Network Coverage

[GunTeach]

Is there any scientific study or forum that exists which can be used to determine how a particular carrier might cover a specific area?

I am in a rather annoying position at the moment. I currently have a Cingular Nation 100 plan that has been incredible in the USA. Basically I call from anywhere to anywhere in US for no extra charge and have hit very few locations where I had no service.

Today, I do work on an international basis and while I can make international calls on my phone, I can not roam internationally when I travel. My wife is wanting to replace her phone with one that will work across the USA for when we travel. And now my parents are joining the Senior Movement of summers in New England and Winters in Florida and want a phone they can carry around as their only phone. (ie, no land lines)

since voice is really the only thing I need to worry about, all the fancy phones really don't matter to me. It is the network and the ability to get service when I travel.

So, Is there a clear hands down 'BEST' carrier to fit all these needs? I want to go with one carrier for all our accounts so that we can get the shared discounts that so many carriers are offering.

Some other info... International travel is Europe on a Quarterly basis for about 2 weeks. India on maybe a yearly basis. National is just about everywhere. From New England to LA. From Florida to Seattle. Now I don't expect service in the desert or on the peaks of the Rockies, but I would like to know that the major cities, highways, and play areas are covered (Aspen, Vail, Padre island, Stowe, etc.)

So, anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks

[omie]

Hi there,

i cannot advise you on the Networks but a scroll in their various web sites plus a call to their customer service might be revealing as to their network coverage and their roaming agreements internationally.

But i would certainly recommend you go for a phone with a good battery life and a superior RF performance. The Nokia 6600 would be highly recommended as it is all this and a Triband phone(900,1800 and 1900). Lot of Asian countries incl India use the 900 and 1800 frequencies.

Cheers.

[Sid]

Originally posted by omie
The Nokia 6600 would be highly recommended as it is all this and a Triband phone(900,1800 and 1900). Lot of Asian countries incl India use the 900 and 1800 frequencies.

Why the Nokia 6600? There are a lot cheaper/better phones on the market that are tri-band.

[omie]

Hi there,

I recommend the Nokia 6600 because it is the business phone and it has plenty features for the road warrior.
As travelling is an important feature to india,Nokia is the way to as there are Nokia centres dotted the length and beadth of the country and one can find a Nokia charger even in the most remotest village.
cheers

[GunTeach]

The 6600 seems HUGE to me. I'm really not going to get all that wound up on hardware as what i really do is just talk on the phone. I MIGHT send 1 or two messages a month, usually grocery lists from my wife as I'm headed to the store. I do not need a huge color screen and VGA camera to do any of that. And in fact, a camera might be a problem in some of the places I visit.

I have called the carriers. Cingular claims they don't have any contracts with any international companies which is BS as without a contract, how could they do roaming billing?

T-Mobile continues to lie about their coverage as I have 'tested' their system in the new england area with the phone THEY claim was the best performer and got miserable coverage. Nextel does better.

AT&T is the only other GSM carrier. After the holidays, I'm getting an AT&T and Cingular GSM and having my parents drive them to Florida to see how they do.

I was really looking for a place to go and see how other people have seen these services in their neck of the woods, and how people are doing with them over seas. Can't find any forum or web page that really talks about the services.