Who's Your Carrier and How's Your Coverage? [Archive]

Pete Paxton

09-21-2008, 03:00 PM

09-21-2008, 03:31 PM

(Netherlands, T-Mobile) it was the coverage tool on the site of T-Mobile who made me sign a two year contract. It was the actual coverage who made me cancel the contract. In the area were I live and work there is almost no 3G although the coverage map showed full (outside) 3G coverge.

ADBrown

09-21-2008, 05:07 PM

I'm on AT&T, though my area is served by the former Dobson/Cellular One network. Coverage is mostly good, though there are a few dead patches, and getting a signal inside a department store is a losing battle. I wouldn't mind if they upgraded the local network, but 3G would be a much bigger deal to me than improved coverage.

Cattle-Dog

09-21-2008, 06:02 PM

I have very good coverage in the burbs of Cincy and have ditched the landline (including VOIP). We seem to have mostly 850Mhz towers around, so even inside of large buildings are no problem. It's also the only service I can receive when I go camping in the middle of nowhere.

lindac

09-21-2008, 06:31 PM

I'm ditching AT&T when Verizon gets the new Samsung global phone. Coverage in our area is very spotty - in downtown Omaha! We'll have 5 bars and a few blocks later no bars. Forget about using it from the house. Our friends can use their Verizon phones in our house, so we're going to switch to them soon.

CrashX

09-21-2008, 06:31 PM

I switched to AT&T (from T-Mo) when I purchased my Tilt, and I've never been happier with the service that I receive. Though coverage with T-Mo was Ok (occasional dead spots), there was only one spot in my house where my phone work and even then it would never get Edge speeds.

Since I've switched to AT&T I've only come across one place where reception was non-existent (the lower levels of a hospital). Even in my house I have signal everywhere, though it does drop from 3G to Edge when in my living room.

Overall, I'm extremely happy with my decision to switch to AT&T. Coverage has been fantastic., the speed of the 3G network has been great (most times), and even their Customer Service has been good. If you're in the Rhode Island, USA area, I'd highly recommend AT&T for your wireless carrier.

eugarps

09-21-2008, 06:43 PM

Hi,

I live in Western Maryland about 1.5 miles from the Mason-Dixon Line. At my home coverage is bad with my iPhone but better (2 more bars) with my RAZR VXX. I'm hoping the Touch Pro or Treo Pro will have a better cellular radio. My coverage is VERY dependent on which phone I use.

Hence my recurring statement to the smartphone manufacturers...... IT'S A PHONE, STUPID! At least for me, the reason I carry a smartphone is for the benefits derived from only having to carry one device to cover all of my communications needs BUT my primary use is dependent on its functionality as a phone.

I have yet to find a smartphone that functions as well as my old RAZR, when it comes to phone functionality.

My $0.02 (USD)

cgavula

09-21-2008, 06:43 PM

It's not just a matter of AT&T/TMo vs. Verizon/Sprint. It's not just GSM service vs. CDMA.

Your problem doesn't sound like a coverage problem, rather it sounds more lik a building penetration problem (based on the examples/questions you raise).

Typically, CDMA will have better building penetration than GSM. More importantly, though is the frequency. The higher frequencies (like AT&Ts older 1900MHz range) don't penetrate buildings well, whereas the lower frequencies, like their 850MHz frequency, tend to do better. That's part of why the 700MHz auctions erlier this year were so important to the winner.

What you should do is find out what frequency tower signal you are picking up. I'm betting you're in a 1900MHz zone. I only wish somebody would product maps that showed the coverage as a function of frequency rather than just "carrier" coverage.

Where I am, Verizon/Sprint cover well - but only if you are near the freeway. AT&T / TMo cover more area, but coverage strength is often mediocre. Not a great choice to have to make! The 3G expansion plans of the big boys are starting to change that landscape, however - stay tuned!

Omegajb

09-21-2008, 08:11 PM

For years I had At&T then Cingular, when I bought my house I couldn't get service in my house but if I was outside it was ok. I switched to T-Mobile after getting a pre paid sim with a few min on eBay and I get service even in my basement.
A few months ago I was online and the AT&T site has a map that says I should get strong service in my area so I tried again, I really wanted 3G service and it doesn't look like the Metro DC area will be getting it soon with T-Mobile.
I still didn't have any luck, I could hold a conversation but many times the call would fail. I know T-Mobile doesn't get a lot of respect but they are the only GSM carrier that works where I live and if Verizon would let you use a SIM or switch phones online I might switch but until them I am using T-Mobile.

Rob Alexander

09-21-2008, 09:04 PM

I'm on Alltel (CDMA) in a relatively rural area and the coverage is basically there, but irritating in how frequently I am roaming. It used to be better, but my college put in both AT&T and US Cellular towers. Before those towers, my phone (HTC Touch) would get a low, but serviceable signal from an Alltel tower. Now it grabs onto the US Cellular tower, drops me into roaming minutes and won't connect via EVDO. It's darned frustrating.

I considered moving to AT&T with them having their own tower at the college, but they are very borderline at my home 7 miles away. Family and friends who have visited with AT&T phones have been about 50-50 in being able to get a signal at all. I figure we're right at the fringe so that only the strongest phones connect. Since smart phones seem to be among the least reliable for strong connections, I think AT&T is a non-option for me.

Rocco Augusto

09-21-2008, 09:22 PM

We'll have 5 bars and a few blocks later no bars. Forget about using it from the house. Our friends can use their Verizon phones in our house, so we're going to switch to them soon.

This is how CDMA phones work in my area. Less than a block away everyone I know with Sprint and Verizon get great coverage but the moment they step within 5 feet my my house, no coverage whatsoever. It is as if I live in a CDMA blackhole.

On the other hand, AT&T and T-Mobile work wonderfully in my neighborhood and pretty much all over Portland. There are however a few dead spots but they are usually no bigger than a street corner. :)

jalex

09-21-2008, 09:51 PM

I travel all over the place with my TyTN II (and my TyTN before that and my Jamin before that) and must say that I've been extremely happy with the service I've received since joining the BellSouth family in 2000 (who became Cingular and are now AT&T). Maybe I'm just lucky.

All over North America I extremely often get 3G, and it works plenty fast for my email and tethering needs. I have also enjoyed 3G in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia, and experienced good service even in Barbados earlier this year. Last week I was in Honolulu and got just fantastic service!

I test my speed (DSL Reports (http://forums.thoughtsmedia.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.dslreports.com/mspeed?jisok=1&more=1%22%20target=%22_blank%22%3Ehttp://www.dslreports.com/mspeed?jisok=1&more=1)) every so often and got 1 Mbps in a local restaurant a few weeks ago. Of course, my wife's iPhone 3G got 1.1 Mbps, but that's neither here nor there. :rolleyes:

I just got a CradlePoint CTR500 (http://cradlepoint.com/ctr500/ctr500.php) and it rocks the house! Testing my speed (Speakeasy (http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/)) through that got me 2.3 Mbps! Now that is blazing! ...and I don't think Verizon can match that yet.

ctmagnus

09-22-2008, 01:15 AM

I'm on Robbers (Rogers) and my signal is spotty. I was recently in Toronto for a very short while (stopover at Toronto International) and the signal was spotty. I go to Calgary every once in a while and the signal is spotty. On the trip I recently made to the UK and Ireland, the only time I lost the signal was when I was on the London Underground (I had a signal most of the time I was on it, even several stories underground!) or on a plane.

ddwire

09-22-2008, 01:17 AM

alcedes78

09-22-2008, 02:46 AM

I am with AT&T. I work from home, and now days I have a hard time finding a fuel station that has fuel, so I spend a lot of time at home (I only drive on weekends). That being said I have excellent service in the one spot at which I stay all day and 5 signals durring mu commute from my bedroom to my office and back.

doughboy

09-22-2008, 03:00 AM

We dropped the landline back in 2000 when we moved to Westerville (Columbus suburb), Ohio. Since changing to Sprint at that time, I have had minimal coverage issues in Westerville and the last 6 years in Dunlap (Peoria burb), IL. Sprint's maps seem to be fairly accurate. The only time I had a problem was when we first moved to Illinois. The signal inside the house was poor but the handsets we had were several years old. We upgraded (my wife picked up a Sanyo 4900 [outstanding reception!]) and have had no additional problems yet.

Obviously, building construction, type of functioning equipment, and magnetic fields plays a role when evaluating reception inside a building. My Fortune 100 employer began using "anti-WiFi" paint on some walls to prevent much of the WiFi signals from penetrating outside the building. I am sure that has an effect on cell phone signals.

It is interesting -- everyone in Peoria raves about Verizon's coverage. It could be my company issued handset but my experience with Verizion reception has been piss poor. Sprint's coverage is only supposed to cover major metro areas and major thoroughfares but my Sprint reception is soooo much better than Verizon's on even secondary routes.

Best Regards,
Doughboy

onlydarksets

09-22-2008, 03:07 AM

I'm on AT&T now (iPhone). I was on Verizon for 2 years before that, and then Cingular for 2 years before that, and then Verizon for 5 years before that (yes, I bounce around...a bit). 2G coverage is pretty much identical between the two in this area (with the exception of the Metro, which is CDMA-only) - both have about 98% coverage, although the dead zones are different.

However, VZW beats the pants off of AT&T for 3G. My wife still has VZW, and whenever I can't get 3G, she always can. AT&T has a lot of ground still to cover.

BevHoward

09-22-2008, 03:52 AM

Might see if you can get friends with different AT&T phones plus other providers to stop by and look at how they compare.

I don't have a lot of experience with this, but three of the four phones I have used with my at&t sim here had great coverage, while one (JasJar) was essentially unusable from home/office and in many parts of Austin, TX.

The wisdom of others indicated that it was a radio band limit of the JasJar.

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

MadSci

09-22-2008, 04:08 AM

I've been with some flavor of AT&T/Cingular for almost a decade now, suffering Capital Punishment here in the western suburbs of DC;)

I have a good friend who used to be a Tower Service Engineer and taught me many useful things. One was that if you have poor service -COMPLAIN! LOUDLY & OFTEN!

It's pretty simple really, the phone Reps are trained to tell you that they can't do anything more than forward your comments on the weak signal at your house/work/commute etc, and they can NEVER tell you what, if anything is done about it.

Here's the trick, they actually DO do something! :eek:

If you look at the 3G service map for Cingular around my home, you would see a bizarre little 'finger' of coverage that reaches out from a local tower, past the coverage boundary that spreads from the line of towers that runs for several miles north and south. That 'finger' reaches out for over a quarter mile, and ends 50 yards past my house!

It's no accident, it's calling month after month, and pointing out that we have not one but two people here with full freight service plans that are thinking of jumping ship for Verizon if they don't extend the 3G coverage, which annoyingly, ends just a quarter mile up the road. It helps to point out to a Supervisor or two that AT&T spends a ton of money trying to attract clients like us, and can't afford to let us go.

Remember, most of the bread and butter accounts are not major money makers, but Smartphone Users are the most profitable customers they have. :cool:

So, as my buddy explained, the calls go to their service dept, which will send a Tech to the tower and test it. Assuming it's working ok, then if they are tired of going back month after month, or if the Customer is important enough to them (and paying over $250/month/house makes you VERY important to them, they will 'tweak' the antennas to try and send some more signal your way. Then an unmarked van will cruise by your house and verify the effect of their efforts. A few days later, you realize that hey, I'm getting 3G everywhere in the house and yard now!

I sometimes think we should form a Consumer's Group, and send some Reps to the Cell companies and demand the respect and attention our accounts deserve :rolleyes:

MadSci

mhynek

09-22-2008, 05:03 AM

I live in Peoria, IL where outside of the city limits quickly turns to farmland. We have all of the major carriers here and most of them claim good coverage. However, I know people with At&t, Sprint, and US Cell and all of them have complained about their lack of reception. I have Verizon and rarely have problems with reception...even in the farmland areas. I want the version of the Diamond that Sprint is getting, but there's no way I'm leaving Verizon's service just for a cellphone.

djdj

09-22-2008, 06:48 AM

T-Mobile here in Orem, Utah. This is one of their oldest coverage areas (since 1996) and get 5 bars just about everywhere I go. Dropped calls are virtually non-existent whenever I'm in town.

I've had phones with Verizon and AT&T here as well. Verizon's coverage is excellent. AT&T's uses both 850 and 1900MHz and is generally somewhere between barely adequate and awful. Sprint's is barely adequate as well. We also have Cricket covering this area and their coverage is generally quite poor, with dropped calls being pretty typical.

Brad Adrian

09-22-2008, 08:14 AM

My AT&T connection rarely lets me down. I guess it all depends on where you spend your time and what kind of services are most important to you. For example, I seldom venture very far away from metropolitan areas or major interstate highways. So, coverage usually meets my needs, especially when it comes to high speed data connectivity; my pushed e-mail is delivered immediately 99% of the time.

The Yaz

09-22-2008, 02:41 PM

I have had Sprint for two months now with a Treo 800W. Coverage has been acceptable in NJ and even on a vacation drive down to South Carolina, the data speed did not drop below 1X. I've only run into two dead spots so far and they tend to be in parks off the highway system.

When I first got the Treo, people did comment that I sounded much clearer than on my old phone (Motorolla on AT&T Wireless).

Steve

JesterMania

09-22-2008, 02:52 PM

I'm with Rogers and I find the signal varies depending on the phone, at least in the GTA. With my Motorola SLVR L2, reception was terrific whereas my Nokia N95 is most often 1-2 bars lower in reception. I hope the Touch Diamond will yield better reception as I will probably be getting that as an upgrade once Rogers gets this device. Either way, I don't think I can give up a smartphone even if it means sacrificing some reception due to many other benefits.

Torque

09-22-2008, 03:00 PM

<p>Here's the reason I ask: Last December when I switched to AT&T, I was told that the coverage in my area is considered "good." Even on their website coverage map it's considered "good." I would say that 90% of the time I cannot place a call from my home. I often see "No Service" on my device. Luckily I have a land line (which I wouldn't have if I had better coverage) and I also have WiFi so I can access my email, wirelessly sync my PIM stuff, and surf the web. But it's still frustrating that the reps and the maps show coverage that I'm just not getting. Other devices with either T-Mobile or AT&T are the same here. My wife's phone with Verizon does fine. I find my coverage is spotty. So I ask you, how's the coverage in your area? Are you happy with the over all coverage when you go places? Can you still get coverage in department stores?</p>

My carrier is AT&T and the coverage in my area sucks. I live and work in the Atlanta, GA area, which is Cingular's home territory (before AT&T assimilated them) and I get random dropped calls all over town and dead spots. Up the street from where I live there is an entire quarter mile area dead spot that includes a shopping center and up from that is a housing development where I have zero bars. I shudder to think that if I lived there, I'd have to pay a disconnect fee and hope that my credit wouldn't keep me from getting service with another carrier. The only reason I remain with AT&T is the rollover minutes. I don't spend that much time on the phone and it helps to have the rollover minutes when i need them. If they ever do away with the rollover minutes, I will be seeking a new carrier.

My contract is up for renewal next year and unless they provide me with a compelling reason to sign up for another two years (a free smartphone of my choice would be compelling enough, but I doubt they'd do it.), I won't be renewing my contract. As long as they have rollover minutes and no other carrier offers anything similar, I'll still be with them but they have competition for my business. If Sprint still has that "Everything Plan" and they are willing to subsidize the Treo Pro for me, I'll bounce. Unlimited Everything is what I really want and I seriously doubt AT&T would ever offer that.

Jason Lee

09-22-2008, 03:13 PM

AT&T all the way. I've been with Cingular/AT&T since they go here (just after the became Cingular).
I had the Old AT&T, switched to Nextel because they were the first to have packet data service, switched to Sprint because they were the first to have usable data service, then finally to Cingular because they had coverage and usable data service!
I was sick and tired of only getting coverage on most highways (sprint) or only getting coverage in 3 cities in the whole state (Nextel). T-Mobile has been in my area for quite some time but they never worked much out of the down town area... Of a small city. hehe.

Where ever I travel AT&T has been there and between here and there. Works great for me. I get full bars at home and around half, or better, in the concrete bunker I work in. Great 3G speeds in both places.

harty83

09-22-2008, 04:14 PM

I'm on ATT in the Houston area. I get great 3G coverage even in the Houston suburb areas. However, when I visited VA in the Blacksburg area, coverage sucked and 3g didn't exist. I talked to a guy an ATT reseller spot and he said that yea, coverage sucked in the area and wouldn't improve till the put up more towers "which they are working on."

I miss the great coverage Verizon provided, but they do not have a decent selection in PDA phones with decent data packages.

buckyg

09-22-2008, 04:22 PM

So far, ATT is alright for my business cell and Tilt. That is, if I don't go too far out in the country. Our families are in small towns in the Midwest US and ATT/partner coverage can be iffy, but it is getting better, very slowly. So my wife's staying with Verizon for now. I'd say in terms of phone coverage, they've got better overall coverage than ATT outside cities here.

samw5

09-22-2008, 06:24 PM

I'm on AT&T and been with them for a while now. I live in Baltimore MD and pretty much always stay along the NE corridor (DC to Boston)... while staying withing large metro area coverage is surprisingly pretty descent.

I recently switched to an iPhone 3G which does exhibit random disconnects but my work 8525 doesn't seem to have too many issues...

I'm very satisfied with AT&T, not precisely because of coverage but other factors (phone, customer support, works overseas...) and am completely against every switching to Verizon...
I've had extremely bad customer experience with them (despite subscribing for several years) and would rather obtain one of those GSM signal booster for several hundred dollars before switching to the service...

wspears868

09-22-2008, 06:28 PM

I have used both Verizon and Cingular(AT&T) and the results are time dependent. I started off with Cingular and its coverage of my area of Essex, MA was marginal (2 bars or less). When I switched to Verizon (my company has a Verizon acccount & added a signal booster within the building), the signal at home was originally about the same. The last year or so has seen a major improvement in the signal quality and I can now send and receive phone calls from the first floor which I never could with Cingular.

Doug Raeburn

09-22-2008, 06:50 PM

I've been with AT&T for about 3 years in the Milwaukee area and am more satisfied now than I was at first. In my pre-Smartphone days, I had a Razr V3 and it seemed like my mother's house was one of those infamous black holes, because I'd be lucky if I could get one bar. I could get a pretty good signal everywhere else. When I upgraded to a Blackjack, I found that it wasn't the phone because it also had problems getting a decent signal at Mom's place. I had a data plan and I could watch the thing switching from 3G to Edge and back all the time as I'd drive around town and the suburbs.

Over the past year or so, I've seen significant improvements. Now I get an excellent signal at my mother's house. It used to be that once I was out in the suburbs, I'd almost always get Edge rather than 3G, but now I get 3G almost all the time even in the suburbs. Out in the boonies, the phone signal seems strong but it's still mostly Edge out there.

I had US Cellular prior to AT&T and had lots of problems with building penetration. If there were any floors above me, I got almost no signal. I remember one time when I went to the IKEA near Chicago and saw all of these people walking around using their cell phones. I tried it even on the top floor with my US Cellular phone and nothing. So that became my litmus test. And despite what was said uptopic about CDMA vs. GSM, I had far better luck with building penetration with AT&T vs. US Cellular. I could even get a signal in the lowest level of the 3 floor IKEA store. Not that I disagree with what was said about CDMA vs. GSM (because I don't know one way or the other), but it didn't work out that way for me... maybe my CDMA phone had substandard reception.

A friend of mine with AT&T goes on a fishing trip at Eagle Lake in northern California every year with his brother. This is definitely out in the boonies. His brother has Verizon and he often has lots of trouble getting any bars at all, despite having several different phones over the years. IOW, can you hear me now? NO! My friend has a fairly new Razr and he always has a great signal. He's called me from there and the sound quality is always excellent.

The only time I've had an issue with AT&T's signal was on a trip to Rapid City, SD. The city itself and the tourist attractions were great, but the whole place was pretty isolated. I could make calls, though the quality was pretty poor. And the data connectivity was essentially non-existent. Fortunately, I also had my PDA along and the hotel provided free Wi-Fi.

Pony99CA

09-22-2008, 08:38 PM

So I ask you, how's the coverage in your area? Are you happy with the over all coverage when you go places? Can you still get coverage in department stores?
I have Verizon Wireless in central California (a bit south of Silicon Valley). I can make calls inside an elevator at a Defense Department building.

Steve

Damion Chaplin

09-22-2008, 08:54 PM

Started off with PacBell Wireless in '98. They were bought by Cingular. Who was in turn bought out by AT&T (well, sort of).

My coverage is excellent almost everywhere. I used to have problems indoors, but that was, well, ten years ago. I used to get no signal at all at my Dad's house (way out in the boonies), but now I get a very nice full-strength signal there. Too bad 3G ain't there yet - he's still on dial-up!

However, I think I'll be switching to Credo Wireless, simply because I can't support the things that AT&T supports (which I won't mention here - look it up). Unfortunately, Credo has all of 8 phones to choose from, and only one smartphone (Moto Q9c). :(

So we'll see what my coverage future holds...

Brad Adrian

09-22-2008, 10:58 PM

I can make calls inside an elevator at a Defense Department building...

Aha! So YOU'RE the one...!

mobilelawyer

09-22-2008, 11:39 PM

I have had Verizon, T-Mobile and Cingular (Now AT&T). I live and work in the Mobile, Alabama area. Verizon has great coverage in many cities, but AT&T has a far better build- out down here that did Verizon when I was with them. Much better local reception. Since most of my travels have me in the downtown area or airport areas of major cities, AT&T has served me well, although Verizon was generally great out of town. I would put T-Mobile between the two, but I was satisfied with them, also. Their coverage down here is better than Verizon, but not quite as good as AT&T.

Macguy59

09-23-2008, 02:28 AM

I get a better signal in my home with AT&T versus Verizon. Dropped calls are about the same with both. The real difference in my case is data service. The 1X service with Verizon was more reliable than EDGE (though it might have as much to do with my 3G iPhone as the service itself)

frankenbike

09-23-2008, 09:28 AM

Los Angeles area. I switched to Sprint in 2000 because in several states (Nebraska, east New Mexico, southwest Oklahoma, and northern Texas) my ATT phone didn't work at all on a 5000 mile motorcycle trip.

In my home area, which is urban megoplex for 10,000 square miles, I have EVDO (3G) pretty much everywhere I've been.

On my last road trip, I had full EVDO on the major roads, but plain old 1x in many places along the Oregon and California coast along US 101. I only encountered one place where ATT had better coverage: an island east of Shelton, WA.

--
FB

BevHoward

09-23-2008, 05:46 PM

>> I only encountered one place where ATT had better coverage: an island east of Shelton, WA. <<

Probably Vashon Island...

...Vashon had zip to zero at&t cellular coverage...

...until a high at&t exec bought a home there ;-)

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

kerrins

09-23-2008, 11:51 PM

I've been with Cingular forever and when they bought AT&T I had no reason to change. Years ago the coverage in my house was terrible. I was only moments away from trying to buy an internal antennae to install in my house for $300. I live in a fairly flat geography and coverage in the area is generally good. But when I got within a couple blocks of my house...just dead air. AT&T changed something and my service improved about 2 years ago. Recently I upgraded my phone to a Tilt and it's still better yet. Now if I could just get rid of the bloatware on the phone life would be good. We will be cancelling our land line soon as we just installed a Xlink BT to get everything via a cell phone and that works fine.

Rod3

09-26-2008, 03:08 AM

I'm on AT&T, and I've tried almost everything else. Not T-Mobile, because it's just come to my area, but Sprint, Verizon, and Alltel, and AT&T before it was combined with Cingular. I couldn't call out from my home with any of them, but now have excellent coverage from home and all surrounding areas. I don't get 3G here, but I'm close to Charlotte and pick it up in Charlotte when I'm there. And my Edge in my area is just about as fast, and a lot more reliable. What's up with that? Glad I don't have an iPhone.
Anyhow, I'm quite happy with AT&T.

pacemkr

09-26-2008, 08:16 AM

AT&T here with a first gen iPhone, in the middle of NYC, and my service is so bad it makes the phone virtually useless. In my house there is exactly one spot, next to one of the windows where i get service. Outside I havent been able to browse the internet virtually ANYWHERE in the city for the past month or so. All my voicemail comes a week late. People call me and I have no missed calls with the phone just laying there apparently with full service.

I think they sold one too many of these. Until the second generation iPhone came out I was getting the decent service I expected. Now it got so bad I've decided to give them a call tomorrow to file a complaint. I think AT&T, or Cingular, w.e they call themselves these days, bit off a little more than they could chew with the number of iPhones being sold.