yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Mitalis:
Sprint is scheduled to make an announcement concerning their network on October 7th. There have been rumors stating that Sprint will use EVDO Rev. B, and/or the 800MHz spectrum for better coverage.

However, I have this sinking feeling the news regarding their network isn't going to be good.

With all the recent policy changes, (Sprint capping Hotspot users, dropping their Premiere plans, reducing the return window for new phones from 30 days to 14, upping their activation, termination, and administrative fees, it's my fear that Sprint is going to be dropping their unlimited data plans all together.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but there's so much that's happened with Sprint in the last 30 days I can't help but feel the news they're going to relay is going to be anything but good.

What are your thoughts?
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] wingzfan:
Theyll throttle before they cap it. Your main concern should be if you just bought a $700 phone that doesnt support a network starting less than a month later.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Mitalis:
If you're referring to EVDO Rev. B then I have no idea.. Nobody seems to be able to give a definite answer to that.... >_<;;
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] donnelljrn:
I think is going to be about the Iphone. I hope they dont cap there data. Thats the only reason they have my service right now. If so, Good bye yellow and hello big Red.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] wingzfan:
I can say this. Our best buy Sept 27th ad leak had a spot saying that Oct 7th we would start taking Sprint Iphone preorders so you may be right.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] cdszoke:
I honestly believe Sprint made all these changes to their policy to help pay for the network improvements they plan to unveil Oct.. Sprint don't have the kind of cash reserve that AT&T or Verizon has. So I really do believe Oct. announcement is going to be for a better future.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] imtjnotu:
i hope they dont throttle...there main selling point and even advertisements are the fact they dont cap or throttle
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] wingzfan:
I hope by better future they dont hope iphone is the answer.

They gotta be planning something network wise cuz they know its horrible right now. They lost a huge contract that supplied a ton of theyre towers so they have got to be coming up with a plan. The tech I spoke with the other day agreed that the service is complete crap at the moment and if they didnt do something theyre gonna lose a ton of customers.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Beejis:
I don't think so. That is the only advantage they have over the other carriers and they won't drop that anytime soon IMO. Plus, they have already said that they will be announcing something big that is 4g related.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20099243-94/sprint-special-october-event-could-reveal-4g-plans/
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Dalmus:
Yeah, that was AllTel. They basically lost all the 3G roaming contracts with all the AllTel towers that Verizon purchased.

I'm lucky enough to be in a state where most of the AllTel towers were taken over by CellOne instead... I get faster 3G data when I'm roaming in the middle of nowhere up north than I do here in the city.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] spencer88:
If they start to cap their data, then there's no reason to stay with Sprint.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] wingzfan:
I can think of $130 reasons cuz thats how much I save by being on theyre network a month.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] spencer88:
Good for you, but I don't. I'm stuck suffering with horrible data speeds, never reaching over 200 kbps download.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] tbhausen:
I hope Sprint does throttle--iPhone users. That's all we need is a bunch of iPhone users jumping on the already slow, overtaxed network making all of our experiences even worse. Unless, of course... they announce network infrastructure changes that mitigate the problme. All I know is that it couldn't be much worse here in Indianapolis than it's been the last six months or so--it's almost intolerable.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] strung:
iPhone users use on average 400 MB per month, android is 600 MB.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] nate420:
You pay what you get for... Its your own fauly for not taking advantage of your 14 or 30 day period

No need to get mad :p
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] churro7:
hello big red
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] daneurysm:
Yeah, it's definitely about the iPhone5. "Unlimited data" is the only thing they have going for them. After all fees and everything is considered they are only $10 or so away from Verizon a month for me, and if I'm going to get capped I'm going to leave and at least get great coverage on a network with super-power level infrastructure and continual improvements at all levels.

I love Sprint, don't get me wrong...but fantastic customer service and $10 a month won't be enough for me to put up with also-ran data speeds and coverage.

They know this.

The announcement will be about the iPhone5 and perhaps the "New Network Vision" or however they brand the things that Verizon does constantly without fanfare... If they announced tiered or "up to; then throttle" data plans I'm out and tens of thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands of others as well...they know better.

We've lost every other perk that kept me thrilled with Sprint, besides their fantastic customer service. (I am really impressed with their CS, seriously) I imagine it was to improve the network and continue supplying unlimited data, if not, pffft, piss off Sprint.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] geolemon:
I think it's going to be a network announcement...

They need to make that announcement before they announce the iPhone will be available on Sprint.

The Oct 7th announcement will be that they will use EVDO Rev. B, and/or the 800MHz spectrum for better coverage.

That will allow them to subsequently announce the iPhone later, without the concerns for existing and prospective customers that the additional traffic will sink their network. Essentially, that upgrade will quadruple their bandwidth - pretty cool, and a good thing to do just prior to an iPhone announcement. ;)
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] nate420:
+1

Daneurysm always knows how to lay it down... Just like on the 3d forum!
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] daneurysm:
That's actually a pretty good theory. Sprint has a terrible reputation with most people who don't have Sprint and the iPhone has a terrible reputation for taking networks to their knees.

Thanks man ;) I just say it how I see it.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] 4redstars:
They are going to talk about the network and the improvements they are working on right (getting rid of iDen) and probably talk about their Clearwire / Lightsquared agreements.

I stay with Sprint for one reason and that's price...the plans are cheaper and I have a huge discount with them. The 3G is awful but doable in any non congested areas (I live in the burbs of chicago so everywhere is congested) and Wimax is barely useable because of the frequency it uses.

use of the 800 band will be used for much better service but it takes time...sadly.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] wingzfan:
You apparently missed where I posted my speeds. Id pay more to get 200kb. I currently average below 100. But like Nate said, you pay for what you get and Im not paying big red double what my bill is to get what I can get on wifi.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] wburbage:
I agree, at the beginning of the year they said they would make an announcement later in the year regarding WiMax/LTE and the direction they would take going forward. I think that's what this press announcement is all about.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] spencer88:
Not mad, just frustrated :(
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Beejis:
If so than I'll keep this phone, if it's the Iphone and Rev B than I'm moving on to a more capable phone.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Moose8106:
Epic touch and evo3d both support evdo Rev. B for sure... Idk about do advanced though.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Beejis:
E4GT doesn't support rev b.

Edit: hope I'm wrong though
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] MarcAntonyy:
AppyGeek just had an article saying that Apple would be launching the iPhone4S on October21, not an iPhone5 as everyone has anticipated.

I too think this Sprint announcement is over the iPhone. iPhone4S, that is.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] zayin101:
^^ This should be true.. From my understanding if Evdo-B is on the 800hz bandwidth then you would need a new radio tuned specifically to that same hz to recieve signal.. Our current 4G radios do not recieve this spectrum...

---------- Post added at 03:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:40 PM ----------

Well I stand corrected if this article here is correct:

http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=3301
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Torethyr:
If Sprint caps data then they're shooting themselves in the foot. It's pretty much their only redeeming quality.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] zayin101:
That and the fact that I was able to upgrade my phone every year. Now that they did away with premiere services, and that they have crap 3G, we can only hope the Evdo-B revision is coming.. and fast
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] 12MaNy:
If data becomes capped...then there's nothing else keeping me with Sprint. I'll jump over to another carrier.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] jbsg02:
EVO 4G user here, contemplating buying the ET4G (depending on what I hear Oct 7th)

What I'm hoping to hear is that they realize the 3G problems they are having are are implementing new infrastructure to increase bandwith for not only current users, but for new-coming iPhone users. Hopefully this comes with a faster Rev B protocol, usage of the 800 mhz freq, and I think we all are aware of the LTE agreement. I would be ecstatic to keep my same pricing plan with unlimited data and have a fast Rev B network that gives consistent 1-3 mbit download speeds as well as a super fast LTE network. They really need to get their network closer to the quality of Verizon's. If this announcement isn't something along those lines, I would be all too eager to pay my $70 ETF free and head to Verizon for about $10 more per month. Verizon is testing an unlimited mobile-to-mobile plan similar to Sprint's. Playing with the droid bionic on their LTE network makes my EVO seem like a 386 computer.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] kingsway8605:
Sprint has been heavily advertising unlimited data on phones. They are not going to change this anytime soon. It would mean they threw away millions on advertising.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] AvatarOfFrost:
One of their last announcements didn't go very well....got a lot of people pissed off. Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBIjUhQk6-8

Lets hope this one is better!
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] comeatmebro:
It's def not the iphone announcement. If it is then it will be to announce iphone 4 on sprint. Apple has never let anyone announce a brand new iphone ahead of them, and I highly doubt they will let sprint announce the iphone5/4s.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Zurginator:
If Sprint does cap or throttle data, and doesn't grandfather (which I doubt).... wouldn't that be grounds to get out of an ETF?
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] mr.bill:
They are not throttling or capping data! They are making these changes so that they can continue to be the only unlimited carrier! They will be the only unlimited data carrier for the iphone when it comes in October! Huge huge huge for us.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] aaron130:
I JUST SEEN the Sprint unlimited data commercial this morning. I highly doubt if they were planning to cap data that they'd be pushing this commercial a few weeks before their announcement.

Sent from my Epic 4G Touch
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Zurginator:
Actually, it wouldn't be a bad move. Push the adds before cutting it to get those who care to switch.... and when the iPhone comes, the commercial would still be in peoples heads---even if it was no longer accurate.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] WillEat4F00d:
I've only been with Sprint for a week, but I'm starting to think this unlimited data thing isn't worth it. I have no 4g coverage and 3g speeds are slow, so it's not like I'll be using much data anyways. If I switch to Verizon, I'll actually be paying less than I would be with Sprint for 2gb of data, which I'll actually use since I'm in a LTE city. Basically, the only thing keeping me with Sprint this this phone.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] chandlerw88:
The data throttle is just for hot spot I hear which it would still be 5gb a month. Steal my neighbors wifi for my porn addiction. Ill be fine. Plus whatever network advancements they're having has to include the galaxy. What other phone will they have to bring people over other than a rumored iPhone? Not saying it aint coming but why leave out the best speced phone they have
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Blu3Fr0g:
Verizon did the same thing before their iphone release, had an unlimited data plan available and then stopped offering it the day they released the iphone or something like that. I know because I almost jumped ship. If they took away the unlimited data they would lose all those premium data fees which are in the tens of millions of dollars and potentially hemorrhage customers who currently have and don't have contracts equally as that would be deemed a material breach of contract and allow for a termination of the contract without an ETF fee. Sprint is currently awry of the laws here in California with the 14 day Return policy as I think California law and the CPUC state you have to have 30 days.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] jeffvb9:
Sprint states in their return policy 30 days for california....
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] JohnCorleone:
I was told by the manager I spoke with that unlimited data on the I-Phone will be either 10 or 20 dollars a,month more for the unlimited everything plan. I wasn't paying much attention at the time because I was getting my phone but we were talking about it.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Blu3Fr0g:
Also the announcement could be more then just one thing, the first being moving all devices capable to the new 800mhz frequency, implementing evdo rev b and the iphone.

---------- Post added at 07:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:23 PM ----------

Then corporate store I went to said four times during the process of upgrading my plan to an everything plan and my phone to the ET4G that the return policy was 14 days. They even made me sign something saying they had told me this which is in and of itself deceptive. My 14 days is coming up and while the only issue I still have with the phone is the touch screen being wonky while plugged in to power or the computer, everything else including reception seems to be much better then the HTC Touch Pro 2 which I have had since the day it was released, being upgraded from the Touch Pro which got so hot during recharging that it was uncomfortable to hold and would probably have burned facial skin.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] bondosho:
I think they are doing what they are doing in order to keep the unlimited plans. At least, I hope they are.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Beejis:
Me too, only benefit to Sprint current considering their lowly data speeds.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] ericdabbs:
Sorry but the Epic Touch 4G does NOT have Rev B support. It uses the Qualcomm QSC6085 CDMA chip based on the Ifixit teardown shown below in step 12.

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Samsung-Epic-4G-Touch-Teardown/6481/2

This is the press release that confirms the QSC6085 chip does not have Rev B halfway down the page.

http://russia.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2007/070326_opens_door_mobile_print.html

My recommendation is to get the Motorola Photon 4G. It is a great phone and trust me you won't regret it. It uses the Qualcomm MDM6600 chip which supports Rev B. Lets not forget that Motorola was bought by Google and will have the timely updates. In the 1.5 months since the phone was available, it has had 2 software updates with a 3rd one on the way.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] comeatmebro:
Stop pushing the photon on people with useless facts. You have no clue if the touch supports rev b or not. You have as much clue about it as I do about rocket science.

Nor do you have a clue if sprint is actually announcing rev b outside of some rumors.

Also just for the people that are complaining about unlimited data change or something like that. Any change in sprint plans will automatically allow you to cancel your contract without early termination fees. And I highly doubt they would push 2-3 brand new phones (photon, evo3d, e4gt) right before announcing a plan changing which would allow people to drop their plans without ETF
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] imtjnotu:
run quadrant on ur photon and then tell us whats the score

take better pictures

record 1080p video

have a vibrant samoled+ screen

when ur photon can do all those things the epic touch destroys it in let me kno and ill switch right away
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Advancedx2:
My predicted announcements:

- EvDO Rev. B

- iPhone 5 announcement.

- Hotspot Capping OFFICIAL announcement.

- Acquisitions (I've heard things.)

The acquisition rumors I've heard are just for phone repairs and/or accessories.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Iczer:
I got my upgrade coming up on November 1st, and was planning on trying to talk to customer service and see if I could get it pushed up sooner so I could upgrade possibly to the E4GT. This phone looks sweet, but with the possibility of not supporting Rev. B and news of a Google Prime phone, I think I might just wait it out and see what all goes on the next month.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Beejis:
No harm in waiting, it's always exciting to get the newest thing but if you can hold out you're better man than I.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] irev210:
I love how people are talking about things that aren't even possible.

1) Sprint will be launching VOICE on the 800MHz SMR spectrum. They have already fully disclosed this information. Phones coming out since the Evo 3D have full support for voice @ 800MHz. Dropped calls is a huge issue that sprint wants to improve on, and moving voice to 800MHz will greatly improve coverage. In addition, they will deploy 1x Advanced on the SMR spectrum. Improved coverage, improved voice, improved capacity. This is combined with new antennas, new radios (mounted on the tower), and new base stations. Just by moving the radio onto the antenna and installing modern antennas, signal will improve greatly.

Sprint can't launch anything but voice on 800MHz SMR (no EVDO, no LTE) for at least a few years. They only have 7x7MHz (14MHz total) of spectrum. They are currently clearing out iDEN and moving CDMA voice in. Until they are doing VoLTE, there is little point of them putting LTE @ 800MHz simply because of the lack of spectrum. If they had 20MHz+, then they could do a 10x10 FDD-LTE setup and have some nice speeds there. Basically, since sprint lacks a big enough chunk there, it's more economical to deploy EVDO in smaller channels once enough iDEN space is cleared.

2) LTE. Sprint will be announce LTE. Sprint has the clean "G block" which will probably be their first line of defense. They will also announce lightsquared.

Clearwire is still up in the air. A big part of sprint's problem is the bond markets are all screwed up. Sprint, nor clearwire, can go borrow money at low rates.

3) iPhone - yes sprint will get the iphone. A lot of the recent changes were likely made to offset the additional loss on the subsidy. Sprint knows that they can't raise prices, still need to offer unlimited, but will be offering people an additional ~100 dollar subsidy when they buy the new iPhone. Getting rid of goodies like annual upgrades and unlimited tether are ways they can continue to offer unlimited data and the iPhone. BOTTOM LINE, the iphone simply costs more and people aren't willing to spend more, so Sprint (like ATT and VZN) is picking up the extra tab on the subsidy.

4) EVDO REV B. NOBODY Knows ANYTHING about this yet. Stop speculating. Sprint has NOT mentioned EVDO rev.B at all. EVDO Rev B might come, might not come, but maybe wimax will also improve with network vision - who knows the exact details at this point?

For those that don't know anything about network vision - it's a pretty big deal for sprint. They will consolidate iDEN and Sprint CDMA towers, likely consolidate some clearwire towers to bring their operating costs down significantly. Instead of running ~80k towers, they will run ~40k, and have better coverage.

In addition, sprint will be moving to a 100% flat IP network - no more T-1's!!! Sprint will be moving to modern things like ethernet and microwave for backhaul. EVERYONE's speeds will greatly improve starting this year through 2013 or so.

Hope this helps.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] tbhausen:
When the ET4G's much faster and can do simultaneous voice and data after the network upgrade, "let me kno and ill switch right away".
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] nate420:
This is the only thing I miss about tmobile... Our phones are capable of utilizing the 800hz band (voice and data) so where halfway there? Lol
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] craigbailey1986:
Just a question.. wouldn't it be smarter for sprint to release 1x advance (not Rev b) since it is capable of data- voice at the same time??

Being that we can say with out a doubt sprint is getting the iPhone...

Also from sprint video on the network vision, it only stated how each tower would be able to utilize all their current frequencies and cross between towers giving better coverage. Does that mean better coverage for our phones since it would be capable of connecting to the 800 iden network?
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Zurginator:
ET4G is much faster.

Boy, that took a while for me to find out. :rolleyes:
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] Iczer:
Oh it'll take some self control, I'm always wanting the latest and greatest...luckily my EVO has done me well so far so I think I can hold off.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] rileyd5:
excellent post. couldn't agree with you more.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] tbhausen:
I'm talking about data rates after network upgrades, not the device OS menus, etc.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] LexLuger82:
You can do this with 4G
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] comeatmebro:
When you pay sub 100$ for unlimited 3g and 4g connection, and get 10mb/sec on the 4g,

let me know and I'll switch to tmobile.

oh wait tmobile capped their data. How sad.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] LexLuger82:
Wow
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] firmbiz94:
Yes the et4g has high quadrant scores and is a top phone I really don't notice any speed differences between it and my e3d and yes I have the epic as well..I think the people who say that there is a huge difference must of had a defective device since my evo hangs in there with my epic actually open in apps slightly faster most times..the biggest improvement IMO is the camera which is clearly superior than. The e3d ..dont put so much faith I. Quadrant scores ..that shouldnt be a deciding factor ..
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] geolemon:
Verizon does NOTHING without fanfare.

The reason that people ask you "is that one of those Droid phones?" is entirely because of Verizon's ludicrous quantity of marketing.

The Oct 7th announcement is going to be about the that they will use EVDO Rev. B, and/or the 800MHz spectrum for better coverage.

If they announce the iPhone first, there will be nothing but tech blogs filled with laughing, mocking posts about Sprint's blind ambition and "you thought AT&T in NYC was bad? Sprint just announced..." etc. Trust me, that would be bad, bad marketing.

Making this announcement Oct 7 will allow them to subsequently announce the iPhone - later - without the concerns and criticism.

Essentially, that upgrade will quadruple their bandwidth - pretty cool, and a good thing to announce just prior to an iPhone announcement. ;)
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] kingsway8605:
According to cnet, sprint is announcing a rollout of lte and a discontinue of its wimax rollout.
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] craigbailey1986:
Sorry but sprint stated today on their website that they are in no way pursuing Rev b. This will be a 4g announcement. And that's an official statement off the sprint forum
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] strung:
Makes sense. LTE/Wimax are much more spectrally efficient than CDMA Rev b. It wouldn't pay to deploy Rev B when LTE gives them the most bandwidth per Hz.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_efficiency#Comparison_table
[Samsung Epic 4G Touch] craigbailey1986:
Now I am wondering will our phone be compatible...