Cellular Service

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

I have had US Cellular (previously CellularOne) for over a decade, I live in Rockford, Illinois right near BHF. I have a digital handheld, but it's not 1 of the super dinky ones. I can make calls just fine at BHF, RA, Gateway, and MAM. I haven't had any issues with my service to any real extent the entire time I have been with the provider. :)

[OmniGLH]

Scary.

Reading corner's post... I suddenly feel like I've been transported back in time one year to my old job.  I used to work for Motorola, doing software loads/upgrades/commissioning on CDMA equipment for Sprint, Verizon, and Alltel.

[Woofentino Pugrossi]

I have US Cellular and get full signal at BHF. But I dont use those dinky little flip phones. I have a Nokia 3585i. Even with the antennae retracted I get full signal. Only place I have problems is where we hunt. No towers in the area. Its a cellular dead zone.

[cornercamping]

Scary.

Reading corner's post... I suddenly feel like I've been transported back in time one year to my old job. ÊI used to work for Motorola, doing software loads/upgrades/commissioning on CDMA equipment for Sprint, Verizon, and Alltel.

Sorry for the flashback  ;D

[TrophyGal]

We have problems at Summit Point and VIR using our Verizon digital phone.  Must stand up at the tower at Summit and it's just impossible ... Digital in one spot and Analog 2 feet away.  VIR is not as bad, but close.

Dropped calls left and right at home (with a mountain behind us).  Sometimes it takes messages awhile to come in.  Drives us crazy!

Have been thinking about changing but aren't sure if it the type of phone we have or our service ???!!!  We have a Kyocera QCP-2035a.

[Rich]

I thought CellularOne was out of business?

Cell One is actually just a franchise name - just like McDonalds.  For example I used to work for Airtouch - but we operated under the Cell One name.  When we merged w/ some other companies and became Verizon Wireless - we dropped the Cell One name.  There are Cell Ones all over the world that are actually different companies - such as Dobson Cellular, Western Wireless, etc.

Cornercamping what exactly do you do? Its good to hear there is somebody else here in the industry.

[cornercamping]

Cornercamping what exactly do you do? Its good to hear there is somebody else here in the industry.

Actually, I'm not directly in the cellular industry.  The company I work for is an OEM Telemetry manufacturer.  We use cell and satellite networks to send data back and forth from different applications.  Things like vehicle tracking, ATM's, ect.   We build single board computers from the ground up. We also design some of our own modems. We are a "bulk" reseller of cell and satellite airtime, and have direct connections with the carriers NOC's for different applications.  For instance, we build a module, that is used in a passanger bus (public transport).  This module is an anti-espionage module.  What it does, is if someone tries to hijack the bus, the drive presses a button.  Once the button is pressed, it sends an SMS to the police, and then connects and streams GPS data to them via GPRS.  Thru SMS and GPRS, the police can control the entire electrical system if they wanted in the bus.  This application is in Mexico City, Mexico.  They have a problem with people hijacking buses for ransom down there, and we use TeleCel's GSM network in Mexico, which ties into us via socket VPN.

Pretty much, we offer all kinds of telemetry applications. We monitor ATM's at rest stops via SMS, vehicle tracking, vehicle control systems, remote meter reading, ect. Pretty much, we can tie into anything that has a serial port, and control it via SMS or email.  We also have web interfaces for consumer use.  To give you an idea, we are the largest OEM on the globe for telematics. Thing similar to the GM OnStar system, but we get into alot hairier things.  For example:

http://www.ogara-hess.com/Frameset.html

We build specialty telematics for this company.  We tie into their systems, which include bomb sniffers and stuff.  Pretty neat.  They can start these cars, and sweep for bombs with 1 SMS, and if a bomb is found, they get a SMS saying "STAY AWAY FROM ME!" and notify the proper authorities.  Pretty neat stuff 8)

My role is: Chief Technology Officer

Need a job?  Check classified section  ;D

and before anyone asks.  NO, this is not eyespy type stuff. I can disclose it, and some of it is commercially available to consumers.  Same goes for Ogara-Hess.  You know they make Level VI balistic VW Jetta's that can drive over land minds and keep going, literally  :o   Only $400K  :P

[cornercamping]

or...

You can view our websites:

www.tek-werks.com (corporate and under construction as always for the pas 5 years)

www.gpssystems.com  (consumer)

If you wanna track your wife... I can help  ;D ;)

Ya know, one of these days, I'm gonna donate some loaner devices to everyone so we can find out who's stealing trailers filled with bikes  >:(  Gotta get approval first though  :-/

[1RACEBABE]

This is great information!  I am happy that there is someone that can give me real answers rather than asking the cell company who just gives me the answers they believe are true.  Every company tells you that every other company is "borrowing" their towers.  Good to know that is is a load of crap and they all use the same ones.  I got a GSM phone so maybe if I am lucky I will be able to make calls from BHF, that is where I NEVER got a signal with my Sprint phone.  Thanks all for the input!

[cornercamping]

Well, there is a lot of misconceptions when it comes to cellular.  At this time, and the future, coverage really isn't an issue when comparing one carrier to another.  Pay more attention to rate plans.  The coverage is damn near the same.  To give you an idea, at a tower about 2 blocks from my house, you have the following carriers, all on the same tower:

Mobitex
CDPD
Verizon
Cingular
AT&T
Sprint
Nextel
SkyTel
Weblink Wireless
Arch Communications

So, as you can see, shop for rate plan deals instead of coverage.  They also all have pretty much the same features on the network, like SMS, email, camera phones, ect.

Another way to save money, is to find one phone, and keep it, until you get sick of it, not because you change carriers.  For instance, let's say you sign a 1 year contract with AT&T and you buy a Motorola V600 GSM phone.  Now, a year goes by, and your tired of AT&T, so you want to switch to Cingular.  Well, when you go into Cingular they tell you that you HAVE TO buy a new phone, and they can sell you a new V600 for Cingular because the one you bought from AT&T won't work on Cingular.  That is WRONG !  You can use the V600 you bought from AT&T on Cingular, and they CAN NOT stop you.  See, what happens is, that companies like Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, ect. all LOCK phones on the REQUEST of the cell companies.  This way, you buy the phone from them, you can only use it on their network.  Well, what they don't tell you is that as long as you own the phone, they are required by FEDERAL LAW to unlock the phone for you so you can use it as you please.  For instance, here's a specific phone model:

Motorola V60

Versions:

V60i
V60L
V60C
V60W

The difference?  NOTHING, other than the carrier name label on the phone and the LOCK CODE.   Again, if you are the owner of the phone, Federal Law requires carriers to unlock the phone on your request.  Infact, I unlock all phones the day I buy them.  I have a Motorola V600 that I can slide any SIM card into and use it.  The carrier doesn't matter.  The way to get this done, is to send your phone back to the manufacturer, not the carrier, along with the purchase reciept and a letter saying you want the phone unlocked. This way, if you switch carriers after a year, but like the phone you already have, your not forced to buy another.  If that won't work, send me the phone, and I'll unlock it for you.  I have the software to do it, and it is 100% legal.

Another option is, find the phone you want, and buy an unlocked one on ebay.  People sell them on their also.

 ;D

[cornercamping]

I'm gonna shed some more light on this, because i"ve got a few emails with questions.  Here's some money saving/helpful hints when it comes to cell phones, and hey, a dollar saved, is another dollar twards saftey equipment/tires....

1. Network Types: (USA)

GSM- Cingular, AT&T, T-Mobile (all others are buying airtime from these, and rebranding it, so Cell-One, buys airtime from these companies, and resell's it.)

CDMA-Verizon and Sprint

iDEN: Nextel


2. Roaming: Use of a network other than the one you are getting billed by.

This is the biggest money maker for cell networks.  See, they charge you for roaming, but it doesn't cost them anything.  Not a penny.  See, let's say with GSM.  AT&T, Cingular, and T-Mobile have roaming agreements with each other.  What they say, is that if you let us use your network, we'll let you use ours. So, they don't charge each other anything.  They just agree to allow one to use the others, but yet, they charge YOU and it doesn't cost them anything.  So, keep that in mind.  With a plan with No roaming, you may not have coverage with your carrier,  but if another has coverage, you'll be able to use it at no additional charge, and if you don't have roaming, you'll still be able to use it but it'll cost you, and alot.  So, with a GSM phone, you can use Cingular, AT&T, and T-Mobile.  With CDMA, you can only use Verizon and Sprint, and with iDEN you can only use Nextel.  Thus, GSM is the obvious choice for service, now and in the future.

3. Free phone, or $0.01 phone/dirt cheap:

They do this by figuring the cost of the phone itself, into your plan.  Nothing is free, your gonna pay for it, one way or another.  For instance, notice that the longer the contract, the cheaper the phone gets?  That's because they already roll the cost of the phone into the term of the contract.  They are going to get full retail for the phone, one way or another.  The actual cost of the phone (retail) is what the phone costs on a 1 year contract.  Any more than 1 year, and the cost has been figured in the profit of your service over the entire term of agreement.

4. Contract Term/Sales:

Sales reps. get paid commision 2 ways.  First, the length of contract.  For instance, at one carrier, who's going to remain unnamed, a sales rep, both instore, and private (non-corporate owned store) get paid the following commision:

1 Year- $25.00
2 Year- $60.00
3 Year- $100.00

Then, to top that off, they get a commission of the phone and accessory sales.  Thus, if you were a sales rep, you'd always wanna sell phones, with accessories, and 3 year contracts.

For the consumer, there is no benefit of signing a 3 year over a 1 or 2 year.  Either way, your paying for it the same amount.  The only difference is, the amount you pay for the phone itself upfront when you sign up.

5. Plans, Rollover minutes, Nights and Weekends, ect.:

Buy only what you need, realistically, and nothing more.  Don't add nights and weekends, if you don't spend a ton of time on the phone during those hours.  They bank on you not using it more than your regular plan.  It's a waste of money.  Same goes for unused minutes.
Cell Carriers have a thing called ARPU (Average Revenue Per User), which really means how much money they are going to make off each phone you have active a month. The plans are based around this. They are making tons of money just off the original plan.  Anything you add, is just bonus money. To give you an idea, realistically, they could give you 15,000 minutes a month, for $29.99 and STILL MAKE MONEY on it.

6. Long Distance:

Here's the kicker.  NO SUCH THING with a cell phone.  They made up long distance.  It's a money maker.  Cell phones don't have to jump around on the public PBX switches like land line's do.  For instance, on a land line, if your in GA calling to MI, you could use up to 4 switches, but with cellular, if you call from Alaska to NY, it's only going on 1 switch.  Thus, there are no long distance toll charges.  The cell companies don't pay switch charges, but charge you long distance based on the prefix your calling.  Landline phone companies have to pay switch charges, cell phone companies don't.

Last but not least. It costs cell phone companies, after all the bills are paid, less than ONE CENT for 1 minute for you to make a phone call.  They charge you $0.35 cents for that 1 minute.   Total profit: $0.34

Are ya mad yet


 ;D

[cornercamping]

Forgot one: The SIM Card

On GSM, and iDEN phones, there is a SIM card.  That is what differentiates one carrier from another, and nothing more.  If you own a phone, and want it hooked up with a carrier, they should GIVE YOU the SIM card.  Some try to charge anywhere from $10.00-$50.00 for a card.  This is total BS.  The actual cost of a SIM card is less than $3.00 and anything more is profit.  Also, they can't force you to buy a phone to get a SIM card.  If they do, ask for the manager, and threaten to call the FCC.  Cingular recently got hit with a $1 Mill fine for this by the feds.   If they try and charge you for a SIM card, tell them that your not interested, and the other company will give it to you for free.  See how fast they change their tune.  If your really having problems, send me an email, and I'll send you a SIM card, and all you owe me is a stamp.  I have them for everyone, and cases of them.  They give them to us at work by the thousands, for FREE. You can get a SIM card from anywhere, and use it as long as it's never been used before.  A Cingular SIM card is a Cingular SIM card no matter where you bought it, or got it from.
Also, if you can't get anywhere at a store, call the sales office or main number and talk to someone in sales.  Actually, the over the phone sales people have more power than instore sales.


 

 ;D