Cingular frequencies in NYC

Do not worry, Cingular has both 850 and 1900 running fully in NYC. You should not come across any problems, except for deep inside buildings or in the subway.

 

Cingular is still running both 850 and 1900MHz in NYC? In the Glen Cove area, Cingular is 850MHz now. I was under the impression they were migrating to 850MHz where AT&T had licenses.

 

Glen Cove is a crappy place for service, so the only signal you may be able to pick up is in fact 850.

 

No, They have no plans like this in areas such as NY/NJ where they hold licenses for both bands.
The problem the OP may encounter is that much of the system, especially outside Manhattan, has 800Mhz ( or in some cases worse), "spacing" between cell sites, & a 1900-only fone will not give the performance or signal strength of people using 800/1900 capable handsets.

 

Exactly. What you will see as the integration continues is significant optimization of the current sectors, and some additional TDMA decommissioning.

 

With a 1900Mhz-only phone you will experience less than optimal reception because Cingular's network is designed to operate with phones that have both 850Mhz and 1900Mhz. However, Cingular has both 850Mhz and 1900Mhz fully operational in all areas of the NYC/NJ market, including Long Island, Westchester, NJ, etc. AT&T Wireless had both bands up and running before Cingular bought it, and there are no plans to change that because using both bands expands call capacity.

 

Just checking in. I've just arrived in NYC from London. I have a tri-band phone (800,1800,1900). I need to be on Cingular for expenses purposes (corporate network, blah blah).

My understanding is that Cingular has both 850 and 1900 networks in NYC, so I can use either option. However, if I have 1900 only, my reception will be more patchy than if I had both.

Correct?

*edit* A-ha. 850 is the older part of the spectrum, so it has wider national coverage. (i.e. it's been around longer, so the networks have had more time to build the infrastructure). Furthermore, it penetrates buildings better. So, from an NYC perspective, 850 is great, because you will be in lots of tall metal buildings, and 850 will have better coverage.

*edit2 * source: http://forums.mobiledia.com/topic24375.html

 

Well I'm not to sure about the whole 850 was build first, but having 850 will sure help in NYC. 1900 will get you by, but just dont count on it in sub-basement C in a concrete building.

 

Yes, 850 MHz was built out and operational about a decade before 1900 MHz (PCS bands A through F) were auctioned. Didn't things work about the same in the UK regarding 900 MHz, followed by 1800?

COtech