Network Integration Information

[bobolito]

Network integration (conversion of blue towers to 410) has started in the past few days in the following areas:

- Portland, ME
- Manchester, NH
- El Paso, TX
- S. Ohio
- Indianapolis, IN
- Tulsa, OK
- New York, NY

Because of this, some of you (especially blue customers) may notice your phone will start displaying either a roaming icon, or the tag name may change from "Cingular" to "Cingular Wireless" depending on your phone. Others who had a roaming icon may notice the icon will disappear.

[WiggyFife]

Originally Posted by bobolito

Network integration (conversion of blue towers to 410) has started in the past few days in the following areas:

- Portland, ME
- Manchester, NH
- El Paso, TX
- S. Ohio
- Indianapolis, IN
- Tulsa, OK
- New York, NY

Because of this, some of you (especially blue customers) may notice your phone will start displaying either a roaming icon, or the tag name may change from "Cingular" to "Cingular Wireless" depending on your phone. Others who had a roaming icon may notice the icon will disappear.

Maybe this should be stickied, & updated in an ongoing basis.

Great info. Thanks!!!

[Jay2TheRescue]

This is like watching Press Your Luck, Come on Washington DC... No whammys!

[Etorres777]

Originally Posted by bobolito

Network integration (conversion of blue towers to 410) has started in the past few days in the following areas:

- Portland, ME
- Manchester, NH
- El Paso, TX
- S. Ohio
- Indianapolis, IN
- Tulsa, OK
- New York, NY

Because of this, some of you (especially blue customers) may notice your phone will start displaying either a roaming icon, or the tag name may change from "Cingular" to "Cingular Wireless" depending on your phone. Others who had a roaming icon may notice the icon will disappear.

You know, when I seem edited my old v551 back in March to allow to see what company I was roaming on and network selection, it always showed "Cingular Wireless". I just recently got my ROKR, did the same, and show's "Cingular" unlike before. So I'm guessing they might have done this a while back.

[Etorres777]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

This is like watching Press Your Luck, Come on Washington DC... No whammys!

Doesn't matter here, all a matter of converting, no intergrating..

[bobolito]

Originally Posted by Etorres777

You know, when I seem edited my old v551 back in March to allow to see what company I was roaming on and network selection, it always showed "Cingular Wireless". I just recently got my ROKR, did the same, and show's "Cingular" unlike before. So I'm guessing they might have done this a while back.

That depends on the phone. Some PLMN files in the phones list MNC 410 as "Cingular Wireless" while others list it as just "Cingular".

By the way, beginning this morning, our MNC changed from 380 to 410 in North NJ. Not sure if all of NNJ and NYC is on 410 yet, but all the areas I've been to are already on 410. I've read reports in the past couple of days from Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and Rockland, Co. NY that all have changed from 380 to 410.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by bobolito

That depends on the phone. Some PLMN files in the phones list MNC 410 as "Cingular Wireless" while others list it as just "Cingular".

By the way, beginning this morning, our MNC changed from 380 to 410 in North NJ. Not sure if all of NNJ and NYC is on 410 yet, but all the areas I've been to are already on 410. I've read reports in the past couple of days from Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and Rockland, Co. NY that all have changed from 380 to 410.

Congrats on your new integration! It seemed to me that they were working on rural areas first, figured cities would be last. Come on DC Metro area! I've been thinking on switching my home network to blue, but if they hurry up on integration I'll just let it be.

[Etorres777]

Originally Posted by bobolito

That depends on the phone. Some PLMN files in the phones list MNC 410 as "Cingular Wireless" while others list it as just "Cingular".

By the way, beginning this morning, our MNC changed from 380 to 410 in North NJ. Not sure if all of NNJ and NYC is on 410 yet, but all the areas I've been to are already on 410. I've read reports in the past couple of days from Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and Rockland, Co. NY that all have changed from 380 to 410.

I did a search for networks, found Cingular, and it did come out as 410, so I'm guessing it's done here in El Paso. Now to fix AT&T Wireless' little holes.

[jones]

It's Now Showing the 410 here in NYC Metro,
did a Network Setup.
It's the opposite where it used to showed "Cingular"
is Now "Cingular Wireless"

[Etorres777]

Originally Posted by jones

It's Now Showing the 410 here in NYC Metro,
did a Network Setup.
It's the opposite where it used to showed "Cingular"
is Now "Cingular Wireless"

I did a network search on a T-Mobile Motorola C650 and it said Cingular Wireless with the 410 on it though.

[bobolito]

Originally Posted by jones

It's Now Showing the 410 here in NYC Metro,
did a Network Setup.
It's the opposite where it used to showed "Cingular"
is Now "Cingular Wireless"

Yeah, blue phones will switch to say "Cingular Wireless" now because the phones "think" they are roaming now. They no longer see their home 380 network.

[Fire14]

Originally Posted by bobolito

Yeah, blue phones will switch to say "Cingular Wireless" now because the phones "think" they are roaming now. They no longer see their home 380 network.

I noticed on Sunday that my wifes phone was indicating "Roaming" where the other 3 we have didn't. I did a network search on all 4 & they are showing as the new 410 ID, her phone though is showing "Cingular Wireless" on the Alpha display where the rest of us are just showing "Cingular". I even removed here battery & SIM for 5 mins & put them back with no difference, thinking she didn't get a full OTA.
I also was in A/C this weekend & did a network search a few times & now only Cingular & T-Mobile are listed, and the 410 ID was being shown, so they completed the tower integrations in South Jersey as well.
The only place I had "No Service" down there was in the Gypsy Bar in the Borgata, otherwise I had good to excellent coverage everywhere i went down there.

[jones]

Originally Posted by Fire14

The only place I had "No Service" down there was in the Gypsy Bar in the Borgata, otherwise I had good to excellent coverage everywhere i went down there.

Borgata is a Hit or Miss inside Coverage
for all carriers especially on the Ground Level.
Some areas have coverage some don't.

[Airb330]

Delaware is done as far as I can tell. It's done up north and down at my house. I'm not sure about the beach and I probably won't go down that way for a long time. Coverage is solid in a few spots that were very weak outside and more or less dead inside. I have noticed that no panels were replaced and I'm pretty sure the old att sites are still running PCS. I thought they'd simply remove a few ATT sites where coverage was pretty good, but they've actually kept them and integrated them. I seriously get full signal almost everywhere.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I was wondering... Right now in my area Cingular Blue is 1900Mhz & Cingular Orange is 850Mhz. In my immediate area there are more 1900 blue towers than 850 orange ones. Once integration is completed will the phone still stay on the separate bands? I guess what I'm asking is will the phone readily handoff to a tower on a different band durring a call? Say for instance a call is originated on 1900, and you drive to an area where no more 1900 towers are located. Will you be handed off to an 850 tower while in the call, or will your call get dropped, and you will have to restart the call on 850?

-Jay

[hillbilly44]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

I was wondering... Right now in my area Cingular Blue is 1900Mhz & Cingular Orange is 850Mhz. In my immediate area there are more 1900 blue towers than 850 orange ones. Once integration is completed will the phone still stay on the separate bands? I guess what I'm asking is will the phone readily handoff to a tower on a different band durring a call? Say for instance a call is originated on 1900, and you drive to an area where no more 1900 towers are located. Will you be handed off to an 850 tower while in the call, or will your call get dropped, and you will have to restart the call on 850?

-Jay

Cingular does 1900 to 850Mhz handovers in many parts of the country. Remember most phones are dual-banded phones so unless the phone is 1900Mhz only that shouldn't be a problem.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by hillbilly44

Cingular does 1900 to 850Mhz handovers in many parts of the country. Remember most phones are dual-banded phones so unless the phone is 1900Mhz only that shouldn't be a problem.

Ok, I was just wondering if there was some technical problem with transmitting on 2 bands at the same time, so the phone would pick a band and stay there. I was thinking that while you're in the call on 1900 the phone must be communicating with the 850 tower getting the handoff setup. There must be some cool technology inside to make that happen.

[Steven2420]

Integration appears to be completed in South Florida. Of course, it always helps to have a dual band.....right Bobo!!!!! After Hurricane Wilma caused havoc for many providers down here, it appears that the entire area is not only up and running at 310-410, but it is stronger then ever.

***Just a note to people that still have 1900 only phones. After the hurricane hit, NO ONE with 1900 only phones had signal for 3-5 days in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area. People that I know with dual band were never down!!!!!! That is the main reason that I switched from a Nokia 6681 to a 6682! Besides the advice of people in this forum!

"THE BAR HAS BEEN RAISED"

[hillbilly44]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Ok, I was just wondering if there was some technical problem with transmitting on 2 bands at the same time, so the phone would pick a band and stay there. I was thinking that while you're in the call on 1900 the phone must be communicating with the 850 tower getting the handoff setup. There must be some cool technology inside to make that happen.

It's not in the phone but in the BTS (cell site equipment) & BSC (Base Station Controller) software. It's called concentric cells which in a nutshell decides the place you on a 1900 call while you are close to the site and then handover when you get farther away. They have been doing that with GSM 900/1800 systems for years in Europe