According to the latest internal Sprint employee documentation, the carrier will begin the second phase of its Network Vision initiative by “retuning” iDEN cellsites in order to repurpose spectrum for CDMA and future LTE service beginning next month, with a wider retuning in April.

The newsletter breaks down what Sprint will do for customers that will be affected by the gradual phase out of iDEN, which includes migration offers to CDMA service, but does not mention any such process for Boost Mobile users that still rely on iDEN for domestic and International DirectConnect service.

Courtesy of BriefMobile

It should be stressed that the phaseout occurring next month will not shutdown iDEN, but it will reconfigure the service to the point where indoor service may be adversely affected, as the cell sites will not be broadcasting at full power and will be gradually moved to CDMA until the planned complete shutdown of the iDEN network in 2013. Customers near and in New Orleans are the most affected by this part of the phase out, with ETF Out currently open to the end of March for those customers in that market that don’t wish to migrate and the rest of the nationwide iDEN customer base can begin exercising ETF Out options from next month to the end of July.

Sprint is actively seeking to push those affected by the phase out to CDMA with Sprint Direct Connect, but is making an exception for those that rely on International Direct Connect and will not actively target those customers for migration until April, when International Direct Connect support via Sprint Direct Connect will be deployed and will speed up the migration/iDEN phase out process.

Sprint has taken great strides to de-emphasize iDEN since the last major upgrades to the network in 2008 which allowed it to offer unlimited flat-rate service and proved unexpectedly popular, so much so that it was able to increase ARPU on the network and draw in more customers than expected.

The offering also led for a new lease on life for iDEN, with new phones and devices being offered while Sprint worked out development of the first iteration of Direct Connect on CDMA, which did not fare well and was shelved while more development work was conducted. With iDEN now being phased out after years of maintenance and QChat finally working as hoped, the days of maintaining the iDEN network are now numbered.

Of course, this will also leave Boost Mobile customers that use iDEN in the lurch, since they will have to buy new phones and it is not known whether Sprint will extend Direct Connect service to Boost Mobile with new compatible CDMA models. Should Sprint decide to expand Sprint DirectConnect service to Boost Mobile, it would give that virtual operator a reason to exist aside from its Shrinkage service plan as it was originally a Nextel MVNO that offered pay per use unlimited push to talk for a daily flat rate.

Sprint over the past week has dropped some tidbits on when to expect their innovative Network Vision cell site technology to begin going online, and when to begin expecting LTE-enabled devices.

The embattled carrier created Network Vision as a way of mitigating the five current network platforms that it will power: iDEN, CDMA & EVDO, WiMAX, and LTE. All five have unique spectrum and tuning requirements that have stalled Sprint’s growth over the years. The difference between Sprint CDMA and Nextel iDEN alone cost Sprint millions of consumers, a fact Sprint has begrudgingly admitted, and attempted to correct with three iterations of Direct Connect (iDEN, QChat, and the current “remixed” QChat platform). Adding in Clearwire’s WiMAX, and Sprint’s eventual decision to go to LTE… and Sprint had to create its own solution to this spectrum problem.

Network Vision, as we have covered from the day it was announced, will allow Sprint to toggle resources and spectrum remotely, without accessing towers. This will allow Sprint to dynamically raise and lower spectrum for each of these platforms based on demand, ensuring that customers on legacy CDMA and WiMAX devices can keep using them, and that LTE will operate properly as iDEN is phased out.

The current roadmap that Sprint has announced calls for the deployment of WiMAX and CDMA as soon as possible, rollout has begun in many areas. One thing Sprint is keeping close to the vest however, is how much new WiMAX coverage will become available. It is not clear if WiMAX will immediately be turned on in areas where Sprint has not tapped into the backhaul of Clearwire’s network, or has sufficient resources. WiMAX simply may not be enabled network-wide ever. One thing Sprint is doing, is taking advantage of previously iDEN-only towers, and scrapping iDEN towers that will be redundant in this deployment.

The take-home message for CIOs all the way down to customer is; we’re suggesting you migrate away from that iDEN phone, be it on Boost or Sprint Nextel. iDEN customers clearly will have the most coverage impact that we have seen from source’s maps… and it isn’t a positive improvement at all.

CDMA will benefit, though the ESMR band previously used by iDEN will not be taken advantage of dramatically at first. Keep in mind, Nextel will need the ESMR frequency as long as it is active. For those with non-ESMR phones, and that’s most of you, that means you do not need to throw out your old device to get the best 3G coverage. An ESMR phone will only help in a few areas. Sprint will likely tap most of this bandwidth for LTE, so the primary benefit may lie in the long term; rural areas that see iDEN dismantled, but not WiMAX or LTE until fiber backhaul can arrive.

Sprint, this week, did drop the bombshell that LTE handsets will launch in the second half of 2012. However, this is mostly non-news that other drive-by colleagues in the mobile media simply didn’t realize was already known information. Sprint has said all along that LTE and Network Vision will be in consumers hands long before that date. It remains to be seen if Sprint will do an LTE mobile broadband trial in Q2, but this seems unlikely, as Sprint does not want to overcost hardware with tri-mode CDMA/WiMAX/LTE devices. This means that Sprint will wait until LTE coverage overlaps the vast majority of existing Sprint WiMAX coverage, and then launch CDMA/LTE mobile broadband devices.

In all, we chose to write this article based on information that actually is new, rather than regurgitate the “LTE is coming to Sprint in 2H2012″ that everyone else has reported. We wrote this instead as a primer on what you’ll expect from Sprint over the next year in terms of real-world experience.

The take-home from this is that for most users, the device you have right now will work better in the years to come, be it CDMA or WiMAX. If you buy a WiMAX phone today, you can rest assured it will work better throughout its 2-year contract timeline, and likely well beyond that too. If you have an iDEN device, we suggest getting rid of it… pronto. Sprint may not like that we’re saying that, but we see the coverage drops coming for iDEN. It’s not Sprint’s fault; AT&T did the same thing to their GSM network upon the desperate need to provide 3G/4G coverage to their customers.

Regional carrier SouthernLINC has announced the launch of the i475 and i420 which include an FM radio, voice-activated dialing, Bluetooth, VGA camera, GPS, and Java support. The i475 is a candy bar QWERTY phone and the i420 is a clamshell. Pricing for each is set at 69.99 after new 2 year agreement before an additional $50 mail-in rebate, bringing the total to $19.99.

The FCC has revealed the first CDMA phone for Sprint that will operate on Nextel’s 800MHz SMR band in the Samsung SPH-M830 when the first phase of the Network Vision initiative begins later this year. The M830 also features Bluetooth, a touch screen with slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and support for microSD cards, suggesting that this will be the mid-range smartphone announced early last month as part of its Sprint Direct Connect announcement. Neither Sprint nor Samsung have announced the phone at this time.

With the FCC approval of the M830, this suggests that Sprint is ahead of schedule in the construction and deployment of its new multi-mode base station hardware first announced in December of last year. While the network and the new CDMA-based push to talk solution is not expected to debut until the end of this year, early approval of such devices means that full-scale network testing is close to being initiated along with hardware testing.

This morning, Sprint released the first details on its second CDMA-based push-to-talk platform following the unsuccessful rollout of QChat. The new platform will be known as Sprint Direct Connect and is set to launch by the end of the year.

The new service will carry over all features found on iDEN and will include new features such as group PTT with up to 200 participants, Land Mobile Radio support and interoperability between devices, along with presence notification. Sprint Direct Connect will launch first on phones from Motorola and Kyocera in the fourth quarter. In 2012, more features will be added to Sprint Direct Connect, such as international direct connect support. Sprint further states the phones will support “high-speed data, high-resolution cameras, and Bluetooth while the two handsets confirmed in the launch lineup will be an Android smartphone with a touch screen and QWERTY keyboard, as well as a rugged clamshell.

Sprint also confirmed that the new technology is being made possible by its Network Vision initiative, while stating that the footprint of this new PTT system will be three times bigger than the current iDEN network, covering 2.7 million square miles and 309 million POPs. Interoperability with its existing PTT device lineup has also been confirmed with Sprint also launching a transition program to the new CDMA-based Sprint Direct Connect network for those that still own iDEN phones later this year.

More information on Sprint Direct Connect will be revealed during CTIA 2011, being held next week in Orlando. Mobile developers have also been invited to learn more about the new platform, with Sprint offering a first look at the new network and platform during its Sprint Gets Rugged developer panel next week.

Sprint has launched the updated Motorola i686 Brute with a revised bodyshell that allows for up to 30 minutes of submersion in liquid thanks to revised gasket-lined USB/microSDHC/battery covers, but is otherwise identical to the i680 first released in January of last year with a 2.0 megapixel camera with video recorder and flash, M810G bodyshell resistant to dust, shock and water, microSDHC expansion slot, media player, Bluetooth with stereo audio support and speakerphone.

Pricing is set at $119.99 after new 2 year agreement with no additional rebates required.

Not long after the release of the first major i1 update, Motorola has pulled it due to unforseen issues. The update was meant to fix a myriad of bugs and issues as well as adding improved support for email, YouTube and Wi-Fi. The issue is expected to be resolved in the next few days.

After a slight delay, the first major update for the Motorola i1 in months is now available. Key features include fixes for Google Voice, duplicate MMS, Wi-Fi activation and email issues. Read more for the full list.

The update version is RBE.00.03 and is available here. It will be available over Wi-Fi update beginning tomorrow.

Fixes/Enhancements:
- Enable Dispatch Page Monitoring while on Packet Channel
- Ability to increase font size in the email application
- Hotmail Performance enhancement provides ability to better process email over iDEN
- YouTube application support
- Out of Range PTT IDs can receive PTT calls from users on the same fleet
- Remote Password Reset allows Care to auto reset a phone if lost
- Consistently delete emails from trash folder
- Pattern lock as password for Exchange policy.
- Presented with Gmail login screen when selecting “Forgot Pattern” after an incorrect pattern entered
- Ignore touch speaker button while in dispatch call and proximity sensor active to prevent Field feedback
- EAS-APP authorization when ‘\user:passwd’ is sent by the client
- EAS-APP ability to sync when user name contains a space
- Google Voice numeric and +1 dialing issue
- Google Voice Recognition Fails due to length
- MP3 Music Playback Issue
- Populating UA Prof in Android Browser
- Phone screen stays locked if other party ends call issue
- Touch Screen generating false gestures or taps issue
- [Call Alert] Incoming alert from unsaved number shows PTT # twice issue
- [Group Connect] Typo in “invalid group size” error message issue
- [Auto Reply] Auto reply messages are MMS for inter-carrier issue
- WiFi indicates ‘Turning On’, but never changes state
- MyNextel Address Book template pushes not being received correctly
- Charging with phone OFF is showing incorrect percentage
- Photo, see location, no marker issue
- Email notification sound coming through during PTT Call
- Get multiple alert sounds when powering on device
- Personal Portal: MMS sending show message twice
- Check Developer: maps MyLocationOverlay issue
- Opus and Yahoo! pop email issue
- Camcorder and Sound recorder have very static background noise
- Personal Portal: can’t use email address to send
- R0FF0 Reset
- Personal Portal: can’t respond to MMS that came in from email
- Personal Portal: auto refresh clears the compose field
- Device power cycles when a QVGA file is streamed
- Migration from PPG to DPS issue
- Sprint Zone Version # to be Updated
- Check Solution for “Too Many Attempts” password fail – phone locks

Sprint has quietly launched the Motorola i886 messaging oriented iDEN handset after months of anticipation from the remaining iDEN userbase.

The i886 features an M810G certified bodyshell for dust, shock, vibration, low and high temperature, low pressure and solar radiation resistance sliding QWERTY keyboard, corporate/personal email access via Exchange ActiveSync, POP3 and IMAP servers, 2.0 megapixel camera with video recorder, media player, GPS support, stereo Bluetooth and microSD expansion slot.

The phone is now available for $129.99 after a new 2 year agreement before an additional $50 mail-in rebate, bringing the total to $79.99.

Following up on the news of the current iDEN network sunset as a result of the Network Vision initiative, Sprint and Motorola have reaffirmed support for the standard until at least 2013, with new devices in the i686 and i886 confirmed for the first quarter of 2011.

The i886 will be the first iDEN device with a horizontally sliding QWERTY keyboard as well as support for corporate email access, while the i686 is refresh of the current i680 with the additional capability to be immersed in water for up to half an hour.

The key point from the announcement is that Motorola’s Solutions division will continue to support the Sprint iDEN network for three years from Jan. 1, 2011, through Dec. 31, 2013.

During the support extension, Sprint will also announce and begin to deploy its CDMA-based iDEN PTT replacement, with further information expected at a later date.