-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cingular NE web site has dropped the 6340i, only the Ericsson is offered. A phone call to the company store confirmed that they no longer carry the 6340i. But they also said that they don't carry the T62u. Anyone know something about this?
I believe they're stopping on selling GAIT Service. It doesn't show up on the site anymore, maybe they want their network to be GSM only. Soon enough, they're going to start selling UMTS so they need to prepare for that by stopping GAIT. That's what I personally think it is.
The GAIT service is still there, but not the 6340i. Apparently not just the northeast too. Perhaps they are starting the process though, or perhaps the 6340i was giving people problems; mine works fine however. But getting rid of the GAIT plan would place them at a disadvantage to Verizon in terms of footprint. Even Verizon uses analog to give themselves the biggest footprint. I would think that Cingular would still need TDMA and analog
I checked with Cingular over the phone if I could get a GAIT sim card. After a lot of calling, I was told that Cingular will be discontinuing its GAIT service by Februrary 2007. By that date, TDMA will be gone and GSM will be in its place. GAIT handsets can still be used, but the point would be gone as there would be no TDMA (no comment on the analog part of GAIT).
Yeah, I thought you'd know. (Odd thing, I couldn't find much info about GAIT that was newer than early 2005, but nothing said GAIT was going to be phased out) But I am wondering if the GSM coverage will be as good as or better than GAIT by Februrary 2007. The thing is, a lot of roaming is provided by TDMA and AMPS that might be lost.
The problem is I think they will save money shutting down these towers. Right now Cingular is maintaining 3 networks. TDMA/AMPS, GSM, and 3G UMTS. I don't think that the roaming income is really all that profitable to keep this old network running for roaming revenue. The equipment is old and probably needs more maintenance than the newer networks. -Jay
I roamed on USCC in southern Missouri using my Nokia 6340i earlier this month. TDMA was available on MO-25 between US-62 and I-44, about 90 miles. COtech
