Cellone(AT&T) TDMA Network

GSM is technically superior to TDMA. It is more bandwidth efficient, meaning you can have more callers on the same system at the same time. It also has better sound quality from I have heard (I've always been a CDMA user). The biggest thing is though that like those letters to have said, TDMA is getting shutoff soon in many markets (some already have). Whether you should switch carriers is a whole nother question. If your current carrier works for you and you are happy with it, stick with it. If you travel a lot and use other company's networks that could be an issue, because there won't necessarily be GSM where you once had TDMA. What area of New York do you live in and where will you need the phone to work? I'm sure some local users could chime in then with some better advise.

 

This phone must be rather old and it is definitely time to upgrade. Some of the TDMA network has been shut down already. Other areas are in the process of being shut down and the rest of the network will be turned off soon also.

AT&T is a good carrier so your boyfriend could switch to the GSM side. GSM is a newer and better technology, and TDMA is being phased out. The TDMA phone that your boyfriend has should be replaced.

CDMA the competing technology in the United States. Verizon, Sprint, Alltel, US Cellular, Cricket, and a few others are using CDMA. Many people like CDMA more than GSM and they feel that it is more modern than GSM.

GSM is used worldwide and it supports SIM cards which make switching phones very easy. Also you can take your GSM phone to Europe and pop in a SIM card from a European network and easily operate your phone on that network. If your boyfriend is interested in that make sure he gets a quadband GSM phone. The CDMA carriers have one or two phones that use CDMA in the United States but they have a GSM radio so they can be used on GSM networks overseas.

Ask your friends who they use for a carrier and how satisfied they are with the particular carrier. For example, if Verizon has the best network in your area you shouldn't get a new GSM phone with AT&T before you look at the Verizon plans. If your boyfriend has been happy with the TDMA phone he should be very happy GSM from AT&T.

 

Your area shows as a "partner" network for AT&T, and not actually their service. Your boy friend's TDMA phone's coverage may not be the same as a new GSM phone, It may get better or it may get worse. The only way to know for sure is to check with friends or coworkers and see if any of them have GSM in the area and how well it works. On the other hand, you use VZW and it seems to work fine, and I suppose free mobile to mobile between the two of you might come in handy, so that could be a good argument to switch carriers.

 

I would lose the TDMA phone. In Michigan alone we have alot more GSM towers than TDMA at least a 5 to 1 ratio. There hasnt been any TDMA towers built in over 4 years. You will benefit from better voice quality and longer battery life.

 

Yes. I would most definitely upgrade to a GSM phone now because eventually the TDMA network is just going to be shut down anyways, so why wait?

Or, your other option is to switch to Verizon if your boyfriend's contract is up with Cell One. Maybe he'll find that he likes CDMA better than GSM. (Personally, I LOVE CDMA more than GSM)

 

There are benefits to both CDMA and GSM, I have built and tested both technologies and I prefere GSM.

 

Agreed. My main annoyance with GSM, though, is the GSM "buzz" that you hear all the time! You don't get that with CDMA.

 

Here's the way I see it.

The way it looks is that if you upgrade with your current provider you might get sucked into a contract. But if you dont mind go with a nice handset that can be compatible with any other company you go with such as T-Mobile or AT&T, etc. GSM is nifty and sooooo much better then ickyness *Cell One*

or look and see what kinds of deals your new provider has or shop around for compatible GSM handsets as you might find something competely different and you might like it more.

 

The only reason why the AT&T map shows that you are in partner network area(Roaming Area, which is free on their Network) is because AT&T has not updated the map showing that that is their network. If your Boyfriend is mostly happy with his current service/coverage he will be much more happy with upgrading to GSM. The GSM netword is almost as large as the old TDMA nationwide coverage was, if not better. I would go/stay with AT&T/CellOne. GSM is the best type of tech. i believe you can go with. No it doesn't have that "buzz", i have only ever got that on CDMA providers, such as Verizon,Alltel,and so on. It honestly sounds as clear as you are talking on a land line phone. Here is the link to the AT&T Wireless website as well as the coverage map locater : Website: Cell Phones and Cell Phone Plans from AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless coverage locater: Cell Phone Plans and cellular service - AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless.

You also might like to look into T-Mobile, They are as well a GSM provider and have a great network coverage/footprint much like AT&T. They also have a really accurate coverage map like AT&T, just go to t-mobile.com and click on coverage. Like i said, both of the two GSM providers have GREAT coverage throughout the USA and both have a 30 day "test their Network" options i believe. Check with them both before to make sure that you think that they do and find out that it was only a 15 day test. Take advantage of both of their tests and make your decision on that. I advise that you check those sites out before you make the final choice to change to Verizon(i don't know how verizon is on the east coast but i do know how they are oner here on the west coast, and they are Very Very bad. Its hard tho get good reception anywhere. Most perple over here have either AT&T or T-Mobile because they are both GSM providers.) Another big reason thy people go with AT&T is because they have free calling to over 64 million people who have AT&T(free m2m calling). T-Mobile has over 25 Million free m2m calling.

If you don't mind me asking, what does the carrier tag/provider tag(eg: AT&T,T-Mobile,Cell-One,Verizon, ect) say on the phone and what do the letters that you are receiving say who they are from? Do they say AT&T or Cell-One? I can tell you what service provider that you are on by that, or if you know that Cingular or AT&T bought Cell-One out. Could you please advise?

Thanks,
Jordan2005

 

So Jordan, how's that GSM sales job going? :browani::browani::browani:

 

Don't get caught up in GSM vs. CDMA arguments - both are reasonable technologies as far as the end user is concerned. Both are superior to TDMA.

You probably need to get off the TDMA network since it is not going to get any better and will certainly get worse rapidly as bandwidth gets moved to GSM. The question is where to move to. You have many choices - AT&T and T-Mobile are GSM, Verizon and Sprint are CDMA. There are also others, like Cell One.

If you have good personal experience with Verizon, switch him to that. That way, you can have free calling between your phones. I am sure Cell One wants to retain him as a customer, so they may be willing to migrate him to GSM and give him a nice deal on a new phone. Before doing that, ask around and make sure the GSM service in your area is of good quality. When I switched from TDMA to GSM, I suffered through months of significantly worse performance before AT&T improved GSM to a point where it matched TDMA.

 

The letters that Cell One has sent out did not say they were bought out, but were in the progress of being bought out and the expected transition wont happen till after the New Year.

The Buzzing was more an Issue with 1st Gen GSM that was closer related to TDMA. The progression in handsets has made a huge difference as well. The buzzing you heard is related to the way the Signalling channel talks between the tower and handset. You can still hear the buzzing on older handsets and some networks that area running EFR codec which uses a wider slice of spectrum and is more prone to interference from modulation.

Speaking of the SBC Wireless in sheeps clothing buyout, I have been testing the Ringback service and I put mine at the Imperial Death March to symolize the Death Star coming.

 

its going real well. I love it. I senn anywhere fron 20-26 phones almost 16 of them are blackberry or high end windows mobile phones that use high data.And tats a nice check and i am one of the best sellers there. Plus i like to sell phones and share my knowledge too.

And for the choice between TDMA and GSM your best bet is to go GSM. Its the best world wide network with the most roaming networks in the world. So they are the best to go with and if AT&T has betters plans when the buyou happens you might want to change offer to one of them. Thats the best thing to do. GO with GSMI it is so much better than the TDMA network. What is your Zip Code and i can tell you for sure.

 

LOL, you should get a darth vader breathing ringtone too

I saw your signature too......wheww....talk about brainwashed! :loony:

It's for the most part not possible to purchase new TDMA phones/service anymore. For the OP at this point overall it can't hurt to switch to GSM. Just do not sign a new contract with them. Try out the network with a cheap gsm phone off eBay. Make sure it is unlocked with tri or quad band with 800 and 1900.

Get the SIM card from them after they transfer the plan, put it in the new phone and give it whirl. Test out the network where you will be using it. If it is not good enough then leave them if possible, and go to a CDMA (verizon, sprint, us cellular, alltel) carrier and see if that network is better. Which for rural areas it usually is, not always though. Have family that lives in up state NY, Verizon knocks the socks off everyone else there. But they are in the eastern part of it not western. I really would just try out a new cheap unlocked gsm phone off eBay that matches the US frequencies and test it out without signing a new contract. Then if you like it they should be able to give you a discount on a higher end phone by renewing your contract after the test. You might have to explain this to whoever you talk to upgrade with...you just want the SIM card.

The other thing, that buzz happens with GSM very frequently in my experience. CDMA does not buzz. Until the GSM carriers go to UMTS/wcdma it will pretty much always buzz at some point in the conversation. And for zip code 14048, T-mobile's coverage is spotty, At&t's map (even though it's not nearly accurate) has a roaming partner which I am assuming is Dobson that they just bought so the coverage map can't really be relied upon there. From what I can tell Sprint doesn't have native service in that zipcode either. So again I'd suggest to do a test before committing to the new network.

 

Buzzing is inhearent to the handset and the way it buffers the signalling channel. Some of the crappy phones (low end) have problems with buzzing. I only have heard buzzing on GSM systems that are running EFR codec. I have heard buzzing on CDMA while drive testing Verizons CDMA Network in Montana and Wyoming and have heard buzzing on Alltels network both in Cadillac and up towards Petoskey MI. Both the CDMA test phones where on the cheap side, one was a Grey Nokia with the pull out antenna and the other was a cheap MOTO.