Cingular coverage terrible in Dane Co, WI (Madison), too

[ElwoodBlues60657]

I had read earlier posts here that Cingular had better coverage than Verizon in Madison, and I don't know how that can be true. So, just to provide some more info for anyone wondering about cell coverage in Madison...

My gf and I moved to Madison last month and both have Moto v180s. Cingular's GSM coverage in Madison has been *terrible.* I visited Madison last fall when I still had Verizon (and a v120e phone) and didn't have any call problems. The v120e was only getting 2 bars when we stayed with her mom, but calls went through fine with Verizon.

We now live in the Sunset Village / Hilldale Mall area of Madison and Cingular's coverage at our new home and my gf's mom's is so bad we have to go outside to make calls. I get OK coverage at work on the UW campus, but can't make it through the car/bus ride home without the call dropping. Further, even in places with good coverage (5 bars), there are frequent dropped calls as the signal strength mysteriously goes from 5 bars to no bars back to 5 bars.

Can't wait for my contract to be up so I can try USCC or switch back to Verizon.

[yuri1419]

I'm convinced that USCC has the best coverage in the Madison area. My Verizon phone is mostly OK, but does have problems indoors, particularly in big box stores like Target, Menards, ect. It's typical to see the phone on Extended network in those situations, which is preferable, as if it's on VZW, it's usually barely hanging on, and if it falls to USCC, it's probably rock solid.

If you get a few miles out of Madison, a VZW phone will probably be on USCC. Downtown Spring Green- 5 bars, Extended Network. Evansville- same thing.

BTW, we're neighbors. I live on one of the 4 Sunset Courts. My VZW phone is 4-5 bars in my house.

[sillybilly]

Originally Posted by ElwoodBlues60657 I had read earlier posts here that Cingular had better coverage than Verizon in Madison, and I don't know how that can be true. So, just to provide some more info for anyone wondering about cell coverage in Madison... My gf and I moved to Madison last month and both have Moto v180s. Cingular's GSM coverage in Madison has been *terrible.* I visited Madison last fall when I still had Verizon (and a v120e phone) and didn't have any call problems. The v120e was only getting 2 bars when we stayed with her mom, but calls went through fine with Verizon. We now live in the Sunset Village / Hilldale Mall area of Madison and Cingular's coverage at our new home and my gf's mom's is so bad we have to go outside to make calls. I get OK coverage at work on the UW campus, but can't make it through the car/bus ride home without the call dropping. Further, even in places with good coverage (5 bars), there are frequent dropped calls as the signal strength mysteriously goes from 5 bars to no bars back to 5 bars. Can't wait for my contract to be up so I can try USCC or switch back to Verizon.

Cingular has pretty good coverage on the east side of Madison. I know they are weak downtown around the campus. I've been hearing a lot of people are buying into Cingular's "more bars in more places" ad compain. But here in WI, if they don't start adding towers they are going to over sell their network and really pi$$ people off!!

[jones]

Originally Posted by ElwoodBlues60657 I had read earlier posts here that Cingular had better coverage than Verizon in Madison, and I don't know how that can be true. So, just to provide some more info for anyone wondering about cell coverage in Madison... My gf and I moved to Madison last month and both have Moto v180s. Cingular's GSM coverage in Madison has been *terrible.* I visited Madison last fall when I still had Verizon (and a v120e phone) and didn't have any call problems. The v120e was only getting 2 bars when we stayed with her mom, but calls went through fine with Verizon. We now live in the Sunset Village / Hilldale Mall area of Madison and Cingular's coverage at our new home and my gf's mom's is so bad we have to go outside to make calls. I get OK coverage at work on the UW campus, but can't make it through the car/bus ride home without the call dropping. Further, even in places with good coverage (5 bars), there are frequent dropped calls as the signal strength mysteriously goes from 5 bars to no bars back to 5 bars. Can't wait for my contract to be up so I can try USCC or switch back to Verizon.

I don't think Cingular is strong in that area.

[yuri1419]

I had another reminder that every wireless service has it's pros and cons- I was at Monty's Blue Plate Diner for brunch this AM. Pulled my v60 out of my pocket, and it was on 1 bar of analog roaming (not extended network!). After a few seconds out at table level, it locked onto 1-2 bars of VZW signal.

That means that the phone wasn't seeing VZW, USCC digital or USCC Analog, and had found Cingular's old Analog network.

None of them are perfect.

I've also found my phone on Extended Network when on the near east side, just in a house.

[sillybilly]

Originally Posted by yuri1419 I had another reminder that every wireless service has it's pros and cons- I was at Monty's Blue Plate Diner for brunch this AM. Pulled my v60 out of my pocket, and it was on 1 bar of analog roaming (not extended network!). After a few seconds out at table level, it locked onto 1-2 bars of VZW signal. That means that the phone wasn't seeing VZW, USCC digital or USCC Analog, and had found Cingular's old Analog network. None of them are perfect. I've also found my phone on Extended Network when on the near east side, just in a house.

That area of Madison (The Barrymore, Wilsons, Roberts, ect...) is a cellular black hole!! None of the CDMA networks have any luck getting much of a signal down there!!

[yuri1419]

Originally Posted by sillybilly That area of Madison (The Barrymore, Wilsons, Roberts, ect...) is a cellular black hole!! None of the CDMA networks have any luck getting much of a signal down there!!

You're right- my phone barely works at my church at North and Johnson. Maybe we should approach VZW about renting some rooftop space from us....

[AnthroMatt]

This is not good news. I'll be around Madison next Monday. Hope my phone works!

[Shizam76]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt This is not good news. I'll be around Madison next Monday. Hope my phone works!

It should......you have a modded moto, don't you Anthro?

If I remember correctly, we can pick from Cingular, AT&T Wireless (it still says that), Einstein PCS. Maybe people who cannot pick the network get stuck on a weak signal. Manual selection works wonders

[AnthroMatt]

Originally Posted by Shizam76 It should......you have a modded moto, don't you Anthro? If I remember correctly, we can pick from Cingular, AT&T Wireless (it still says that), Einstein PCS. Maybe people who cannot pick the network get stuck on a weak signal. Manual selection works wonders

Yeah I have enabled manual selection. Maybe Einstein will be good. I have found those smaller carriers tend to be pretty good on a local level. In Kokomo, IN my service was most consistent with Centennial.

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt This is not good news. I'll be around Madison next Monday. Hope my phone works!

Hello Anthro, nice to see you back on the boards. It depends quite a bit on area of Madison you will be in. I was recently in Madison and had extremely good coverage including inside the buildings.

[Shizam76]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt Yeah I have enabled manual selection. Maybe Einstein will be good. I have found those smaller carriers tend to be pretty good on a local level. In Kokomo, IN my service was most consistent with Centennial.

Yes...Centennial is good in Indiana....at least in northwest Indiana anyhow.

[sillybilly]

Originally Posted by Charlyee Hello Anthro, nice to see you back on the boards. It depends quite a bit on area of Madison you will be in. I was recently in Madison and had extremely good coverage including inside the buildings.

I agree also Anthro. I think the first poster just lives in a bad spot for Cingular coverage!!

[sillybilly]

Originally Posted by yuri1419 You're right- my phone barely works at my church at North and Johnson. Maybe we should approach VZW about renting some rooftop space from us....

Do it!! There would be a lot of happy wireless users!

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt This is not good news. I'll be around Madison next Monday. Hope my phone works!

Anthro, how was the Cingular coverage in Madison? Did your phone work to your satisfaction?

Just curious.