Which cell phone company has the BEST roaming?

Cingular DOES roam. It can roam on Cellular One, and most other GSM carriers.

Your example (Verizon) is a CDMA carrier, and it can only roam on CDMA networks. Unless a GSM carrier has AMPS.

Here is a list of the main CDMA carriers in the U.S:

Verizon
Alltel
Sprint PCS
US Cellular
Metro PCS


Cingular, T-mobile, Cellular One, etc.. are GSM carriers.

From what I know which ever carrier you have (besides Nextel) has a PRL list (preffered roaming list) For example: I have Alltel, and if my signal is unusable and there is a strong Verizon or Sprint signal, than my phone will use that.

A PRL list kinda looks like this:
1.Verizon
2.Sprint
3.US Cellular
etc...

Alltel's number 1 preffered roamer is verizon, that is why it's number 1 on the list. 2nd Sprint, 3rd US Cellular........and it goes on and on until it runs out of carriers. PRL lists are used with both GSM interface and CDMA.


I think Alltel has the best roaming agreements out of all of them, but thats me.


Not all areas of the US are covered. Like Montana, it has some major dead spots in it, where no carrier as service. So no you might not always get service with roaming.

I hope some of it made sense because i'm not really all that great at explaining. :O

 

Yes. It's pretty rare to not have any signal w/roaming.

I think Alltel and Verizon are tied with the best coverage. Because Alltel has awesome rural coverage, but verizon doesn't (in michigan)

But on the other hand, Verizon covers most metro area's extremely well and alltel doesn't, but Alltel roams for free on Verizon, and visa-versa.

 

Alltel isn't a national carrier, they don't have any native coverage in los angeles, or like none on the whole west cost. But Verizon is a national carrier, and it DOES have service on the west coast, and in los angeles and Denver.

By the looks of it I don't think alltel has any native coverage in Denver, Colorado. But Verizon does. Ye , you could have the phone set up online and ship it to you.

 

Wirelessly posted (Q's Mobile Device: Nokia6010/1.0 (8.62) Profile/MIDP-1.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.0)

"Best roaming" for a provider is area dependent. But Sprint is claiming the largest voice calling area. Obviously, this includes roamers. Also I think that Sprint and Alltel are more willing 2 roam than Verizon (who locks out roaming in most metros). For GSM, I think that Cingular has the largest footprint, including roamers. In my area, there are places where GSM doesn't exist and if you have CDMA service, you are covered natively or you are roaming on Alltel.
By the way, Alltel now prefers Sprint over Verizon in roaming, who is now 3rd on the list.

 

o thanks for the update Quint101, if Verizon is 3rd and Sprint is 1st, than who is 2nd??

 

Wirelessly posted (Q's Mobile Device: Nokia6010/1.0 (8.62) Profile/MIDP-1.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.0)

Alltel is first, then Sprint, and Verizon is 3rd... Sorry 4 the confusion

 

Probably Alltel has the overall best coverage. Sprint has a ok size network, but they do some heavy roaming on Alltel and Verizon. Cingular roams occasionally, but it is not in my area so I cannot say for sure. They don't have the least dropped call rate, it's just a marketing thing, T-mobile now says they have the least dropped call thing too. Cingular has roaming agreements with cellular one, t-mobile, most GSM carriers. No cingular does NOT roam in cities, they have their own native coverage in most metro areas. Mostly roams in small rural areas.

Sprints roaming agreements are with Alltel and Verizon mainly, but they might have some smaller agreements w/ small companies. Sprint doesn't roam is bigger cities. but DOES in some rural small towns.

Verizon doesn't roam to much, they have a very solid network, and if they do roam, it's mainly with Alltel or US Cellular. They have some rural area's that roam on Alltel...

T-mobile I think has a pretty strong network, they do some roaming on Cingular, but not in big metro area's. Roam mostly in rural area's.

i think that answers most of it!

 

Wirelessly posted (Q's Mobile Device: Nokia6010/1.0 (8.62) Profile/MIDP-1.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.0)



As far as Cingular roaming in large cities, the answer is most likely no. Cingy and Verizon lock out roaming in major cities like LA or miami.
Sprint doesn't typically lock out roaming on its network, even in metro areas. This is what I have experienced.

 

NEXTEL uses iDen, and this does have pretty good penetration in buildings. 800mhz/850mhz are the same, and most carriers use them in rural area's because they can go farther than 1900 PCS. I'm not to sure on which one to get, they all have their advatages. Sprint has the largest Ev-Do data coverage, Cingular has cool phones and many other cool features, and T-mobile from what I heard has awesome voice clarity.

The only thing that I can say about which one to choose is ask someone with the first hand experience with those carriers (I haven't, because up in Northern Michigan their is only Alltel, Nextel, and Cellular One.)

Hope this helped.

 

I've had very good experience with Cingular in rural areas. They have great native coverage, and outside of metro areas I can roam on other GSM carriers.

-Jay

 

as said it varies from place to place, i think cingular is number one, but thats just my opinion. bet bet is to try them for yourself, then decide.:browani:

 

If you're going to stay in Los Angeles stick with either Sprint or Verizon. Both of them have the best overall Los Angeles market network. If you spend any amount of time in the residential hills of Los Angeles I'd really say stick with Sprint as they have the biggest build out outside the regular major streets.

Both Sprint and VzW will roam on each other when needed. and likewise so will Cingular and TMobile. Out here in Los Angeles Cingular and TMobile are still bringing their coverage up to speed as both lacked in different areas prior to the ATT/Cingular merge.

As for Nextel having better penetration, it's partly due to the 800mhz (Which is only a few clicks down from the Cellular A/B blocks) but it can be more attributed to the higher power output from the sites. The SMR band (And the iDEN network design) allows for higher wattage output from sites.

 

I can't imagine anyone having both more native and roaming coverage combined than Sprint.

 

Depends on how you look at it, this is another point I think should be noted, partially because I'm a fan of GSM in this aspect. Global Roaming, if you plan on spending much time out of the US without doubt go with a GSM carrier as CDMA will not roam in Europe and many area's of Asia. If you really want to get finicky, T-Mobile/T-Mobil/Deutsche's T has the biggest roaming/native coverage area of the world.

 

What you also have to remember is that most of the CDMA providers also roam on analog a lot.(e.g. Sprint, Verizon, Alltel) Thats why they claim they have the largest networks. But remember, Analog is is being turned off real soon, next year i think. Which will make the coverage for most CDMA providers drop a lot. Lets take Sprint for example. With analog roaming their network covers over 295 million people. Without analog roaming they only cover around 235 million people (including roaming partners last time i checked) Its roughly the same for Verizon and Alltel. As far as Cingular goes with their GSM coverage i believe it covers around 265-275 million people(maybe even 285). That, as far as i can tell means that Cingular has the larges Network, because Cingular's GSM doesn't use analog to back its coverage up anymore. Their network that they sell is all digital. Plus they have overlaid 850mhz over almost all of their network, which is able to go through buildings better than sprints 1900mhz (if you would like a more detailed explanation in the differences between 850mhz and 1900mhz, pm me). Now T-Mobile has many of the same roaming partners that Cingular does, the only difference is that T-Mobile's network is all 1900mhz. They do have some 850mhz roaming, but its not as extensive as Cingular's is. Plus, when your phone locks onto a analog tower, if you make a call it is so staticy its almost not usable, you have to stand still and not move or you will hear nothing but static. (think of an FM radio when your going out of range). Your best bet would be to go with a GSM provider IMHO. Because when analog is turned off, its really going to hurt the CDMA providers. Your best bet is to look at Cingular's and T-Mobile's maps They have street level coverage that will help you a lot. Here is what sprint looks like without analog coverage(no gray) then Sprint with analog(all gray) and then Cingular with no analog because their GSM customers don't use it. You tell me which one is better??? I'll put T-Mobile's map in the next reply to show you too. If you want a more detailed explanation on all of this and you have specific questions, P.M. me, i am more than happy to help. But from what i can tell, your best bet IS Cingular. When analog is turned off, Most CDMA providers will suffer drastically P.M. ME for more help.

 

Here is the T-Mobile map, Oh! and i forgot to mention, T-Mobile & Cingular have free roaming, and m2m counts in those areas too. Sprint, Verizon, & Alltel don't give you m2m when roaming. Oh, and then i also added Verizon's coverage in California & Nevada w/ analog and then without analog. I also have personal experience in with all of the providers listed above in all ares mentioned. So ask me al the questions you want. And FYI, i didn't just choose Cingular & T-Mobile because of the cool phones, it really is the Network, Trust me! P.M. me, okay

 

VZW does give M2M when off the native network (although it applies to most (like USCC, Alltel, Cingular). Alltel does, if the indicator is off/flashing. Sprint's doesn't apply when off the Sprint network

Not all companies are going to shut off the analog in 2008... I think that Alltel going to keep theirs on; also some companies are overlaying the analog with CDMA or GSM, so more often than not users may have service if they have the appropriate handset.

 

For the U.S I would say a CDMA carrier is the best bet for you, as their coverage is a little more extensive at this point. Don't write off analog so quickly, its still a useable signal and is better than "No Service" like the OP was complaining about. Way out in rural areas you may be more likely to get an analog signal.

Since Alltel doesn't serve the areas you will be in, you won't be able to get service from them. I think sprint would be your best choice. Slightly better deal than Verizon, and excellent roaming capabilities. Sprint can roam on almost every CDMA carrier I can think of, and even some cingular analong networks and such. With their fair and flexibile plans, the roaming should be free too.

 

Analong is being shut down at some carriers own discrection...it's not mandatory. That date isnt until February 18th 2008, when the carriers can shut it down. Some will some wont. So analog will still be a benefit to you until then. Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMPS if you need further proof.

Sprint usually has great coverage where they cover in corporate markets, and Los Angeles and Denver both fall under that category. Sprint is CDMA which means it can only roam on other CDMA carriers or on any old AMPS(analog) systems that it has an agreement with. So sprint will roam on Verizon in almost all markets. Also on Alltel and U.S. cellular if you happen to be in an area served by them. Sprint will not be able to roam on Cingular, T-Mobile or Dobson etc GSM networks as they use an incompatible technology.

However, this is confusing, as Sprint can roam (IIRC) on Cingular analog because the analog platform was standard across all carriers. You wont ever roam on T-Mob because they are all digital.

Especially because you have nextel, I think sprint would be the best choice. You've pointed out that they will allow you to switch without penalty. I do not have a favorite carrier and am not trying to simply push sprint onto you. I subscribe to Verizon because it was the best choice for me. Based on the info you have given so far, Sprint seems like the best choice. However there is never one right answer.

Take advantage of Sprint's 30 day trial period. See where you will get service and decide weather you want to actually sign up. Getting a tri-mode phone (analog and digital) will benefit you the most as with all-digital (dual mode) phones you wont be able to access analog weather it's there or not!
Hope I've been of some help, and feel free to ask any other questions you might have.

 

No one knows for sure right now what the carriers will do with analog. Most likely the national ones will start shutting it down, while the regional providers will keep it running. Far as I'm concerned, don't count on analog after the beginning of 2008.

This is the way roaming works for most carriers. If there is even a hint of their signal the phone won't roam unless it has an option to roam only and you force it to roam. Carriers are trying to keep this feature out of phone as they save money if you stay on their network. Both will roam if they're out of the native coverage area.

For the most part, Cingular roams on TMobile and vice versa. There are a few regional providers that they also have roaming agreements with but they're few and far between. On the CDMA side, Sprint roams on VzW, Alltel and many small regional providers.

Sprint has a great network in both Los Angeles and Denver and it's roaming partners are pretty strong. You will be able to switch from Nextel to Sprint with no fee. The downfall of Nextel is once you leave a major metro area or a major highway service is going to disappear, as it has no roaming partners in the US. Nextel was built out on a different plan than the cellular carriers, unless there was a very solid business customer base, a site wasn't built. The cellular carriers on the other hand would build out sites a bit more easily based on, local populations and attractings etc. Just like your sisters phone, Sprint will roam if there is no native signal.

They're all equal, it just depends on the local network in that city. Find which one shows coverage on the map where you are going to end up. Talk to others with that carrier and see how they like it. Find one with the best plan for you. If you are interested in Sprint, shoot me a PM and I'll send you a link to some good deals.

 

It depends on the market. A few markets that Cingular bought did have AMPS coverage, but most were DAMPS, not the regular AMPS that the CDMA providers use.

 

Must say that without analog it does look nasty out there. I wonder how recent those maps are though, there's still gaps in cingular coverage that have been filled in (I know I lived in one of them.) We'll see what happens.

 

That is incorrect. The grey on sprint's maps is in two different shades, and the vast majority of grey you are seeing on this map is digital roaming coverage. Analog only fills in a few sparse areas.

Some of the Orange on cingular's coverage map is roaming, they just don't report it as such. They want you to believe they have a bigger network. You'll notice that many of the "no service" areas on cingulars map, are at least covered with digital roaming on sprints. Wide swaths in fact. I think thats what Wireless 525 said they were looking for.

 

Sorry to detract the thread, but what is the difference TelecomJunkie? Are they completely incompatible? Just curious