Cell Phone Coverage

[PashaJ]

I figure since many of us are moving to new cities we'd like to know which cell phone service providers have the best coverage there. I'll start with NYC for you Columbia and NYU kats. Verizon is said to be the best but I'd like to say that Sprint is pretty good too. I have ATT and it's great during the day but a lot of dropped calls at night when it's free. Anybody knows what's good in Boston?

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[Minty Fresh]

Nextel is the best coverage anywhere, anytime. It's very pricey though

 

[ItsGavinC]

I have AT&T on a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) phone. If people are getting new phones as they go to new areas, I would encourage you to invest in a GPRS phone.

Traditional cell phones are TDMA, and the TDMA towers across the nation are being converted to GPRS towers.

Right now the TDMA phones have a bit better coverage, but in a year the GPRS phones will have much better coverage while the TDMA phones will continue to lose their coverage signals.

GPRS phones are next-generation phones, and allow all the new fancies, including listening to FM radio through the phone, etc.

Low-model GPRS phones can usually be found for $0-$50, depending on the rebates that are available. The price plans are typically the same price or cheaper than regular TDMA phones.

 

[NewNameForGoogleBot]

Just to clarify - the new phones are actually on a network called GSM - "Global System for Mobile Communication." The GPRS part ia a parallel platform and refers to all the snazzy internet stuff your phone can do and is encoded slightly different than a conversation. GSM is the same network that has been used practically everywhere else in the world and is FAR better than the TDMA. Gavin summed up evertyhing else very nicely.

FYI: I use a samsung phone on T-mobile (all GSM). Here's another tip while I'm at it - the phone you buy determines your reception a great deal. Most people are only worried about the network coverage and where the towers are, but if you have a crappy phone (ie - Sony T68i) your reception could suck compared with someone sitting next to you talking on the same network from the same provider.

 

[snsethy]

Originally posted by Minty Fresh
Nextel is the best coverage anywhere, anytime. It's very pricey though

Are you sure about this? Nextel has poor coverage and an inferior network (the iDen standard is antiquated and does not meet network needs, that's why they have the direct-connect feature--it uses less spectrum) and their footprint is much smaller than Verizon. In addition, the phones are overpriced and oversized. If you want the Push-to-talk feature you'd still be better off going with Verizon (they will be launching this feature nationally in the coming weeks) and due to the nature of their service and their coverage it will be far superior to the Nextel direct-connect service.

 

[badaboom]

do NOT get AT&T for near Columbia Washington Heights.
When I called to cancel my service my call got dropped too. That's how bad AT&T is in this area-- I couldn't even call to cancel my service.

 

[snsethy]

Originally posted by jaap
Just to clarify - the new phones are actually on a network called GSM - "Global System for Mobile Communication." The GPRS part ia a parallel platform and refers to all the snazzy internet stuff your phone can do and is encoded slightly different than a conversation. GSM is the same network that has been used practically everywhere else in the world and is FAR better than the TDMA. Gavin summed up evertyhing else very nicely.

FYI: I use a samsung phone on T-mobile (all GSM). Here's another tip while I'm at it - the phone you buy determines your reception a great deal. Most people are only worried about the network coverage and where the towers are, but if you have a crappy phone (ie - Sony T68i) your reception could suck compared with someone sitting next to you talking on the same network from the same provider.

Another critical factor is the band that your carrier uses, lower frequencies travel through walls easier--T-Mob's 1900 MHz goes through buildings much worse than Cingular's 850 MHz GSM system--a good option would be to go with Cingular's National plans so that you can roam w/o being charged on T-mobile while in the T and in other poor-coverage areas around the city. This can also be said for Verizon vs. Sprint with CDMA (code division for multiple access)--Verizon usually operates on the lower frequency so their building penetration is generally better... RF (reception) is also highly dependent on the phone with CDMA as well, the Motorola T720 has poor RF while the LG VX-4400 is decent. Verizon also has the analog advantage--the majority of their phones offer analog capabilities so you have a much larger footprint to travel around in (if you're stuck in Boston though an all-digital would probably be fine though.)

 

[Minty Fresh]

snsethy-
I've been with Nextel for 4 years and never not been able to get service anywhere. I have got coverage in the woods of arizona, in caves, underground and so forth. their coverage is superior in my opinion. yes i agree the phones and service is pricey, but hey what do i care. i don't pay for it.

 

[snsethy]

Originally posted by PashaJ
I figure since many of us are moving to new cities we'd like to know which cell phone service providers have the best coverage there. I'll start with NYC for you Columbia and NYU kats. Verizon is said to be the best but I'd like to say that Sprint is pretty good too. I have ATT and it's great during the day but a lot of dropped calls at night when it's free. Anybody knows what's good in Boston?

I have friends in Boston that seem to like their Sprint, I had Verizon while I was there for my interview and it worked really well across the city from what I could tell. I recently switched from Verizon to Cingular GSM even though it's not officially turned on in Boston as from what people have told me it works well, and you can roam for free on T-Mobile (for calls while you're in the T.) I wouldn't get any GSM in NYC as Cingular uses T-Mobile's network there and it is horrible, and apparently AT&T GSM is no better. I would avoid Nextel like the plague as they have an inferior network and overpriced plans and equipment (oversized too!) They're supposedly going to switch to CDMA in the near future (same as Verizon and Sprint) as their current iDen network doesn't really cut it (the original reason for their annoying Direct-Connect feature--it uses less bandwidth so the network wasn't as congested and fewer customers making real calls would get network busy errors.) If you want more info I would suggest going to Howard Forums or Wireless advisor as the people in those forums could give you much better information (and I'm pretty sure no one will tell you to get Nextel there!)

 

[Minty Fresh]

Forgive me father, for I have sinned.

you can think what you want and chose what service you want. I like Nextel because they have been good to me and i've never had a problem with coverage.

don't tell me my opinion is incorrect. hence why it is an opinion. so why don't you put that in your phone and stick it up your rear.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I have the "crappy" phone that was mentioned in a previous post -- the Sony T68i.

Ironically, the reception WAS terrible in Utah. It was much, much worse than the reception my wife got on her TDMA phone.

Here in Arizona, however, my reception is far superior to hers. I nearly always have full status bars showing on my phone.

Lots of people have ripped the T68i for various reasons, but as far as I'm concerned, the problems may be local rather than systemic.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I forgot to mention that I love the T68i because I use the bluetooth feature nonstop between my phone, Palm, laptop and desktop.

 

[snsethy]

Originally posted by ItsGavinC
I forgot to mention that I love the T68i because I use the bluetooth feature nonstop between my phone, Palm, laptop and desktop.

You should upgrade to the T616/T610--I got a T616 last week, it's great!

 

[NewNameForGoogleBot]

Bluetooth IS nice

 

[realysa]

if you are going to columbia, don't go with sprint. all columbia students know that there is a sprint dead zone in the morningside campus (undergrad). a lot of dental students study here b/c the library is open 24hrs. i don't know what the reception is like around the health sciences campus. go with verizon for the best reception.

 

[PDPjester]

i have the AT&T GSM service in NYC and it's better than what people are saying on this forum. But I am thinking about switching to verizon next when my contract ends late this year. (I hope I'll be able to take my number with me by that time). Verizon has the best service in NYC (my whole family uses it), but AT&T is not too far behind. I used to use sprint when I was at Rochester NY. Outside of NYC in NY, Sprint is the best, but inside NYC sprint sucks ass.

I hear so much bad things about Cingular and T-mobile services, but I do not have any personal experiences with them. I love the new samsung phones they have tho. Do you notice how the peeps with bad services have the best phones and peeps with good services have ugly ass phones!!! I hate that!

 

[ItsGavinC]

Originally posted by snsethy
You should upgrade to the T616/T610--I got a T616 last week, it's great!

snsethy,

I'd like to, but I haven't seen it yet. How big is it? The form factor was a large part of my getting the T68i. It's small so it doesn't weigh me down and fits easily in my pants pocket or in my scrubs pocket.

 

[ItsGavinC]

Ya know, I don't have any complaints with my AT&T GSM service, although I *do* wish they would get "rollover" minutes like Cingular has.

That is truly a sweet deal. Typically competitors try to match each other -- anybody heard when the other providers are going to do anything like rollover minutes?

 

[snsethy]

Originally posted by ItsGavinC
Ya know, I don't have any complaints with my AT&T GSM service, although I *do* wish they would get "rollover" minutes like Cingular has.

That is truly a sweet deal. Typically competitors try to match each other -- anybody heard when the other providers are going to do anything like rollover minutes?

I like the t616 a lot more than the t68. It's rectangular, with a HUGE 65k color screen, built-in camera, and pretty much everything else is the same as the T68. It's a little heavier and slightly longer (but not as wide or deep) than the T68--I just got 500 rollover minutes w/ 5000 night & weekend and no roaming for $40/month... I think it's a pretty good deal!

Oh, here's a comparison of the T616 and the T68i--the T616 is also better for US coverage than the T68! I'm really impressed with it!


Oh, I was just looking at that page and saw that a lot of the T616 features weren't listed... so pretty much, whatever is on the T68's list that isn't on the T616's list is also a feature on the T616.

 

[robpark321]

sprint is pretty damn good in boston and the surrounding area. i get 5 bars pretty much everywhere except the subway.

 

[ItsGavinC]

snsethy,

I'm going to have to see about upgrading to that phone (although I do feel that camera phones are pretty cheesy).

 

[PDPjester]

I just found out if you have an unlocked GSM phone, you can just put in any SIM card and use their service. Thus, I think I'll keep my AT&T, and just buy a better phone, somthing with dual band (850 & 1900 MHz). Just thought to let you guys know, cuase I just found out.
Peace

 

[snsethy]

Originally posted by PDPjester
I just found out if you have an unlocked GSM phone, you can just put in any SIM card and use their service. Thus, I think I'll keep my AT&T, and just buy a better phone, somthing with dual band (850 & 1900 MHz). Just thought to let you guys know, cuase I just found out.
Peace

If you get a T616 from Cingular at a corporate store, they should be unlocked. Just to let you know.... I think all of the tri-band phones from Cingular corporate stores are unlocked. There are also places that can unlock any GSM phone you have... or you can just buy one on ebay!

 

[snsethy]

Originally posted by ItsGavinC
snsethy,

I'm going to have to see about upgrading to that phone (although I do feel that camera phones are pretty cheesy).

I too find camera phones a bit cheesy (although I hear in Japan, ALL phones being produced have cameras... and supposedly they all will have them)... but it's just a fun novelty--not much you can really do with such a crappy camera anyway!

 

[PDPjester]

Originally posted by snsethy
If you get a T616 from Cingular at a corporate store, they should be unlocked. Just to let you know.... I think all of the tri-band phones from Cingular corporate stores are unlocked. There are also places that can unlock any GSM phone you have... or you can just buy one on ebay!

snsethy, what do you mean by "corporate store"? Do you mean the Cingular Chain Stores? well, i think I could manage unlocking it, as long as i find the correct data cables.

 

[snsethy]

Originally posted by PDPjester
snsethy, what do you mean by "corporate store"? Do you mean the Cingular Chain Stores? well, i think I could manage unlocking it, as long as i find the correct data cables.

I mean one actually owned by Cingular (not a reseller.) As for unlocking it yourself, you'd need the T28 unlocking cable and an unlocking log which you can buy from various sites. I personally think it would be cheaper and less hassle just to get one unlocked.

 

[PDPjester]

i'm looking into both. thanks.

 

[mackaikai]

bump very helpful

 

[sxr71]

AT&T (GSM) just opened up free roaming today so you can make calls on Cingular and most T-mobile towers for free. This effectively doubles their coverage. I doubt you'll ever be without a signal being able to take advantage of three networks.

 

[Mo007]

AT&T definetly has the edge on having good signal/reception over other networks... but I don't think many of AT&T's benefits will last after recent Cingular take-over.

 

[sxr71]

Uh? The Cingular merger is exactly what has allowed them to double their coverage. I don't like Cingular as a carrier, but the combined AT&T/Cingular entity will eclipse in Verizon in coverage and customer base. Together they will have the best GSM network in the nation and they will have the towers, spectrum, and cash flow to better implement true 3G technologies like UMTS in the near future.

If you have any doubts about the effects of the merger see:

http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=92

 

[zimaad]

I previously had Sprint in my area of Richmond, VA. It was adequate, but I had many dropped calls and the phone barely had reception in my house, which was really annoying! I recently switched to T-mobile and tried them out. They have 15 day trial period where you can cancel the contract and just pay for the days you have the service/phone. Their service was much better in my opinion thus I then ported over my number from Sprint and switched. They have pretty good prices and are on a GSM network. I found a T-mobile internet deal that easily beat the store prices of phones so I picked up a Motorola V300 for $50 on there(after rebates) with headset, car charger, and case. So far I'm happy. Only thing...if you get outside of metropolitan areas w/ T-mobile there isn't any analog roam so you are out of luck in those areas. In cities and along highways it seem to be good though.

 

[Mo007]

Uh? The Cingular merger is exactly what has allowed them to double their coverage. I don't like Cingular as a carrier, but the combined AT&T/Cingular entity will eclipse in Verizon in coverage and customer base. Together they will have the best GSM network in the nation and they will have the towers, spectrum, and cash flow to better implement true 3G technologies like UMTS in the near future.

If you have any doubts about the effects of the merger see:

http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=92

I agree with you on that matter...

But, AT&T has upcoming plans which will be very similar to Cingular plans (will not effect existing customers), and the biggest change will be the cost of international calls (AT&T has already started informing their customors on this) by making them like Cingular's International rates , which was a unique AT&T feature.

AT&T have experienced serious negative growth last year... so, they are making adjustments for future customers.

 

[sxr71]

I agree with you on that matter...

But, AT&T has upcoming plans which will be very similar to Cingular plans (will not effect existing customers), and the biggest change will be the cost of international calls (AT&T has already started informing their customors on this) by making them like Cingular's International rates , which was a unique AT&T feature.

AT&T have experienced serious negative growth last year... so, they are making adjustments for future customers.

Their plans are already like Cingular's as of April 18, but I'm grandfathered in with my old plan minutes and I get the new coverage. There are still differences such as getting 7:00 P.M. N/W on certain plans and M2M minutes on AT&T networks.

If they change a rate on you involutarily then you have the right to cancel without the early termination fee since they altered the terms of your contract unless of course you are grandfathered in. It has happened before.

Try www.OneSuite.com for your long distance.