Just thought i would ask if anyone knew if T-mobile will be expanding 3G anymore up north anytime soon? Mainly Cache Valley is what i want to know about. I hate having to go to Ogden and down to use it. My phone works much better when i am on it.
They are going to expand 3G in 2010 but not next week, the 3G network is still developing in all aspects so it's just a waiting game. They did a big jump of expanding 3G in late summer/fall in 2009 so if they are expanding coverage you will most likely see it happen during that time.
Been almost 2 years since this thread has been updated, so I thought I would point out the most recent 3G additions in and around Utah. New is circled in green obviously.
Zoomed out.
Idaho: Twin Falls
Nevada: Elko, Wendover
Arizona: A huge area south of Lake Powell and covering part of the grand canyon overlook areas. This was a previously roaming only/no coverage area. The map shows it as 3G only, but I haven't personally been there to see if it is.
Utah: Wendover, Eagle Mountain, Heber, Price/Wellington, Ephraim area, and the eastern half of Lake Powell. The Lake Powell coverage is also brand new, previously no coverage. The west half and Page previously had 2G and 3G.
Zoomed in to show Eagle Mountain and Heber better.
Do you know about St. George Utah I'm supposed to be going their this summer. Do they have 3G their or plans for it?
I noticed 3G antenna panels were up at the beginning of December, so they have been up for at least 2 months, probably longer. As of a few weeks ago it was still EDGE. But since the panels are up it has to be imminent. I only looked at 2 sites, so maybe those were the first ones done and they are working on others before turning it all on at once.
This is a typical T-Mobile tower with 2G and 3G. They don't all look like this but many do.
The 2 tall and wide panels on either end are 2G. The skinny short one in the middle is 3G. The panels lower down mounted right to the pole are Clearwire.
Now here is a tower in St. George. It's a ridgetop site so only 2 sectors have panels. This was taken from t-mobiletowers.com. A very handy site if you want to know more about T-Mobile towers in your area. It's only T-Mobile owned towers, any that they colocate and lease space on don't show up.
Notice there are only the 2 larger panels on the far ends. If you drive by that site today which is very easy to spot from the freeway, there is now 1 smaller antenna in the middle of each sector like in the first picture.
AT&T doesn't use different antennas for 2G and 3G since 3G and 2G runs off the same frequency, either 850 or 1900. T-Mobile's 2G is on 1900 and 3G on 1700 so that's why they use different panels. Now, at an AT&T site with LTE, they will use different panels, since their LTE is on either 700 or 1700. I haven't seen one in person though.
Edit: If it's an AT&T tower in a market where they have both 850 and 1900 spectrum then they may use different panels. I don't know for sure.
This is a typical T-Mobile tower with 2G and 3G. They don't all look like this but many do.
The 2 tall and wide panels on either end are 2G. The skinny short one in the middle is 3G. The panels lower down mounted right to the pole are Clearwire.
Hey I know that tower. right on 8th North across from Timp hospital.
Like you said, T-Mobile does not always use this setup where they added a new AWS antenna. Some sites had one or all of the legacy (1900 only) antennas removed and replaced with new antennas. It is about time we see more T-Mobile 3G lit up; I assume that now that the AT&T merger is dead, T-Mobile will want to expand more quickly.
I am a little perplexed at the coverage they show at Lake Powell, wonder where their cell sites are located (one in Page of course)...doesn't look like they are on Navajo though as that's a tough place to get up to.
T-Mobile has quite a few different antenna array designs. Ones with 3 panels on each sector (All the same), ones where PCS and AWS set on each end. Arrays where there is only one panel per sector due to the design of the cell tower, ones like this: (all T-Mobile antennas).
So when they replace the legacy antennas they replace them with multimode antennas that are capable of different frequencies and technologies ex: HSPA and EDGE?
Originally Posted by Andy84094
Hey I know that tower. right on 8th North across from Timp hospital.
Like you said, T-Mobile does not always use this setup where they added a new AWS antenna. Some sites had one or all of the legacy (1900 only) antennas removed and replaced with new antennas. It is about time we see more T-Mobile 3G lit up; I assume that now that the AT&T merger is dead, T-Mobile will want to expand more quickly.
I am a little perplexed at the coverage they show at Lake Powell, wonder where their cell sites are located (one in Page of course)...doesn't look like they are on Navajo though as that's a tough place to get up to.
ok now I get it, basically the antenna only is for putting out signal in a certain frequency and then the network system is the software side that gives it something to transmit.
Utah 3G
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by jarrodpd
(all T-Mobile antennas).
Bookmarks