T-Mo up in Knoxville...sorta

[roamer1]

Looks like my suspicions were right about Knoxville -- T-Mo has some coverage (or at least they told the FCC they do), but it appears to be cell barred "license save" coverage. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

http://wtbwww05.fcc.gov/download/017...0334092892.pdf

Also, while on the subject of licenses, PSC Wireless now has their own (1900) coverage in Anniston AL, Albany GA, and Anderson SC, in addition to Dothan AL which has been mentioned here before. (It's mentioned on their prepaid page and nowhere else on their site; FCC backs that info up.)


-SC

[cryogenic]

That is rather odd, in my opinion, simply because it closely mirrors Cingular's coverage (though not as expansive), yet when I do any sort of network search, it doesn't show up... Will cell-barred towers not show up in a network search at all? I would have thought they would show up but you wouldn't be able to register on the network in that case. I remember back in May, Wireless2000 PCS went bye-bye, but their towers still showed up on my phone in the network search... It'd just say "no access" when I tried to register. hmmmm... strange.. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[roamer1]

Cell barred -- network won't show up on a network search (unless you have a "unbarred" SIM or phone; generally carriers keep these to themselves, but I've heard of people with certain phones being able to "ignore" cell blocking)

Lack of roaming agreement -- network shows up in network search, but you can't register

-SC

[cryogenic]

Makes sense... The whole deal with Wireless2000PCS was rather interesting at the time because accordng to Cingular they still had roaming agreements with them, but I could not register on their network and their customer service phone # was disconnected. They more or less vanished without a trace and I never really could locate a retail store for them. Nobody seems to know what happened to them; whether they were quietly eaten by VS/TM or if they just went out of business. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]

As far as T-mo in Knox goes, I would assume at some point, they'll open the network for roamers much like the network in southern KY? Then eventually start selling service here, I would think. It seems that T-mo opens the network for roamers long before actually selling service in a given area (they still don't sell service in London/Corbin KY).

[roamer1]

I looked into the Wireless 2000 situation -- it looks like a company called Northstar has acquired the licenses/equipment/etc. and is going to re-launch (with quite a bit more coverage) soon. Whether they'll roam with anyone remains to be seen.

-SC

[cryogenic]

How'd you find out that info? I couldn't find ANYTHING on W2000 to begin with! lol... anyway, I hope they do launch with more coverage... maybe they'll cover some of the more rural areas off the highway that T-mobile doesn't cover just yet (they only cover I-75 and a mile or so off right now). Any ideas on expected launch dates or anything?

[roamer1]

The FCC ULS databases ("Third Kentucky Cellular" is gone, replaced by "Northstar Technology LLC") and various web searches (which found a number of articles talking about Northstar planning to build out more coverage, and a HQ in Somerset, and an FCC filing asking for an extension of the PCS buildout time requirements)...

I haven't been able to find any more info than that, online anyway. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

-SC

[cryogenic]

The FCC extension filing implies that they have licenses for FAR more areas than they currently have built out, and that they have not built out sufficiently... From reading the T-mo report, 10Mhz would require 25% coverage within 5 years... I wonder how much spectrum they've bought and just how much they're required to build out. I'd like to see more GSM in SE KY, that's for sure. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]