By New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco. What do these three cities have in common? We could probably list quite a few things, but we’re talking about the fact that none of those cities have been activated on Sprint’s 4G coverage map despite being three of the most populated and tech-savvy cities in the country. Turns out that the size and layout of these cities is the very reason that there has been a delay in getting coverage kicked in for subscriber’s in those areas. They call the areas “crowded and complex” but promise that soon residents of those metropolitan areas will no longer need to complain and ask “what about us?” every time Sprint announces expansion of their 4G coverage.
The below video gives a bit of background info on just exactly what goes into laying out coverage for a new network in a place already so inundated with man-made constructs. Perhaps surprisingly the 4G technology actually takes up less space than old 3G setups, and quite a few areas are already active in NYC. If you have found yourself around Times Square you may have already noticed this on your EVO 4G or Epic. So there you have it. They say it’s coming soon and from the looks of it it won’t be that long at all.
[via Androinica]
Still waiting for 4g here in Cleveland ohio??
I want it in Cincinnati NOW! :)
Nation’s fastest network, not available in the nation’s largest cities.
oh stop whining. Sprint could put up ONE tower in my area and we’d have 4g, but I don’t live in a “big city” so we’ll likely see 4g in 2012..yet most of you will see it in a few weeks/months and you’re still bitching.
Already have it in Chicago. It’s awful. Never bother using it.
Would prefer to pay $10 less a month and just use EVDO. It’s what I do anyways.
i see the $10/month as a “charge me a single penny extra for ANYTHING regarding data charge and i will take this to al of your executive supervisors”–so therefore i stream as much as i want (amazon video on demand) and am pretty easy going when it comes to pda.net
but of course–i live in the one part of my city that does NOT get 4g coverage. my home is in the armpit of the digital wave.
4G coverage is spotty at best here in Seattle so it really sucks down the battery. Only time I turn on the 4G antenna is when I’m on a call in my car and need to check traffic or surf the web, which is nice because that’s not an option on 3G.
I’ve been able to connect in NOHO and the Village and in Northern New Jersey (Newark and Jersey City). The only complaint so far, it doesn’t work indoors. The minute I step inside a building, the connection drops.
4g is working for me in SF. My brother is in LA and says 4g is working for him as well.
4g is up now in Anaheim, CA (Orange County). Sprint reps & Best buy reps will both tell u it will b live “by the end of November”. I measure 3Mbps – 8Mbps consistently. It’s not stable as an always-on mobile connection (like 3g). But if ur stationary & don’t have Wi-Fi, it’s fantastic.
Works for me pretty well in Las Vegas as long as I’m stationary. If I’m driving around my phone spends way more time trying to connect than it stays connected. Only worth turning on if I’m sitting still.
I live in Orange County, CA, but, was in the Central Valley last week where they have the 4G active. I set up my EVO as a hotspot for my laptop, first on 3G and then on 4G. I have to say that I was more impressed with the 3G for internet connections. I couldn’t even get videos to stream without hesitation on 4G, but they ran great on 3G. My 4G reception was not as strong as the 3G. So, my conclusion is that 4G might be great if you are right on top of a 4G tower, otherwise, 3G is still the better choice. And, the 4G service drained my phone’s battery twice as fast as 3G, so don’t even try it unless you have your phone charger plugged in.
The problem with 4g is that it has problems penetrating through walls. And not only that average download speeds are about 1.5mbs to 3mbs.
Hummmm south Florida up and running before summers end. Funny still not up and working anywhere. Maybe they meant at summers end 2011
Hummmm, south Florida up and running before summers end. Funny still not up and working anywhere. Maybe they meant at summers end 2011 next year.
still waiting for detroit area. we were on the original 4g rollout plan as one of the first cities to get it. they put in in grand rapids which is bfe, but detroit isnt even on the list now.
4G is working for me in NYC. Test results: http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k176/badasscat/IMG_3180.jpg
I get 4g in Los Angeles it works great.
Gee that sucks that you can’t get it working while driving. I guess you will have to concentrate on other things. Like, oh I don’t know, maybe DRIVING!
Arghhh.. wimax and lte are NOT 4g, they are part of the 3g spec (check itu website). Lte/wimax are considered 3.9g. Can someone call bs on them?
lost- you’re going to be “lost” making that point. I may fully understand that they don’t meet the 4G specifications, and “4g” is nothing more than a marketing term at this point… but others will be blind to that. So until LTE-Advanced and WiMax M are available, I’ll be doing my best to bite my tongue… at least LTE-Advanced should be available in 2012… so maybe it won’t be so bad.
Come on Sioux Falls, South Dakota… Hey! It’s the biggest city in S.D…. A guy can wish. Can’t he?
I have it in West Chester, OH 19 miles from downtown Cincinnati. The problem is that I have a hard time connecting to Google talk when on 4G. They need to fix these bugs soon or give up the $10 additional cost.
Places I have received a good to strong 4G signal:
Times Square
Central Park
Many areas of Brooklyn
Jersey City (Exchange Place)
Newark (most, but strongest at Penn Station)
Elizabeth
Rahway
Linden
MetroPark (Edison)
Still waiting to get it by my house (Woodbridge)
The expansion appears to be going fairly fast, all things considered, IMHO.
Oh wait. 2 more areas.
Chelsea Piers.
All over spots of Los Angeles when I visited earlier this month (specifically Culver City)
What about Arizona??
I don’t really get the point in paying $10 more a month for this. T-Mobile updated most of their 3G network to 7.1Mbps and is rolling out a 21 Mbps service. So already they are faster than Sprints “4G” service.
@Ben i use to have 4g downtown jersey city which isn’t to far from Exchange Place and now i have no 4g..
I know Wisconsin isn’t that big of a state but come on. Its in Chicago and Wisconsin is right next to it. Be reasonable. if I don’t have 4g coverage then dony make me pay an EXTRA TEN DOLLARS!!!!
4G…O, 4G where art thou?
Why couldn’t Sprint at least install towers with 4G signal at its local corporate stores and malls where its stores are located thereby helping to send out the 4G signal while waiting on Clear and WiMax to put their rear in gear and beat out Verizon’s LTE development.
Its crazy have a 4G phone only be able to use it on a 3G network while not at home near FIOS or high speed connection. You end up asking yourself why did I pay a 4G PRICE for a 3G Product that will MAYBE oneday get 4G, and hopefully the signal will be a full 5-6 bars not 1 or 2 like Crickett and At&t.