Welcome to Our WirelessAdvisor Community!

You are viewing our forums as a GUEST. Please join us so you can post and view all the pictures.
Registration is easy, fast and FREE!

Join Now

New (additional) America's Choice coverage in the UP (Michigan)

Discussion in 'Central US Wireless Forum' started by ronss, Aug 2, 2004.

  1. ronss

    ronss New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2003
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    Was in the UP last week. In addition to the America's Choice coverage we know of (ie, the west 1/2 of the UP), Munising is now part of the extended network. I had perfect coverage while in Munising (and for part of the boat ride out to Pictured Rocks); the local Radio Shack store told me that they just turned on digital in Munising 2-3 days earlier and were still "working out all the bugs." Wasn't bad coverage. Surprising thing was that I had extended coverage under America's Choice via Alltel; I always thought that Munising was in Alger County (which appears from the map to be part of RFB Cellular's coverage area and I therefore expected to be charged roaming fees).
     
    #1 ronss, Aug 2, 2004
  2. agentHibby

    agentHibby Iowa Cellular Guru
    Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2003
    Messages:
    3,468
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    SID 150 or 1214
    My Phone:
    Nokia 6256i
    Wireless Provider(s):
    Verizon Wireless
    What I understand Verizon gets free roaming on all RFB towers now. When RFB got there network coverted to CDMA "they went bankrupt!" Many people think Verizon might buy them out.
    Dobson and Cingular might be looking buy RFB, but they would have to get rid of the CDMA, and put up GSM. So it might not be as likely for them to bid high on RFB {if they are going to sell out} since they would have to spend alot to covert CDMA to GSM.
     
    #2 agentHibby, Aug 2, 2004
  3. ronss

    ronss New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2003
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    not true, AgentHibby. When we were in the eastern part of the UP (ie, Sault Ste Marie), I had a perfect digital signal, but it was through RFB Cellular. That is, while I could use my phone just fine, it was a solid triangle and said "Roaming" instead of flashing and saying "Extended Network." Clearly I was on RFB's system and not Alltel's system until I drove as far west as Munising.
     
    #3 ronss, Aug 2, 2004
  4. SQFreak

    SQFreak Moto's Not So Bad Anymore
    Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 10, 2003
    Messages:
    565
    Cell Tower Picture Gallery:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Davidson, NC
    My Phone:
    Motorola Q9m
    Wireless Provider(s):
    Verizon Wireless
    A savvy wireless user could force their phone to Alltel in the Eastern UP for Extended Network.
     
    Stop hovering to collapse... Click to collapse... Hover to expand... Click to expand...
    #4 SQFreak, Aug 2, 2004
  5. ronss

    ronss New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2003
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    Well, SQ Freak, THIS savvy user attempted to do just that (I am well aware of how to do it, and had, in fact, done it successfully numerous times in the RFB Lower Peninsula area prior to it being added to America's Choice). Despite having done it properly (on both my wife's LG phone and my Samsung phone), it still continued to find the RFB signal and not the Alltel signal. It may simply have been that Alltel does not yet have a digital presence in the eastern side of the UP.
     
    #5 ronss, Aug 2, 2004
  6. jayatmtu

    jayatmtu Junior Member
    Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2003
    Messages:
    86
    Likes Received:
    1

    I bet I know why it didn't work for you. Until recently areas such as Munising were analog only...so if you put in the digital SID as the home one then it wouldn't work...in the UP the SID's for analog and digital are different. What I ended up doing was editing my PRL and making RFB a negative entry, so I at least had analog coverage.
     
    #6 jayatmtu, Aug 3, 2004
  7. ronss

    ronss New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2003
    Messages:
    34
    Likes Received:
    0
    Jay:

    Yeah, I know, but sadly both my phone (Samsung i600) and my wife's phone (LG VX 6000) are both digital only, so the only SID I could force it to is Alltel's digital SID for the entire state of Michigan (ie, SID 244). While it accepted 244 just fine, and while I had the phones then set for "Home Only," it still only gave me RFB's signal.

    Thanks for the response; if I had a tri mode phone I'm sure I would have had analog service by forcing my phone to Alltel (my trips to the UP are not so frequent as to warrant getting a new phone w/ tri mode).
     
    #7 ronss, Aug 3, 2004
  8. BG1811

    BG1811 Junior Member
    Junior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2002
    Messages:
    70
    Likes Received:
    0
    I just spent two weeks in Sault Ste Marie. I did change my SID to Alltell's analog SID, 1332. No luck, the phone just wouldn't work.
     
    #8 BG1811, Aug 8, 2004
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)

Share This Page

Copyright 1997-2023 Wireless Advisor™, LLC. All rights reserved. All registered and unregistered trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
WirelessAdvisor.com is not associated by ownership or membership with any cellular, PCS or wireless service provider companies and is not meant to be an endorsement of any company or service. Some links on these pages may be paid advertising or paid affiliate programs.

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Accept Learn More...
    Dismiss Notice