AT&T plans on doing a massive build out in South Mississippi, Alabama, & Louisiana

[TheNasaWildman]

Reports from AT&T's cell tech's are that AT&T are in the works of a massive buidout in the deep south. The cell tech I spoke with stated " AT&T's commitment to the Gulf Coast is to be the most reliable, & innovative wireless service provider on the coast. We are currently in the process of upgrading ALL of our GSM, GPRS, Edge towers to the 3G status across our AT&T owned network, while ensuring our customers with the most reliable service possible." I commend AT&T for stepping up to the plate for this.. What do you think, do you think AT&T is trying to make a statement to the nations other wireless carriers ?

[Alienware_51]

Thats pretty cool. Now they just need to do that to the rest of the country

And I know that it's easier said than done.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by TheNasaWildman

What do you think, do you think AT&T is trying to make a statement to the nations other wireless carriers ?

Doubtful. I just think they're staying competitive, and it sounds like what the cell tech said was written by the advertising department. They have a decent customer base there, Verizon is PCS in the areas they do cover which is limited to New Orleans and the interstates as it falls back on alltel everywhere else according to thier 'Prepay' coverage map. So at&t is the only big advertiser that sells service to most of the area, so it's a move they should make and owe to their customers. Alltel, Sprint, Verizon etc. all have larger EVDO/3G footprints in the area. In South Mississippi, alltel and Cellular South have the 850 MHz licenses, so at&t needs more towers for the same coverage area. I guess I'm just not impressed by 'massive buildout' until I know how many towers, and if it's truly the best coverage because I would expect them to say what the statement says, even if they're just building a handful of cell sites and upgrading data services to be at the same level as other providers in the area. And as it is now, their coverage map doesn't look quite as good as the CDMA providers in the area.

[RJB]

Originally Posted by UFO

Doubtful. I just think they're staying competitive, and it sounds like what the cell tech said was written by the advertising department. They have a decent customer base there, Verizon is PCS in the areas they do cover which is limited to New Orleans and the interstates as it falls back on alltel everywhere else according to thier 'Prepay' coverage map. So at&t is the only big advertiser that sells service to most of the area, so it's a move they should make and owe to their customers. Alltel, Sprint, Verizon etc. all have larger EVDO/3G footprints in the area. In South Mississippi, alltel and Cellular South have the 850 MHz licenses, so at&t needs more towers for the same coverage area. I guess I'm just not impressed by 'massive buildout' until I know how many towers, and if it's truly the best coverage because I would expect them to say what the statement says, even if they're just building a handful of cell sites and upgrading data services to be at the same level as other providers in the area. And as it is now, their coverage map doesn't look quite as good as the CDMA providers in the area.

Agreed................

[COtech]

Don't overlook the 850 MHz service areas of Centennial in northeastern through central LA and southwest MS. AT&T Mobility covers the cities and parish and county seats, and their major connecting highways with PCS. I'm traveling through this region about twice a year, visiting relatives.

COtech

[RadioRaiders]

Originally Posted by TheNasaWildman

The cell tech I spoke with stated " AT&T's commitment to the Gulf Coast is to be the most reliable, & innovative wireless service provider on the coast. We are currently in the process of upgrading ALL of our GSM, GPRS, Edge towers to the 3G status across our AT&T owned network, while ensuring our customers with the most reliable service possible."

In my 15 years of working in wireless I've NEVER heard a cell tech speak like that I'd be willing to bet my next paycheck that wasn't a cell tech who said that, but more a marketing/sales guy

[R11290]

Well, here A LOT of people have AT&T--as many people as have Alltel. And their coverage seems to be pretty good, as good as Alltel in most areas around here.

I know those with AT&T around here are awaiting 3G and will be very happy once it comes.

[edesign]

I realize this post has been dead for about a month and a half but due to recent events here I wanted to register and post.

As of this Monday (July 7th) or maybe it was Tuesday I began noticing a 3G notification on my phone (Samsung A717 Panther...not impressed with it's quality on E networks). I was at work and looked down at my phone and did a triple take because we have always been on Edge here and the only time I was on 3G networks was when I traveled to larger cities like Houston, Dallas, New Orleans, Seattle, Minneapolis, etc. I WAS excited at the time and when I got home (3 miles down the road) after work I noticed it had gone to a G network...and then back to E.

Since then it has changed a few times back to E or G but has mostly been 3G. Ever since then though my phone has been acting worse than normal. On E networks I would experience dropped calls way too often (I miss Cingular...I groaned when I heard they were re-integrating back with AT&T. Almost NEVER had problems with Cingular) but not on 3G. My gf lived in Dallas at the time and has the Samsung SYNC and up there she never dropped calls but when she moved here back in March she started experiencing the same problems I was. Dropped calls, loss of voice transmission from our side (could hear the other person but they couldn't hear us), sudden loss of reception, etc...

Also, all this week we have both been getting many "network busy" notifications and "emergency calls only" with the nice little phone and the slash through it indicating no service. Call quality has degraded quite a bit at times as well.

I am HOPING that this is just a transitionary period but I am not going to get my hopes up as AT&T has far from impressed me since taking over Cingular's network here. I think part of it may be due to my phone as my work cell, a nearly 3 year old Motorola (forget model #), has worked almost flawlessly. Either way I won't be buying another one any time soon...previous phone was a cheap Samsung that worked great for 18 months til one day the battery completely died with no warning.

So yeah...AT&T is apparently upgrading their network here finally but if this is a sign of things to come I may end up getting a land line so I can actually be ensured the ability to talk to someone without losing the call prematurely. I have a hard time believing it will stay this bad as the other 3G networks I have been on worked great...Louisiana seems to always be way behind on the tech curve, no surprise why all the college graduates seem to leave the state.