Has Sprint improved WiMax in areas?

iTzKPanda · February 4th, 2013, 09:00 PM

So a couple weeks ago I would consistently get ~5Mbps down and ~1Mbps up.
I did a few speedtests today out of curiosity/boredom and I got this:

I wanted to make sure it wasn't a bug or a glitch so I did a few more speedtests and they all ranged from 8.5Mbps to 11Mbps down and still ~1Mbps up.

Have they improved their WiMax speeds/coverage lately? I thought they completely ditched WiMax and went on to LTE.

KOLIO · February 4th, 2013, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iTzKPanda

So a couple weeks ago I would consistently get ~5Mbps down and ~1Mbps up.
I did a few speedtests today out of curiosity/boredom and I got this:

I wanted to make sure it wasn't a bug or a glitch so I did a few more speedtests and they all ranged from 8.5Mbps to 11Mbps down and still ~1Mbps up.

Have they improved their WiMax speeds/coverage lately? I thought they completely ditched WiMax and went on to LTE.

Go here :http://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp?INTNAV=ATG:HE:Cov

Enter your address/zip code & zoom in. Click on the towers to view the upgrade activity.

NYCHitman1 · February 5th, 2013, 09:23 AM

Ditched would be a foul word. Sprint didn't ditch WiMAX. Clearwire did (pre-Sprint takeover). They (Sprint) are going to continue supporting the network over the course of the next 2-3 years. By then, it will likely be decommissioned and the focus will turn completely to LTE. To answer your question though, no they didn't improve anything.

Rigmaster · February 5th, 2013, 01:29 PM

You're likely seeing speed increases because of improvements to Sprint backhaul capacity. I don't think there's much in the way of Wimax tower signal change, but there is to backhaul as Sprint upgrades for LTE and better 3G. LTE, 3G, and Wimax all can be bottlenecked by the carriers ability to backhaul transmissions from towers.

Bet the improvement is a sign of good things for you though.

KOLIO · February 5th, 2013, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iTzKPanda

So a couple weeks ago I would consistently get ~5Mbps down and ~1Mbps up.
I did a few speedtests today out of curiosity/boredom and I got this:

I wanted to make sure it wasn't a bug or a glitch so I did a few more speedtests and they all ranged from 8.5Mbps to 11Mbps down and still ~1Mbps up.

Have they improved their WiMax speeds/coverage lately? I thought they completely ditched WiMax and went on to LTE.

This is what you're looking for,I believe:

https://network.sprint.com/search/TAMPA%2CFL/

Click on the towers that serve your area for detailed service upgrade information.

dan330 · February 19th, 2013, 01:43 PM

i think it is due to TRAFFIC!!!

people are getting off the EVO and onto newer phones. which are all LTE.
so.. WIMAX is becoming a ghost town. and roads are emptier... and those that are still there can speed along.

but i hear that sprint is putting their pre-paid customers on the old Wimax network. and i am guessing they are getting throttled down.

ovrrdrive · February 25th, 2013, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rigmaster

You're likely seeing speed increases because of improvements to Sprint backhaul capacity. I don't think there's much in the way of Wimax tower signal change, but there is to backhaul as Sprint upgrades for LTE and better 3G. LTE, 3G, and Wimax all can be bottlenecked by the carriers ability to backhaul transmissions from towers.

Bet the improvement is a sign of good things for you though.

That's my guess too. They're switching most of their sites from copper over to fiber backhauls and the bandwidth available is no comparison to what they had before. They probably have completed the NV upgrade at that site and the wimax speeds went up as a result of the combination of the upgrades. Bottleneck removed.

There's no doubt that the lack of wimax devices is also increasing speed and decreasing congestion on the network too. It's a win/win.