Flow LTE

[leoandru]

I don't know who these persons are, and what exactly they're doing with their phones, who are supposedly clamoring for ultra-fast speeds. I mean, so long as streamed media plays promptly and smoothly, sans buffering, you're still going to need 10 mins to watch a 10 min clip; and regular downloads are still dependent on the remote server. The point is, as someone else indicated, these hypersonic speeds, for the retail market, are largely unnecessary.

Ever heard the phrase "If you build it, they will come"? I said the same think about luxury apartments in Kingston, but they are being gobbled up like no tomorrow.

I believe someone explained that its meant for capacity. The higher the speeds the more users it will support before a noticeable slowdown.
Imagine thousands of users on Flow's LTE trying to stream a live HD football match on their mobile vs Digicel LTE. Which of those two groups you think will have a better experience?

[Makara]

Ever heard the phrase "If you build it, they will come"? I said the same think about luxury apartments in Kingston, but they are being gobbled up like no tomorrow.

I believe someone explained that its meant for capacity. The higher the speeds the more users it will support before a noticeable slowdown.
Imagine thousands of users on Flow's LTE trying to stream a live HD football match on their mobile vs Digicel LTE. Which of those two groups you think will have a better experience?

Have never had any problems streaming over Digicel's LTE, not even over their 3G . I'm not a prolific streamer, but that has been my experience. Your analogy of luxury apartments actually, perhaps unwittingly, supports my supposition, i.e. Flow is aiming for exclusivity and the attendant minuscule share of the retail market. And the contention was never about aggregate fire-power - though unevenly spread, they presumably have more than enough given the size of the market - but about practically catering to the peculiarities of that market. Digicel, although the current undisputed data king, is seemingly over-leveraged; and without a massive infusion of equity is in real danger of collapsing. I shudder to think what the telecoms landscape would look like with an unevolved, resurgent C&W once more at the helm

[Brandysull]

Have never had any problems streaming over Digicel's LTE, not even over their 3G . I'm not a prolific streamer, but that has been my experience. Your analogy of luxury apartments actually, perhaps unwittingly, supports my supposition, i.e. Flow is aiming for exclusivity and the attendant minuscule share of the retail market. And the contention was never about aggregate fire-power - though unevenly spread, they presumably have more than enough given the size of the market - but about practically catering to the peculiarities of that market. Digicel, although the current undisputed data king, is seemingly over-leveraged; and without a massive infusion of equity is in real danger of collapsing. I shudder to think what the telecoms landscape would look like with an unevolved, resurgent C&W once more at the helm

But what I am trying to say is that catering to a select group of people with a very high quality product isn't a bad thing. FLOW's 3-Carrier Aggregation network hitting 300+ Mbit/s won't be accessible to the common man because of the equipment they have. Most only have Category 4 LTE devices which can only do up to 150 Mbit/s (which they already provide). The 3CA goodness is for those who have newer high end devices like iPhone 7 and up or Galaxy S7 and up. The point is, they're shifting the base of their network to LTE, concomitant with Liberty Global/Liberty Latin America's vision for the region. As such, they have build capacity from early to ensure the ease of migration for customers. Digicel still depends on HSPA+ for its data delivery, something that will not work well for them when FLOW LTE hits 70+% population coverage by the end of this month.

On the point of Digicel's overleveraged positon, it was bound to happen. Expansion at such a fast clip is a receipe for disaster if you don't have the requisite returns. Digicel has hit into one of the ills of the current dispensation of mobile technology... one must constantly be sinking capital into their network and be constantly tuning and improving. Digicel has really streched itself thin and grew too large, C&W is however thin and mean with big money behind it (LBTY & LILAC)...

[Brandysull]

Ever heard the phrase "If you build it, they will come"? I said the same think about luxury apartments in Kingston, but they are being gobbled up like no tomorrow.

I believe someone explained that its meant for capacity. The higher the speeds the more users it will support before a noticeable slowdown.
Imagine thousands of users on Flow's LTE trying to stream a live HD football match on their mobile vs Digicel LTE. Which of those two groups you think will have a better experience?

We've seen this happen on numerous occasions... FLOW has constantly outranked and outclassed Digicel in speed tests islandwide and FLOW will actually be making a press release as to Ookla awarding them with the distinction of being Jamaica's Fastest Mobile Network.

[blackbeard]

Interestingly from yesterday at my office in New Kingston my phone has been showing LTE+. Thy seem to be testing LTE advance in New Kingston.

[Brandysull]

Interestingly from yesterday at my office in New Kingston my phone has been showing LTE+. Thy seem to be testing LTE advance in New Kingston.

Testing? They're lighting up sites with Band 2 on progressive basis until November end. Here's speed test at the CIBC in Liguanea.



I've peaked at 250 but it was blip. I'm honestly amazed. This is at PEAK Traffic on the network! I think next in line is Band 12 if not now, next quarter.

[Makara]

But what I am trying to say is that catering to a select group of people with a very high quality product isn't a bad thing. FLOW's 3-Carrier Aggregation network hitting 300+ Mbit/s won't be accessible to the common man because of the equipment they have. Most only have Category 4 LTE devices which can only do up to 150 Mbit/s (which they already provide). The 3CA goodness is for those who have newer high end devices like iPhone 7 and up or Galaxy S7 and up. The point is, they're shifting the base of their network to LTE, concomitant with Liberty Global/Liberty Latin America's vision for the region. As such, they have build capacity from early to ensure the ease of migration for customers. Digicel still depends on HSPA+ for its data delivery, something that will not work well for them when FLOW LTE hits 70+% population coverage by the end of this month. On the point of Digicel's overleveraged positon, it was bound to happen. Expansion at such a fast clip is a receipe for disaster if you don't have the requisite returns. Digicel has hit into one of the ills of the current dispensation of mobile technology... one must constantly be sinking capital into their network and be constantly tuning and improving. Digicel has really streched itself thin and grew too large, C&W is however thin and mean with big money behind it (LBTY & LILAC)...

We're not really at cross-purposes: Of course they should cater to the high end of the market; my contention is that their focus seems to be disproportionately weighted on the upper-middle to high-end of the market - I want to see a better choice of price-points, with more decent allocations, aimed at the lower regions. Digicel didn't get into problems because of their business model - their ebitda is actually quite decent - the source of the problem, imho, is the frequent and substantial outflows by way of directors' drawings.

[Brandysull]

There still exists allotments commensurate with the pockets of the lower regions of the country’s market mix. FLOW Lyf is available for those who want lower priced data options. The availability of packages like a nightly-pass for Data doesn’t fit into LILA’s end goal... which is to add RGUs whether postpaid or prepaid (which as per their definition is a 30 day prepaid subscriber). CWC & LILA will continue to simplify the offerings in the coming quarter with the “Moments” campaign. I do think that this is a necessary step to get Jamaicans to embrace persistent lines of data; bridging the digital divide and enhancing mechanisms for information dissemination. While I get that you’d like to see plans more reflective of the strata that exist, LTE is not cheap. Spectrum is even less cheap. They need utilization and for that, higher allotments and comprehensive tariffs are needed as we glidslope into 5G. We will soon be introduced to VoLTE... A technology that will invariably require users to stay on the LTE network, something many don’t use because “plan finish too quick”.

[Brandysull]

Here's another screenshot showing Band 2 and Band 4 Carrier Aggregation on FLOW LTE. This site is the one at Sovereign Centre/Texaco Gas station.



There's also some work done on the uplink, perhaps 64QAM or uplink CA. I'm loving these new developments on FLOW LTE... capacity for days!

[Dr.dre]

Here's another screenshot showing Band 2 and Band 4 Carrier Aggregation on FLOW LTE. This site is the one at Sovereign Centre/Texaco Gas station.

https://i.imgur.com/cOoeTSM.jpg

There's also some work done on the uplink, perhaps 64QAM or uplink CA. I'm loving these new developments on FLOW LTE... capacity for days!

Now if only would give their broadband customers even half that upload speed.