"Dead Zones" within well estabished service areas

[SiemensS40]

I returned my Siemens S40 today and canceled my Cingular service. I found out over the weekend that the place I wanted to use it in Gaston County, NC is a "dead zone" for every carrier except Verizon, and I don't like Verizon's plans or phones, so I'm sticking with AT&T.

I know dead zones are common but even within an established area? The Charlotte area has been a bastion of Cingular (since Bellsouth Mobility) form the ground up.

I haven't seen anything yet that will surpass the battery life and sound quality of the Panasonic Duramax I use with them. They are rolling out the Siemens S46 July 15th in the Triad market and I may try it for a couple of weeks. I would like it's added features.

[bobolito]

If I understood correctly, the only company that has a signal is Verizon according to what you are saying in Gaston County, NC. If so, why would you stay with AT&T?

[SiemensS40]

<< If I understood correctly, the only company that has a signal is Verizon according to what you are saying in Gaston County, NC. If so, why would you stay with AT&T? >>



By dead zone I mean my moms house. Verizon's signal works there really well (as observed from brothers and sisters phones with Verizon while they are visiting) , but AT&T's is very weak on TDMA (they lease from AlHell in that area) and Cingular was weak as well. When I say weak I mean useless as a means of communication.

I stay with AT&T because it roams seamlessly, my calls follow me, I've had no issues with them, and I am at my moms only briefly on weekends. Even so, it would be nice to have service while I AM there... but not enough to switch from AT&T. I thought Cingular would be better because of the extent of their infrastructure in that area, but they weren't.

It's just odd that there's this dead zone in the middle of a pretty well populated area.

[MTS2000]

<< I returned my Siemens S40 today and canceled my Cingular service. I found out over the weekend that the place I wanted to use it in Gaston County, NC is a "dead zone" for every carrier except Verizon, and I don't like Verizon's plans or phones, so I'm sticking with AT&T.

I know dead zones are common but even within an established area? The Charlotte area has been a bastion of Cingular (since Bellsouth Mobility) form the ground up.

I haven't seen anything yet that will surpass the battery life and sound quality of the Panasonic Duramax I use with them. They are rolling out the Siemens S46 July 15th in the Triad market and I may try it for a couple of weeks. I would like it's added features. >>



Well a little insight may help. PCS (at 1900MHz) is a microwave signal and is very directional. I am very familiar with the terrain in Gaston, Co NC as I was involved in the installation of the public safety radio system. 1900MHz does not do as well in the mountains as does 800MHz, lower frequency radio waves can travel farther distances and thus fewer sites are needed. In building coverage with PCS 1900 is more troublesome than an 800MHz carrier, and differences in modualtion (analog, CDMA, TDMA) aren't as important as terrain, building construction, and distance from the site.

If your going to be in mountainous or terrain challenging areas, an 800MHz based provider will fare better than a 1900MHz provider- but just because you are in a big city doesn't mean the problems go away. My problems with Sprint in heavily populated metro Atlanta point to a poorly designed and placed network. There are other 1900Mhz providers, such as Voicestream, AT&T Wireless and the latest addition MetroPCS that have less trouble, though in my tests using both handsets and a Motorola Communications System Analyzer, the clear winners for coverage were the two 800MHz cellular carriers, Cingular and Verizon.

[bobolito]

Siemens, I think in your area Cingular and AT&T use the same towers. If I am correct, either one or the other will give you the same coverage quality.

[SiemensS40]

<< Siemens, I think in your area Cingular and AT&T use the same towers. If I am correct, either one or the other will give you the same coverage quality. >>



That's interesting. On the drive back up here Sunday I was on the phone from about Charlotte on I-77 to just east of Statesville on I-40. The Cingular signal dropped the call twice and was spotty in several places. That's never happened with AT&T. Could have been atmospheric conditions though.

[bobolito]

What phone model you use for Cingular?

[SiemensS40]

I was using the Siemens S40. It is a neat looking phone with great features (except voice dialing). I was able to locate (after about 12 calls to different places) a Nokia 6360 to use with AT&T and I have that now. Surprisingly that seems to have somewhat solved my dilema. At the dead zone I was referring to it is picking up a signal much better than either my venerable Panasonic Duramax or the Siemens S40 that I tried out. AT&T also gave me a $49.99 credit (one months service) for buying the new phone, with no contract extension.