Cingular in Richmond, Virginia area

[supercharged]

Does anyone know when Cingular will start writing plans in the Richmond area? I'm in Tampa, FL and am a happy Cingular customer, but my dad in Richmond has been hounding me pretty bad about it and I'd like to tell him when.

[Cingular GSM User]

I know your father can get a local number in Tampa, FL area. I used to live in Richmond, VA and I have to say Cingular is probably one of the best carriers there -besides NexTel, Alltel and US Cellular

Does your father live in the town or in the middle of nowhere. I used to live in the middle of nowhere, I had Cingular, my mother and father had T-Mobilbe. Also NexTel, US Cellular and Alltel are great in rural Virginia.

[supercharged]

Originally Posted by Cingular GSM User

I know your father can get a local number in Tampa, FL area. I used to live in Richmond, VA and I have to say Cingular is probably one of the best carriers there -besides NexTel, Alltel and US Cellular

Does your father live in the town or in the middle of nowhere. I used to live in the middle of nowhere, I had Cingular, my mother and father had T-Mobilbe. Also NexTel, US Cellular and Alltel are great in rural Virginia.

Do you mean he can get a 804 area code ph # (for Richmond-area) when he's down here visiting me in Tampa? He's in a heavy suburban area - Chesterfield County - south of Richmond. The coverage is great - I was up there at Christmastime with my Cingular phone - they just aren't writing new service agreements yet. Any ideas?

[Kalimotxo]

Originally Posted by supercharged

Do you mean he can get a 804 area code ph # (for Richmond-area) when he's down here visiting me in Tampa? He's in a heavy suburban area - Chesterfield County - south of Richmond. The coverage is great - I was up there at Christmastime with my Cingular phone - they just aren't writing new service agreements yet. Any ideas?

Chesterfield County = Verizon, Nextel, etc ( most major carriers )

Cingular = bad idea in Virginia unless you plan to use it ONLY in NOVA, Richmond, or Newport News. If you venture outside those areas service goes to hell.

I would be very careful about cingular in VA if I were you...

[supercharged]

Originally Posted by Wumpusva

Chesterfield County = Verizon, Nextel, etc ( most major carriers )

Cingular = bad idea in Virginia unless you plan to use it ONLY in NOVA, Richmond, or Newport News. If you venture outside those areas service goes to hell.

I would be very careful about cingular in VA if I were you...

Thanks for your reply. My dad's got Verizon now and does frequent trips to rural Charlottesville area where there is no signal. He's pretty frustrated with Verizon. I think the draw to Cingular is that most of the family has it (free mobile to mobile) and the rollover program. When I talk to him, I'll mention your words of caution.

[FluvannaHoo]

Cingular currently doesn't have native service in either Richmond or Newport News. It has acquired Suncom in those areas and may start operating under the Cingular name as early as the middle of this month. My TDMA phone no longer says AT&T when I'm in Richmond, it says CINGULAR but the Suncom stores still read Suncom.

Originally Posted by Wumpusva

Chesterfield County = Verizon, Nextel, etc ( most major carriers )

Cingular = bad idea in Virginia unless you plan to use it ONLY in NOVA, Richmond, or Newport News. If you venture outside those areas service goes to hell.

I would be very careful about cingular in VA if I were you...

[Cingular GSM User]

I used to love Cingular in the state of Virginia, it was the best that our family had!

My grandparents had Verizon in Virginia and it would constantly roam on Alltel or US Cellular.

Nextel is pretty good in the area.

T-Mobile stinks - so does Sprint PCS.

IMO

[FluvannaHoo]

The "date" that was given to Suncom customers in central VA was "mid-March" but there hasn't been anything further that I've seen. As I said in another post the alpha tag on my TDMA phone has changed from AT&T to CINGULAR when I am in the Suncom area. That happened over a month ago.

Originally Posted by supercharged

Does anyone know when Cingular will start writing plans in the Richmond area? I'm in Tampa, FL and am a happy Cingular customer, but my dad in Richmond has been hounding me pretty bad about it and I'd like to tell him when.

[ducm900s]

Suncom network operations and construction people left in the markets they traded to Cingular are now Cingular empoloyees. The date the customers are to be switched over is currently March 18.

I would agree with staying away from VZW, Alltel, US Cellular and T-Mobile in Central VA. This state seems to have too many BTA markets for most of these carriers to offer continuous native coverage. I see no issues with Nextel, Sprint or Cingular. Other opinions are guaranteed to vary.

[Cingular GSM User]

Nextel and Cingular are bound to be the best carriers in the state.
Then comes US Cellular and Alltel.
Then Sprint PCS.
Then T-Mobile.
Then Verizon - they usually roam on US Cellular, Alltel and Cingular AMPS.

[Riverguyd]

Originally Posted by Wumpusva

Chesterfield County = Verizon, Nextel, etc ( most major carriers )

Cingular = bad idea in Virginia unless you plan to use it ONLY in NOVA, Richmond, or Newport News. If you venture outside those areas service goes to hell.

I would be very careful about cingular in VA if I were you...

I have found Suncom's service in Virginia to be pretty good. I assume that Cingular's service will be as good as Suncom's in the rural areas seeing how they are assuming all of the Suncom network in Virginia.

[Cingular GSM User]

Originally Posted by Riverguyd

I have found Suncom's service in Virginia to be pretty good. I assume that Cingular's service will be as good as Suncom's in the rural areas seeing how they are assuming all of the Suncom network in Virginia.

Yea, it will be a good network and better... because Cingular will maintain it better and expand their GSM network in VA. I used to live 70 miles (or 1 and 1/2 hour) from the nearest town (which didn't have a Wal-Mart or Home Depot). Also, I lived 20 minutes from a family-owned convenient store - not franchise. I got great Nextel and Alltel service in my house (bottom of mountain). I got good US Cellular coverage at the top of the mountain (the main road - which was dirt and one laned). Cingular Wireless got 1 bar at the convenient store of GSM - roaming on Suncom.

Also, Suncom TDMA worked out at the house (and on the lake). So I think they have an excellent network - position wise. The Suncom GSM network just needs to be maintained better - and that is where Cingular comes in.

[Bracmobil]

Originally Posted by supercharged

Thanks for your reply. My dad's got Verizon now and does frequent trips to rural Charlottesville area where there is no signal. He's pretty frustrated with Verizon. I think the draw to Cingular is that most of the family has it (free mobile to mobile) and the rollover program. When I talk to him, I'll mention your words of caution.

I'm a truck driver in the Richmond area. Suncom does not have the best coverage for now actually. When you get out into rural areas it usually goes out. Along interstates and in city areas though it's pretty good. I think he will be pleased in the long run, if Verizon does not have coverage in some areas that he goes. I thought Verizon was almost everywhere It usually works well for most of my needs. One thing is for sure, where there's coverage it is usually always clear. Can't quite say that for Sprint.

[Cingular GSM User]

Originally Posted by Bracmobil

long run, if Verizon does not have coverage in some areas that he goes. I thought Verizon was almost everywhere .

See that is what most, if not all, Verizon users claim - or something about Verizon being everywhere and being the best.

NO CARRIER IS THE BEST. IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT FITS YOU NEEDS AND WORKS WHERE YOU GO.

[Kalimotxo]

"This state seems to have too many BTA markets for most of these carriers to offer continuous native coverage." -- I agree completely. Virginia is one of the worst states for wireless because of all the BTA markets and Geography/Topography. The "best" carriers vary from region to region... At this point all I can offer is coverage maps from top contenders... hope they help out.

Verizon:



Sprint PCS:



Nextel:



Cingular (even though it's not available unless you live in NOVA or Tri Cities):

[Cingular GSM User]

What about T-Mobile?

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Cingular GSM User

What about T-Mobile?

It's almost the same as the Cingluar VA map since most of Cingular's GSM in VA is T-Mobile and (former) Suncom.

[wahooflyer]

I noticed early Monday morning that the SunCom store in Charlottesville now has a Cingular banner draped over its sign. Looks like the "mid-March" prediction has held true. Cingular.com is also now selling plans for Richmond and Charlottesville ZIP codes.

As for coverage being the same as T-Mobile, no way. T-Mobile has crappy coverage in rural areas, and no roaming agreement with SunCom/Cingular in Virginia. My primary phone is T-Mobile and it works fine on most of I-64 between C'ville and Richmond, as well as US 29 between C'ville and DC. But go outside the densely populated areas and major highways and the signal goes kaput.

Cingular's coverage in and around Charlottesville is a bit better than T-Mobile's. But both carriers have major coverage gaps in rural areas. I keep a prepaid Nokia 1260 with CallPlus service in my car (uses AT&T network and can roam on analog) to use in rural areas in case of emergency.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by wahooflyer

As for coverage being the same as T-Mobile, no way. T-Mobile has crappy coverage in rural areas, and no roaming agreement with SunCom/Cingular in Virginia. My primary phone is T-Mobile and it works fine on most of I-64 between C'ville and Richmond, as well as US 29 between C'ville and DC. But go outside the densely populated areas and major highways and the signal goes kaput.

T-Mobile is supposed to have a roaming agreement with Suncom/Cingular - they certainly show that coverage on their maps. I have not been south of Fredericksburg in a couple of years though......

[jones]

VZW Coverage map in VA needs more refinement.
Like 6x more zoom Levels.

[Bracmobil]

Originally Posted by wahooflyer

Cingular's coverage in and around Charlottesville is a bit better than T-Mobile's. But both carriers have major coverage gaps in rural areas. I keep a prepaid Nokia 1260 with CallPlus service in my car (uses AT&T network and can roam on analog) to use in rural areas in case of emergency.

What kind of phone are you using? Looks like an 850 capable phone from Cingular would allow you to use the AT&T towers now and you could truly keep the CallPlus for back backup.

[wahooflyer]

Originally Posted by Bracmobil

What kind of phone are you using? Looks like an 850 capable phone from Cingular would allow you to use the AT&T towers now and you could truly keep the CallPlus for back backup.

Ahh, that might work. I am using a Nokia 3100 (bought in London a few months ago) that only does the 900/1800/1900 bands. But I don't want to give up my T-Mobile rate plan and switch to Cingular---you can't beat 1000 anytime minutes plus unlimited N&W for $39.99.

Does T-Mobile sell any phones that roam on 850...or can I find an unlocked one somewhere?

When I'm in Charlottesville and try to select SunCom on a manual system search, my phone gives me an error message, "Network not available." My Nokia is unlocked so it seems to me that this must be a lack of roaming agreements in this area, right?

[Matt]

TM has sold a few phones that don't have 850 blocked, I'm not sure if any of the current phones sold that way. Even so, what you are seeing is a lack of roaming available in that area. What is the new Cingular using down there, 850 or 1900? They launch service today, maybe if its 1900 it will be opened up to TM users instead of Suncom? I do know that Suncom used to work in VA - before the big changeover.

[Matt]

BTW, Here is the official press release for Cingular in Virginia.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050318/clf015_3.html

[jones]

According to that press release Cingular will expand coverage
in Virginia in 2005.
Cingular can only improve coverage if
the Licenses/Network becomes officially theirs.
So that coverage Map will Improve.

[FluvannaHoo]

I may be mistaken, but Suncom had licenses in our zip code (24590) but no towers. Cingular is taking orders for service in this zip.

Originally Posted by jones

According to that press release Cingular will expand coverage
in Virginia in 2005.
Cingular can only improve coverage if
the Licenses/Network becomes officially theirs.
So that coverage Map will Improve.

[blsemp]

I hope they will put some towers at Fort AP Hill.

SOON

[wahooflyer]

SunCom/Cingular is 1900 in this area.

Still shows the "SunCom" name when I do a network search, and still no roaming allowed.

Another area where I can't roam on Cingular is in Georgia. T-Mobile has horrible coverage anywhere outside Atlanta and anywhere more than 2 miles off an Interstate, while Cingular's GSM network there covers a much wider area.

It seems that T-Mobile only has roaming agreements with Cingular in certain areas (such as North Carolina, where T-Mo has no native service).

[FluvannaHoo]

I forget, are you a Suncom customer moving to Cingular? With my Blue TDMA service my phone started to show Cingular in late Jan. in the C'ville (Suncom) area, the GSM account followed a couple of hours later. All the Cingular stuff like M-T-M has also worked for some time in the Suncom area. Sorry to be so nebulous but I didn't note the actual date this happened but it was obviously well before March 18.

Originally Posted by wahooflyer

SunCom/Cingular is 1900 in this area.

Still shows the "SunCom" name when I do a network search, and still no roaming allowed.

Another area where I can't roam on Cingular is in Georgia. T-Mobile has horrible coverage anywhere outside Atlanta and anywhere more than 2 miles off an Interstate, while Cingular's GSM network there covers a much wider area.

It seems that T-Mobile only has roaming agreements with Cingular in certain areas (such as North Carolina, where T-Mo has no native service).

[wahooflyer]

Originally Posted by FluvannaHoo

I forget, are you a Suncom customer moving to Cingular? With my Blue TDMA service my phone started to show Cingular in late Jan. in the C'ville (Suncom) area, the GSM account followed a couple of hours later. All the Cingular stuff like M-T-M has also worked for some time in the Suncom area. Sorry to be so nebulous but I didn't note the actual date this happened but it was obviously well before March 18.

Nope, I'm a T-Mobile customer...but it'd be nice to roam on SunCom/Cingular as SunCom/Cingular has better GSM coverage around Charlottesville.

I think the name of each GSM system may be programmed into the SIM card, as my mother uses an old Siemens S46 (AT&T GSM) that still shows "VoiceStream" when she roams on T-Mobile and "CC 310 NC 490" (country code 310 = US, network code 490 = SunCom) when she roams on SunCom because she bought her phone before SunCom launched a GSM network.

Incidentally, my TDMA Nokia 1260, on the prepaid CallPlus/AT&T network system with a 240 area code (Maryland), also still shows "AT&T" when I'm on the SunCom or AT&T networks, not "Cingular."