Is Virgin suffering from the same Sprint complaints?

[Smykowski]

First post, so please be gentle.

I'm thinking of switching to Virgin Mobile from Verizon. In my research, I understand that Virgin uses the Sprint Network, but it's WiMax vs. LTE. I live in the north suburbs of Chicago, and I've heard from friends and read on lots of message boards that Sprint users are having a huge problem with their reception during the expansion of the Sprint Network.

Because of the WiMax vs. LTE technology, are Virgin Mobile users not having these same problems during the upgrade? I don't want to make the switch just to find out that I can't make calls or receive texts for 6 months until the construction is complete.

[vmobi]

First post, so please be gentle.

I'm thinking of switching to Virgin Mobile from Verizon. In my research, ...
...complete.

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Same Sprint complaints? No.

[Kies]

Yes, the same exact network=same exact problems. I'd avoid using Sprint in the Chicago area especially. Seems to be horrible

[vmobi]

Yes, the same exact network=same exact problems. I'd avoid using Sprint in the Chicago area especially. Seems to be horrible

Wow, I see what you mean...

Chicago is Virgin Mobile's top market by number of subscribers, just edging out New York, Washington D.C. and Boston, said Ron Faris, head of brand marketing for Virgin Mobile USA. ...

from: http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,4278524.story

[Kies]

Wow, I see what you mean...

Does that have anything to do with Network Vision problems being specifically experienced in the same area as the OP? No. Does that link prove anything in regards to what the OP is talking about? No.

[Extraordinary]

Virgin and Sprint work much better for me in and around Chicago than they do in Milwaukee. At least Chicago has WiMax. I have seen speeds up to 7mbps there, usually its around 4mbps +/-

[billm261]

First post, so please be gentle.

I'm thinking of switching to Virgin Mobile from Verizon.

Welcome to Howard Forums.

Are you sure that Clearwire has
Wi-Max coverage where you will be using the service?

Sprints network seems to be struggling right now in the Chicago area according to posts in the Sprint forum. Network Vision is a ways off.

I'd be cautious and buy a device without porting my number over initially so you can test it out during the return period.

[drchud73]

i live in lombard which is west of chicago. I have not had service in my house since mid june. i finally called a few days ago and was told the upgrades (to srpint network) are not scheduled to be completed until end of september. so yes if they are upgrading in your area you being a virgin customer will suffer.

[Smykowski]

Thanks for the info everyone. It sounds like I'll be holding off til the fall then.

[tcomotcom]

In my research, I understand that Virgin uses the Sprint Network, but it's WiMax vs. LTE. I live in the north suburbs of Chicago, and I've heard from friends and read on lots of message boards that Sprint users are having a huge problem with their reception during the expansion of the Sprint Network

Because of the WiMax vs. LTE technology, are Virgin Mobile users not having these same problems during the upgrade? I don't want to make the switch just to find out that I can't make calls or receive texts for 6 months until the construction is complete.

Here are a couple of clarifications that will help you make your decision.

When it comes to calls and texts, VM, Sprint and Boost customers are having the same problems because calls and texts are carried on 1XRTT only. 3G, 4G WiMax and 4G LTE are data only and do not carry calls or texts. Sprint can upgrade 3G and 4G all they want, but that won't help or hurt voice call/text performance.

For voice calls and texts, Sprint's network upgrades should improve 1XRTT performance and therefore improve your friends' experience for those services.

Regarding the data only protocols - Sprint's network upgrade should make 3G data "better". VM customers can't access 4G LTE, so whatever. The 4G WiMax network is owned by another company, Clearwire, and that network is being repaired and maintained, but it is not being expanded or improved so "what you see is what you get".

[elefante72]

Here are a couple of clarifications that will help you make your decision.

When it comes to calls and texts, VM, Sprint and Boost customers are having the same problems because calls and texts are carried on 1XRTT only. 3G, 4G WiMax and 4G LTE are data only and do not carry calls or texts. Sprint can upgrade 3G and 4G all they want, but that won't help or hurt voice call/text performance.

For voice calls and texts, Sprint's network upgrades should improve 1XRTT performance and therefore improve your friends' experience for those services.

Regarding the data only protocols - Sprint's network upgrade should make 3G data "better". VM customers can't access 4G LTE, so whatever. The 4G WiMax network is owned by another company, Clearwire, and that network is being repaired and maintained, but it is not being expanded or improved so "what you see is what you get".

There are a few expansions w/ that statement:

1. Data can/is also be carried on 1x
2. VM and Boost don't have LTE phones yet, so 4G is only Clear (wimax) and that will be deprecated
3. Sprint will be launching LTE on iden frequencies once they sunset nextel (with voice), but the phone must carry the 800 Mhz band, and 1st gen LTE phones only are 1900 mhz which as you recall from the old PCS days doesn't travel well into buildings unless they multiplex. So expect LTE coverage to be the old-ish PCS coverage.
4. Any 4G wimax phone you buy now will be obsolete very fast...
5. Sprint is just lighting up their LTE infrastructure now, so expect some lag for those phones to come into MVNO space. In fact no MVNO has LTE yet, so YMMV.
6. The fastest 3G is on GSM (HSPA), so that technology has legs for at least a few years while LTE gets ironed out.
7. You are much better off going to a GSM provider if you are concerned about data performance. Voice is great on Sprint, so not to worry. They will be moving it to iden (800) in 2013 TF. If you have good wifi, not that big of a deal.... It boils down to price.

So in any case Sprint is probably a good 2 years behind verizon and 1 year or so behind AT&T. Tmobile gets a pass because they have HSPA42 which is fast enough already while they deploy LTE w/ AT&T's money.

My wife has VM and in my house I am lucky to see 100kps, although I am told NV will be coming to a tower near me. Wifi must be turned on to operate. And since the signal is marginal RTT often pops on while in the house. My verizon phone has 5 bars, so it's not like I am in the boonies, it's just that the towers in my area haven't been upgraded yet.

Bottom line, Sprint is the close to the bottom of the barrel, and it priced as such. AT&T/VZW got the juicy 700 MHz spectrum, so Sprint will be an afterthought and TMO may score the rest. Iphones are murdering the network. Since the iphone came out, the towers in my town are sucking wind. It will be critical to get phones onto LTE to ease congestion. Its the worst since 2006 ish when I had my Palm...

[billm261]

2. VM and Boost don't have LTE phones yet, so 4G is only Clear (wimax) and that will be deprecated

3. 1st gen LTE phones only are 1900 mhz which as you recall from the old PCS days doesn't travel well into buildings unless they So expect LTE coverage to be the old-ish PCS coverage.

4. Any 4G wimax phone you buy now will be obsolete very fast...

5. Sprint is just lighting up their LTE infrastructure now, so expect some lag for those phones to come into MVNO space. In fact no MVNO has LTE yet, so YMMV.

3. Actually with the new radio heads mounted right on the antenna they are reporting much better signal strength and signal penetration even @ 1900Mhz. Sure will be nice to see some 800 love but it may not even happen on prepaid, who knows.

In response to 2 & 4, Clearwire has committed to Wi-Max until YE/2015 which is quite a ways off. I don't think that anyone who buys (for example) an EVO V today will be using that device by then. Yes, Sprints data network can't suck enough as of late but if one is lucky enough to live in a good Clearwire coverage area I think there is a lot of value for real short money on Wi-Max.

5. Yes there is no LTE on any prepaid or MVNO right now and with both Verizon and AT&T loathing the idea of LTE on prepaid and Sprint indicating both prepaid brands will get it has the potential to put them in front of the class.

[elefante72]

3. Actually with the new radio heads mounted right on the antenna they are reporting much better signal strength and signal penetration even @ 1900Mhz. Sure will be nice to see some 800 love but it may not even happen on prepaid, who knows.

In response to 2 & 4, Clearwire has committed to Wi-Max until YE/2015 which is quite a ways off. I don't think that anyone who buys (for example) an EVO V today will be using that device by then. Yes, Sprints data network can't suck enough as of late but if one is lucky enough to live in a good Clearwire coverage area I think there is a lot of value for real short money on Wi-Max.

5. Yes there is no LTE on any prepaid or MVNO right now and with both Verizon and AT&T loathing the idea of LTE on prepaid and Sprint indicating both prepaid brands will get it has the potential to put them in front of the class.

I hope so. I'm not paying $100 per phone I heard they mount three and fibre (one for each band) and this give 30% more across all of the coverage, however I was also reading that even with the boost the LTE coverage is about what the pre-NV coverage would be on the 1900 band. I think once they get to overlapping LTE that can help on building coverage so they will be OK.

Clear won't be expanding, so if if they keep it lit it won't be growing and with LTE in full swing if we are talking about 2 years for a phone that will be way deep into Sprint's LTE rollout.

I guess you can say it's a stopgap to HSPA--they need to do something. We got shafted on Wimax because I live on the border and it would have interfered w/ Canadian broadcasting while analog was still lit, so it's really not helpful.

[tcomotcom]

There are a few expansions w/ that statement:

1. Data can/is also be carried on 1x
2. VM and Boost don't have LTE phones yet, so 4G is only Clear (wimax) and that will be deprecated
3. Sprint will be launching LTE on iden frequencies once they sunset nextel (with voice), but the phone must carry the 800 Mhz band, and 1st gen LTE phones only are 1900 mhz which as you recall from the old PCS days doesn't travel well into buildings unless they multiplex. So expect LTE coverage to be the old-ish PCS coverage.
4. Any 4G wimax phone you buy now will be obsolete very fast.
5. Sprint is just lighting up their LTE infrastructure now, so expect some lag for those phones to come into MVNO space. In fact no MVNO has LTE yet, so YMMV.
6. The fastest 3G is on GSM (HSPA), so that technology has legs for at least a few years while LTE gets ironed out.
7. You are much better off going to a GSM provider if you are concerned about data performance. Voice is great on Sprint, so not to worry. They will be moving it to iden (800) in 2013 TF. If you have good wifi, not that big of a deal.... It boils down to price....

OK, except the original poster was asking how WiMax and LTE would affect his ability to make and receive phone calls and text (answer: they don't). Sure, data can be carried on 1X, but that isn't what the OP was concerned about. All that info about data doesn't address the OP's concerns and seems off topic in this post.

If you're going to bring the 800 MHz SMR band into this discussion, what needs to be explained is that Sprint will be deploying 1XRTT Advanced on the 800 MHz SMR band, which means that in-building voice and SMS service will be well improved due to the better penetration of lower band signals into structures.

A couple of corrections:

Clearwire has not announced any plans to decommission their WiMax network - it is not deprecated. (Contrast that with the iDen network which Sprint has officially declared dead and is actively decommissioning. That's an example of a deprecated network.) As billm261 points out, the Sprint contract with Clearwire goes through the end of 2015, so for VM customers with WiMax phones purchased recently, that's a 4.5 year service life - not a long, long time, but not by any stretch "obsolete very fast".

You are wrong about the Sprint LTE phones. Many currently available Sprint phones already have SMR (800 MHz) radios in addition to their PCS and Cellular radios. Even the Virgin Mobile Evo V 4G has an 800 MHz radio (its not used for anything right now, but its there, waiting, ready to go). Sprint has been putting 800 MHz radios into many of their Sprint-branded CDMA phones for some time.

[mfrerkes]

Regarding the data only protocols - Sprint's network upgrade should make 3G data "better". VM customers can't access 4G LTE, so whatever. The 4G WiMax network is owned by another company, Clearwire, and that network is being repaired and maintained, but it is not being expanded or improved so "what you see is what you get".

Even the 4G WiMax speeds where I live are getting to be horrendous. I did a speed test with what supposedly was a 4G connection. Here's what I got: 555Kbps down, 69Kbps up, 431ms ping. I've had 3G speed tests with better results.

Oh, and this was at 7:45pm on a Sunday while outdoors! Not exactly peak business hours in a huge metal and concrete building.

I'm actively looking at switching carriers now. This is getting embarrassing.