9 Comments

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  wirelessguruwildabeast 10/31/2009 10:45:16 AM

  Just to set the record straight I am not here to talk negative about verizon but rather state the facts. People see media and think wow ATT must really stink. Working with the customers, network and community every day I can tell you ATT is dedicated to being the ultimate communication company in the world. From cell phone towers on wheels to micro cell and fiber optics to satilite phones att is either there or working on it. I don't wish any bad fortune on verizon because monopoly is bad ie Microsoft is better positioned then its been in years with strong competition from apple. With the recent sour economy many have been resorting to talk negative about other companys. While this may be the "easiest" way to advertise I think the companys that stick to there foundation of good customer service reliable and high quality products are the true winners. Once all the towers are up its just a game of customer service to keep your customers so any company who is in the black rather than the red in wireless is lucky because they have the funds to keep going the others are still there so monopoly dosn't exsist and sometimes are more bold than the big guys ie sprint advertising there 4g coverage found mostly in baltimore md or t mobile putting hot looking females on tv for the mobile make-over. Verizon and ATT make money so they must be doing something right. The rest rent space from these companys. Be warned though the best deal isn't always the best. Be sure to read the fine print when unlimited isn't truely unlimited and when your network isn't much of a network at all. Thanks everyone for reading and I hope my posting gives you incite in what the wireless future holds. wildabeast is signing out.
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  TJacobs 10/30/2009 1:26:14 PM

  Very interesting posts. sclomoson is correct about everyone having holes/coverage challenges. All of the carriers are limited by essentially line of sight radio technology and 'in building' penetration. Each carrier will have challenges with 1900 mhz vs 850 mhz - the latter carries farther and penetrates buildings better while the former carries the data traffic better.
  Every so many years there is a significant game changer in any industry...the iPhone was one. Period. People are willing to put up with poorer network performance - proven by third party testers, blogs, news reports, etc - to get a device. Until VZW, Sprint or TMobile can come up with a device that evens the playing field in the 'have to have' category then the iPhone will be it. And that means ATT gets the subscriber growth. Think the Motorola Razr phenomenon. Will Apple make a CDMA version? Will they wait for LTE? Who knows. But as long as the iPhone is the have to have device then whichever carrier gets it will have growth related to the device. IF that is Verizon - then watch out ATT.
  What is not discussed is the strengths of VZW still despite the numbers gain of ATT. What is also not discussd is the fact that ATT is advertising heavily their Microsoft Mobile based PDA devices and their Blackberry devices. Why? Their increase in ARPU is directly related to the use of the iPhone and its App store...will VZW rise to the challenge and provide content and user friendly cool devices? I don't think that Verizon - or any other carrier for that matter - chooses to sit on the sidelines and do nothing. Verizon is uniquely positioned to be able to act - don't knock them out yet.
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  foxhound 10/30/2009 12:37:31 AM

  People pay attention to the nonsense you are saying....Apple didn't choose AT&T, but was offered to AT&T when Verizon declined to get the iPhone because it doesn't have an interchangeable battery, it wouldn't place Verizon's logo on the iPhone, and no replacement or troubleshooting on the iPhone in a Verizon store but only through Apple or tech support. Once, it was declined by Verizon, Apple offered to AT&T which only cares about adding new adds instead of taking care of customers and that's why Verizon has been #1 on JD's Power Rankings for the best carrier and #1/#2 for Customer Satisfaction for over 5 yrs.. If Verizon was not #1, it was Alltel which as you know Verizon bought and finished conversion this yr.. The add also is not about the Speeds but about the coverage for 3g.....Yes AT&T is faster speeds but 1/5 the coverage Verizon has and I would rather have reliability and connectivity than the speed. Hence, why all smartphones on AT&T have Wi-Fi and if you noticed they promote Wi-Fi more than their coverage. Verizon is giving the option for 3g or Wi-Fi on most new smartphone launching in Nov and Dec to satisfy the needs of people that want Wi-Fi. Also, for that idiot that says the government chooses GSM, look at what carrier the President has....FYI Verizon reps were fired for accessing the Presidents personal account without consent....and blackberry is what the government uses and it doesn't matter if it's GSM or CDMA because it's about encrypted security for data transfer not for voice.....If you are a Wireless Guru then get your facts straight....Do not get AT&T for the iPhone, just get the iPod Touch which has Wi-Fi and does all the same apps but no dropped calls especially if you travel....My friend has a Verizon acct with the Touch and has the best of both worlds and so do I.....LTE is coming 3rd quarter to 4th quarter 2010 is most major markets to VZW and word is they will get the iPhone the
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  wirelessguruwildabeast 10/29/2009 1:53:10 PM

  GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is the world's most popular wireless phone technology. This is a general term to describe technologies requiring a sim card and imei device reconition. General term meaning you can describe any of the (GSM TECHNOLOGY) being level one gprs (35kps), level two edge (up to 1mbps), level three umts(3g) (up to 1.5mbps) or hsdpa (3g+)(up to 3mbps) and att is integrating 3.5g right now also know as the gsm 7.2 update and 4g lte (also gsm is right around the corner. I'm a technical engineer so yeah i know what i'm talking about thats straight out of the books.
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  Azeron 10/27/2009 11:03:18 PM

  Kid, talk out of your butt elsewhere. LTE is not GSM. "LTE is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) which will be introduced in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 8. The name UMTS, introduced by ETSI, is usually used in Europe. Outside of Europe, the system is also known by other names such as FOMA[1] or W-CDMA[nb 1][1]. In marketing, it is often just referred to as 3G." Source Wikipedia. GSM dead ended son. UMTS is actually W-CDMA which is closer related to CDMA2000 than GSM. The GSM carriers knowing their obselete technology was at a dead end developed W-CDMA and commonly call it UMTS as they say to keep from confusing it with CDMA2000. (Sure the reason isn't to admit that GSM is simply overrated and antique?) So again LTE is LTE.
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  wirelessguruwildabeast 10/27/2009 2:23:54 PM

  The nature of verizon's network (cdma) is longer carrying signal. The downside of this is the speed capacity and the call quality and simutaneous web/ talking capability. In japan gsm as already reached years ahead of us. Att is spending billings of dollars and putting up 2000 towers this year in its week areas and structuring 850mhz 3g to help penatrate buildings and flow further. I can tell when someone is on a verizon phone it sounds faded, full of static and like a tin can phone. On the otherhand on the iphone 3gs i was on the other day worked flawlessly sitting next to a major highway while on the phone and streaming internet at the same time. The 7.2 3g is being working on now and will increase network speed to 7.2mbps! I had the original att wireless when it was tri mode analog and that was ok but then when to gsm and had some problems at first but today is making large strides and is the best network for world wide coverage. Yes your correct people may go to verizon if they get the iphone but they will be back when verizon switches to gsm and has the same issues we had in the mid 1990's.On the other hand when i had verizon the call quality was very poor and phone choices where outdated and boring. I came to att got a sony ericsson and was hooked. Now i have a iphone and i am impressed how fast the network responds. whoever said 4g lte isn't gsm is wrong it is and wcdma is gsm too. everyone is going to be on gsm eventually. Companys who have to diss other companys on comericals are just desperate. Verizon and Att are head to head yes they bought alltel and increased there subscribers but we are catching back up fast with fewer lost customers(churn)and more customers gained. Are customer service is a lot better than ever and JD Power should reflect that soon and our network is on steriods. Just wait and see. Wireless Guru does his research.Be one step ahead choose the network the government chooses. Choose ATT!
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  schlomoson 10/27/2009 10:48:14 AM

  wildabeast... Go scratch your back on a tree, stop drinking the kookaid & let the adults leave the comments. A guru you are not after reading what you just salaciously threw out there. Every carrier will have holes in coverage, every one. AT&T just has bigger holes in more places (hmmm, another ad campaign?). There is a direct corelation to CDMA & the VZW map vs/ GSM & AT&T.
  I know many iPhone users & every single one expressed their readiness to bail when another US carrier gets it. They want the phone but not the network it's running on.
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  Azeron 10/27/2009 10:20:00 AM

  LTE isn't GSM...it's...LTE. There should be a moderator here to delete posts which are commercials like the one by wirelessguruwildabeast. This is great news for me. I called Verizon yesterday to have my Treo 700wx replaced and they tried to push an upgrade upon me. I told the rep, "I'm waiting for you guys to get the iphone. Totally shut her down. Verizon: Get LTE up and running and get the iphone. I do not care that there are better phones out there. I want the option of buying THIS one. Get it DONE, Lowell.
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  wirelessguruwildabeast 10/26/2009 9:28:55 PM

  For anyone who has seen verizon's new commerical playing of att's network (there's a map for that) Verizon dosn't say anything about att being the global standard and rated number one for world wide coverage of the fact that there 3g is slower and our 2g edge reaches there 3g speeds. This commercial is a joke. Out here in pa there are many areas where verizon's coverage is non existant and att has full bars. for simutaneous web and calls and fastest best quality voice and data network go with att. apple dosn't make cdma phones for a reason. sony ericsson dosn't make cdma for a reason. and att choices gsm for that same reason. while verizon begins switching to gsm watch as the problems begin.