NYC--New Cingular Service Piggyback on Voicestream

the wording of the plans is key here... the way they specify that the "preferred" plan is for the GSM network implies to me that you need to be on a regular Cingular Nation (non-preferred) to be able to roam on TDMA without being charged... The Cingular Nation plan is still one of the most appealing plans, even with a few less minutes than the "preferred" version... but the wording seems to imply to me that that is what the difference is...

 

actually, the networks that Cingular and Voicestream share in NYC and CA are held to the most stringent standards, such as dropped calls, blockage, etc., of any other network under the agreement. This is according to Cingular CEO, Stephen Carter.

 

I agree with the anonymous poster above from 1:06PM. I began another thread saying that the way I understood it may be that they might charge people when on TDMA networks. This makes a lot of sense because the preferred plans have more minutes and the way they specify it is on the GSM network, as if the wording was ready for whenever they launch the GAIT phones to tell us how much roaming charges will be when roaming off the GSM network. However, nowhere in their plan pricing or fine print they say how much they will charge for roaming and in my conversation with two Cingular reps I was informed that there will be no roaming charges even when I asked them specifically about using the TDMA network with a GAIT phone. Bottomline here is, because of their use of the word "preferred" I am not 100% convinced there will be no roaming charges on the TDMA network while using a GAIT phone even after two of their reps told me there will not be roaming charges. We just have to wait and see what people with GAIT phones say whenever they get their bills.

 

Actually Bobolito, the GSM that Cingular provides is suppose to be the same quality as the GSM that Voicestream has, but since Cingular's networks aren't kept up like they should be, Voicestream has a much better quality GSM network than Cingular. The California market is a prime example of this. There is nowhere in this world that Voicestream has a such terrible market as what Cingular has in its California market. Everyone knows this and has complained about it, so don't try to say that there's nothing wrong with it, because it is. This is why Voicestream made Cingular put the first $450 million into it before they would spend a dime. They knew it needed work, and it wasn't right for Voicestream to spend money on something that was solely the problem of someone else (Cingular). The service will be alot better there though. You won't notice a difference until the T-Mobile (Voicestream) launch though, because that is when the switches will be turned on. So all of you Cingular customers who have all of those millions of dropped calls, will continue to have those millions of dropped calls until Voicestream launches. Actually it would be to your benefit to switch to Voicestream (T-Mobile) when they launch, because the service will in reality be better since Voicestream is so called 'packing some power' too. They brought a little bit of spectrum into this agreement for there own use, and they also have been approved for some towers that Cingular wasn't approved for. Also when Voicestream launches, they will have much better rate plans and promotions, so it would be you guys'/gals' best interest to jump on the T-Mobile (Voicestream) bandwagon when it launches on July 15th.

 

I'm not interested in beta testing for Voicestream or Cingular New York, TDMA all the way.

 

Chris, I never said there was no problems. I am only saying the two companies are working on it and you should be grateful it is that way. If our point of views disagree it must be because I look at these scenarios from a nationwide point of view and I don't try to highlight anyone's bad work or speak in favor of anyone in specific. What I meant about the same quality of service regardless of who you subscribe to (again looking at it from a nationwide point of view) means that if you, as a Voicestream subscriber, go to California and leave your wonderful service area you will experience dropped calls while in CA because of the crappy Cingular coverage. However, if a Cingular customer from California goes to your town he will have the same excellent service you get from Voicestream. By the same token, when a Cingular GSM or Voicestream customer goes to say Chicago their experience while trying to use their phone can be very frustrating. If Voicestream is so perfect, so good and so commited to quality service, why did they choose to work on building a nationwide GSM network with a company so careless and so unprofessional as you want us to believe Cingular is?
Voicestream has its problems just as any other carrier. If we want to get specific I can tell you that Voicestream is not the best in this area; Verizon is. Also, in my house the only carrier that DOESN'T have a signal inside my house is Voicestream. My brother has to go outside to use his Voicestream phone or stand next to a window to get a weak signal. My Cingular TDMA phone gets excellent signal even in the basement. Nextel, Verizon, AT&T and Sprint all have close to full signal even in the basement in my house. That's only an example but I can pull out many more if you wish although I think it is unfair to judge a carrier just because they have a bad area and it is not my way to give opinions. Also, I just don't like to speak against anyone. Voicestream has good things coming and I am sure they are getting benefited from their partnership with Cingular just as Cingular benefits from Voicestream. One thing is a fact for sure: In the meantime, VS customers who are constantly on the road will have a useless piece of plastic much more often than those who use Cingular's TDMA network or a GAIT phone. Like I said before, more coverage and better prices are the most important points to consider for customers.

 

Very nicely said Bobolito. I agree fully, but I am just talking about Cingular's GSM coverage, not TDMA. I agree with you though from a Nationwide standpoint, but the idea of the GAIT phones is in my view only temporary, and will eventually be tossed aside, but not soon though, because Cingular isn't converting from TDMA to GSM that quickly.

On the other hand, AT&T claims that they will have their entire TDMA network converted GSM by the end of this year. We all know that is a big lie, a very big lie.

 

True, they (AT&T) will support TDMA for a long time just as Cingular will. There are still people using analog phones to this date. So I see the TDMA to GSM transition just as the transition from analog to digital where both systems are supported for many years to come.

AT&T is adding GSM to their network. They are not replacing TDMA for GSM in one shot. Since they don't have that many towers nationwide, they can add GSM to their existing system pretty quickly. I don't know about the end of this year though. Even after everyone stops TDMA phones sales, there will be a lot of people using TDMA phones out there and I will probably be one of them.

 

How is the phone u have know?? I am planning to get that phone also!
Vince

 

So, if I'm reading this correctly, Cingular is using VoiceStream's network in the NY metro area. When I look at the Cingular map for coverage which is more detailed than the coverage map for VoiceStream it shows some areas on Long Island (and around the metro area) where there is apparently no coverage for example along various North Shore points. This indicates that VoiceStream also would not have coverage in those areas either, correct?

 

Here is a good map of coverage in New York by Voicestream.

I think Voicestream covers Long Island pretty good. Cingular should too since they are using VoiceStream's network.

NOTE: Do not use this map for any other purposes than to view information about New York, as it does not show all surrounding coverage.

 

alot of dead spots in that purple area. I wish it were that! But it does cover most of it.