Joshua Nall
EF4
I appreciate these threads also.... seems to me those tired of reading the "same" stuff could just not read it. The same questions being asked many times leads to new stuff. I had never heard of millenicom and just ordered their advanced plan the other day. If millenicom had been talked about before I missed it, and I'm not going to go searching for something that I had never heard about. Tethering with my phone was getting to be a pain, one of which was not being able to call out 
I'm thrilled everyone loves repeat threads but really, why not look up a thread of the same subject and add to it?
Matt Hunt
EF3
I'd have to disagree with him stating Sprint has the best coverage. In my opinion Sprint has the WORST coverage (I have sprint). Sunday I had no signal in southeast IA, while my passenger with AT&T had a signal the whole time. However, since she doesn't have a data plan, I'm not sure how data coverage was. Same thing happened to me last year in KS, and my partner had at least spotty voice coverage with AT&T, though data was not working.
I'm curious as to whether or not you guys are using signal boosters? I'd like to have a setup that works without a signal booster if possible, because my funds are very limited. My options are either tether my phone (Sprint though, not good coverage), perhaps with a signal booster, or get a separate data card from AT&T or Verizon. I won't do a contract since I'll only be using it for chasing.
Scott Bennett
EF4
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2008
- Messages
- 472
Woo Hoo! I got quoted! I am not saying Sprint native has the best coverage but they have better roaming agreements. I have used them all... Sprint, Verizon, US Cellular and Sprint has the best coverage (via roaming).
Look at Western OK... Verizon is nothing. Now look at Sprint.
I know many people who have Sprint and everyone is happy with it working... it's just not very fast.
I have one of Gordon's older amps and use it from time to time in a pinch but rather shocked you would say Sprint has the WORST coverage.
Look at Western OK... Verizon is nothing. Now look at Sprint.
I know many people who have Sprint and everyone is happy with it working... it's just not very fast.
I have one of Gordon's older amps and use it from time to time in a pinch but rather shocked you would say Sprint has the WORST coverage.
Matt Hunt
EF3
This is from my personal experience with my Blackberry, and even with older phones in the past. I've always been the first one to lose a signal, while my friends with AT&T or Verizon still had one. Maybe I'm unable to roam with my BBerry? I'll have to look into that.
Scott Bennett
EF4
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2008
- Messages
- 472
@Matt it is VERY possible. Sprint roams on Verizon so if you don't have a Sprint signal you should have a verizon one if someone else in your party is on Verizon. Older blackberries have a "Home Only" option on Sprint you might want to check that.
Why I say Sprint is better is because they have better roaming agreements.... now if you told me Sprint was horrible and dropped calls all the time in Lincoln, NE I would agree with you. Sprint's native signal is not that good and in a much higher band than Verizons (well calls anyway) both use the same spectrum range for data which does not penetrate buildings very well.
Why I say Sprint is better is because they have better roaming agreements.... now if you told me Sprint was horrible and dropped calls all the time in Lincoln, NE I would agree with you. Sprint's native signal is not that good and in a much higher band than Verizons (well calls anyway) both use the same spectrum range for data which does not penetrate buildings very well.
Dan Robinson
EF5
AT&T has had a reliable signal for me and decent coverage, but the data speeds are almost too slow for streaming, comparable to an old 28.8k dialup modem. Streaming barely works on it even when set at a 30-35k bitrate (many, many reconnects and dropped frames), and the image is always very grainy/pixelated except when the picture isn't moving around. The upside to the slow speeds is that I never need to worry about hitting the cap unless I start chasing daily for the entire month.
Matt Hunt
EF3
Scott - I did find that mine was set to "home only". I'll have to see if this helps on the next chase. I'm not sure if it has always been on that setting or not. I plan to try that Tether program, but I'll wait until right before a chase and do the 7 day trial before I buy it. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be on sale for $25 at the moment.
Matt Tottle
EF4
It will definitely help. "Home Only" means it won't even look for a Verizon signal or let you know one is available. The older phones came defaulted to "Home Only" before Sprint had the free roaming agreement with Verizon in order to cut down on people who were contesting their 5 figure roaming bills because they didn't know they were roaming. They made it so you had to deliberately change a setting. Now that you can roam for free, they come defaulted to Both.
However, just be aware... The free data roaming DOES have a cap of only 300MB per month. They will send you a warning text when you get close. When you hit the limit, they will cut your roaming data capability off until you log in to your account and accept liability for overage charges (25¢ per MB) that you will incur for continuing to use it. When they cut you off, it does not affect your voice or "Home Network" data capability.. If you don't want roaming overage charges, do nothing and your 300MB limit will automatically reset on your bill closing date
Matt Hunt
EF3
Good information, thanks Matt. I'm not sure that I'd cross that limit anyway, as I'll only be using it while chasing in those areas sprint doesn't cover for grlevel3 data. I don't stream video yet. Plus, now that I know this, I will try to cut down on how much I use it.
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