Roaming: "Sprint" vs "Automatic"

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Five-year Sprint customer here. Moved into a new home recently, in the
heart of a fairly upscale suburb in a major metropolitan area.
(Birmingham, in metro Detroit, for those who care to know.)

I've had horrendous reception since moving in, despite no apparent
physical obstructions and the fact that, well, this is a fairly upscale
suburb in a major metropolitan area. One would think that in 2005, such
a setting would not leave a user plagued with 90 percent of incoming
calls going straight to voice mail, or calls in progress getting
dropped every two minutes.

Yet that's been the case. I don't keep a landline, and I pay a premium
price for a premium PCS plan upon which I have long relied for a vast
majority of my professional work, so it's incredibly frustrating.

Just as I was on the verge of canceling -- and genuinely disappointed
by the prospect because I've liked Sprint -- I stumbled onto some
information online that offered a possible solution: enable roaming.

"Roaming," of course, used to be a scary word. But Sprint offers $5
flat-fee monthly roaming plan. I called retention and told 'em this was
our final shot; they've waived the $5 fee. The very helpful CSR then
instructed me to switch my roaming mode (in SETTINGS) from "SPRINT" to
"AUTOMATIC." (He didn't mention disabling CALL GUARD -- which when
enabled adds a protection against unwanted roaming -- but I figured
that's a good idea, so I disabled it.)

All this rambling is leading to a couple of key questions: Am I correct
in understanding that "AUTOMATIC" allows my phone to access the
networks of other carriers? And if my recent reception problems have
indeed been due to a shoddy Sprint signal around here, can this switch
indeed help?

What I'm also wondering is how exactly it works. I presume the phone,
even in "AUTOMATIC," defaults to Sprint mode. If so: How, and at what
point, would it kick in to looking for another network's signal? Would
the phone simply recognize that I'm about to lose the Sprint signal,
and thus do what it needs to do to save my call?

I ask because since switching to "AUTOMATIC" I'm still looking at a
phone with no signal bars showing, yet the "R" that would indicate
roaming is not being displayed either. I'm just curious if I'm missing
some essential piece of knowledge about the nature of this "AUTOMATIC"
business.

Thanks, and pardon the long-windedness.
DMC

 

[Stevie]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

some interesting questions that you raise.

when I first purchased my phone, the sales rep said keep the phone in
'Sprint Only' mode if possible; putting phone in other modes keeps the cell
phone searching for signals and depletes the battery very fast. I have a
vga1000.

also, I have heard that even with the $5 no-roaming charge, you must still
make the majority of cell calls on the Sprint network. Don't know what
'majority' means. I think someone told me once that you must make 70%
percent of calls with Sprint.

overall, I'm satisfied with Sprint. used them for about a year now.
haven't had a problem with the small amount of roaming that I have used.

"Dave Mc" <leslieDW@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1114993006.523900.244520@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
Five-year Sprint customer here. Moved into a new home recently, in the
heart of a fairly upscale suburb in a major metropolitan area.
(Birmingham, in metro Detroit, for those who care to know.)

I've had horrendous reception since moving in, despite no apparent
physical obstructions and the fact that, well, this is a fairly upscale
suburb in a major metropolitan area. One would think that in 2005, such
a setting would not leave a user plagued with 90 percent of incoming
calls going straight to voice mail, or calls in progress getting
dropped every two minutes.

Yet that's been the case. I don't keep a landline, and I pay a premium
price for a premium PCS plan upon which I have long relied for a vast
majority of my professional work, so it's incredibly frustrating.

Just as I was on the verge of canceling -- and genuinely disappointed
by the prospect because I've liked Sprint -- I stumbled onto some
information online that offered a possible solution: enable roaming.

"Roaming," of course, used to be a scary word. But Sprint offers $5
flat-fee monthly roaming plan. I called retention and told 'em this was
our final shot; they've waived the $5 fee. The very helpful CSR then
instructed me to switch my roaming mode (in SETTINGS) from "SPRINT" to
"AUTOMATIC." (He didn't mention disabling CALL GUARD -- which when
enabled adds a protection against unwanted roaming -- but I figured
that's a good idea, so I disabled it.)

All this rambling is leading to a couple of key questions: Am I correct
in understanding that "AUTOMATIC" allows my phone to access the
networks of other carriers? And if my recent reception problems have
indeed been due to a shoddy Sprint signal around here, can this switch
indeed help?

What I'm also wondering is how exactly it works. I presume the phone,
even in "AUTOMATIC," defaults to Sprint mode. If so: How, and at what
point, would it kick in to looking for another network's signal? Would
the phone simply recognize that I'm about to lose the Sprint signal,
and thus do what it needs to do to save my call?

I ask because since switching to "AUTOMATIC" I'm still looking at a
phone with no signal bars showing, yet the "R" that would indicate
roaming is not being displayed either. I'm just curious if I'm missing
some essential piece of knowledge about the nature of this "AUTOMATIC"
business.

Thanks, and pardon the long-windedness.
DMC

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

50 percent of your calls must be on the Sprint network.

"stevie" <sf@dum.org> wrote in message news:4Nfde.7993$cZ6.6008@fe02.lga...
> some interesting questions that you raise.
>
> when I first purchased my phone, the sales rep said keep the phone in
> 'Sprint Only' mode if possible; putting phone in other modes keeps the
> cell
> phone searching for signals and depletes the battery very fast. I have a
> vga1000.
>
> also, I have heard that even with the $5 no-roaming charge, you must still
> make the majority of cell calls on the Sprint network. Don't know what
> 'majority' means. I think someone told me once that you must make 70%
> percent of calls with Sprint.
>
> overall, I'm satisfied with Sprint. used them for about a year now.
> haven't had a problem with the small amount of roaming that I have used.
>
> "Dave Mc" <leslieDW@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1114993006.523900.244520@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> Five-year Sprint customer here. Moved into a new home recently, in the
> heart of a fairly upscale suburb in a major metropolitan area.
> (Birmingham, in metro Detroit, for those who care to know.)
>
> I've had horrendous reception since moving in, despite no apparent
> physical obstructions and the fact that, well, this is a fairly upscale
> suburb in a major metropolitan area. One would think that in 2005, such
> a setting would not leave a user plagued with 90 percent of incoming
> calls going straight to voice mail, or calls in progress getting
> dropped every two minutes.
>
> Yet that's been the case. I don't keep a landline, and I pay a premium
> price for a premium PCS plan upon which I have long relied for a vast
> majority of my professional work, so it's incredibly frustrating.
>
> Just as I was on the verge of canceling -- and genuinely disappointed
> by the prospect because I've liked Sprint -- I stumbled onto some
> information online that offered a possible solution: enable roaming.
>
> "Roaming," of course, used to be a scary word. But Sprint offers $5
> flat-fee monthly roaming plan. I called retention and told 'em this was
> our final shot; they've waived the $5 fee. The very helpful CSR then
> instructed me to switch my roaming mode (in SETTINGS) from "SPRINT" to
> "AUTOMATIC." (He didn't mention disabling CALL GUARD -- which when
> enabled adds a protection against unwanted roaming -- but I figured
> that's a good idea, so I disabled it.)
>
> All this rambling is leading to a couple of key questions: Am I correct
> in understanding that "AUTOMATIC" allows my phone to access the
> networks of other carriers? And if my recent reception problems have
> indeed been due to a shoddy Sprint signal around here, can this switch
> indeed help?
>
> What I'm also wondering is how exactly it works. I presume the phone,
> even in "AUTOMATIC," defaults to Sprint mode. If so: How, and at what
> point, would it kick in to looking for another network's signal? Would
> the phone simply recognize that I'm about to lose the Sprint signal,
> and thus do what it needs to do to save my call?
>
> I ask because since switching to "AUTOMATIC" I'm still looking at a
> phone with no signal bars showing, yet the "R" that would indicate
> roaming is not being displayed either. I'm just curious if I'm missing
> some essential piece of knowledge about the nature of this "AUTOMATIC"
> business.
>
> Thanks, and pardon the long-windedness.
> DMC
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Dave Mc wrote:
> Five-year Sprint customer here. Moved into a new home recently, in the
> heart of a fairly upscale suburb in a major metropolitan area.
> (Birmingham, in metro Detroit, for those who care to know.)

Maybe there are a bunch of NIMBYs in your community that refuse to let anyone
place towers anywhere near them. You ought to find out whether other carriers'
customers have the same problems in the area around your new home.

> "Roaming," of course, used to be a scary word. But Sprint offers $5
> flat-fee monthly roaming plan. I called retention and told 'em this was
> our final shot; they've waived the $5 fee. The very helpful CSR then
> instructed me to switch my roaming mode (in SETTINGS) from "SPRINT" to
> "AUTOMATIC." (He didn't mention disabling CALL GUARD -- which when
> enabled adds a protection against unwanted roaming -- but I figured
> that's a good idea, so I disabled it.)
>
> All this rambling is leading to a couple of key questions: Am I correct
> in understanding that "AUTOMATIC" allows my phone to access the
> networks of other carriers? And if my recent reception problems have
> indeed been due to a shoddy Sprint signal around here, can this switch
> indeed help?

Yes. Automatic means automatically roam if a Sprint signal can not be found.
Keep in mind that if more than 50% of your airtime in any given month is not on
Sprint's network, they reserve the right to warn you and then terminate the
roaming addon if usage continues that way.

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

stevie wrote:
> some interesting questions that you raise.
>
> when I first purchased my phone, the sales rep said keep the phone in
> 'Sprint Only' mode if possible; putting phone in other modes keeps the cell
> phone searching for signals and depletes the battery very fast. I have a
> vga1000.

Well, since "roaming" still means analog in many areas, yes, it can deplete the
battery quickly.

>
> also, I have heard that even with the $5 no-roaming charge, you must still
> make the majority of cell calls on the Sprint network. Don't know what
> 'majority' means. I think someone told me once that you must make 70%
> percent of calls with Sprint.

50%.



--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

"Dave Mc" <leslieDW@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1114993006.523900.244520@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...

> All this rambling is leading to a couple of key questions: Am I correct
> in understanding that "AUTOMATIC" allows my phone to access the
> networks of other carriers? And if my recent reception problems have
> indeed been due to a shoddy Sprint signal around here, can this switch
> indeed help?
>
> What I'm also wondering is how exactly it works. I presume the phone,
> even in "AUTOMATIC," defaults to Sprint mode. If so: How, and at what
> point, would it kick in to looking for another network's signal? Would
> the phone simply recognize that I'm about to lose the Sprint signal,
> and thus do what it needs to do to save my call?
>
> I ask because since switching to "AUTOMATIC" I'm still looking at a
> phone with no signal bars showing, yet the "R" that would indicate
> roaming is not being displayed either. I'm just curious if I'm missing
> some essential piece of knowledge about the nature of this "AUTOMATIC"
> business.
>
> Thanks, and pardon the long-windedness.
> DMC
>

The automatic setting means the phone will look for the strongest signal. It
will look for a Sprint signal first though, and if it finds one, will stay
on Sprint. If the phone is staying on Sprint and not roaming even in
automatic, that would mean the Sprint signal is strong enough to tell the
phone not to look for other options. You can put the phone in analog and
roam that way, but the quality may not be as good as the digital roaming
signal would be. (Sounds like it might be better than the Sprint signal
you're getting at this location, though.). The roaming plan will cover
minutes used in analog roam.

To the best of my knowledge, there's not a way to make the phone switch to
digital roam if it is finding a Sprint signal. Also, if you are on a call
and the signal is about to drop, I don't think the tower will hand off the
call from Sprint to the roaming tower; I believe the call will still drop.
One of the reasons calls drop while driving when the phone is in automatic
is because the towers can't hand off from carrier to carrier, or maybe it is
because the phone can't go back and forth between carriers--regardless of
the reason, the end result is the same; dropped call. This is why setting
the phone to Sprint Only will lessen dropped calls usually (not in your
case, though; I've just gotten off on a tangent, sorry.)

If I were taking your call, I would want to know if this problem is
happening only at this location. You also mention this being an upscale
area, and I wonder if the area is newly built and perhaps the coverage in
the area can't yet keep up with the number of people moving in. If that's
the case, you may find that other carriers also have poor coverage at that
location, which might also explain why the phone is staying on Sprint and
not going into digital roam. If you haven't already, I would also recommend
calling *2 and asking for Trouble, and logging a Service/Coverage change
ticket. When we get the feedback on the ticket, we will find out if this is
a known problem area or known coverage hole, and usually we can even find
out if there are any upcoming sites that would improve coverage in the area,
or if there is no funded solution at this time. If this is already a known
coverage hole, we may be able to find out without logging a ticket; the
address may already be flagged in the CS map.

Leisa

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

I had the exact same problem but my provider was Verizon. I had friends come
over to my home with cell phones from different providers. Sprint was the
only provider that functioned well at my home so I paid Verizon the ETF and
switched to Sprint. If you take this route, be careful!!! After you get a
phone with a new cellular provider, try it in all locations that you will
use the phone (work, home (all rooms) and other areas that you travel). If
the phone does not work in all of these areas, you can return it within 14
days. That is most likely your only realistic options.

Note that a Sprint phone will lock onto a Sprint signal before choosing a
roaming provider's signal. Even if the signal is very week to the point of
being unusable, it will still hang-on to the Sprint signal and will not let
you roam. The phone will only lock onto a roaming signal if the Sprint
signal is virtually nonexistent.

-mij



"Leisa" <leihei@this.sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:4tfde.97$1o3.0@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...
>
> "Dave Mc" <leslieDW@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1114993006.523900.244520@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
>
>> All this rambling is leading to a couple of key questions: Am I correct
>> in understanding that "AUTOMATIC" allows my phone to access the
>> networks of other carriers? And if my recent reception problems have
>> indeed been due to a shoddy Sprint signal around here, can this switch
>> indeed help?
>>
>> What I'm also wondering is how exactly it works. I presume the phone,
>> even in "AUTOMATIC," defaults to Sprint mode. If so: How, and at what
>> point, would it kick in to looking for another network's signal? Would
>> the phone simply recognize that I'm about to lose the Sprint signal,
>> and thus do what it needs to do to save my call?
>>
>> I ask because since switching to "AUTOMATIC" I'm still looking at a
>> phone with no signal bars showing, yet the "R" that would indicate
>> roaming is not being displayed either. I'm just curious if I'm missing
>> some essential piece of knowledge about the nature of this "AUTOMATIC"
>> business.
>>
>> Thanks, and pardon the long-windedness.
>> DMC
>>
>
> The automatic setting means the phone will look for the strongest signal.
> It will look for a Sprint signal first though, and if it finds one, will
> stay on Sprint. If the phone is staying on Sprint and not roaming even in
> automatic, that would mean the Sprint signal is strong enough to tell the
> phone not to look for other options. You can put the phone in analog and
> roam that way, but the quality may not be as good as the digital roaming
> signal would be. (Sounds like it might be better than the Sprint signal
> you're getting at this location, though.). The roaming plan will cover
> minutes used in analog roam.
>
> To the best of my knowledge, there's not a way to make the phone switch to
> digital roam if it is finding a Sprint signal. Also, if you are on a call
> and the signal is about to drop, I don't think the tower will hand off
> the call from Sprint to the roaming tower; I believe the call will still
> drop. One of the reasons calls drop while driving when the phone is in
> automatic is because the towers can't hand off from carrier to carrier, or
> maybe it is because the phone can't go back and forth between
> carriers--regardless of the reason, the end result is the same; dropped
> call. This is why setting the phone to Sprint Only will lessen dropped
> calls usually (not in your case, though; I've just gotten off on a
> tangent, sorry.)
>
> If I were taking your call, I would want to know if this problem is
> happening only at this location. You also mention this being an upscale
> area, and I wonder if the area is newly built and perhaps the coverage in
> the area can't yet keep up with the number of people moving in. If that's
> the case, you may find that other carriers also have poor coverage at that
> location, which might also explain why the phone is staying on Sprint and
> not going into digital roam. If you haven't already, I would also
> recommend calling *2 and asking for Trouble, and logging a
> Service/Coverage change ticket. When we get the feedback on the ticket, we
> will find out if this is a known problem area or known coverage hole, and
> usually we can even find out if there are any upcoming sites that would
> improve coverage in the area, or if there is no funded solution at this
> time. If this is already a known coverage hole, we may be able to find out
> without logging a ticket; the address may already be flagged in the CS
> map.
>
> Leisa
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

You said you were having dropped calls. Is also the signal being lost
completely? On my phone, when ever it regains a Sprint PCS signal it
beeps. My old phone would both beep in and out. If you are not losing
signal completely, I don't think setting the phone to automatic will
help much.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

My wife and I had the same problem with no signal and dropped calls at our
home. We both got new Sanyo phones(7400&8200), and the difference is
dramatic, like we are on a different carrier now. Our old phones worked OK
everywhere but our house. Maybe you could try a Sanyo phone before bailing
from Sprint?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Floyd I Johnson wrote:
> My wife and I had the same problem with no signal and dropped calls at our
> home. We both got new Sanyo phones(7400&8200), and the difference is
> dramatic, like we are on a different carrier now. Our old phones worked OK
> everywhere but our house. Maybe you could try a Sanyo phone before bailing
> from Sprint?

The question is which phone Dave has currently... Sanyos aren't the only Sprint
phones with good reception.

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

I'm not sure if you're already from the Detroit area, but you can bet
your ass that your reception will never improve while you live in
"Upscale" Birmingham.

NIMBY= Not In My Back Yard. NO NEW CELL TOWERS FOR YOU.

Sometimes money blocks progress.

Birmingham folks oppose just about everything. Parks, towers, etc.
Anything that may be too close to their Utopia. This pops up in the
Free Press at least once a month. Some story about something new, and
needed, but nobody wants to look at it or have it around.

Not shredding on you personally, But quite a few us pay a "Premium
Price" to sprint every month. I live by ann arbor, reception around
here is killer, just about everywhere. I can even talk in my basement.

You should have moved to the Pointes. Good cell reception, plus the
money's older. Tons of towers flanking the Detroit border.




Dave Mc wrote:
> Five-year Sprint customer here. Moved into a new home recently, in
the
> heart of a fairly upscale suburb in a major metropolitan area.
> (Birmingham, in metro Detroit, for those who care to know.)
>
> I've had horrendous reception since moving in, despite no apparent
> physical obstructions and the fact that, well, this is a fairly
upscale
> suburb in a major metropolitan area. One would think that in 2005,
such
> a setting would not leave a user plagued with 90 percent of incoming
> calls going straight to voice mail, or calls in progress getting
> dropped every two minutes.
>
> Yet that's been the case. I don't keep a landline, and I pay a
premium
> price for a premium PCS plan upon which I have long relied for a vast
> majority of my professional work, so it's incredibly frustrating.
>
> Just as I was on the verge of canceling -- and genuinely disappointed
> by the prospect because I've liked Sprint -- I stumbled onto some
> information online that offered a possible solution: enable roaming.
>
> "Roaming," of course, used to be a scary word. But Sprint offers $5
> flat-fee monthly roaming plan. I called retention and told 'em this
was
> our final shot; they've waived the $5 fee. The very helpful CSR then
> instructed me to switch my roaming mode (in SETTINGS) from "SPRINT"
to
> "AUTOMATIC." (He didn't mention disabling CALL GUARD -- which when
> enabled adds a protection against unwanted roaming -- but I figured
> that's a good idea, so I disabled it.)
>
> All this rambling is leading to a couple of key questions: Am I
correct
> in understanding that "AUTOMATIC" allows my phone to access the
> networks of other carriers? And if my recent reception problems have
> indeed been due to a shoddy Sprint signal around here, can this
switch
> indeed help?
>
> What I'm also wondering is how exactly it works. I presume the phone,
> even in "AUTOMATIC," defaults to Sprint mode. If so: How, and at what
> point, would it kick in to looking for another network's signal?
Would
> the phone simply recognize that I'm about to lose the Sprint signal,
> and thus do what it needs to do to save my call?
>
> I ask because since switching to "AUTOMATIC" I'm still looking at a
> phone with no signal bars showing, yet the "R" that would indicate
> roaming is not being displayed either. I'm just curious if I'm
missing
> some essential piece of knowledge about the nature of this
"AUTOMATIC"
> business.
>
> Thanks, and pardon the long-windedness.
> DMC

 

[tinman]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Steve Sobol wrote:
> Dave Mc wrote:
>> Five-year Sprint customer here. Moved into a new home recently, in
>> the heart of a fairly upscale suburb in a major metropolitan area.
>> (Birmingham, in metro Detroit, for those who care to know.)
>
> Maybe there are a bunch of NIMBYs in your community that refuse to
> let anyone place towers anywhere near them.

That would be my bet.


> You ought to find out
> whether other carriers' customers have the same problems in the area
> around your new home.

He did state that the phone didn't roam at all when placed on Automatic.
Granted, SPCS will hang to its own signal to the bitter end before
roaming. But I would still have expected it to at least cycle to roam a
few times. Sounds to me like there are simply not enough towers, period.
The real test, of course, would be to see what happens when placing the
phone on Roam, rather than Automatic.

I had to deal with a bunch of NIMBYs when Sprint came into my city. SPCS
went out of their way to hide and disguise the towers, but two NIMBYs
still filed a lawsuit to prevent the towers' operation (they were
already built and ready to go). Those two people happened to be the only
two not notified of the tower's construction (what a coincidence). Guess
why? They weren't on the county clerk's list of property-owners, which
SPCS (actually SBA) used to send notices to. When SBA/SPCS uncovered
this, they filed a (IIRC) federal suite against the county. Amazingly,
the permits to begin operating were granted nearly immediately, as long
as the SPCS/SBA's suite was dropped.

I should note that I know (knew) one of the NIMBYs. I can say with
certainty that he would have been screaming the loudest about lack of
reception had the very same towers he tried to ban, been taken down.


--
Mike

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Thanks very much to all for your insight and information. Very helpful
stuff, and great newsgroup.

Latest update: The automatic setting doesn't seem to have helped
anything at all. It never appears to actually roam, and the Sprint
signal still fades out completely then back in (and yes, with the
phone beeping each time, as one poster noted).

What has worked is setting the phone -- a new Sanyo 8200, for those
who'd wondered -- to analog roaming. There, the reception has been
perfectly fine. I don't know what that's supposed to tell me, except
that I'm OK being all 1996 if that's what it takes to get a signal.

I am curious about the "50 percent Sprint" figure a couple of folks
threw out regarding the monthly roaming service. Are you saying 50
percent of the number of CALLS must be pure Sprint, or 50 percent of
the number of MINUTES used? I'm gonna poke around the PCS website and
see what I can find, but my retention fellow didn't say anything about
this part at all. (Not that THAT means anything!)

Again, I appreciate all the feedback. I've gotta stop lurking here and
start posting more.

DMc

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Dave Mc wrote:

> I am curious about the "50 percent Sprint" figure a couple of folks
> threw out regarding the monthly roaming service. Are you saying 50
> percent of the number of CALLS must be pure Sprint, or 50 percent of
> the number of MINUTES used? I'm gonna poke around the PCS website and
> see what I can find, but my retention fellow didn't say anything about
> this part at all. (Not that THAT means anything!)

Minutes.

Check the literature at your local Sprint store for details. (Check a brochure
that lists calling plans.)

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Just got my own answer by rereading Steve Sobol's post: It's 50
percent of MINUTES (airtime), not calls.

Thanks.

On Mon, 02 May 2005 18:55:28 -0400, Dave Mc <nospam@nospam.com> wrote:

>Thanks very much to all for your insight and information. Very helpful
>stuff, and great newsgroup.
>
>Latest update: The automatic setting doesn't seem to have helped
>anything at all. It never appears to actually roam, and the Sprint
>signal still fades out completely then back in (and yes, with the
>phone beeping each time, as one poster noted).
>
>What has worked is setting the phone -- a new Sanyo 8200, for those
>who'd wondered -- to analog roaming. There, the reception has been
>perfectly fine. I don't know what that's supposed to tell me, except
>that I'm OK being all 1996 if that's what it takes to get a signal.
>
>I am curious about the "50 percent Sprint" figure a couple of folks
>threw out regarding the monthly roaming service. Are you saying 50
>percent of the number of CALLS must be pure Sprint, or 50 percent of
>the number of MINUTES used? I'm gonna poke around the PCS website and
>see what I can find, but my retention fellow didn't say anything about
>this part at all. (Not that THAT means anything!)
>
>Again, I appreciate all the feedback. I've gotta stop lurking here and
>start posting more.
>
>DMc

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

On 2 May 2005 04:40:18 -0700, emailmatt9@yahoo.com wrote:

>I'm not sure if you're already from the Detroit area, but you can bet
>your ass that your reception will never improve while you live in
>"Upscale" Birmingham.
>

Nope, not new to the Detroit area, but newly residing in Birmingham. I
identified the locale merely for the historical record, so that it
will be sitting in the Google archives for future frustrated
searchers.

Had the same problem in Royal Oak a couple years back, but not nearly
to this extent. That was pre-portability, so I suffered through it
because my cell number was just too valuable to abruptly give up at
that point.

>Sometimes money blocks progress.
>
>Birmingham folks oppose just about everything. Parks, towers, etc.
>Anything that may be too close to their Utopia. This pops up in the
>Free Press at least once a month. Some story about something new, and
>needed, but nobody wants to look at it or have it around.
>
>Not shredding on you personally, But quite a few us pay a "Premium
>Price" to sprint every month. I live by ann arbor, reception around
>here is killer, just about everywhere. I can even talk in my basement.

I know you're not shredding on me personally -- I mentioned the
"upscale" thing only because I find it amusing, on a sort of cosmic
level, that I get better reception in "run-down" Detroit than I do in
an ostensibly well-to-do suburb.

The NIMBY thing makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that none of
my non-Sprint friends or colleagues ever seem to have these issues in
my various locales -- whether Birmingham or Royal Oak. I have sat with
envy as they get their five Cingular and Verizon bars, then sat with
dismay as my girlfriends and bosses (redundant?) rail on me because
"you never answer your damned phone" -- when of course it's simply
that the Damned Phone doesn't ring when they call.

>You should have moved to the Pointes. Good cell reception, plus the
>money's older. Tons of towers flanking the Detroit border.
>

I was THISCLOSE to buying in Grosse Pointe. Hell, at this point, a
decent cell connection might have sealed the deal.

DMc

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Dave Mc wrote:

> The NIMBY thing makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that none of
> my non-Sprint friends or colleagues ever seem to have these issues in
> my various locales -- whether Birmingham or Royal Oak.

Which phone do you have? That makes a difference.

> I was THISCLOSE to buying in Grosse Pointe. Hell, at this point, a
> decent cell connection might have sealed the deal.

I got lucky. Moved in with my wife (who back then was my fiancee), into a
beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood in Mentor on the Lake, Ohio, and
was a 90-second drive from a Sprint tower. That was 11/2001. Fast forward to
August 2003. After a month living with my mother-in-law while we looked for a
house, we rented a nice house on an acre of land in Apple Valley, California.

....You guessed it. A 90-second drive from ANOTHER Sprint tower.

Plus, there's another tower at State Highway 18 and Navajo which is about 5-7
minutes from us.

I *heart* Sprint's network.

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

On Mon, 02 May 2005 16:29:24 -0700, Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net>
wrote:


>Which phone do you have? That makes a difference.

A new Sanyo 8200, which last week replaced my old 4500 for a 14-day
test run. And the problems seem to have gotten only worse, honest to
God.

>
>I got lucky. Moved in with my wife (who back then was my fiancee), into a
>beautiful house in a beautiful neighborhood in Mentor on the Lake, Ohio, and
>was a 90-second drive from a Sprint tower. That was 11/2001. Fast forward to
>August 2003. After a month living with my mother-in-law while we looked for a
>house, we rented a nice house on an acre of land in Apple Valley, California.
>
>...You guessed it. A 90-second drive from ANOTHER Sprint tower.
>
>Plus, there's another tower at State Highway 18 and Navajo which is about 5-7
>minutes from us.
>
>I *heart* Sprint's network.

Yeah, serendipity ain't a bad thing. I'm stuck with some sort of
Sprint curse.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Dave Mc wrote:
> Five-year Sprint customer here. Moved into a new home recently, in
the
> heart of a fairly upscale suburb in a major metropolitan area.
> (Birmingham, in metro Detroit, for those who care to know.)
>
> I've had horrendous reception since moving in, despite no apparent
> physical obstructions and the fact that, well, this is a fairly
upscale
> suburb in a major metropolitan area. One would think that in 2005,
such
> a setting would not leave a user plagued with 90 percent of incoming
> calls going straight to voice mail, or calls in progress getting
> dropped every two minutes.
>

Its not Sprint, its lousy Lucent/Nortel network equipment. You can
thank the distinguished
Nobel Prize Winners of BELL LABS in NJ for your service.

JG

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

All major carriers face the problem of the local city council that usually
does not want cell towers in neighborhoods. It has nothing to do with
Nortel equipment. You should attend your city council meetings whenever a
cellular carrier wants to erect a new cell site and speak in favor of the
tower.



<jgrove24@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1115323310.569157.166910@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
> Dave Mc wrote:
>> Five-year Sprint customer here. Moved into a new home recently, in
> the
>> heart of a fairly upscale suburb in a major metropolitan area.
>> (Birmingham, in metro Detroit, for those who care to know.)
>>
>> I've had horrendous reception since moving in, despite no apparent
>> physical obstructions and the fact that, well, this is a fairly
> upscale
>> suburb in a major metropolitan area. One would think that in 2005,
> such
>> a setting would not leave a user plagued with 90 percent of incoming
>> calls going straight to voice mail, or calls in progress getting
>> dropped every two minutes.
>>
>
> Its not Sprint, its lousy Lucent/Nortel network equipment. You can
> thank the distinguished
> Nobel Prize Winners of BELL LABS in NJ for your service.
>
> JG
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Mij Adway wrote:
> All major carriers face the problem of the local city council that usually
> does not want cell towers in neighborhoods. It has nothing to do with
> Nortel equipment.

How many cell towers do you actually have down there? Are you counting antennas
that may not be on 100-foot poles?

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

The are not a lot of actual cell towers except along the freeways. Sprint
erects cell sites that are disguised as light poles and also pine trees.
Even the disguised cell sites require city council approval here in Laguna
Niguel.

-mij

"Steve Sobol" <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote in message
news:d5e39r$k2$1@ratbert.glorb.com...
> Mij Adway wrote:
>> All major carriers face the problem of the local city council that
>> usually does not want cell towers in neighborhoods. It has nothing to do
>> with Nortel equipment.
>
> How many cell towers do you actually have down there? Are you counting
> antennas that may not be on 100-foot poles?
>
> --
> JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
> Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
>
> "The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
> --New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Mij Adway wrote:
> The are not a lot of actual cell towers except along the freeways. Sprint
> erects cell sites that are disguised as light poles and also pine trees.
> Even the disguised cell sites require city council approval here in Laguna
> Niguel.

I'm sure they do everywhere else too; it's a zoning issue. My point was "don't
just count the big towers."

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

I went to a city council meeting on Tuesday night to support a new Sprint
Pine Tree. One of the city council members went to look at an existing
Sprint Pine Tree and was impressed with the aesthetics.


"Steve Sobol" <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote in message
news:d5e4m9$k2$10@ratbert.glorb.com...
> Mij Adway wrote:
>> The are not a lot of actual cell towers except along the freeways. Sprint
>> erects cell sites that are disguised as light poles and also pine trees.
>> Even the disguised cell sites require city council approval here in
>> Laguna Niguel.
>
> I'm sure they do everywhere else too; it's a zoning issue. My point was
> "don't just count the big towers."
>
> --
> JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
> Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
>
> "The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
> --New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

On Thu, 05 May 2005 14:58:51 -0700, Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net>
wrote:

>Mij Adway wrote:
>> The are not a lot of actual cell towers except along the freeways. Sprint
>> erects cell sites that are disguised as light poles and also pine trees.
>> Even the disguised cell sites require city council approval here in Laguna
>> Niguel.
>
>I'm sure they do everywhere else too; it's a zoning issue. My point was "don't
>just count the big towers."

Steve, they should erect "pine trees" around your neck of the woods.
It might spruce things up a bit. ;-)

(In my military days, I used to visit Victorville now and then.)

--
Paul Miner