Anyone know when Alltel will be getting EVDO service in the Cadillac/Manton areas? What can a guy expect from their internet service and is it worth it if you've been use to dialup all your life? Anyone have any experience with their internet service? Thanks
At EVDO speeds you get consistent speeds of 400-700 Kbps, equivalent to average DSL speeds, with bursts up to 2.4 Mbps. Even at 1XRTT you'll see speeds a little faster than dialup.
CDMA 1X is faster than dial up. Alltel is working on EVDO all over Northern Michigan and is their main priority. EVDO upgrades require some equipment change outs at the tower and addition T-1 lines to get it running. The nearest Alltel tech actually lives in Manton and I talk to him now and again he said they should have all their towers EVDO capable this year.
Thanks for the replies guys. Man, to bad the Alltel guy couldn't pull some strings to get the EVDO hookup to a homeboy sooner! The coverage is so spotty near Manton, especially going West on M-42. If you're on Baxter Bridge road, your HIT. I live in this area and would LOVE to have them put a tower on my property. I live a mile from the corner of Baxter Bridge Road (31 road) and M-42 and have a huge hill on my property. I wonder if there are any plans to put towers up in this area? If there's any Alltel Goo Roos out there who have some pull, please contact me and let's get this tower thing started!
Alltel has a place on their website to offer land for a tower. Obviously the odds of acceptance are low, but you might as well try. Here is a link: https://alltel.custhelp.com/cgi-bin...TIuMjE5JnBfY3Y9JnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=&p_topview=1
Not to far from you, Im up in Kingsley. There is an existing Radio station tower out that way im trying to get Cell One coverage on, but I doubt that will happen. 42 between Manton and Mesick is aweful. Alltel only has the tower right on old 31 just south of Manton up on the hill. Cell One has one just on the other side of Alltel and we have one just outside Manton on 42. After that neither one of us have a tower until Mesick up on Sherman Hill on the WTCM tower.
You could also go to American Towers or SBA Towers website as they are the primary tower builders in Michigan. Alltel is focused mainly on EVDO this year so they probably wouldnt be interested for awhile, take the buyout to account as well. I would guess they would slow down spending money on new stuff till after the buyout is official. But thats just a guess. You may want to get a repeater and point it toward Manton.
I live on 33 rd, 1 mile East of Baxter Bridge road and then 1 mile South. If you're familiar with the area, you've seen the hills over to the Southeast when coming down Baxter Bridge. I've been a Cellular one customer for over 7 years and have tried for several of those years to get Cellular One to look at my property with no success. I can't believe they don't consider putting a tower in this area somewhere! Alltel has cheaper service and offers additional discounts for State employees so I have no choice but to jump ship. I'll hit up Alltel to see if they would be interested in the tower deal. I did make out the on line form for the tower as suggested above but I'm not going to hold my breath. How far do these guys expect their towers to transmit a signal? I'm 5 miles away from the Manton towers and the reception stinks for both Cell One and Alltel. Hills, trees or not, that seems pretty lame! Thanks for all the info guys
Five miles is not the issue. Out west in flat areas you can talk with a clear signal even if the tower is 30 miles away. Hills and trees are a problem, especially hills. By the way, which phone do you have with Alltel? There is a big difference in reception between different models.
I currently have Cellular One service with Motorola V555. My daughter has Alltel and a Motorola V3 Razr. The signal is the same on both phones. It just seems as though a signal would be able to be transmitted more than 4-5 miles even if there are trees and hills but apparently not!
Its more the terrain than anything. The coverage is aweful and I have brought it up a bunch of times and management agrees with me. The hills basically block both companies signal.
Cellonetech, hit up Cellular One, I've got a good spot for them to check out. I'm being serious about having somebody put a tower up, I know it probably wouldn't increase my reception because I'd be too close but it would have to increase signal in that area. If they ever get interested, let me know and we'll have them come out and survey the property to see if there's any interest.
unfortunately Cell One quite putting up its own towers 3 years ago. A company called GTP bought all of our towers. We usually rent space on companies towers or we have one of the big companies like American, GTP or SBA build us a new one.
Daaaaaang! I'm not goingto hold my breath anyway. I guess a guy will have to wait and continue to expect dropped calls in this area!
So what you guys are saying then is WHEN the EVDO system does go in, the Alltell internet user will definitely see an increase in their internet connection/performance? Will there be any difference in the regular cell phone signal?