yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[EVO 4G General] danh18:
4G in Miami area

Have any of you guys used an app called Sensorly Map Viewer? Its a free app that uses your phones GPS to map and log cell signals. It will show you areas where 4G is available, and if you like you can provide data from your phone to update the map in areas that are not updated yet. I'm a Field Tech and constantly on the road, I use it a lot to see if 4G is available as I drive around. Its pretty cool.

On a couple of occasions when I have had free time, I have actually driven around in areas where 4G is available just to compare coverage on the map to actual coverage. I have seen where the map coverage drops off, and it starts collecting data from my phone. Next time I turn app on, the map is updated.... I know, I'm a techy nerd, as my wife would say! :)
[EVO 4G General] danh18:
4G coverage...

Does anyone here have the technical knowhow or savvy to understand how Sprint/Clear are providing 4G signal? I ask because using the app I mentioned on the previous post "Sensorly Map Viewer" I have noticed 4G signals in residential areas where there are DEFINITELY NO TOWERS providing a signal.

For example, my son lives in East Hialeah. Around his neighborhood there is 4G, but the signal is very weak for the most part, and only extends about 1 block in radius from its source. And most of the time it almost seems like its coming from inside a house, there's nothing else around so I dont know where else it would come from? This is an older neighborhood so they have Light Posts everywhere running the FPL power lines, and also Comcast cable. I thought maybe they could be putting small 4G antennas somewhere on the Light Posts since they have power and the cable backbone right there, it would be easy enough to do. But I would think the signal up on a light post would go further than 1 or 2 blocks in radius.

I'm dumbfounded, and very curious as to where the signal is coming from!
[EVO 4G General] dsolo:
4G confirmed in Weston. Griffin Rd.and I-75.
[EVO 4G General] danh18:
4G

Yeah it covers pretty much all of I-75 from Miramar all the way up to Griffin now, with a couple dead spots at most. Then after a dead spot past Griffin, it picks up again at Sunrise Blvd up the Sawgrass.

Pines seems to have the most of it at this point.
[EVO 4G General] bitbang3r:
Uh oh -- potentially bad news (unless the site is jumping the gun) -- http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372170,00.asp

Allegedly, Clear is suspending its Miami and Denver build-outs. Which seems utterly perverse, given the fact that they already seem to be about 90% of the point where they'd have to be to get away with marketing it as "generally available", and probably 70-80% of the point where they'd have to be to claim it's 95% as available as Sprint 3G. From what I understand about how WiMax works, in the remaining areas (largely single-family residential), they could get away by deploying ~1/4 their ultimate planned towers and just cranking up the power (sacrificing capacity and speed until they built out the remaining towers, but still easily doubling or tripling what users would get from EVDO in those areas).

My prediction: Sprint won't give Clear money without gaining more control, but might cut a deal with Clear whereby Clear outsources their tower buildout to Sprint in a way that spares their cash flow today, but ties them to Sprint for a long, long time (kind of like Sprint's own customers). For example, in a market like Naples-Ft Myers (not top tier, but definitely poised for "Round II"), Sprint might effectively buy Clear's rights to it, build it out and operate it itself, with Clear itself operating as a MVNO within it (and future markets like it).
[EVO 4G General] danh18:
They better do something!

I personally will not hang around too long if their 4g plans halt in Miami. Sprint's 3G performance is not impressive at all, definitely not enough for me to stay!!

I would think this is probably a business "squeeze", Sprint allowing the "rope to tighten around the neck" of Clear to perhaps allow for a sweeter deal for Sprint.

I just hope they do something about their 4G signal coverage. What I have been seeing when "mapping" it has been VERY limited. Most of the times the signal doesnt go more than 1 to 2 blocks in radius from the source! This is PATHETIC! You can almost do that on WIFI with an external antenna and Amp.

I read that a WiMax tower can have a coverage of 25 SQ Miles! If this was the case, they could have Miami blanketed with 3 or 4 of their current towers retrofitted with Wimax.

Again...I dont understand what they are doing???
[EVO 4G General] Zabalba:
I doubt this means the end for 4G down here in Miami or anywhere else for Sprint. Clear is basically making it know real early on it is looking for cash for continued short term operations.

Honestly it looks more like Clear is basically holding Sprint hostage. Sprint is not going to abandon Clear considering the marketing they are putting behind 4G. Maybe Sprint did not give enough of an investment at the start for this roll out.

Once the rollout is complete operations cost plummet.
[EVO 4G General] danh18:
This could also be the case. I just didnt like the fact that the article said they would be haulting all current expansion of 4g. That didnt sound good. But again, could be a tactic Clear is using to "force" sprint to fork over some more cash! I guess we'll see.
[EVO 4G General] bitbang3r:
Is the actual impediment to Sprint gaining de-facto control over Clear due to Clear itself, or due to regulators not allowing it? If it's Clear itself, I'm not too worried, because if they get desperate enough, they'll capitulate. If it's the FCC or FTC not allowing it, they'll probably end up having to do legal gymnastics to get around it (kind of like how MDX has been "widening" 836 for the past 10 years by extending the off-ramps all the way back to the previous on-ramp, because it doesn't meet current federal environmental regulations for "wetlands" and they aren't allowed to openly "widen" the road unless they demolish and rebuilt it to current environmental standards... nevermind the fact that MIA and the area around it hasn't been a remotely natural "wetland" for half a century...)
[EVO 4G General] fastfed:
I cannot see this being the case.. Sprint would eat Clear up and buy clear out if it has to.. they are marketing these phones EVO and EPIC as a 4G phone.. Not a smart phone that has the POTENTIAL to have 4G, but an actual phone that has the service..

They have way to much into this and their sales are reflected from it as well..

If sprint is good for one thing, it will be making this happen..

I'm not worried yet, but god forbid if it happens, I know they will have a disaster on their hands..

I'll be honest, I would probably jump ship... Not gonna pay 120 bucks a year for a service thats not provided.. And don't even try to tell me its not for 4G..
[EVO 4G General] bigfudge:
First of all, I didn't read every post so some of this may have been talked about...

The majority of West Palm Beach and surrounding areas (getting it at home in Palm Beach Gardens) have had solid 4G coverage for about a month now.

Also, I have been told by some reputable sources that Sprint is just using WiMax to win the race to 4G but will probably switch to LTE.
[EVO 4G General] cybrchld:
Here i found a better article that explains more. looks like the miami and denver roll out will happen before years end just that clearewire will not sell it as their brand.

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9195040/Clearwire_to_lay_off_15_percent_to_save_cash
[EVO 4G General] playya:
I was at the 4g release party today at the Westin Hotel on A1A(great food & presentation) They said today was the official release date for 4g and I will admit my neighborhood has been blanketed with pretty nice 4g service for a while now. I hope this does not change since I am thoroughly enjoying it.
[EVO 4G General] zphotop:
Was is just Miami, or a general South Florida release.........
[EVO 4G General] fastfed:
Was 4g available there? LOL can you give some.details of what was said at the meeting? Thanks
[EVO 4G General] drewsg:
How could today be the official release date of 4G in South Florida when there hasn't been a press release or nothing in the news about?
[EVO 4G General] playya:
Hey she said today we go from red to green or green to red something like that. I apologize I was busy checking out the place. They had quite a few tables showing 4g products. I definitely like the surveillance stuff they had and software that went on your phone look sick...Motorola has a 4g router that looked nice, they showed off the EVO's HDMI capabilities as well.

Dont know about the press release part but according to them its on and popping in the Miami Ft Lauderdale area.
[EVO 4G General] playya:
Yes it was but available in the Hotel I had a bout 3 meg download speeds. There must of been a million EVO's there... Still mad I lost out on the raffle...3 lucky ppl got EVO's for free
[EVO 4G General] napsterdj:
So do we have 4G all over Miami or just specific areas ? I just turned it on today and no signal.

I'm at FIU and my phone is rooted.
[EVO 4G General] fastfed:
I'll say it again, Currently I live in Coral Springs, rated top 10 cities to live in America, also one of the most populated cities in Florida in general!!

No where in coral springs is 4G available..

Sprint WTF are you doing!!
[EVO 4G General] egzthunder1:
I am right now in Boynton Beach and I see no 4G networks up (same goes for Miami where I live). On top of that, there is nothing from Sprint's side that points out to 4G rolling out in South Florida yet.
[EVO 4G General] thenags:
I'm also in Coral Springs, and I have never seen anything saying this is one of the top cities in America and a quick Google search also didn't show it as in the top 10 most populated cities in Florida either :confused:
[EVO 4G General] Zabalba:
That statistic was provided by the Coral Springs Herald...
[EVO 4G General] playya:
Hey I think we are all thinking they have plans on putting 4g towers to accompany all the 3g towers. I dont think that was the plan originally anyways. We can hope though. Hey I work by downtown Fort Lauderdale area where I would of bet big money that they would of had 4g. When I drive thru the hood tho its all over it. 4g is still hit and miss unfortunately...
[EVO 4G General] fastfed:
Well. Its the 6th most populated city in Florida

Largest cities

(Cities with over 100,000 inhabitants)

City	Population	County

Miami	433,136	Miami-Dade

Hialeah	212,217	Miami-Dade

Fort Lauderdale	183,606	Broward

Pembroke Pines	146,828	Broward

Hollywood	142,473	Broward

Coral Springs	126,875	Broward

Miami Gardens	108,862	Miami-Dade

Miramar	108,240	Broward

Pompano Beach	104,355	Broward

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Florida_metropolitan_area

and I have seen many reports of it being one of the best places/safest places to live in America..

I will try to find it.. But you're right, they change all the time.... This might of been a report for 2008 or maybe even 2007

Regardless, Its a very populated city, and I think by a percentage compared to SQ miles its probably way up there..

A quick search for safest place to live in Florida

http://cbs4.com/local/coral.springs.safe.2.1347888.html
[EVO 4G General] fastfed:
LOL I was off with the best place to live.. :)

but still. Its up there

Coral Springs was ranked as the 27th best city in the United States in which to live by Money Magazine in 2006;[17] was named the 10th safest city in the US by Morgan Quitno in 2007;[18] and was a multiple recipient of America's Promise "100 Best Cities for Young People" award, identified by the group as a three-time winner in 2008.[19] In 2007, Coral Springs became the first state or local government in the nation to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.[20]

In 2010, CNNMoney.com listed Coral Springs as the 44th best place to live in the United States.

Bottom line... Its a very populated city, its huge in where many business people live and family life..

I would think if anything, sprint would get Coral Springs up and going before LOL TAMARAC LOL which is mostly old people who don't even have a touch tone phone, let alone a cell phone..

I just feel they are activating areas in which make the most sense financially and not based on need..

I tested the 4G over by 75.

It runs from sunrise blvd, 75, east to flamingo, which is a decent area, but still not many business's or homes.. And it does NOT work in the sawgrass mills at all.

Then 75 north to right after Commercial BLVD and not that far east AT ALL..

I just don't understand what its for.. Maybe just for testing purposes? I hope so at least
[EVO 4G General] drewsg:
hey asshole, I live in Tamarac.. lol

But the signal doesn't travel any further east than Pine Island.. it sucks because I don't a signal at my house, but if I turn a block onto Pine Island, it'll pick it up.

I think the issues with Clearwire running out of money is really hampering the rollout here in South Florida. :( There hasn't been new coverage seen since the west broward towers went live.

Theres a new tower I see on McNabb.. but it hasn't shown any kinds of life.
[EVO 4G General] dominicanodcora:
same here. but im in boostmobile
[EVO 4G General] fastfed:
Well I think all the Tennis balls on the grand marque's antenna's are hurting the signal in Tamarac :) LOL

Honestly, Sprint cannot allow this to happen, way to much marketing for them to just let it go..

I mean you cannot advertise a car to get 70mpg and then people buy it and it doesn't happen..

Bad analogy fine... But the bottom line is, they are selling these phones based on 4G service and nothing else.. "What can you do with your 4g"
[EVO 4G General] Prene:
Like I've mentioned. Only a small percentage will be available w
[EVO 4G General] danh18:
No 4G Towers!

Hey guys,

Like someone said a few posts back... Sprint is NOT putting 4G on towers! Get Sensorly Map Viewer free from the market. Will help you guys that want to know where 4G is available at the moment.

It will also let you see the coverage currently where there is 4G available. You will see on the map (and I have confimed this by driving around to test coverage) that signals only go out 1-2 CITY BLOCKS from the source. If Sprint were to put 4G on their current cell towers it would cover SEVERAL SQUARE MILES at least! This must mean that Clear(the actual OWNER of the 4g/WiMax spectrum) is installing some much LESSER coverage repeaters wherever they are putting them, but they are definitely NOT on the towers!

It seems to me that Clear is trying to create its own INDEPENDENT network from Sprint's, by not using current Sprint towers which would work much better. Think about it... their own repeaters, its already their backbone, no Sprint towers, switches etc... Why would they need Sprint when their project is completed???

SUCKS for us! The 4G signals I have seen are very temperamental (dont do well in speeding cars, inside buildings etc.) I hope Sprint gets on Clear's ASS to provide some quality service or we will be stuck with a sub-par product until they progress to LTE (if they do) and we all have to dump the Evo and fork out MORE CASH for a new LTE phone!

For all our sakes, I hope Sprint can improve on this!

Dan
[EVO 4G General] fastfed:
Went to sprint today to get the ottercase.. There was about 5 people in line *****ing about the 4G service in Coral springs..

I was laughing and thinking of this post..

The guy behind the counter kept saying "Jan."

the quick few minutes I was in there listening, I heard a few demanding their money back..

FRANKLY! I DO NOT BLAME THEM!!!

I think its pretty ridiculous why Sprint did things the way they did..

I heard the guy comparing other companies plans (T-mobile, AT&T)

It doesn't matter, I know, and we all know on this board the benefit, but as I said before (some where on this site) we only make up for maybe 1% of the population that bought this 4G phone..
[EVO 4G General] drewsg:
Those people *****ing about 4G service are idiots, the ones demanding their money back are bigger idiots.

When you bought the Evo/Epic, there is nothing Sprint said that guaranteed there would be WiMax in your area at certain time. For them to be complaining about that is redicolous. We are lucky to an area where the rollout is in progress or seems imminent.

Damn, stupid people bother me..
[EVO 4G General] fenixjn:
You realize that '4G'/WiMAX technology is basically Wifi on steroids and uses a different technology than CDMA/3G?. Even if Clear were using Sprint's towers, the maximum radius of coverage would be still be the same 1 or 2 blocks because there is a limitation on the technology itself not on the location (although higher areas still mean better coverage but it would just mean a fraction on overall improvement for the signal).
[EVO 4G General] fastfed:
Hate to say it, but you're stupid for thinking anything else other than this phone BEING SOLD AS A 4G phone.. do you not have a tv at home? Do you not watch sprint commercials ? Seriously you live in a bubble dude... most if not all bought this phone based on it having 4g service.. dunce hat for you dude
[EVO 4G General] bitbang3r:
Confirmed tower sightings in Northern Fort Lauderdale (specifically, round backhaul antennas observed)

adjacent-west of 95 by Oakland Park Blvd. Lattice tower. Powerful.

adjacent-east of 95 by Prospect Road. Metal unipole. Powerful.

Roof of Keiser College at Commercial Blvd and NW 17th Way. Seems wimpy.

Prospect road, at second bend east of 31st Ave. Metal unipole. Observed round backhaul antennas, but doesn't seem to be live yet.

southeast of Commercial & 441. Lattice tower. Big antenna array, directionally-wimpy footprint (powerful towards south, unknown to north, wimpy to east and west)

Also observed scattered coverage that's not appearing on Sensorly yet along Miami Gardens Drive between 95 and 67th Avenue.

Found the Mother of All Metal Unipole Towers on a tiny otherwise-vacant lot between two small buildings on NW 54th Street about 2 blocks east of 95. Good god, that tower's so potent, it almost gave me a sunburn from the RF exposure driving by :)

I'm pretty sure I remember seeing another tower adjacent-west of I-95 by NW 95th Street.
[EVO 4G General] stugots101:
I was att BCC campus yesterday and I got speeds of 4.5mb down!!!! However where I live in springs, I get no 4g until i drive east
[EVO 4G General] danh18:
Finally! Someone who sounds like they know what they're talking about :)

Bitbang... any idea as to why the antenna's they're using have such poor coverage? Could they be waiting to "crank up the juice" on the signal?

From what I read on wimax- one tower is supposed to offer up to 25 SQ Miles of coverage- granted thats under "optimal" conditions but what I have seen is nowhere near that.

My son lives in east Hialeah, an older neighborhood, and there's 4g in the area. But tracking the signal on the map with Sensorly it doesnt go more than one block from the source, and there's definitely no towers anywhere near the 4g signal, so thats not where its coming from.

I hope when our market is "officially" 4g that the coverage gets WAY BETTER than what I have seen so far, if not it will be a REAL DISAPPOINTMENT!

Dan
[EVO 4G General] Skippy38:
Holy Crap I'm in Boynton right off congress and gateway ill have to try it out...
[EVO 4G General] cybrchld:
From what i been able to test, towers can usually cover roughly 2.5 miles in radius with good signal 1 bar as long its a clear line of sight meaning no tall buildings in the way. i have tested this with a tower off royal palm and I-75. I've been able to pick up the signal up to 4 miles away which is how far my house is from the tower, however download and upload speeds were worse the 3g but it did connect.
[EVO 4G General] dougjamal:
When I was in Orlando, I turned on 4G and the speed was phenomenal and when I turned it off, it didn't make my EVO sluggish like it does here in Winston Salem.
[EVO 4G General] bitbang3r:
I've seen the same phemenon... a tiny island of 4g maybe a half-block radius with no obvious tower or roof array in sight... sometimes, not even a building. It also seems like the usual "tower radius" is ~1.25 miles. I think the number of antennas influences the range as well. "supertowers" like the one @ Pines & Douglas seem to spread their signal a lot farther than other towers. However, the biggest single factor seems to be whether or not you're surrounded by towers vs "on the edge".
[EVO 4G General] dannyBR:
Impressed

I live near Coral Park Senior High and I turned on my 4G to test it out and I got it connected with full strength. Good stuff!
[EVO 4G General] dougjamal:
Let me clarify this statement. Everywhere I went in Orlando, the 4G speed was phenomenal unlike here in Winston Salem. At my house, 4G is hit or miss and when I can connect from my house, the speed is not so good. When I travel a block or two, the speed increases dramatically. There are many hills in Winston Salem. My EVO itself is not sluggish. Anyway, I wanted to clarify my statement.
[EVO 4G General] bitbang3r:
It looks like they lit up the tower on Prospect that I mentioned a few days ago. I'm @ Moe's by Prospect & Commercial and have rock-solid 4g inside.

Found another WiMax tower in PPines behind the Winn Dixie @ Palm & Johnson St. It looks like the monopole tower by Taft & Flamingo is wimax, too. Griffin Rd west of University was newly lit up last week, too, but it was too dark to see towers when I drove through.
[EVO 4G General] bpqow:
In dania beach, off of dania beach blvd, I was getting almost 11 down and 1.5 up. Steady.

One of the speedtests:

www.speedtest.net/result/1040645946.png
[EVO 4G General] DroidGnome:
Haven't read through all the posts yet, but in case it wasn't mentioned..

I had my 4G antenna on the other day by accident and had a clear 4G signal on the Turnpike between 595 and the HardRock. Once I got a bit further north than the Hardrock the signal disappeared. Nothing sound of 595 when I returned home.
[EVO 4G General] ole_gators:
Looks like Sprint officially rolled out 4G in Miami.

Source: http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-rolls-out-4g-six-more-cities
[EVO 4G General] snapbox:
I'm on the edge of Jacaranda in Plantation (right near University and Cleary in a subdivision)... I have no indoor signal, however when I walk outside I get 2 bars and 3 megs down.

I'm pissed that sprint hasn't made the signal stronger... My 3g has also suffered for the past month for some reason, I'm having difficulty getting an indoor signal with that too.
[EVO 4G General] cybrchld:
you can check coverage on the clear map. from the looks of it its spotty at best Sprints going to need some major improvements to compete with the upcoming Verizon LTE.

http://www.clear.com/coverage
[EVO 4G General] teshxx:
i hear ya. i live on cleary n nob hill and i have no 4G but not even a block north in central park its 4G galore. it sucks.
[EVO 4G General] snapbox:
You can bet if Verizon's LTE network is more stable where I live, I'll be making the switch...
[EVO 4G General] Xtasy178:
No 4G in Vero Beach :( i think we will be the last ones getting 4g ^^
[EVO 4G General] drewsg:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/29/1948335/sprints-4g-network-comes-to-south.html

Says there is a 4G demostration kiosk at the Sawgrass Mills, I think that's funny since I go there all the time and never picked up 4G near the mall.

But wow, I didn't think they would officially launch the service with such spotty coverage. I mean most of North Broward is still in the dark as for as coverage goes.

Does anyone have a coverage map for HSPA+ or T-Mobile? It'll also be interesting how much coverage Verizon launches with LTE.
[EVO 4G General] punkynlew:
4G in Palm Beach County

Just read an online report that Sprint's 4G is officially active from Miami north to West Palm Beach on Nov. 29. I live in Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County at Military Trail and Gateway. I turned on my phone and found a 5 bar 4G signal. First time I've ever seen it. I have a poor 3G signal at home and expect an improvement with 4G now active. :D Lew
[EVO 4G General] alex800:
I got 4g near PBIA (West Palm Beach) but not in Jupiter....