T-Mobile and Cingular in Los Angeles

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Mike - 26 Sep 2004 18:09 GMT

I am on Cingular Service and been a frustrated due to reception issues
since I moved to the downtown area. I am about to jump contract and pay
the fee. I am interested in T-Mobile since my friends T-Mobile service
works great in my apartment.

I went out to shop around T-Mobile rates at some local dealers who sell
multiple providers and I was told both services should be exactly the
same since both providers use the same towers.

The dealer told me the reason my friends service works better is
because her phone must have better reception. She has a Sony Ericson
T306 phone. I have tried on my Cingular Service Sony Ericson T68i,
T106, Motorola T720, and Nokia 8290 phones and all have poor service.

Why does Cingular have reception issues where T-Mobile does not if they
use the same towers. Is there something I can do to improve my service
on Cingular? Other then in my apartment Cingular coverage has been
good.

Mike

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Chopz - 26 Sep 2004 18:36 GMT

Hi Mike...you need to make sure that your phone is dual band meaning it has
850/1900. That will probably help your situation.

> I am on Cingular Service and been a frustrated due to reception issues
> since I moved to the downtown area. I am about to jump contract and pay
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> Mike

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Jer - 26 Sep 2004 19:21 GMT

> I am on Cingular Service and been a frustrated due to reception issues
> since I moved to the downtown area. I am about to jump contract and pay
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> Mike

Firstly, this 'tower sharing' business ain't all it's cranked up to be.
There are many other technical issues within any one network as
compared to another network on the same tower - no two systems operate
the same way. Each network is "tuned" to be optimized with the rest of
the same network - no two carriers tune their network the same way
another carrier tunes theirs - even from the same tower.

Now, you feel your current network provider isn't providing a level of
service you're happy with at one or more particular locations. Yes,
another provider may be better at those same locations - only you can
decide this. To test another provider's network, you have at least two
choices... either sign up with them and pay particular attention to
their grace period while you go about day-to-day, or if that's not a
long enough time frame, rent a phone on that network. Be aware that
these two choices WOULD be impacted by the handset you use, so make your
choice accordingly.

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"All that we do is touched with ocean, yet we remain on the shore of
what we know." -- Richard Wilbur

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danny burstein - 26 Sep 2004 19:38 GMT

>> I went out to shop around T-Mobile rates at some local dealers who sell
>> multiple providers and I was told both services should be exactly the
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>> T306 phone. I have tried on my Cingular Service Sony Ericson T68i,
>> T106, Motorola T720, and Nokia 8290 phones and all have poor service.

About three years ago Cingula and t-Mobile signed off on a cross-marketing
deal, where Cingular's system in Calif was opened to t-mobile, and
t-mobile's in NY was opened to Cingular.

In these areas Cingular and t-mobile customers are hitting the EXACT same
equipment. Not just the towers, but EVERYTHING is going to be identical.
It's simply a matter of "branding" and billing.

(They're phasing this agreement out over the next couple of years and each
company is adding their independent infrastructure, but at this point I'm
pretty sure that execpt in some fringe, and maybe some test areas,
everything is still the same).

Different telephones have markedly different radio abilities. I know, for
example, that my t-mobile Nokia 3595 works fine in areas where other
t-mobile phones I have [a] are paperweights. So yes, it's worth trying
different instruments.

[a] the GSM networks use "sim" cards in the phones. So if you simply move
that thumbnail sized card into a different instrument you can now use it.

fyi, in NJ at least, the 3595 is one of the "freebie" phones you get when
you sign up for a one year contract. dunno about Calif.

disclosure: I'm a t-mobile shareholder.

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_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]

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EL - 27 Sep 2004 04:23 GMT

Cingular has some dead spot that's it
like other Provider had some dead spot and they know that it's not cost
efficient to install a repeter.

I have a SonyEricsson T637 on ATTws
( when I'm bored and have nothin else todo)
When I go in the set-up and I switch to use the Cingulare network
some times I loose reception specialy in door like in my apartment, and in
some building

>>> I went out to shop around T-Mobile rates at some local dealers who sell
>>> multiple providers and I was told both services should be exactly the
[quoted text clipped - 30 lines]
>
> disclosure: I'm a t-mobile shareholder.

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Mike - 28 Sep 2004 15:43 GMT

All - My friend came over and I tried puting her SIM in my unlocked
phone. I got the same reception on T-Mobile as Cingular. Seems the
difference is in the phone itself.

Mike

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