Some quick GA notes...

[roamer1]

First off -- if you're wondering where I've been, I've been slammed with work at work the past week or so, and have had quite a few things going on at home too. Anyway...

Some notes from recent travel and other activity:

- VoiceStream finally has coverage in Albany, GA. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Signal tends to be weak (particularly downtown, which should be better than it is), but there's coverage...
- ALLTEL appears to be having some major problems with their CDMA network in Albany -- several times in the Albany area I went from full (60-80 RSSI) CDMA to ANALOG and back... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]
- The VS WAP/GPRS problems in Atlanta seem to have finally cleared up; I've been using iStream quite a bit the past few days and I haven't seen any of the connection failures, etc. that I was seeing a month or so ago. The HDML issue remains, however... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] I haven't tested CSD to see if the "can't connect to Atlanta local modem numbers" issue is still there.
- Verizon now has 1900 MHz coverage up and running in Macon. Their coverage is VERY, VERY BAD (numerous dropped calls and falling back to SPCS or worse, Price analog) on the north side of the Macon area and in downtown, except around the Riverside Drive business corridor which is OK. On the south side (down I-75 to Perry) coverage is fine. Mobile Web does *NOT* work on Macon Verizon...I have no idea why. IMO they shouldn't have released this for customer use until they fixed the coverage and Mobile Web problems...this "coverage" makes VZW look VERY bad...
- AT&T/CallPlus roams with PSC Wireless in west GA/east central AL -- an odd exception to AT&T's more-or-less "policy" of not roaming with B-side 800 MHz carriers other than Cingular (especially since PSC has so many issues with roaming -- doesn't get along well with Cingular, can't seem to get roaming agreements with Ramcell and several other small carriers, etc.) Voice mail indication even works when on PSC!
- SPCS is getting more and more oversold in Atlanta; at least three different people at work complained to me about SPCS coverage problems last week...
- For some reason which no one can explain, Nextel took Mobile Email off my i85's WAP browser menu, but if I use the URL to go straight to email it works fine. Whatever...

-SC

[MTS2000]

Thanks for the info on VZW in Macon. I had heard that this is a no service area for them, so may have to check out a work phone (Cingular) when I go down there next week on a job. I assume Cingular has better service down there (old BSM market) than VZW.

[er6785]

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]Roamer1: Thanks for your extremely helpful posts here and your own website. I have been struggling to find info like this for sometime.

I have been suffering with ATT in Atlanta for way too long becuase I occasionally travel, and use my phone most when I travel. Most of my travel is to NY, Philly (outlying Western suburbs) and DC-Balt, but also to my hometown -- a small town in the Shenandoah Valley of Va.

If I am reading the tea leaves and other posts correctly, it seems like I can expect:

1. Much better service in the Atlanta with either CIngular or Verizon than with ATT
2. Slightly better call quality with Verizon than Cingular in Atlanta?
3. Coverage with no roaming pretty much everywhere with Cingular, and many but not all places on VZW's America's choice. Am I correct that with Cingular's National Plan I may end up back on the ATT network when roaming many places. I was not that impressed with ATT's serive in NY
4. Slightly better pricing with Cingular, and much better if I roam much off the AC network.

If this is correct, then it seems like the key question is whether the area in Va. I travel to is really covered by the AC network. I realize that the maps are wothless, so I think what I want to do is find out what providers serve the area and then see if VZW AC includes them.

How do I find out who covers thearea and whether VZW AC has a preferred roaming agmt with them? Will VZW tell me?

Thanks

[roamer1]

1) No question about it. Nextel is better too, but given that they don't analog roam they probably wouldn't do you any good. Sprint is getting oversold (dropped calls, calls going straight to voicemail), and VoiceStream has problems with indoor coverage and doesn't analog roam.
2) Yes.
3) 100% correct.
4) Yup...

The vast majority of Virginia has AC coverage. Any Verizon salesperson or CSR can tell you if an area is covered (but they probably can't tell you how the coverage is...)

-SC

[aiwapro]

Good info 'roamer1,' I'm glad that those iStream problems in Atlanta re pretty much cleared up. I knew they would be and that's what I kept telling everyone. I have a Motorola P280 now and I use iStream alot and love it. I like it when people ask me questions about a sports score or something last night and I can say I don't know but if you give about 1-2 minutes, I can surely find out.

[parthery]

Its interesting the number of people that continue to slam AT&T in Atlanta...

I have found their service to be no worse than Cingular or Verizon...to be markedly better than SPCS. Additionally, since AT&Ts roaming agreement with Cingular fills in the coverage issue, it may be a handset problem, not a network problem. I find that my 6360 works much better than my 8260 ever did.

The one big frustration I find with AT&T would also be a problem with Cingular....AT&T's IRDB tells the phone to hunt for Cingular whenever its available... This is a nuisance in South GA and North FL...as US Cellulars coverage is much better...too many fast busys on Cingular as their network can't handle the traffic...particularly along I-75 on a holiday weekend. The problem is worse for Cingular customers....their IRDB locks out AT&T in Atlanta....I was making calls from Macon northward and the person sitting next to me in the car (a Cingular Atlanta customer) was stuck in "fast busy" hell.

Just my $.02

I have found AT&T Wireless to be superior to Voicestream and Sprint PCS in Atlanta suburbs off major roads in that my Nokia 5165 will go to extended area or roam but I never get charged roaming fees . If I were dependent upon solely on the AT&T 1900 mhz signal it would be unusable for me much of the time . I would recommend the 800 mhz providers : Verizon , Cingular or Nextel for good local Atlanta coverage .