Sprint site redundancies and upgrades. Know what to watch out for.

Sprint is working with Nokia Networks (one of three network vendors) to upgrade its Spark program. This means adding two additional 20-MHz channels to existing cell sites that currently support just one 20-MHz channel for a total of three 20-MHz channels per site by year-end 2015. This method of carrier aggregation would enable subscribers on the Spark network to access data speeds of up to 150 megabits / second, which is extremely fast. These equipment upgrades are currently being tested in three markets on ~100 sites.

In other news, Sprint plans to turn off ~6K WiMAX “redundant” sites that it acquired when it bought Clearwire. We advise property owners who are party to cellular leases to check the terms of your lease (and verify who the tenants are and/ or what technology is used). You may be in the “right” market for equipment upgrades, or not so lucky – if your lease is with Clearwire.