Explorer
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25 Messages
Will Northeast MI ever receive 3G?
I've heard talk about how ATT is "working on their network coverage" and plans to provide 3G service in Northeast MI "in the coming months". Well, now that another 2 year contract has expired, I'm seriously wondering if I would be better off jumping to Verizon. The EDGE data network up here if virtually useless. 5 full bars, yet extremely poor data transfer.
Can anyone provide an HONEST answer as to when this coverage is planned to be upgraded??? Verizon has had 3G for quite a long while up here...
American Ninja
Scholar
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151 Messages
10 years ago
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Lewyman
Scholar
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391 Messages
10 years ago
I can say that the 3G/4G signal is getting out farther than what the coverage map is depicting:) I studied the AT&T coverage map for a while this evening and pretty much figured out there are 8 or 9 towers in NE lower MI that are still 2G but haven't checked the U.P. yet.
I am still waiting for a reply regarding the tower in Lathrop. I also asked why certain towers, including the Lathrop site, only have 1 broadband panel per sector. Every single site I have seen has 2, 3 on sites with LTE.
Well, the deep freeze has set in and I think all the AT&T tower crews have migrated to Florida for the winter.
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Lewyman
Scholar
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391 Messages
10 years ago
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c0n
Mentor
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43 Messages
10 years ago
Hi guys/girls,
Still on Edge..haven't seen trucks or spots of hspa+ or 3g since last time I posted.
Makes it awesome to run a business when not in the office and need to check email or go online.
I'd rather have a 14baud modem like I did in '89 on BBS... This is getting depressing and ignorant.
there's no competition up here though. ATT/Verizon/Charter and their various mnvo.
Pardon the emo rant. Frustrating to not be able to use a service (data) that you pay for. When google.com times out with full "signal" I'm stuck finding a McDonald's to use their WiFi....
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Lewyman
Scholar
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391 Messages
10 years ago
I am starting to think that backhaul is the culprit for a majority of those towers up there not being upgraded yet.
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Tpeltz
Scholar
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136 Messages
10 years ago
3/31/14 is the target date for all current active UMTS cell sites in NE MI to have enhanced backhaul and LTE live. Moreover, AT&T will be deploying HD Voice over their UMTS (3G/HSPA+) network VERY soon. Training will be this week in Chicago for some AT&T employees. I expect that HD Voice over UMTS will be active by the end of Q1.
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American Ninja
Scholar
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151 Messages
10 years ago
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Tpeltz
Scholar
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136 Messages
10 years ago
Yes, much higher quality calls using the AMR-WB voice codec. Check out this video for a sample of HD Voice: http://youtu.be/LXEIi2JwgR4
It doubles the sampling rate of the human voice and reduces background noises substantially.
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jwagger
Teacher
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29 Messages
10 years ago
There have been many different target dates within the last two years and I don't believe ATT hit any one of them. I don't think many of us will be holding our breath or sipping the kool aid. Target dates for ATT are arbitrary dates they throw out to keep people happy and have something to look forward to. Funny thing is it makes matters worse. People would like the truth and a concrete date rather than being strung along month after month.
Oh and HD Voice is something TMobile has had for the last year, so it's nothing novel that ATT is releasing. .
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Lewyman
Scholar
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391 Messages
10 years ago
Well, target dates that a few of us have given aren't "officially" from AT&T, but rather from people who are actively involved in working on the towers and network buildout. It is hard to say exactly what the hold up is in regards to the majority of 2G only sites that haven't been upgraded yet, but I am guessing it is the backhaul. I agree it is frustrating to say the least.
As far as T-Mobile.....you can't really compare them to AT&T. Their native coverage area, including Metro PCS's assets, only covers about 1/3 of Michigan and not all of their coverage area has HD voice or even 3G. My area (Romeo/Almont) has Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint LTE already but T-Mobile is still 2G only and they roam on AT&T's network in the northern 2/3rd's MI. Lol
Edit: I guess my point is yes T-Mo had HD voice for a while but in limited areas. AT&T will be launching theirs over their entire 3G/4G network which is much larger than T-Mo's. By summer, AT&T's 4G/LTE network should be much larger and faster than it is today:)
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