that their existing state-of-the-art 4G WiMax phones won't work after 2012? People actually keep their phones for more than a year? What a bunch of slackers! And btw, Sprint, there is no state-of-the-art phone that isn't an iPhone. Now just watch the pretty lights and do exactly as you told if you want to survive as a cell phone company because even you admitted that your highest rate of defection was caused by the lack of the pretty-pretty overpriced iPhone baubles."
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Sprint's existing WiMax was 802.16e which is 6 years old, and nowhere near as fast as the current 802.16m also known as "Mobile WiMAX Release 2" with data rates of 100 Mbit/s mobile and 1 Gbit/s fixed.
I've got a Sprint 3G/4G modem (Sierra U250) for my vehicle's laptop, provided by my employer. The 4G WiMax connection only works if you're really close to a tower, and sitting still. When having a good connection, it gets usually around 6-10Mbps download speed. Not too bad, but I have to run a mobile app that does GPS tracking in real time, and the WiMax will not switch gracefully for tower to tower handoffs. It kills the connection and you must redial to re-establish. I disabled 4G and am running it in 3G mode only to maintain a much more constant connection. It's a shame that it can't cleanly switch from tower to tower in 4G mode as we drive around the city.
You, my friend, need to re-evaluate your expectations. This isn't 1999 anymore. Sorry to rain on your parade, but it's time to put on your big-boy pants and return to reality.
kthxbye
So I should no longer expect durability? Quality? I guess my generation really is the pinnacle of human evolution.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Commenters here say that existing WiMAX areas will continue to be supported long enough for existing users, but does this mean that Sprint will not continue to upgrade and expand their coverage area for WiMAX? I just bought a Sprint 4G phone a few weeks ago (coming from AT&T), and the 4G coverage/speed in the Chicago city limits isn't as great as the marketing had led me to believe, but I hoped that it would only get better in time. Now that Sprint is moving to LTE, can I expect that the device will still be supported but that, unfortunately, coverage and speeds won't improve at all for my Motorola Photon 4G?
"What kind of music do pirates listen to?" -Paul Maud'dib
"Yeeeaaarrrrr n' Bee!!" -Stilgar, Leader of Sietch Tabr
It's not just the network, it's the software. My Epic 4G is notoriously terrible at 4G-->3G fallback, just severing connections and not restoring them. So, question 1: Can they patch the firmware to switch these phones to LTE ? (let me guess, fuck no) question 2: oh nevermind, I'm depressed now
Sprint never built out WiMAX; that was ClearWire. Partially owned by Sprint.
ClearWire has stopped building out WiMAX and is moving towards LTE themselves.
Either return your phone today while you still can, or read my previous post made earlier today on how to deal with Sprint.
The current problem with WiMax is even though Sprint owns 54% of Clearwire it has no control or board access and they have to pay Clear for Wimax access so they're rolling out LTE on there own 1900MHz spectrum that the current 3g CDMA network runs on which they are moving to 800Mhz as they kill iDen this will greatly expand useable LTE spectrum/speed/coverage with a possible future 800MHz LTE rollout. They are also rolling out EVDO Rev. B as they do there massive network vision upgrade while upgrading to LTE. This is enables 14.7Mbit/s over the 3g network and based on the webcast it's implied most if not all smartphones launched in 2011 support Rev B and will be able to take advantage of it when it goes online. The 3g upgrade will be on the fly and users should be able to take advantage as soon as a tower is upgraded/replaced they won't have to wait for the LTE to be turned on to enjoy the Rev B speeds
As far Lightsquared is concerned the deal isn't actually apart of the current LTE roll out it's viewed as way to expand useable spectrum via 1.5GHz and on top of that they get paid to use it by Lightsquared in-exchange for access to Sprints network. This turns it into a income generating deal vs an expense which the current Clearwire wimax deal is. The entire fcc/gps issue is rather convoluted as it's been in planning and being worked on for over 8years now.
As for Clearwire Sprint said they're still in direct talks with Clearwire about WiMax and the future LTE network they want to roll out but it's third behind there own 1.8GHz/800MHz CDMA/LTE network and Lightsquareds future LTE network also If clearwire fails Sprint gets first bidder rights to buy it if I'm not mistaken.