Verizon Message display and roaming indicator with Local plan in Pacific NW

[Jerboy]

I have the Local DigitalChoice plan with Verizon. The account has a Portland address and it was setup in Portland, so the home SID is 30.

The plan covers the entire WA and OR and part of ID.


I understand that with the Local plan, I am within my home coverage area as long as I'm within the geographical terrotoriy covered in the map whereas with America's Choice, you're limited to Verizon and its roaming partners.

On America's Choice, I hear you get a flashing triangle when you're using partnered towers, solid trinagle if you're paying roam and nothing if you're on VZW tower. Some people get the message "Verizon Wireless" in place of D symbol you see on the screen indicating digital.

My screen never reads "Verizon Wireless", but a friend's do. I have the local digitalchoice and he's the America's Choice.

My phone gives me the D indicating digital and nothing else when I'm on SID 30, but when I'm out in Seattle(SID 6) or Eugene/Corvallis (SID 328), both within the home area, I get a solid triangle. When I'm around in town where reception is poor and jumps on Sprint's 4174, I get a solid triangle too.

This doesn't make sense. I should be getting nothing when I'm on SID 30, 328 or 6, because they're both Verizon Wireless IDs and I should be getting a flashing triangle when I'm on 4174.

If I get a solid triangle for any network but SID 30, how am I supposed to know when I am _really_ roaming such as near the home coverage area edge?

How do I get my phone to not display solid triangle when I'm on any Verizon tower within the territory of my plan?

[BillRadio]

Jerboy,
You need to include the PRL of your phone. It seems as though Verizon stopped issuing Local PRL's this summer, which means you most likely have a "default" PRL, which would show Roaming everywhere outside your home SID. This is acceptable because you can use the map as your roaming guide.

We have become a bit spoiled being able to depend on the roaming indicator, but face it, it is only necessary for phones on the America's Choice plans. With the Local plan, if you hit a tower within your home area, no problem. And, most of the time, if you hit one just outside the border, and get charged, they'll credit those charges. So, whether you like this situation or not, it works for Verizon. If you're in Oregon, you're covered.

Your buddy probably has an America's Choice PRL, which would show "Extended" outside of SID 30, but not in the eastern part of the state, where they would be charged roaming, and you wouldn't.

And even if you were get one of the older "Local" PRL's, there was only one in the West, 420xx, and it would not show Roaming anywhere west of Kansas, and areas in MN and IA. So you have the luxury of ignoring your Roaming Indicator, you buddies have a Roaming Indicator ball and chain.

-Bill

[TProphet]

Eastern Oregon coverage (through USCC) is included in the AC 50085 and 50096 (revision 3) PRLs. This is a matter of some controversy since on 9/11 the coverage was dropped from the AC maps. However, we won't know whether Verizon actually intends to drop this coverage until the next PRL update.

As it stands, since they issued two PRLs including USCC coverage in the Pacific Northwest, it's going to be really hard for VZW to revert this coverage.