Exclusive: Inside Verizon's 3G and 4G Network

Exclusive: Inside Verizon's 3G and 4G Network | Pocketnow

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On the heels of the one-year anniversary of its 4G LTE service rollout, Verizon Wireless has granted Pocketnow exclusive access to one of their switches in southeastern Pennsylvania. The switch (or Mobile Telephone Switching Office -- MTSO) is a hub of Verizon's network in the Philadelphia tri-state area: it's what connects the towers in the region and processes all voice and data calls. The switch, which is a building filled with miles of fiber optic cable, a battery backup system and a generator system, dozens of servers, and a control room that monitors precise data as it pertains to the performance and stability of the system, is a marvel of engineering and technology.
We also get to witness Verizon's obsession with reliability of their network. Each and every component is redundant within the switch so that if there are any equipment failures or even a natural disaster that disrupts power to the entire facility, Verizon customers are likely to still have service.
We also learn a lot about the difference between Verizon's 3G and 4G network, the latter of which now reaches 200 million people in 190 markets across the U.S., including much of the Philadelphia region. During multiple Q&A session, we learn about the capabilities of Verizon's 4G LTE network, which is only going to increase with further network upgrades.
Thank you to the folks at Verizon Wireless for letting us take a tour of the infrastructure that is responsible for making their network operate. If you want to learn even more about Verizon's network, check out our exclusive tour of their hardware testing lab: • Exclusive: Verizon Wir...
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Pocketnow has been a key source of mobile technology news and reviews since its establishment in 2000. With offices on three continents, Pocketnow offers round-the-clock coverage of the mobile technology landscape, from smartphones to tablets to wearables. We aim to be your number-one source for mobile tech news, reviews, comparisons, and commentary. If you love mobile as much as we do, be sure to subscribe!
Exclusive: Inside Verizon's 3G and 4G Network | Pocketnow
• Exclusive: Inside Veri...
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Пікірлер: 127

@LucasCarroll0 6 жыл бұрын

Scrolling down through the comments, i realized i'm not the only one who noticed he got taken for a run. Still cool to see i guess.

@fohdeesha 10 жыл бұрын

right? the vagueness of both the questions and answers drove me insane

@Thegonagle 12 жыл бұрын

Cool. Thanks to the Verizon employees who took the time to show us around, and thanks to the interviewer for sharing this fascinating experience.

@toonygamer2004 12 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this video Brandon. That was intriguing, no doubt. The man with glasses, I assume the head of the switch, almost put up the four finger quote for the word 'benefit' when he stated, "That's how we're able to extend that--benefit to the customer." Interesting.

@JDRBNFB 10 жыл бұрын

This video has so much potential - too bad the engineers aren't prepared to answer any of this guys questions.

@UkrainianBazooka 5 жыл бұрын

They're not allowed to answer those questions

@laynesouth1198 3 жыл бұрын

Why can’t they

@JDRBNFB 3 жыл бұрын

@@laynesouth1198 because it was clear to me that they either didn’t know what they were talking about, or maybe wouldn’t answer him for security reasons.

@kiding4751 11 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this interview! Extremely informative.

@jordanlay3415 11 жыл бұрын

this video explaned everything I have ever wonderd bout a cell network

@wpgeek 12 жыл бұрын

Also I want to see AT&T's MTSO with their GSM switching equipment (their upgraded GSM eNodeB's for LTE and NodeB's for GSM/UMTS/HSPA+) is similar to VZW's LTE stuff. Interesting Ethernet attachments for intra-VZW MSC trunking. No wonder unlimited calls! VZW is trunking intra VZW to VZW MSC via Carrier Grade VoIP (EVRC/EVRC-B!) over the GigE and 10GigE circuits! Hopefully their diversely routed!

@hularock2705 10 жыл бұрын

Typical OPS manager answers, He knows nothing of what he talks about. His boss is even worse..

@brol1k 12 жыл бұрын

would love if you guys made one for sprint, and having them explain and show us the new network vision upgrades theyre deploying in 2012.

@kbrown3464 11 жыл бұрын

Where's the NSA room?

@studinthemaking 4 жыл бұрын

In nyc and LA.

@angrut 9 жыл бұрын

Taking my CCNA CCNP classes

@RamonMcNally 12 жыл бұрын

@wpgeek nice break down. Do you have any explanation why Verizon keeps their 3G network on 1900mhz and not go lower? Thanks..

@Muktakeshable 12 жыл бұрын

knowledgeable video, keep-up the good work.

@rsjet 12 жыл бұрын

I wish he asked what causes disruptions to the service (for example: what happened the past few days when 4G was down across the country). Also, I wish he asked if they can run the facility off of diesel indefinitely or if that is limited by some other factor.

@deejoe233 12 жыл бұрын

@Mardux360 its a work in progress. Its a BRAND new technology and is only trialed in certain markets.

@ljl1450 12 жыл бұрын

good video i would like to see more from all the carries

@PremiumFuelOnly 10 жыл бұрын

I dont trust anyone who wears a tie. I dont think they wanted to tell you anything, Nice try tho.

@AngeloR674 6 жыл бұрын

Premium fuel only hes right! They wont to keep it hush hush!

@ryanmajor2 12 жыл бұрын

How many MAC channels does a tower have? Cause users on MAC channel can be viewed on some phones and it rarely goes over like 40-60

@gazaziho 5 жыл бұрын

so much noise in the background couldn't hear clearly what the they say in the interview.

@wpgeek 12 жыл бұрын

Interesting MSC... BTW VZW, I assume with the legacy 1X/EVDOrA (DOrA) in the urban areas you guys are using IP RAN now to increase efficiency!? Also I assume your using trans-coder free operation (TrFO) to allow for your BTS/NodeB (Yeah I know its still BTS in CDMA2000!) to send you the raw erlangs of the EVRC/EVRC-B to your RNC!? IP RAN = Definitively on the 4G LTE. Probably the new stuff is Verizon's EPC (Evolved Packet Core) with their eHRPD to combine it with their legacy 3G.

@faizanjoyia 12 жыл бұрын

what is different between CDMA and GSM

@TacoCrisma 6 жыл бұрын

Lol 5E's carry data? Well shit I never saw that in the 1511!

@TheTruthDragonNJ09 11 жыл бұрын

Network Administration, Information Technology, Computer Sciences, etc.

@wpgeek 12 жыл бұрын

ram130, cause VZW wants the superior voice voice quality. That's why they deploy 1X carriers @ 800MHz and 3G EVDO rA carriers @ 1900MHz. Remember the "nation's most reliable!?" yeah that... AT&T's GSM 3G is newer in that they can do dynamic power/signal load balancing on their newer upgraded sites (and soon Sprint CDMA with Network Vision) in that if you are indoors it switches to 800/850MHz but outdoors close to site is 1900MHz. (Balancing in-door coverage & capacity). VZW's 4G is the newest.

@StringerNews1 3 жыл бұрын

Wow, the smug was so thick with those Verizon suits. Yeah they have infrastructure on the East cost (the old NYNEX ILEC) but not so much out west. Where I live, they're the only MNO that's totally dependent on CenturyLink, and CenturyLink has this habit of going down everywhere when one network card is misconfigured. So much for reliability...

@RamonMcNally 12 жыл бұрын

Great video. I wish you asked why they kept 3G on 1900mhz? my phone always switching between 3G and 1x once inside. Can you ask them next time? Thanks

@StringerNews1 3 жыл бұрын

1xRTT is 3G. The reason why you get only 1xRTT indoors is because the narrow RF bandwidth has better power density. Better to be able to make voice calls than have nothing.

@jaa93997 11 жыл бұрын

I guess he meant "microwave backbone" or "fibre backbone" when he said "cloud"

@Thegonagle 12 жыл бұрын

@ulukita: I was amused by that--always selling. He was a pretty technical guy though, so it was interesting that he seemed genuinely excited to be asked about the new spectrum acquisition. It was as if he wanted to say "Oh yeah! And we plan to use it!" I'd guess that LTE phones supporting both 700MHz and AWS frequencies will coming relatively soon now. AT&T should have bought the licences before Verizon did. Instead, AT&T wasted time and resources messing around with T-Mobile.

@sysuiu4533 3 жыл бұрын

That’s the lawyers in the background

@rahush7245 10 жыл бұрын

Spectrum so called "Air-Waves". Transmitter/receiver in your phone along with your antenna is designed to read/convert/modulate/digitize the Air-waves signal. Each wave length carries analog signal which will be translated to 0 and 1 (digital). Why? Person in California calls his gf "Hey; how you doing" who in Miami. Hey;how you doing is converted into a digital code which will be further converted into an analog code (radio-wave) to be transmitted to the nearest cell-phone tower. Through cell phone tower, it will going to the nearest exchange/this Verizon building for example. Before that digital code is generated, Client information such as mac id,serial number,phone number etc etc is also send to verify the legitimacy of the caller and this is why your cell phone company knows when you roam etc etc. So now, your information + "Hey;how you doing" is nothing besides a signal generated through your transmitter and emitting that signal through the cell-phone antenna in the form of an "Air-Wave" so called "Spectrum". For instance, 850 MHz or drop a stone in a water creating waves and give it a name through the distance it travels/sec or count the number of oscillations withing the given distance. It may be 2 cycles so, 2Hz/Sec. Difference is, radio waves oscillate super fast thus, 850 Mega Hertz/sec. Each Cycle in a radio-wave is an analog signal generated through your transmitter traveling to the nearest cell phone tower. Now, cell phone tower will convert that Analog signal carrying your information along with "Hey;how you doing" into a digital Signal accordingly. Your information goes thru Carrier-Servers/Network and identifies your identity that you have paid your bill on time etc etc and then your gf number which now is also connected to the nearest exchange. This place in video just simply route your call to the nearest exchange in which your gf cell phone tower keep communicating (reception). Damn!!!!

@rahush7245 10 жыл бұрын

Please pardon some typos. Too Tired!!!! These guys in the videos are highly paid engineers making over 100K. Also, they don't have a permission to disclose any confidential information. As you can tell through the noise that, those are servers and hearing the cooling fans at the background. Voice signals dont require massive infrastructure. These massive servers are for data routing.

@jordanmatt282 11 жыл бұрын

Good video:)

@williambeckham2616 6 жыл бұрын

Yeah I get the feeling their been warned not to say too much lol.

@Interestingworld4567 5 жыл бұрын

Do you think?

@UkrainianBazooka 5 жыл бұрын

I'm a cell tower technician and I even had to sign an NDA. Guaranteed he can't disclose much info either.

@zachsmith1731 3 жыл бұрын

Its like this at any data center. Can't even really take photos. People finding out the orientation of the equipment gets these guys nervous

@dylancruz1131 5 жыл бұрын

Cool a 5ESS! :-)

@SergiuNiculas 12 жыл бұрын

Excelent video !

@Interestingworld4567 5 жыл бұрын

Yeah 😎

@Neckername1 12 жыл бұрын

Unlike CDMA, GSM is a broad group of standards, ranging from post 1G, to advanced 4G standards of wireless communication. What you are saying is like comparing a car model to an entire car lineup, apples vs oranges, it doesn't work.

@avgfree21 12 жыл бұрын

Fact he never mentioned, Maximum attainable speeds of CDMA-EVDO is 14mb/s. Vs GSM/3G which is 168mb/s

@StringerNews1 3 жыл бұрын

GSM is 2G.

@carlace777 12 жыл бұрын

u should do a video with AT&T and ask them why they don't invest in there network, can u say bonus for boss and crap for consumer

@amitanku 12 жыл бұрын

superb !!!

@Mardux360 12 жыл бұрын

Verizon employee hasn't heard voice over Verizon 4lte? Hahaha... he must have att! Lmao

@rsjet 12 жыл бұрын

Final question... where's the galaxy nexus?

@purdu3 12 жыл бұрын

Actually, simultaneous voice and data is possible on CDMA. look up SVDO. some verizon phones already support that

@StringerNews1 3 жыл бұрын

Possible over the air, sure. But once it gets back to where they were, voice calls are circuit switched, and data is packet switched. All those rows of cabinets in that one room was a Lucent 5ESS telephone switch. All it does is route calls to the rest of the public switched telephone network. (They didn't even cover the data part.) Today there are more voice calls that are packet switched end to end, just like any other data. But back then there was a huge entrenched infrastructure for voice using SONET and other TDM technology.

@purdu3 3 жыл бұрын

@@StringerNews1 svdo is handled by the hardware sir. Not infrastructure dependent.

@StringerNews1 3 жыл бұрын

@@purdu3 so exactly how do you think phone calls are made without the Public Switched Telephone Network? Or NANP for that matter?

@purdu3 3 жыл бұрын

@@StringerNews1 its different with svdo sir. Its all hardware dependent not infrastructure dependent

@StringerNews1 3 жыл бұрын

@@purdu3 when you have no clue, it's best to say nothing.

@chiliewhilie84 11 жыл бұрын

I want to do this for a living what classes do I take?

@TacoCrisma 6 жыл бұрын

MIGUEL munoz did you get there yet?

@tokugawabushisamurai9226 10 жыл бұрын

nice i love information about 4g lte core engineering

@bernier7846 11 жыл бұрын

the switch tech was horrible. I am a cell tech for "Run Fast" and only about half that was stated was accurate...

@7vikram 5 жыл бұрын

Too much background noises..

@coreygalletly723 5 жыл бұрын

Very good

@gvromero62 10 жыл бұрын

Ah...gold old Verizon managers...not a clue in hell about what they are doing! :D

@ndleinahaystack 6 жыл бұрын

gvromero62 it's no different on the landline side. don't don't know a hub from an ont

@studinthemaking 4 жыл бұрын

gvromero62 Typical bosses.

@adriancressy8363 9 жыл бұрын

Some folks here are wondering why the guys with ties are not telling much....That stuff is top secret corporate info. Are you going to tell your competitor how you built your telephone system?? And there needs to be security from nut case folks who want to destroy our comm systems. Radio frequencies will never be as fast as light waves.

@terrywilson4166 9 жыл бұрын

Adrian Cressy MPLS networks & IMS cores are very similar no matter which company you work for.

@l.r.1891 7 жыл бұрын

No it's not secret. It's build from parts anyone can buy or play with. If you have a richie rich;) And if you study telco you can "play" with it in the lab in order to get basic principles of operations. There are public lectures about it and vendors offers study materials to anybody. Phone networks always worked with the same principles and same design. What was different was a specific implementation of that principle eg. different equipment or different underlying architecture level. Today phone systems are not national secret. Even local connections are publicly held in public databases to support safe distance during construction works such as road repairs or excavation. And as you probably know submarine cables are also publicly available in marine maps. Some parts of the network such as physical connections between equipment,cable border crossings,equipment location inside facility (especially government spying devices) may be secret. But that's all.

@charlottepollard1658 7 жыл бұрын

L. R. mm

@dustydee8342 6 жыл бұрын

I'm on the Verizon network I can call and be on the internet wtf?

@vorkev1 8 жыл бұрын

so maney lies but the biggest is when he sys lte requires 4 antennas for it to use 100mb and that is not true

@juanguzman8034 7 жыл бұрын

vorkev1 Is call MIMO is two transmitter and two receivers to achieve 100MB Downlink the Antenna on the tower is One with MIMO path inside so there is 4 antennas in one.

@tanman1346 12 жыл бұрын

tentacles?? are u fucking kidding me?! the things that hold the antennas in place are called "racks". wow.

@DJBLUEDEMOHD 11 жыл бұрын

my evo 4g lte from sprint lets me do that he he he he

@garymckee8857 4 жыл бұрын

Now all of this is out of date.

@KeshiaFowler 11 жыл бұрын

Nice

@JuanAcosta92 10 жыл бұрын

Man that guy can't answer any questions

@Evan5138 12 жыл бұрын

Should have asked them what's going on with the Galaxy Nexus

@TacoCrisma 6 жыл бұрын

Evan Troy Daily man that phone was a steaming pile of shit.

@Interestingworld4567 5 жыл бұрын

@@TacoCrisma lol😎

@md81593 11 жыл бұрын

Should have asked when unlimited data is coming back!

@Interestingworld4567 5 жыл бұрын

True

@kevinportillo1971 6 жыл бұрын

A visit is to take a peek at the hardware gear, not to talk about concepts... pff...

@jaa93997 11 жыл бұрын

yeah but i think that CDMA2000 will get a mercy killing with LTE no? just like NEXTEL is finally gonna be spared from its misery next year

@jkvelasquez84 8 жыл бұрын

Verizon hates guys like me...I use up to 300gb per month ☺️

@jdmattinson8552 8 жыл бұрын

Maybe not if you spend a lot of money on data.

@Interestingworld4567 5 жыл бұрын

How lol?

@Interestingworld4567 5 жыл бұрын

@@jdmattinson8552 lol

@BlueBenGo 12 жыл бұрын

@deejoe233 Nothing you just said makes any sense. It's like you found a bunch of random words, squeezed them together, and pooped them out with the hope that it would sound clever.

@sleepless3y3s Жыл бұрын

Now we are moving towards 5G. Goodbye 3G.

@riderprovider909 8 ай бұрын

Watching on 5G

@raul21md 10 жыл бұрын

This guy keeps cutting off the people he interviews while they answer questions. Jesus...

@TheTruthDragonNJ09 5 жыл бұрын

Because they weren't truly answering the questions.

@jaa93997 11 жыл бұрын

You just have to love the way those switch engineers talk. Not a clue about shit lol. At least we core engineers know that if we touch anything it gets fucked lol

@PaulEubanks 12 жыл бұрын

Bah... marketing nonsense from the guy in the tie. LTE is just an implementation of an IP network. It's cool, but certainly nothing groundbreaking.

@XPFTP 7 жыл бұрын

old vid. but there shotgunning lol.. old timer computer guys will know what it meens ...

@johnbroski1993 3 жыл бұрын

Looks like a regular ass CO to me.

@Andrew1224gd 9 жыл бұрын

cool

@sdfg88 12 жыл бұрын

Shameless plug for Verizon.

@leenj099 Жыл бұрын

5:40

@jonwright6661 4 жыл бұрын

many dumb questions. also do you have to repeat everything the employees say. Nice idea to show backend but be better prepared for intelligent questions

@Twiggy163 11 жыл бұрын

Yea great, 4G in the USA. Its just 3.5G technology, not the actual 4G. So the US 4G network works at the same speed as the 3G network we've got in Europe. Brilliant xD