The Gadgetress ~ TV, mobile and Internet: Covering technology's monthly bill

Archive for the 'cell sites' Tag

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »

Where Verizon improved So. Calif. cell coverage in August, Sept.

November 2nd, 2009, 2:48 pm by

Verizon WirelessHas your Verizon Wireless cell phone been getting better reception? I just got a list of 26 new cell sites the company turned in on during August and September. Several cities in Southern California should have seen improvements. All the sites offer 3G wireless coverage, of course.

As for Orange County? Just one lucky locale (October results have not yet been released):

San Juan Capistrano - Along Ortega Highway at the Orange/Riverside County line, east to Fire Street to Upper San Juan Campground to the southwest.

A Verizon coverage map is also available here. Here is the list of the latest cell sites for the Southern California region.  Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • | 7 Comments »

AT&T improves wireless service in 5 O.C. cities

October 29th, 2009, 2:10 pm by

AT&TJust learned that AT&T added five new cell sites throughout Orange County. All 3G, of course. That should mean better Internet and voice reception with all those iPhones out there (does it? Share your experience in comments).

The upgrade is part of AT&T’s goal to add 200 cell sites and upgrade 320 others to 3G this year just in California.

The new locations are near these intersections:

  1. Aliso Viejo: Near the intersection of Aliso Creek Road and Pacific Park Drive
  2. San Juan Capistrano: Near the intersection of Stonehill Drive and Camino Capistrano
  3. Santa Ana: Near the intersection of S. Main Street and E. Edinger Ave.
  4. Buena Park: Near the intersection of Western Ave. and La Palma Ave.
  5. Garden Grove: Near the intersection of Brookhurst St. and W. Chapman Ave.

More on cellular reception:

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • • • | 21 Comments »

AT&T to offer gadget to improve customer’s cell coverage indoors

September 21st, 2009, 8:35 am by

AT&T's 3G MicroCell gadget improves wireless coverage at home.Noted: A new AT&T Web page launched touting a  gadget that lets customers get better wireless reception in the dead zones of their house. Using femtocell technology, the new AT&T 3G MicroCell is like having a “mini cellular tower” in your home, says AT&T.

The idea behind it is that in areas of the home where AT&T cell phone coverage is awful, consumers can plug this device to a high-speed Internet line and make and receive clear calls over the Internet. AT&T is the last major wireless provider to offer this: Verizon launched its  version last January, Sprint’s Airave came out last year and T-Mobile has offered its Hotspot@Home service since 2007.

According to DSL Reports, the new MicroCell site is for the company’s first public trial of the technology in North Carolina.

But what the Web community is upset about is the price:  $19.99 a month for unlimited use, and $9.99 if you subscribe to AT&T Wireless and home phone service. If you get wireless, landline and Internet service from AT&T, it’s free.

Engadget’s Chris Ziegler calls it a shame the price is so high and AT&T consumers must pay more money to get reception inside their own house.

“We appreciate that these guys can’t blanket every nook and cranny … but carriers need to understand that femtocells are ultimately tools to help them retain customers who’d otherwise have to leave for greener pastures. AT&T’s certainly not treating it that way with the 3G MicroCell.”

————————————-

Would you pay more to get better cell reception at home?
  • Add an Answer
View Results

————————————-

Engadget also offers pricing from other companies:

  • Sprint’s Airave runs $4.99 a month, but they’ll give it to you for free if the alternative canceling your service. Unlimited use is $10 a month.
  • Verizon charges nothing once you buy the unit, though there’s no unlimited calling option available.
  • T-Mobile offers unlimited calling through its WiFi-based HotSpot@Home service for $9.99 a month.

DSL Reports notes that AT&T says the pricing is part of the trial and could change in the future.

Earlier on wireless:

More on cell, mobile services:


Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | 17 Comments »

O.C., L.A. among first to get AT&T’s faster mobile broadband

September 9th, 2009, 3:07 pm by

AT&T WirelessFinally! AT&T confirms that Orange County (and Los Angeles) will be one of six regions nationwide to get faster mobile Internet before the end of the year.

The other five regions are Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Miami. (See earlier mention from May, ”7.2 Mbps Internet speeds coming to AT&T mobile this year.“)

The company doesn’t link the upgrade to negative reports from iPhone users. But AT&T mentions in a press release that its wireless traffic has quadrupled in the past year, and the upgrade is just “part of AT&T’s ongoing efforts to drive innovation and investment to lead the industry in delivering the benefits of smartphones and mobile broadband for customers.”

iPhone and other AT&T smartphone users can look forward to faster Internet, with speeds up to 7.2 megabits per second. That’s faster than some home broadband service.

But this isn’t the next generation 4G service being tested by Verizon and Sprint in other parts of the country. This is High Speed Packet Access 7.2, sometimes called Turbo 3G. AT&T’s plans to begin testing 4G (using Long Term Evolution technology, or LTE) next year and will offer 4G service in 2011.

HSPA requires a software upgrade. This is supported by souped-up cell sites, which are being linked by fiber-optic cables for to improve speeds.  HSPA is expected to be the fastest mobile broadband offered by any wireless company this year, said AT&T.

Theoretical speeds hit 7.2 mbps but that is with ideal conditions and usually in a lab. In reality, expect something slower. Just like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other wireless technologies, HSPA speeds are affected by location, the device and overall traffic on the wireless network.

AT&T plans to roll out the faster HSPA service to the rest of the nation by the end of 2010. By the end of 2011, 90 percent of its existing 3G network will get the HSPA boost.  As part of the launch, AT&T will offer six compatible smartphones plus two new LaptopConnect cards.

Recent 3G and 4G news:


Posted in: Cell phones • iPhone • • • • • • • | 11 Comments »

Verizon improves wireless coverage in Anaheim, Mission Viejo

June 15th, 2009, 3:24 pm by

Verizon WirelessVerizon Wireless turned on two more cell sites in Orange County, the company said today. 

One is in Mission Viejo, offering better coverage along Alicia Parkway and Trabuco Road. 

The other new site is in an industrial neighborhood near East Street and Vermont Avenue in Anaheim.

This should offer better reception not only for passing drivers, but residents and businesses in the area.

The upgrade is part of Verizon’s $90 million investment to add 3G service to existing cell sites in Southern California, as reported earlier (see “Verizon spends $90 million improving 3G, indoor coverage.”)

The company is adding the 850 Megahertz frequency, which penetrates through walls better. The new frequency also expands and adds capacity to its 3G broadband network.

All of Verizon’s cell sites in Orange County are now 3G friendly, says spokesman Ken Muche.

Past stories on Orange County cell reception:


Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • | 4 Comments »

Better iPhone service in O.C., L.A.? AT&T completes upgrade

May 27th, 2009, 8:01 am by

UPDATE, 5/27/09: Thanks for the comments about AT&T coverage in your neighborhood. While some readers scoff at AT&T’s upgrade, others are grateful. All of it got me thinking… is everyone getting better service or just people indoors and 3G Internet users? AT&T responded to further questions about this. See updates below in bold… 

AT&T enhances wireless coverage in Orange County

Got an iPhone? Its reception indoors and overall Internet service quality should be tons better than last year, thanks to a major upgrade by AT&T in the Orange County and Los Angeles area. If you’re an AT&T user and you haven’t noticed this, you could be out of luck.

That’s because AT&T says the upgrade is completed. It spent the past several months adding the 850 MHz spectrum to all cell sites in the area  to complement the existing 1,900 MHz spectrum.

“This new spectrum adds significant capacity to the network to support ever-growing demand for 3G mobile broadband service, and provides improved in-building 3G wireless coverage for customers across the metropolitan area,” says the company.

The 850 MHz is a frequency that has been reserved for analog cell phone users since the 1980s. The newer 1900 MHz started in the 90s and is used for digital service (Sprint uses just 1900 for its all digital service). Over the years, the technology has been tweaked so service and features have improved. While most cellular carriers use both frequencies, they may use different ones depending on region. AT&T has now chosen to offer both here in parts of OC.

The main point is 850 Mhz penetrates buildings better. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • • | 27 Comments »

Verizon spends $90 million improving 3G, indoor coverage

May 4th, 2009, 12:01 am by

Verizon Wireless

UPDATE: The $90 million investment is in Southern California (!!), not the entire state. 

Hey, Verizon Wireless users — has indoor reception or broadband for your 3G phone improved? Let me know because the company tells me that since January, it has been tweaking every single cell site in Orange County and the rest of *Southern* California to improve the network. The $90 million investment is approximately 45 percent complete, said Ken Muche, a Verizon Wireless spokesman.

“As individuals and companies become more reliant on our 3G mobile broadband service, mobile broadband usage has doubled year over year in the (Orange County) region. To keep ahead of that demand, and to improve the overall experience for our customers, we are investing an incremental $90 million in our mobile broadband network,” Muche said.  

Technically, Verizon is adding the 850 Megahertz frequency, which penetrates through walls better. The new frequency also expands and adds capacity to its 3G broadband network.

When AT&T told me it was doing this in O.C. last year (see “UPDATE: AT&T improves indoor cell signal … for some of O.C.“), Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin told me 850 MHz was the original frequency reserved for analog cell phone users in the 1980s. I wrote:

The newer 1900 MHz started in the 90s and is used for digital service (Sprint uses just 1900 for its all digital service). Over the years, the technology has been tweaked so service and features have improved. While most cellular carriers use both frequencies, they may use different ones depending on region. AT&T has now chosen to offer both here in parts of OC.

“Over time, AT&T and Verizon offer the same thing because they both have 1900 and 850. They have gradually transitioned their services and technologies so in any market that you travel into, you may be using 1900, maybe 850 or both but not simultaneously,” Golvin said. “But the main point is 850 Mhz penetrates buildings better.”

Verizon plans to use the existing 1900 MHz frequency for phone calls. 

Every single Verizon cell site in *Southern*California is expected to get upgraded by the end of June 2009. Approximately 85 percent of the $90 million is designated for the Orange County and Los Angeles markets because of the population density.

More on cell-phones:

Past stories on improved reception in O.C.: 

Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services. 

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • • • | 18 Comments »

Sprint spent $13.8 million improving service in O.C.

April 1st, 2009, 12:18 pm by

We’ve heard from AT&T and Verizon on new cell sites and investment in Orange County. Now, Sprint has responded to requests for more insight.

While the company didn’t offer the number of new cell sites in O.C., it said it spent $2.13 million enhancing service here during the fourth quarter of 2008. For the year, it invested $13.8 million in Orange County.

For the Los Angeles metro region, the company spent $3.2 million during the fourth quarter and $35.9 million for the year.

Not too shabby and a possible reason why Sprint rose to be the top for the best call-quality in J.D. Power’s latest report . The report says Sprint’s customers “report fewer problems regarding echoes compared with the region average.”

Adds Kathleen Dunleavy with Sprint, a chunk of last year’s investment in Orange County was at Disneyland — both indoors and outdoors. Cell phone reception in Disneyland is, apparently, an issue at the amusement park, according to this 2006 post at MiceChat.com. The main issue? People yakking while on a ride. Don’t do that.

Just as an oranges and apples comparison, here’s how the three cell phone services stack up when it comes to putting money in California or parts thereof:

  • Verizon: Invested $600 million in California last year
  • AT&T: Invested $7.9 billion in California from 2006 to 2008
  • Sprint: Invested $35.9 million in the Los Angeles area last year.

Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local cell phone services. Latest O.C. mobile reception headlines:

Posted in: Cell phones • • • • | 9 Comments »

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »
SEO Powered by Platinum SEO from Techblissonline