Will Verizon Ever Come to Jackson, MS?!

[cgd]

Apparently, they're in Biloxi and Gulfport on the coast and in Southaven (near Memphis), but not in Central MS Anyone know if they have plans to come here? This market needs another nationwide competitor. Thanks.

[jjdu42]

I sure hate Alltel didn't work for ya!....but I did talk to a good friend today that I worked with at Cingular and He's now employed with Verizon. He said we should start to see Verizon in Jackson in early 2005. I'm looking forward to that......

[larry39110]

Verizon in early 2005? I HIGHLY doubt that. Where are they going to get licenses? Sprint, Alltell, and Cellular South already are present CDMA carriers in central Mississippi with Cellular South by far the dominant carrier, and I can tell you, they aren't going to sell. (Although I wish they would sell out to Verizon) Cellular South is a good company with great plans for most people here. The folks who own Cellular South are not the least bit interested in selling out.

[jones]

Originally Posted by cgd

Apparently, they're in Biloxi and Gulfport on the coast and in Southaven (near Memphis), but not in Central MS Anyone know if they have plans to come here? This market needs another nationwide competitor. Thanks.

What's wrong w/ Alltel?

[jjdu42]

Larry...what part of MS are you in??.....Cellular South doesn't cover alot of rural areas in or near Meridian. Bay Springs has no coverage or Quitman. They are a very popular carrier here since they offer the $49 "all you talk plan" but I've had them before and so have alot of people I know and coverage is lacking in some areas. I do have to give them credit as they have added a ton of sites in Meridian and now their coverage is GREAT. Anyway I was just passing along what was told to me today.

[cgd]

Larry, I hear ya about Cellular South. I would try them, but I need nationwide coverage. Also, CS appears to nickel and dime what is to my mind the basics that should come with a plan (such as voice mail, call forwarding etc.). By the time I get the $49.99, plus adding a line for family talk, plus the voice mail and text messaging, I'm paying as much or more than I do with Cingular and not getting nationwide long distance, which is included in the GSM Nation plan. Of course CS sells long distance minutes for 10 cents a minute, which seems a bit expensive to me. I was impressed with CS's customer service and know many people who are happy with them. I would be if I never left Jackson and never called out of state (mother in Alabama, we yack twice a week). I also travel in and out of state occasionally for my job, not always to urban areas.

Jones, Alltel was OK (customer service was amazing), but I couldn't get a strong signal at the house unless I used the Nokia 3587i, and even then it wasn't that great, so I invoked the 15-day termination option. Also, Alltel's Total Freedom plan, where you never have to worry about roaming, was more expensive than Cing's GSM Nation. Cingular's coverage is best right now, even if customer service has been less than stellar in my experience lately. The wait to see a CSR at the store is longer than to get in to see a doctor, and now they'll be taking on ATTWS's folks as well! I'm anxious to see how that goes . . .

I have to be patient (not my strong point) and just hang where I am right now. I'll try Alltel again in 6 months or so as I'm sure all companies' coverage will improve. I live just outside Jackson, not in the boonies, and had the best coverage under TDMA or GAIT (shoulda never switched to GSM). Or if Verizon does come here, I might give them a whirl too. Thanks for the info!

[larry39110]

I am in Madison, MS which is a northern suburb of Jackson. Yes, there are areas that Cellular South doesn't cover well, but I can assure you that Cingular's coverage gaps are much larger. I ported my numbers (I have 2) to Cingular when they launched their GSM service here. BIG BIG mistake. There is NO GSM signal in most of Madison. Also, there are multiple spots along I-55 in Jackson where there is no GSM signal. Needless to say, after 11 days of Cingular hell, I ported my numbers right back to Cellular South. We do not have a land line phone. My wife and I both have unlimited phones with Cellular South. We don't have a need to make out of state calls except to Memphis (which is covered in the home area). We do occasionally travel with our jobs and leisure. We have 100 nation wide minutes on both phones. These are sold in buckets of 100 minutes for $10 each. I hear what you are saying about nickel and dimeing you to death. I bought a new phone today, got the Audiovox 8900, and Cellular South charged me $2.00 to transfer my phone book! As long as I have been with them and as much money as I pay them each month, I couldn't believe it. If Verizon came to town, although overall I'm happy with Cellular South, I'd jump ship in a heart beat! Well, I will close with this, no carrier is best for everyone. While Cellular South works well for us, it may not for you. And while as for as I'm concerned Cingular is worse than pathetic, it might work well for you. Good Luck making a choice.

[jones]

Originally Posted by cgd

Jones, Alltel was OK (customer service was amazing), but I couldn't get a strong signal at the house unless I used the Nokia 3587i, and even then it wasn't that great, so I invoked the 15-day termination option. Also, Alltel's Total Freedom plan, where you never have to worry about roaming, was more expensive than Cing's GSM Nation. Cingular's coverage is best right now, even if customer service has been less than stellar in my experience lately.

This is what i said, to get a strong signal at your house you have to pick a carrier which has the nearest Tower.

[cgd]

Wow, Larry, hard to believe that there's no signal in Madison since it's such a growing area! I'm in Byram, and GSM is mostly OK there. In my neighborhood, it fizzles a bit, but so does CDMA apparently. Hubby and I don't have a land line either. You're right--everyone's needs are different, and no one carrier is right for everybody. Good luck with Cellular South. They do at least seem to care what customers think.

[roamer1]

Originally Posted by larry39110

I am in Madison, MS which is a northern suburb of Jackson. Yes, there are areas that Cellular South doesn't cover well, but I can assure you that Cingular's coverage gaps are much larger. I ported my numbers (I have 2) to Cingular when they launched their GSM service here. BIG BIG mistake. There is NO GSM signal in most of Madison. Also, there are multiple spots along I-55 in Jackson where there is no GSM signal.

This is especially odd given that Cingular is 850 (the other 850 carrier, of course, is ALLTEL) and Cellular South is 1900 in Jackson.

(BTW: what's really funny about Cingular in Jackson is that system used to be sorta controlled by a partnership of *BellSouth and ALLTEL*, back when what's now Cingular was MCTA and the current ALLTEL system was still CenturyTel.)

-SC

[jjdu42]

Go ahead Roamer1 You remember the old MCTA days? The signs on the stores resembled Alltels.....that was the good ole days in the wireless industry as far as employment goes. I spent almost 8 yrs with MCTA-Bellsouth Mobility-Cingular.....every name change our jobs got worse. My buddy claims that working for Verizon reminds him of the MCTA days. I wouldn't work for Cingular now to save my life. One of my employees worked for Cingular for over 12yrs as a service manager.....not anymore. They do have stronger coverage in central MS than Alltel currently does because Centurytel really had let their system go. Now south of Meridian to the coast Alltel is very strong because of the Cellular One network was pretty good. Cellular South is also very good in north and south MS but their central MS coverage is mostly in the main cities and major highways. This will all change as Cellular South is building this area out.....they always relied on Cingular in this area when they both were TDMA as Cingular relied on them in the North and South. I would love to see Alltel purchase Centennial wireless and Unicel and we would be set here in the south.

[reevejf]

If i remember correctly VZW was in process of or purchasing a A band PCS license from AT&T... it covered most of Miss. including Jackson. I dont know if it ever went through or not..so 2005 might not be impossible. I remember seeing it in the FCC database not long after they purchased the PCS license for Arkansas. But im sure Arkansas will be built out first.

[agentHibby]

Verizon does have a liecense for Memphis-Jackson market since it is submarket #16 I have no clue if this is for Jackson MS.

call sign------PCS Block----MHz
WPZT692---------B-----------? I doubt all 30MHz

[roamer1]

Originally Posted by agentHibby

Verizon does have a liecense for Memphis-Jackson market since it is submarket #16 I have no clue if this is for Jackson MS.

call sign------PCS Block----MHz
WPZT692---------B-----------? I doubt all 30MHz

VZW has 10 MHz in four counties (basically those that comprise the immediate Jackson metro area -- Copiah, Hinds, Madison, Rankin)

http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsS...licKey=2600789



The odd thing about this license is that it's truly an island, not connected with any other VZW systems (the closest ones are the 1900 buildout along I-55 down to Batesville and along US 278 to Oxford and the Gulf Coast buildout.)

-SC

[Chris L]

Presumably VZW is content for now to pay roaming fees to Alltel, Sprint (mostly Unwired) and Cellular South to get a share of the Jackson market. I'd just buy out one of them, personally, if I had VZW's cash to throw around.

That said, I have a friend here in Jackson with a VZW handset (773 number); I'll have to see if she is picking up any Verizon infrastructure or if she's on extended network.

[agentHibby]

If Verizon had a network working now in Jackson. It would have been well heard, just about everything Verizon does they have a press release on it.
Hope the network comes sooner than later.
Verizon has spent $4 billion on network upgrades maybe 1/2 billion on EV-DO and almost 1/2 billion for Qwest and 4 billion on Nextwave.
That is 9 BILLION!

Next Jan. is a PCS auction wonder how much Verizon will spend on getting more PCS licenses in that one. wonder if Nextel this time will bid this time and really buy something.
AT&T divestments could be good for VZW.

[CrossroadsTech]

Talking about new carriers coming to Jackson... has anyone heard anything about Cricket coming? ALLTEL's PRL has a Jackson, MS Cricket SID listed (marked forbidden, of course).