I'm with Appalachian Wireless (which is expensive) and would like to switch to Cingular. I know Cingular picks up well in Pikeville, KY, But what about other areas such as Belfry, Prestonsburg, or Phelps? I heard that cingular opened up 23 new sites this year, were any of those sites in this area?
Haga; Yes they (Cingular) built several sites in Eastern Kentucky this year. Also, you have a 30day trial period to try them out so it doesn't hurt to try them. Good luck:browani:
East KY really is a poor place for phone service. Most people tend to have Appalachian and hate the prices but they're the only ones that provide dependable service. I've been hoping somebody would buy them out for years. The last person I knew with Cingular switched over a number of months ago but it use to be that Appalachian was the only option for dependable service, especially in the really rural areas outside of Pikeville. Cingular does have the 30 day trial period so if they've made improvements, they may be worth a shot. I would be really worried about Phelps with Cingular unless they've made recent improvements. You're also getting close to far Southwestern Virginia where there is no GSM service if that is a problem for you. If you want to try Cingular though, definitely take advantage of the 30 day trial period because that's the only way you'll know how they do in your area. You also may want to look at Sprint if you can get them where you live. Sprint has some great plans going now, and they operate in Pikeville, Prestonsburg, and up to Paintsville and a few other places around there including around Williamson, WV. You will also be able to roam on Appalachian anywhere Sprint doesn't cover. Just be sure that you get a Sprint plan that will incur no roaming charges. The Eastern Kentucky Sprint network is operated by an affiliate so I do want to stress again, if you go in this direction, to get a plan without roaming charges if possible. If they will not offer one to you, don't fool with Sprint. It seems like there was some controversy about whethere they did or not with another user several months ago, but I don't think he ever reported whether or not he was actually charged roaming on Appalachian.
If the OP would be interested in Verizon, they also roam for free on Appalachian Wireless on the AC2 plan. As far as I know Alltel roams on them too, but I believe 0.69/min. I always wondered, though--will roaming on a particular system give you the same coverage/call quality as though it were your home/native system?
Some features may or may not be available while roaming on another system, but coverage and call quality will be the exact same.
Like I said earlier try them out on their 30 day trial. Also If you are using Verizon, or Sprint you will be roaming on Appalachian. Nobody is that great in Eastern Kentucky but I do know that Cingular has made alot of improvements to the area. Also both Dobson & Cingular are building out SW Virginia so GSM coverage is coming there (if you need it):browani:
Where are Cingular and Dobson specifically building in SW Virginia near the KY border? This would be big news if they were but I don't see it happening with the very rural population and lack of an 800 MHz GSM license in the very mountainous area, but another option for the area couldn't be a bad thing and the area does need GSM service for travelers, tourists, etc. I know several places there less than 3 miles from an 800 MHz tower that have problems because of the terrain. There's no way a well-built network could be profitable so I am very skeptical of your claim unless you're just talking about covering the highways for travelers. But it is good to hear they've made improvements to the Eastern Kentucky network and it does sound like they would be worth the trial. If Cingular works in Phelps I would be surprised if the OP had a problem anywhere else. If Cingular put some money into it (or if they have) they could dominate Appalachian with the higher name profile and frankly cheaper service. Appalachian is not a local provider that offers good prices, but they've been the only dependable option for a while. I'd actually really like to see Cingular put them in a bind so they would have to compete.
UFO; I know for a FACT that it's to be built in 2007 (I'm involved in the planning for one of the companies). Cingular has 1900 licenses in SW Virginia and so soes Dobson . I'm not going to tell you specifically where sites are going to be built. As someone who works and travels in that area I think I'm a little more qualified than someone who doesn't. As I said before (at least twice) for Haga to use the 30day trail period to see for themselves if Cingular or any other provider is the best for them.
Very good insight, thanks for the info. I'll be the first one in line to try it out when it's complete. I do worry that it will just be a highway-only network because it's just hard for me to see it truly being profitable with most towns a few miles off the highways. There's just so much land to cover and you'd be hard-pressed to find a high school that graduates a class over 75 except for the consolidated schools around here. Not to mention that population is on the decline and and average-age is well above the national average. But I am holding hope.
I'm aware of that. Of course this is true, but I thought the question was whether or not the quality is the same for roamers on a network or subscribers to that actual network...am I making sense?
Actually yes you are. There is a quality component in the upgraded (newer)CDMA systems that allows a QOS (quality of service) to be determined based on network or roaming.
Very interesting, thanks for sharing this information! Do you happen to know if any carrier is actually using this QOS and what the difference would be of on network or roaming?
It's based on what the equipment mfg (Nortel, Lucent, Ericsson) agree and the wireless carrier upon. But the requirements are usually pretty strict. They usually have to to with a set call quality, through-put, traffic, etc. They also relate to network vs roaming traffic
