EDGE Rollout strategy?

Hi,

You still did not answer the question: Why does Gauteng have such poor EDGE coverage? (as per your MTN coverage map)
 
mc721221 said:
Hi,

You still did not answer the question: Why does Gauteng have such poor EDGE coverage? (as per your MTN coverage map)
Click to expand...
I could be wrong here but I think that all the 3G towers are EDGE enabled too, and on the map, the 3G coverage (red) actually includes EDGE coverage too - it's just not possible to show EDGE and 3G at the same time.

The outlying areas will have EDGE coverage since the EDGE range vs 3G range from the same tower is greater. Right ScrnScrm and MTNBB?
 
mc721221 said:
Hi,

You still did not answer the question: Why does Gauteng have such poor EDGE coverage? (as per your MTN coverage map)
Click to expand...

What more do you want MTNbb to say:
1) he cannot divulge info all the time, some is sensitive, some is difficult to predict,
2) MTN has the best coverage in SA at the moment,
3) they are investing to improve it all the time and aim to cover the country this year (yay!)

It has the coverage it has. The towers that have EDGE have EDGE. The towers that don't WILL relatively soon.
 
Hillcrest Coverage

Thanks MTNbroadband!

I understand their are strategic issues, just looking for a resonable eta to plan by.

Your response here is enough acknowledgment for me that my request has been heard.
 
I am not even sure if this thread is the right one, but anyway, here is the question:

Is there any way of checking edge connectivity in my area. The reason I am asking is because for the past couple of days I have been getting periods of increased speed. I.E. 9 - 10 KB per second during 6pm and 8 pm. Quite fast and a pleasant change from the usual non-response I get when connecting during the same period.
Unfortunately it doesn't last.
 
hotdog said:
I could be wrong here but I think that all the 3G towers are EDGE enabled too, and on the map, the 3G coverage (red) actually includes EDGE coverage too - it's just not possible to show EDGE and 3G at the same time.

The outlying areas will have EDGE coverage since the EDGE range vs 3G range from the same tower is greater. Right ScrnScrm and MTNBB?
Click to expand...

In principle if a site has 3G coverage it also has EDGE coverage. That was a business decision of ours rather than a technical reality. Therefore the red on the map is 3G, EDGE and GPRS.

For the sites where our transmission links were substantially delayed. The first link that become available was prioritised for 3G coverage because of the need to have full 3G clusters to 'tune' them. Therefore there are the odd EDGE gaps which are awaiting transmission (very few to speak of).

The EDGE footprint is substantially wider. Port Elizabeth was a good example where EDGE is about twice the coverage of 3G.

The way that 3G works, if there is a reasonable 3G signal then the handset will latch onto the 3G network. However, a 2G handset will switch between 2G and 3G because it is seeking the optimal tower from a voice point of view. Therefore there is a small chance of picking up a non-EDGE signal in a 3G/EDGE area.

I hope that is a little bit clearer :)
 
hotdog said:
I could be wrong here but I think that all the 3G towers are EDGE enabled too, and on the map, the 3G coverage (red) actually includes EDGE coverage too - it's just not possible to show EDGE and 3G at the same time.

The outlying areas will have EDGE coverage since the EDGE range vs 3G range from the same tower is greater. Right ScrnScrm and MTNBB?
Click to expand...

In principle, yes. But there are a couple of things to remember here :
1. UMTS (3G) are physically seperate base stations (BTS), and a physically seperate network.
2. At the moment, the vast majority of UMTS BTSs are co-located with GSM BTSs. This is because of numerous factors such as rental paid on the land the BTS is located on, Enviromental Impact studies having been already done, etc etc.
3. This however does NOT guarantee that the GSM BTSs will be upgraded at the same time that the UMTS BTS is installed, although MTNBB has indicated that this is indeed MTNs strategy. Dont count on it with Vodacom though, they have technology restrictions on some of their kit that prevent the EGRPS (EDGE) upgrade...
4. In the future, when new BTS sites are erected, it may not be feasible for the networks to install GSM as well, mainly because its a "End-of-Life" technology. They may just install UMTS. In this case, you will get no EDGE coverage from that BTS site even though there is UMTS coverage.
5. Item 4 is actually a very real scenario, mainly because of the way UMTS works. It requires more physical BTS sites to maintain coverage. this is due to the fact that the coverage area shrinks depending on the amount of users in the cell, so BTSs have to have a certain amount of overlap to cater for this. This means that UMTS BTSs may need to be located nearer to each other in some instances than GSM, basically forcing the erection of more physical sites... I have posted on cell "breathing" before - click here to read the post

So, in summary, whilst AT THE MOMENT, 3G coverage areas also have EDGE coverage, this may not always be the case!

Hope this helps to shed some light on the matter.
Cheers -
 
Thanx Scrnscrm, that clears up most of the questions I had
 
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