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...
randu22
Explorer
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6 Messages
11 years ago
Even Sprint will have Bay City and Saginaw on LTE in the next few months. AT&T better step it up.
Randy
2g in Alpena
The full list of markets that will gain access to Sprint 4G LTE follows:
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Lewyman
Scholar
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391 Messages
11 years ago
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Mjrtom7
Explorer
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25 Messages
11 years ago
Is there hope on the horizon....???
I called ATT last week to complain (yet again) about the poor data coverage in the Alpena area. I stated that I've been a loyal customer for about 4 years now, and year after year I am given the false hope that some day (hopefully before I retire and move away) they will upgreade the service in my area. I told them that that I can only use about half of the fancy functions on my phone due to lack of data connectivity (Siri? nope. Maps? barely. Speach to text? nope). Only using wifi, but not through Edge. I was seriously planning to pay the cx fee and jump ship.
After speaking with the first agent, she politely offered to credit my account for $30/mo for the next 6 mos to cover my unlimited texting. I told her that would be great....HOWEVER....and trying not to sound ungrateful...I was still concerned that the poor data service was here to stay and that I held out no hope of ever seeing improvement. She sympathized with my complaint and dircted me to another department, where she felt my concerns could be better addressed.
The next fella I spoke with was very cordial and sympathetic as well. After giving him my iPhone-life horror story, he offered to credit my account for an additional $250 dollars! Clearly they are becoming sensitive to the complaints of shoddy service and are trying to do something about it. He further offered that (although he wasn't supposed to bandy about any dates) they are planning to have 3G service in Alpena by March 29, and 4G service in mid May of this year.
I don't know if they will be able to hold to these dates...or if this is just more fluff aimed at trying to placate the people who call with concerns. What I do know is that I will be saving $380 over the next 6 months on my phone bill and, hopefully, by the end of that time I will be able to pull up a map on my phone to give me directions to the beer store so I can go pick up a 6 pack and celebrate.
If you haven't contacted ATT to express your concerns over the lack of service in your area, it may be worth your while to do so. I was very polite and measured in my conversations with the folks on the line, and they genuinely seemed to appreciate my complaints. Here's hoping that they can keep to these timelines and FINALLY get service upgraded in our neck of the woods!
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JREwing53
Scholar
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173 Messages
11 years ago
I called today and they never offered me anything. But they did say that our towers are to upgraded to 4G on June 29, 2013.
Ok, now I've heard these promises before, but at least they give me hope.
The problem for me is, that Verizon is horrible here. They don't even have cell coverage in Pickford. I guess i will ride it out and hopefully will be a happy camper by Independance Day!
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Lewyman
Scholar
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391 Messages
11 years ago
That is some good news and it sounds like AT&T is trying to keep their customers happy. You know that Verizon has 4G LTE live in and around Alpena?? OK....basically what AT&T considers "4G" is essentially what the 3G standard should be, unless they specify LTE......and Alpena will not be getting AT&T LTE sorry to say. The thing that sucks is they need to keep expanding. Take Gaylord for example....it has 4G(H+) but they have not continued to expand so if you go south or east you fall back to EDGE. They are focusing more on the western part of the state and will eventually upgrade northeast Mi but its going to be a while. They did announce at the end of last year that they will be investing something like 2 billion in Michigan the next couple of years. So that is a huge shot in the arm and lets hope this year they start kickin it!!
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Mjrtom7
Explorer
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25 Messages
11 years ago
I hear ya @Lewyman....I know the big V has had great cell service here for awhile. At least I'll be able to pull up a web page or a map on my phone without having to sit there and swear at the screen while it spins and loads. Most of my Google searches are returned with "try again", and using apps like AtBat for baseball games, or Pandora for music....it simply won't work.
Any upgrade will be a welcome one...
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Lewyman
Scholar
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391 Messages
11 years ago
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Wild Banchi
Master
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10.2K Messages
11 years ago
I would assume that she lives somewhere in lower Michigan where the service is at least running on the 3G network.
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Lewyman
Scholar
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391 Messages
11 years ago
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American Ninja
Scholar
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151 Messages
11 years ago
I hope Escanaba, MI gets 3G/4G soon. Verizon has had it for a while now. I got an email the other day from AT&T saying 4G is avavliable on my network but, it said 4G is now avavliable in Detroit but, I don't live in Detroit. lol I live in the Upper Peninsula. Just a few minutes ago I got a text message from AT&T telling me how to turn on 3G on my phone. So I dont know if that means 3G/4G is coming to Excanaba soon?
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