Windows Phone Continues to Wow

[Tidbits]

the recent reports are wrong...  It's someone speculation and believed to be fact when the information out there disproves what he said and people are gobbling it up.

[hazlgrnguy]

The recent reports about what are wrong?  Why MS disabled all the Verizon's frequency bands in the firmware?  I agree that it is speculation, but it makes sense.  Will we ever get a straight answer out of VZ or MS about the decision?  Probably not.  Either way, the phones won't work on VZ unless MS releases the phone(s) with those Verizon's frequencies enabled.  The ones that are currently on MS's website will not.

[Tidbits]

Because of block C rules. Verizon can't stop any device that supports the spectrum to work on Verizon. If they do they could lose their spectrum license they spent billions on and would have to spend billions to redo their LTE network, not to mention the amount they'll be fined. That is no speculation and is a fact which all recent reports have not stated.

Also the authentication system isn't CDMA anymore for LTE devices which a lot of these recent reports take from one guy who USED  to work for Verizon long ago and not recently.

[Timlovesbikes]

Incorrect Answer

[hazlgrnguy]

@Tidbits I am certainly not an expert on the Block C rules, though I did read the clause regarding how VZ has to support devices that operate on that frequency.  Here is the million dollar question though; Does VZ have to allow every frequency that every phone that is compatible with 700 MHz Block C is equipped with? Or do they only have to allow it on that specific frequency?  If the latter is the case, well then the 950(XL) would only work on the towers equipped with the 700 MHz Block C equipment, which considering it is brand new, a very small number of towers.  So that basically means that the phones will not work on VZ unless it is near one of the Block C towers.

[Tidbits]

It's every frequency, and you can ask the FCC about this.

Keep in mind the Nexus 6 prior to Motorola handing off the ECIDs to Verizon you could connect to the network and use the device. You couldn't activate the sims however. If Verizon did it the CDMA way like what the guy said the Nexus 6 would have never been able to connect to the network and Verizon would be in violation of block C rules.

There are device and carrier agnostic articles which say it is MS is the reason why it doesn't work on Verizon. Fact of the matter they could have done the 3rd party testing(Qualcomm), and got the rest of the frequencies to work on Verizon. They did not and there is not one thing Verizon could do to stop it due to the rules.

[hazlgrnguy]

Oh, I trust you.  I don't need to ask the FCC.  LOL  We will probably never know why MS disabled VZ's frequencies in the firmware.  Was it to drum up demand for it from VZ's customers to create some leverage for themselves?  I could see that.  Was it because they didn't think it made fiscal sense?  I doubt this one considering how much money MS has spent on developing Windows 10 Mobile and the phone itself.  I am sure QUALCOMM validation is a small cost comparatively.  Was it an F-U to VZ for how poorly they have treated Windows phones?  Maybe.  Either way, going back to the original question I was responding to.  You can't just buy one unlocked and take it to VZ for them to activate.

[Tidbits]

Actually it does make sense in terms of costs.

Would you be willing to pay up to $100 more for the same device? Relative speaking depending how many they expect to be sold would affect the cost of the device. No company is going to like taking a loss. Doesn't matter how much they spent to develop it. They are not paying any licensing fees to themselves so cost is relative.

If they think they'll sell 50M units then the price difference may be $20 from current pricing, but if they think 10M units it could cost $100 more than current pricing. They could make a CDMA only but they'd make a carrier pay those fees as part of an agreement so they don't have to pay it out of pocket in some other agreement like exclusivity for example.

[dexman]

There has to be more to it than that.

If it was strictly a cost issue, then what was the reason the 4G/LTE Surface 3 never made it to VZW stores despite the fact that the unit supports VZW's bands straight out of the box?

[Tidbits]

Supports 700C? Remember 700 is split up into 4 parts and are not mutually inclusive.

Remember AT&T and T-Mobile both use 700 as well.

There are 4 blocks to the 700 spectrum. Band 12 and Band 17(I believed) are what is generally listed. Back 13 is what Verizon paid to use. Just because it says 700 it might not be the right 700.