Should I leave Sprint?

If you have the Americas choice option you could set your phone to roam only and have no roaming charges.I think it would roam on U.S.Cellular if your in the Asheville area.No, Cingulars coverage around Asheville is very small.If you go west of Asheville off the beaten path you are sol no gsm service.I did have Cingular here in Knoxville and dropped them because of all their issues and lack of coverage in my area.Sprint has been great for me here but in the mountains i would choose US Cellular they offer free incoming Calls and they have some great nationwide plans.If you are more west of Asheville i would choose verizon i think they have more coverage there. Hope this helps

 

You know you live in their Dead Zone,
you have No Choice but to look for a Carrier
Who has a Tower near your House.
if they want your business they have to
do something about their coverage.

Cingular Wireless to Invest $115 Million in North Carolina Network This Year
Nation's Largest Carrier Adding More Than 230 Cell Sites to its ALLOVER(SM) Network


CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The nation's largest wireless voice and data network is getting larger in North Carolina. Cingular Wireless plans to invest more than $115 million this year in its North Carolina network increasing coverage and capacity, adding new cell sites, portable generators and back-up batteries, and rolling out new data features. This local investment is part of Cingular's estimated $6.2 billion national network capital expenditure program this year.

"Cingular is committed to delivering the best value in wireless -- which includes the best network footprint in North Carolina," said Rob Forsyth, vice president and general manager of Cingular Wireless-Carolinas. Forsyth added, "We are continuing this commitment through our massive investment this year, giving customers more coverage where they work, live and play."

Of the approximately 350 new cell sites to be added across the Carolinas in 2005, more than 230 are slated for North Carolina -- the most ambitious single-year expansion since 1996. Year-to-date, Cingular has activated 41 new cell sites in North Carolina, enhancing coverage in 23 counties. Specific enhancements which have taken place this year include:

Charlotte Area:
- Enhanced coverage along I-85 and N Graham Street, Harris Blvd and Old
Concord Road and around South Park Mall in Charlotte.
- Enhanced coverage in residential areas and schools in southwest
Huntersville, NC near Beatties Ford Road.

Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill Area:
- Enhanced coverage in residential areas along Bivins Road north of
Durham, NC; along intersection of Highway 50 & 98 in North Raleigh;
east of downtown Raleigh; and on St. Augustine College campus.
- Enhanced coverage in residential areas along US Highway 421 and NC 87
east of Sanford, NC and along US 1 south of Sanford.
- Enhanced coverage in the residential areas around Hogan Lake north of
Carrboro / Chapel Hill area.
- Added coverage along Highways 857 & 86 north of Hillsborough to Orange
County line in the towns of Cedar Grove, Rougemont and Hillsborough.

Fayetteville/ Wilmington/New Bern/Coastal Area:
- Added coverage along US Highway 401 to towns of Raeford and Laurinburg
with new coverage to the town of Wagram.
- Enhanced coverage along US Highway 421 from Clinton to Harrells,
connecting route between cities of Clinton and Wilmington.
- Enhanced coverage along US Highway 17 from New Bern to Vanceboro, NC
and in the residential areas of Oriental, Fairfield Harbour and Bayboro
east of New Bern, NC. Enhanced in-building coverage areas north of UNC
Wilmington along Kerr Ave and US 17.
- Added coverage along US Highway 64 east of Williamston to Outer Banks
to Jamesville, Plymouth, Roper, Creswell & Columbia.; and in downtown
Madison and Mayodan.

Rocky Mount/Wilson Area:
- Enhanced coverage along NC Highway 58 from Wilson to Nashville, NC.

Greenville/Snow Hill Area:
- Enhanced coverage and capacity on ECU Campus in downtown Greenville;
along Highway 903 north of Greenville; and new coverage in the
community of Stokes.
- Added new coverage in Snow Hill, NC and along US Highways 13/ 258.

Mountains:
- Enhanced coverage in growing residential areas along Cane Creek Road,
connecting Fairview and Fletcher, NC, and along US Hwy 76, US Highway
123 in Westminster.
- Added coverage of US Hwy 74, US Hwy 19 and US Hwy 64 in Murphy.
- Enhanced coverage along State Highways 23 and 19 in Mars Hill.

 

Isn't there any analog coverage in that pocket that you can access with your Sprint phone?

If you are going to travel in rural areas, I would recommend a phone with the ability to roam on analog networks. As good as digital coverage is becoming, analog is still the "lowest common denominator."

 

The Sanyo 8400 does have analog capability.

On your phone, Click Menu,

then select "Settings,"

then select "Roaming,"

then select "Set Mode,"

then chose "Automatic" or "Analog,"

You might want to keep it set to "Automatic" so you can access any network available to your phone. You should also be aware of your rate plan, and any potential roaming charges.

 

Keep in mind that sprint will also be adding more coverage because of the nextel merger.I have heard that sprint will have more coverage than any other wireless company.Do you have an old phone.?.The new phones are trimode phones.I have a Sanyo and love it!My friend in winston salem is also leaving Cingular due to their horrible coverage.Just a few thoughts

 

Do you have romaing included on your plan?

Some of the newer Sprint phones have a new 'roaming only' setting which allows you to force your phone on to whatever roaming network is available. That will typically get you on to another digital network (depending on who the roaming partner is in the area). The Sanyo 8200 only has the 'analog only' setting which can still work but drain battery life fast.

 

You just stated that Cingular has coverage problems in Ashville. Cingular has good coverage in Ashville and on into Hendersonville and down to Brevard. They have a much larger footprint than Sprint. Now you say Nextel will improve coverage in Ashville. Well Nextel just started service in that area and if you get off of Main St. the coverage is poor if at all. If it wasn't for the roaming Sprint has a poor footprint in the Carolinas. Verizon has the best coverage and roaming in the Carolinas. I have had good coverage in Knoxville but I only visit about twice a year so my experience there in limited. Have a nice day.

:nono: :nono:

 

I guess we should say that the carrier that works best at your home and the roads you travel would be the best one for you.Good luck1

 

Agreed, the Carolinas are very strong for Verizon. U.S. Cellular is also strong if you live in one of their service areas and might also be a great option for local service.

 

Sprint can't roam on US Cellular because USC doesn't utilize the PCS band. However, Verizon does. IF you are looking for the strongest coverage in the NC mountain area then go with Verizon. They will also serve you well no matter where you travel in the state. I've had US Cellular before and they are as sorry as Sprint in terms of dead pockets. As long as you travel the main roads and stay near towns Cingular is ok in the mountains (not as strong as Verizon, but still a better choice than US Cellular).

 

Verizon is the way to go in NC, they seem to be the way to go everywhere...

 

Verizon does seem to have the best coverage in North Carolina so I highly recommend them if they sell service in your area. Cingular is also pretty good in North Carolina but it's weak/dead in more rural areas in North Carolina than Verizon is. Check the coverage maps for both companies carefully to see which one may meet your needs better.

 

What kind of phone and plan does your sister have with Verizon?

 

you saw it yourself
and the rest is up to you.

 

if nextel has a tower near your house then i would just stick with sprint since none of the other major carriers work at your house... eventually sprint will add their antennas onto nextel towers so you should see an improvement in coverage.... also verizon is very strong in west NC, but in my experience there sprint actually works in more places because of their roaming agreements...

 

Also, another person above mentioned that Sprint does not roam on US Cellular.. that's completely and totally untrue. US Cellular is actually #2 priority in Sprint's PRL in nearly every area in which they offer service. The catch is that your phone has to be able to roam on 800Mhz CDMA in order to digitally roam on US Cellular. When I went to Cherokee, I *believe* I was roaming on Ramcell and had pretty good coverage overall.

 

Dawn

You said that your husbands Sanyo 4900 got service some places. you also sayed that your 8200 didn't. My honest opinion is for you to try to buy a Sanyo 4900 and see if it works for you.

How has Sprint service worked for you everywere else you go in North Carolina?

 

The point is that the ability to make and hold a call is a function not only of the network strength but of the phone itself. Certain phones are well known for good (and bad) RF performance, which can skew conclusions.

 

If you like the 4900, try the 4920. It gets ridiculously good battery life and has digital 850Mhz CDMA roaming, which the 4900 does not. If you absolutely must have a camera phone, try the VM4500. Despite it being more expensive, it does get pretty good signal as my roommate had one and never had problems with his. Obviously there are other choices, but for some reason the 4900 and 4920 seem to get the best signal of all.

 

From all the reviews I've read it's more or less equal to the 4900. It may be very slightly less, but I've not seen anyone complain that it was noticeably lower. One thing Sanyo did do starting with (I believe) the 7300 was change the way the signal bars read on the phone. They're actually more accurate now. Previously you'd be showing 5 bars in an area where reception isn't THAT great. The 4920 may only show 2-3 bars in that same area but if you were to put both phones in test mode they would be showing the same signal strength. That just goes to show why the amount of bars your phone is showing means squat.

 

The 4900 was released in August 2002 meaning it could only be 3 years old max.

 

Yep... it's about as old as ReadyLink is (didn't it launch with RL?). At any rate, if you like your 4900, there's no reason not to try the 4920. I've not heard anyone complain that it's markedly worse than the 4900.