Recently I've had big congestion problems with both T-Mobile(especially) and Verizon. Att seems to be the least congested overall but I know that varies according to location.I first want to say, I am not here to bash Verizon or any carrier for that matter nor am I a regular on HoFo. But I want to discuss an issue that after reading online and talking with friends and family seems to be happening in more places more frequently. I have Verizon service here in Pittsburgh and they have a pretty decent grid here with a few issues. I do not know everything about what goes on behind the scenes at the network level but I do know that having allot of spectrum is an important tool to fight network congestion. Yes Densification has helped allot especially here in a high market share, no aws3, and a weak PCS holdings market like Pittsburgh
However, I question why with the 100's of small cells in Pittsburgh why not one of them has LAA especially in a semi spectrum starved market with lots of Verizon users like ours. And yes for most of the day to day items this network holds up well; but take Wallnut Street in the Shadyside neighborhood for example, that has 3 small cells on it. Works fine day to day but anytime large crowds come in or busy Friday and Saturday nights at the bars, the network tanks to sub 1mb speeds. LAA I know would keep the speeds up especially the outdoor foot traffic. Guess who keeps speeds up and does not have a single small cell in sight but instead has a Macro in the area? You guessed it the death star AT&T.
From what I have been seeing my self, reading online, and hearing from friends and family all over the country is that congestion on Verizon is really becoming a normal occurrence where big crowds gather and there Advanced or Planned event Network ("small cells with LAA, MatSing Balls, DAS High Capacity Antenna's ect) does not exist. I am sure many of you saw congestion this weekend in areas such as a lake or a weekend getaway destination that is only served by a macro site. And I am not saying Verizon is alone and I know it depends on a ton of a factors such as marketshare and backhaul. At&t and the others all have this problem in areas all around the country. However, from what I have personally experienced and what I have seen from others is that the last carrier and sometimes the only carrier to keep up with large crowds on a macro network and sometimes big cities is AT&T.
I have read on here and fellow HoFo members that work for Verizon say there is a plan. But what is the plan to address the congestion issues outside the big cities or outside the dense small cell grids? Is Verizon's plan really to just use millimeter wave and put small cells everywhere? At some point, I would think that it becomes too expensive to do that everywhere. Early test in Chicago show amazing speeds but it seems there are coverage challenges. It's clear they need more midband spectrum for the macro network. I am getting worried that C Band auction and CBRS might not come soon enough. Other than spectrum, Verizon has amazing coverage, a large fiber presence and a really good engineering team. I just worry about their ability to deal with congestion in the near term. Anyone have any thoughts or has anyone else been experiencing this same issue?
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