Moved to Mississippi..

[UFO]

Originally Posted by Derek2x Sorry to bring up an old issue, but its better than starting a whole new thread right? I just moved to Columbus MS and Im trying to find something to replace Verizon. Cellular South doesnt really have a coverage map that I can find but I do see the list of towers (Columbus and Starkville look closest), so Im wondering if anyone in the local area has used Cellular South or Sprint, I hear Sprint works pretty well but Im not sure what to think from their coverage map - it does look a little spotty. Thanks!

Reread this thread and it should provide some valuable insight to your situation. Just going by coverage maps it does look like Alltel and Cellular South would provide the best coverage where Sprint would provide weak signals in many more places because their coverage seems to be limited mainly to interstates and larger cities before they fall back onto roaming on Alltel. To get to the Cellular South coverage map, go to their website and shop plans. On the bottom right of the screen you'll see a link for coverage maps. Click on the local calling area and there it is.

If I had to summarize the comparison between Alltel and Cell South, here's what I would say:
1. Both provide great coverage to the region, better than others.
2. Cell South caters to people who stay in the region and don't leave the Cell South network. Their unlimited calling plans are hard to beat but if you leave the region, 750 minutes/month really limits you. That is also their only plan for people that leave the local calling area and don't want to pay roaming so you've got to pay a little more if you leave the area.
3. Alltel will free roam on Cellular South and Sprint if no Alltel signal is available while Cellular South does not allow free roaming on other networks within their coverage area.
4. Alltel's My Circle is really hard to beat as far as a value goes but so are those Cellular South plans as long as you pretty much stay within their local area.

I don't really think you could go wrong with either. Cellular South is probably the better value if you stay in their local area but if you do some traveling or prefer a wider selection of phones you probably want to go with Alltel and their plans. They have a number of national and local plans to choose from.

Also, to help your decision, I found this quote given by a former Cellular South employee regarding coverage in Mississippi and Louisiana on another forum:

"I just felt when I worked for Cellular South, 2 years ago, alltel's coverage was slightly less reliable than Cellular South's in certain rural areas. Or so this is what a lot of customers where telling me. Although I know alltel also worked a little better in other areas where our coverage was not as strong. Now with all of the roaming agreements cell south has opened up, alltel is so much stronger and they have actually invested some significant funds in the rural southeast, gulf coast area from what I understand. Also when I worked for CS we didnt have that plan (Nationwide Plus) so alltel crushed me so many times with their local plan that included New Orleans Slidell and Panama City, which we still dont have in native coverage."

[CrossroadsTech]

I know this is an old abandoned thread but I couldn't resist adding my 2 cents. I am a former Alltel employee and have had service with most of the carriers in Mississippi.

Pine Belt (Hattiesburg/Laurel) & Gulf Coast:
The 2 strongest carriers by far are the two 850mhz carriers Cellular South and Alltel. Alltel has EVDO almost everywhere in this region. Avoid Cingular like the plague especially in rural areas of the Pine Belt. Cingular is improving their network after integrating Blue (PCS) into their Orange (PCS) but still has lots of dropped calls and highway only coverage.

Southwest Mississippi:
Your 2 choices are basically Cellular South and Centennial (both 850mhz). Don't know much about Centennial here but don't think they are popular at all. Cingular almost roams exclusively on Centennial except for a small PCS network along I-55 and the old Blue PCS network along the main 4-lane highways. Alltel doesn't exist here... no licenses.

Jackson and Central Mississippi:
Cingular is by far the most popular and has excellent 850mhz coverage. Cellular South is PCS but they have built out, even in rural areas. Alltel is acceptable in most major towns and 4-lane highways but they have not built out hardly any cell sites like Cingular and Cell South have in the past 2 years. Alltel does have EVDO on almost all of their cell sites here. Sprint's network was the former US Unwired Affiliate network and it sucks. Nextel only has service along I-20, I-55 to Canton, and Highway 19 from Meridian to Philadelphia. T-Mobile is also Interstate only and Hwy. 19 to Philadelphia.

Golden Triangle (Starkville/Columbus/West Point):
This is a very strong Cellular South market with great 850mhz coverage. They launched their first EVDO network in Starkville in 2006. Cingular is also very popular here too, but IMHO their PCS coverage is acceptable but only so-so. Alltel is 850mhz but they've only added 1-tower in the past 2 years to this area and are not popular at all. Alltel has EVDO along Highway 25 and US 82. Avoid Alltel like the plague if you need reliable service in West Point (no towers there). Nextel is non-existent. Sprint is US Unwired = Sucks. T-Mobile has maybe 5 towers covering Columbus and Starkville.

Northeast Mississippi (Grenada/Tupelo/Corinth):
Strong Cingular 850mhz and extremely popular. Cellular South has built-out PCS along most major highways and towns and is really building out cell sites strong. This is also another step-child market for Alltel... no towers to speak of added in the past two years and no sites added to MS RSA 4 (West Point/Columbus to Grenada to Tupelo) even though they got PCS licenses from Cingular/AT&T. Instead they roam on Sprint then Cellular South. Alltel EVDO is only along Highway 45 from Tupelo to Corinth and Highway 78. (No EVDO in Grenada or along I-55) Nextel once again doesn't exist, avoid Sprint, and T-Mobile barely exists except along I-55.

Mississippi Delta and Oxford:
Strong Cellular South 850mhz coverage. They are extremely popular here. Cingular is too. They built out alot of PCS sites and also they have an 850mhz roaming partner, Unicel. Alltel has no licenses and roams on Sprint, Verizon, then Cellular South. Verizon only exists along I-55 and in Oxford. Sprint is much better here and has EVDO in Oxford and Batesville and coming soon all the way from Oxford to Memphis along I-55. Nextel doesn't exist until you get to Hernando on I-55 and T-Mobile is I-55 and Oxford only. Unicel might as well turn their towers off and give up. Very unpopular.

[mts3]

CrossroadsTech: So I guess that means those two new towers added in Grenada in the last few months weren't Alltel? Is Alltel SID 1375 here in Grenada? That's what my sister's phone was picking up on anyway. It wasn't roaming off of Cellular South (1382).

[CrossroadsTech]

Originally Posted by mts3 CrossroadsTech: So I guess that means those two new towers added in Grenada in the last few months weren't Alltel? Is Alltel SID 1375 here in Grenada? That's what my sister's phone was picking up on anyway. It wasn't roaming off of Cellular South (1382).

Alltel is SID 1375 in Grenada. No sites have been added to MS 4. Before I left Alltel in October, I use to look in a system called ATLAS that shows all the cell sites and the status of sites under construction. I heard though never saw it documented that the sites up there were tweaked a few months ago. There use to be about 3 places your call would drop between Hwy 8 and Hwy 32 on the Interstate, and last time I traveled through there, service was better.

Is the new tower by the Best Western one of them you're talking about? I think it's Cell South.

Ever since the new PRL (606) came out in September, Sprint is preferred in Grenada over Verizon and Cell South. That may explain why your coverage has changed.

[mts3]

The new site by Best Western and the new one downtown definitely are not Cell South. Cell South is on the tall one behind their store, and on the one in 8 west (across from the auto auction). Could be Sprint or Verizon I guess. It's not Cingular or Unicel as they both have towers very close.