Verizon coverage in Colorado -- trimode vs. digital

karenm,

Hello welcome to the forums. I agree with you in regards to have a trimode phone in the mouthiness areas and other areas lacking digital coverage. that being said VZW is pretty good about adding towers. and as far as Analog going away that is not going to happen for awhile IMO because there is allot that goes into setting up new towers.

 

I would not expect analog to go away right away in rural areas as carriers are not dying for capacity and know that Analog reaches further than their digital signal. When your phone switches to Analog, is it roaming or still on the Verizon network?

 

Andy I know on the AC plans there are no roaming charges as long as you are in network be it Analog or Digital

 

That is correct, but the question I meant to ask is whether or not the OP is receiving his analog signal on the Verizon network or on a different (Extended Network) partner. Sorry for the confusion.

 

my bad :O I would assume it's on VZW pretty much the whole state is covered by VZW nativity

 

Oh that's okay, my question wasn't clearly stated.

That's great to hear that Verizon has good coverage over there. I don't even think AC allows for much roaming in the state, right? In most places it's either VZW or nothing.

 

Andy you are correct but that is because romaing is not needed for the most part I am sure there are those rare exceptions but I have not run into one myself yet

 

Great to hear. Hopefully I will make it over there sometime this year and spend some time vacationing in Colorado. Closest I've gotten to CO for a long time was I-70 right at the border of CO/UT lol.

 

thats allot closer then some :biggrin: and I have not been through Utah in about 7 years I am due for a trip though

 

Well if it ever happens let me know I will let you know of my personal favorite places to see.

 

I will thanks Andy

 

As others have said, it's doubtful that Verizon will shut it off, but maybe where this rep was getting his info from is the FCC has allowed Wireless providers to shut down Analog in 2/08 and Cingular has said they were going to shut it off near that time.
Maybe in area's that have more cities they will shut it off, but I am sure in these mountain regions it's better to leave it on for a while.

 

Verizon has added quite a few new sites to address just those situations. I was often forced to analog in downtown Winter Park, but they recently added a site there to prevent that problem. Also in places like Buena Vista, Elizabeth and Aspen. I would not call the gaps "significant" since they only involve small areas at the edge of Verizon's digital coverage.

Oh yes, like you, those small areas are important to me, but the good news is that the loss of analog is not yet close to reality (they are required to be maintained by law until 2/17/08). I'm guessing (hoping, really) that they will shut off analog in the cities but maintain analog in rural areas where they are not only useful, but easy to support since the spectrum used for analog is not yet in critical demand.

I was recently shopping for a phone and was surprised to see how many "tri-mode" phones were recently introduced, so at least they'll be available for the foreseeable future. Also, when the new digital-only phones lose a signal, they just sit and wait for it to return. Tri-mode phones switch very readily to analog and often stay there longer than really necessary. That is the case on Berthoud Pass. The digital gap is shorter on a digital phone. Sprint added a site at Berthoud Falls, Verizon can too.

The analog and digital equipment are at the same sites, so it costs extra for them to maintain analog. Switch it off and they save money.

Your fears are understandable, but I have confidence any problems encountered in Colorado will be small. 2 years ago I wouldn't have said that, but now, Verizon & their roaming partners have improved digital coverage enough to make me feel confortable about it.