Different Wireless Coverage is a lie!

[a_ump]

at least for my area in WV all the main carriers for cell phones: Verizon, Ntelos, US Cellular, Sprint have the same coverage. The only carrier with a different coverage map is AT&T

Soooo from what i can tell there's really only 2 service providers in WV at least tower wise because i can't imagine these coverage maps being sooo identical yet have each their own service. There may be minute differences but i feel that's just based on what each carrier uses to show their coverage data. What do you all think?

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Generally they will share the same hardware and one will pay the other leasing costs, same with telephone lines

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I think Cricket coverage is more telling for AT&T than AT&T's is:
https://www.cricketwireless.com/map.html

Looks like it is pretty good. Why Cricket? Cricket doesn't allow roaming. You're either on an AT&T tower or you are not.

Note the gapping holes in Nebraska: that's Viero Wireless territory. AT&T phones will work there via roaming on Viero's GSM antennas; Cricket will have no signal out there.

 

[remixedcat]

Sprint and T-Mobile are the worst coverage wise and T-Mobile only has partner coverage in wv.

Switching to straight talk which uses att towers. I ordered an s4 on amazon and it will be here wed.

Currently on Kroger wireless which uses sprint and it sucks

 

[hat]

Yeah, sprint (via TextNow) not too good here either. I force my phone to run in 3G mode because 4G/LTE is so spotty.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Switching to straight talk which uses att towers. I ordered an s4 on amazon and it will be here wed.

Speaking of StraightTalk, they roam where Cricket does not. This is why Cricket tends to be cheaper.

 

[a_ump]

i actually have one of those $10 tracfone smartphones(lg sunset?) which is faster than my original Galaxy S lol but i was looking to jump at one of the deals like Ntelos: Unlimited talk/text, 5gb data, $35/month. Plus costs of whatever phone you buy if you buy one instead of bring your own. Which is what drove me to look at the coverage maps and i was like....wait a tick!!! lol. I feel like i've been deceived for years!

 

[Frick]

Would be pretty damn daft if every carrier had to build up their own infrastructure from scratch.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Unlike the rest of the world, USA has two networks that are incompatible with each other: CDMA (Verizon) and GSM (AT&T and the rest of the world). A lot of carriers don't permit roaming or charge extra for it.

 

[hat]

I remember learning about CDMA and GSM when I got my Nexus 4 (which I sadly killed) years ago. It seems GSM is a lot more open, and with CDMA you're locked to whoever you buy your phone from.

 

[Zakin]

I remember learning about CDMA and GSM when I got my Nexus 4 (which I sadly killed) years ago. It seems GSM is a lot more open, and with CDMA you're locked to whoever you buy your phone from.

Yup, and depending on CDMA carrier you get some seriously poor choices as well. But it is what it is.

 

[remixedcat]

I just wish us carriers wasn't such assholes

 

[DarthBaggins]

I'll be looking for a new carrier once I pay my phones off (should be paid off soon) tired of spotty T-Mobile coverage at the price I've been paying for two lines

 

[xvi]

Sprint and T-Mobile are the worst coverage wise and T-Mobile only has partner coverage in wv.

Interestingly enough, Sprint and T-Mobile are the two networks that are used by Google's Project Fi. I've been really interested in it, but this point alone really pushes me away from the idea of it.

 

[remixedcat]

Yeah they had to use the worst two networks ever for it Just bc some stupid douchey ethos crap.

 

[DarthBaggins]

Well I think they chose T-Mobile due to their not just based in the US (allow further expansion beyond N.A.). certain areas yeah my LTE is extremely fast but alot of the time I'm not in those areas lol

 

[remixedcat]

TM is so concerned with being an "uncarrier" and marketing ploys but not too concerned with having actual coverage out of certain mainstream urban areas. Sprint is too busy sponsoring sport crap.

 

[DarthBaggins]

Funny thing is I live in Metro Atlanta yet in my house my coverage is spotty, but if I go .25 mile up the road I have full blazing LTE. Just wish Google would finish running their Fiber network too.

 

[hat]

When I had a phone on the t-mobile network, it was really fast. When I switched to AT&T, I got better coverage in some areas, worse in others, and it was a good bit slower than t-mobile even when the signal was strong.

 

[flmatter]

I hated at&t in ohio. It was horrible on the ohio pa border, even into the handle of WVA. I switched to Verizon things got a little better. At least no more dropped calls crossing borders. Now in Alaska around anchorage it rocks. I get great speeds and good call quality.

 

[remixedcat]

our carrier options in PKB.WV are

post paid:
ATT (nice coverage and not as bad polcies as V)
Verizon (best coverage but some bad polcies)
Sprint (crap coverage but not a lot of bad polcies)
Ntelos (same as sprint but worse coverage)

prepaid:
ATT Gophone (saqme at att post paid above but crap phones unless you ByOD)
Verizon Prepaid (same as above as above but better phones)
Sprint prepaid (meh)

MVNO prepaid:
Straight talk (good coverage with less policies but not as fast LTE since they cap it)
Page Plus (same as verizon post paid but lower speeds and crappy phones)
Cricket (same at ST but no roaming and on a lower ATT tier)
kroger iwireless (same as sprint but lower access tier and lower coverage then sprint's main towers. some areas have sprint service but no iwireless (kroger) service)


No coverage other than voice partner:
t-mobile (no data at all only voice and limited 1xrtt thru partners at twice to 3x the rate. can not activate within the PKB or any other metro other than chaleston,wv and CKX only has 1x service there for most of the area)

 

[Toothless]

If you want to know about Sprint coverage, PM me. I'm not about to get into a carrier-hate thread since I know what goes behind that "thank you for calling customer care!" call.

 

[remixedcat]

so they over pay get ripped off some outsourced reps that are just some lackeys that are prolly secretly bots?

 

[Jetster]

I have republic. $30 month unlimited everything. 3G (ok they throttle data after 5Gb) Coverage is not a problem.

 

[remixedcat]

yeah but you're in the west coast usa where a lot of co's are HQed... so