Verizon wireless - how is signal coverage in Hershey PA?

Author

how is signal coverage in Hershey PA?

2005-09-27, 5:48 pm

Hello,

I recently moved to Hershey, PA. I am thinking of switching from
Sprint to Cingular, or Verizon. I don't get any signal on my Sprint
phone in my office, but my colleage can talk on his Verizon phone.

Could those people in Hershey please tell me how do you like Cingular
in this area?

How does Cingluar compares with Sprint or Verizon?

I have been with Sprint for several years. My currently plan is 750
minutes, two phones, evening starts at 8:00 pm, for $60 a month. Can I
get similar deal with Cingular or Verizon?

What kind of phone would I get if I decided to switch?

Thanks!

ST

George

2005-09-27, 5:48 pm

ST wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I recently moved to Hershey, PA. I am thinking of switching from
> Sprint to Cingular, or Verizon. I don't get any signal on my Sprint
> phone in my office, but my colleage can talk on his Verizon phone.
>
> Could those people in Hershey please tell me how do you like Cingular
> in this area?
>
> How does Cingluar compares with Sprint or Verizon?
>
> I have been with Sprint for several years. My currently plan is 750
> minutes, two phones, evening starts at 8:00 pm, for $60 a month. Can I
> get similar deal with Cingular or Verizon?
>
> What kind of phone would I get if I decided to switch?
>
> Thanks!
>
> ST
>

I can verify that VZW has great coverage in that area.

Ted B.

2005-09-27, 5:48 pm

"ST" <ShidongTong@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1127805711.908040.216510@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Hello,
>
> I recently moved to Hershey, PA. I am thinking of switching from
> Sprint to Cingular, or Verizon. I don't get any signal on my Sprint
> phone in my office, but my colleage can talk on his Verizon phone.
>
> Could those people in Hershey please tell me how do you like Cingular
> in this area?
>
> How does Cingluar compares with Sprint or Verizon?
>
> I have been with Sprint for several years. My currently plan is 750
> minutes, two phones, evening starts at 8:00 pm, for $60 a month. Can I
> get similar deal with Cingular or Verizon?
>
> What kind of phone would I get if I decided to switch?
>
> Thanks!
>
> ST
>

We just spent a week in Hershey, visiting friends. We have two Nokia 3220,
which normally get excellent reception. Everywhere we went in Hershey, we
had a strong signal. HOWEVER, we had a number of phone calls (on both
handsets) that just dropped in the Hershey area for no apparent reason at
all (signal strength good, BTW). We don't live in PA. At home, we have no
problem with dropped calls with the same phones that were dropping calls in
Hershey area. I think overall you'd be satisfied with Cingular service in
Hershey. It appears that Cingular has a bad tower or two in the area,
though.

On a side note, we dumped Verizon due to outrageous billing errors that
Verizon acknowleged, but refused to correct. Comparing Cingular to Verizon
.. . . Cingular is a MUCH better service than Verizon, in ALL ways. The
coverage (GSM nation) is better, you get more minutes for the same price,
you get rollover minutes, and NO BILLING ERRORS. I wouldn't go back to
Verizon if Verizon paid me to use it. I was a Verizon customer for several
years until their billing department had a multi-month stupid attack.
Verizon coverage was GOOD, but Cingular's is even better. Considering
Cingular is less expensive and (so far at least) has accurate billing, it's
a no-brainer. If you must switch from Sprint, try Cingular. Just watch out
for the bad towers in the Hershey area. -Dave

George

2005-09-27, 5:48 pm

Ted B. wrote:
>
>
> We just spent a week in Hershey, visiting friends. We have two Nokia 3220,
> which normally get excellent reception. Everywhere we went in Hershey, we
> had a strong signal. HOWEVER, we had a number of phone calls (on both
> handsets) that just dropped in the Hershey area for no apparent reason at
> all (signal strength good, BTW). We don't live in PA. At home, we have no
> problem with dropped calls with the same phones that were dropping calls in
> Hershey area. I think overall you'd be satisfied with Cingular service in
> Hershey. It appears that Cingular has a bad tower or two in the area,
> though.
>
> On a side note, we dumped Verizon due to outrageous billing errors that
> Verizon acknowleged, but refused to correct. Comparing Cingular to Verizon
> . . . Cingular is a MUCH better service than Verizon, in ALL ways. The
> coverage (GSM nation) is better, you get more minutes for the same price,
> you get rollover minutes, and NO BILLING ERRORS. I wouldn't go back to
> Verizon if Verizon paid me to use it. I was a Verizon customer for several
> years until their billing department had a multi-month stupid attack.
> Verizon coverage was GOOD, but Cingular's is even better. Considering
> Cingular is less expensive and (so far at least) has accurate billing, it's
> a no-brainer. If you must switch from Sprint, try Cingular. Just watch out
> for the bad towers in the Hershey area. -Dave
>
>

The OP asked for a recommendation in a specific area. VZW has solid
coverage there while Cingular seems to have some "bad towers".

How can you claim Cingular has the best ever super good network when you
report it doesn't work in a populated area (Hershey) that is only 10
miles away from the state capitol (Harrisburg)? And judging from the
people I know that have Cingular they seem to have "bad towers" in other
locations too.

Ted B.

2005-09-27, 5:48 pm

>
> The OP asked for a recommendation in a specific area. VZW has solid
> coverage there while Cingular seems to have some "bad towers".
>
> How can you claim Cingular has the best ever super good network when you
> report it doesn't work in a populated area (Hershey) that is only 10 miles
> away from the state capitol (Harrisburg)? And judging from the people I
> know that have Cingular they seem to have "bad towers" in other locations
> too.

Good questions which I will gladly answer. For many years, I've been paid
to travel all over the U.S. Mostly East Coast areas, but have hit all but
one or two states recently. With both Verizon and Cingular, I have had
almost NO problems at all, as far as coverage goes. Yes, there are areas
where there is NO coverage from either Verizon or Cingular. Overall,
Cingular's coverage seems to be better than Verizon, however (fewer 'no
signal at all' areas with Cingular, in my experience). The exception seems
to be the Hershey area of PA though. This is the only place I've had a
problem worth commenting on, when I've used Cingular handsets on the GSM
nation plan. That's significant considering that I've used Cingular GSM
handsets all over the U.S.

There may be a few local areas where Cingular has shitty coverage. In my
experience though, Cingular is great if you do a lot of travelling. I don't
think my experience (with Cingular) would have been so positive if the
average area had shitty coverage from Cingular. Therefore it's logical to
conclude that Cingular has pretty good coverage in most areas. Hershey PA
may be an exception though. I'd have to hear from other Cingular users in
the area to see if their experience matched my recent experience
re. -Dave

Tiffany

2005-09-27, 5:48 pm

Ted B.

2005-09-27, 5:48 pm

> I work in Hershey PA and have no problems at all.
>
> T

That's good to hear. Now, are you a Verizon, Sprint or Cingular customer?
If so, which one? :) -Dave

Mij Adyaw

2005-09-27, 5:48 pm

If Sprint does not work well, I would go with Verizon. Verizon uses CDMA
technology and EVDO that is superior to the GSM technology that is offered
by Cingular.

-mij

"Ted B." <noway@nohow.not.ever> wrote in message
news:43396733$0$1382
7$892e7fe2@authen.white.readfreenews.net...
>
> That's good to hear. Now, are you a Verizon, Sprint or Cingular customer?
> If so, which one? :) -Dave
>

Bob the Printer

2005-09-27, 5:48 pm

"ST" <ShidongTong@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1127805711.908040.216510@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

> I have been with Sprint for several years. My currently plan is 750
> minutes, two phones, evening starts at 8:00 pm, for $60 a month. Can I
> get similar deal with Cingular or Verizon?

I think you'll be paying more for VZW. The other matters I can't comment
about.

Tinman

2005-09-27, 5:48 pm

Ted B. wrote:
>
> Good questions which I will gladly answer. For many years, I've been
> paid to travel all over the U.S. Mostly East Coast areas, but have
> hit all but one or two states recently. With both Verizon and
> Cingular, I have had almost NO problems at all, as far as coverage
> goes. Yes, there are areas where there is NO coverage from either
> Verizon or Cingular. Overall, Cingular's coverage seems to be better
> than Verizon, however (fewer 'no signal at all' areas with Cingular,
> in my experience). The exception seems to be the Hershey area of PA
> though.

So the whole country is better served by GSM than CDMA/AMPS except for
Hershey, PA. What a coincidence.

You did say you had a GSM-only phone, right? If so I'd love to see you
get a signal in some of the AMPS-only boonies that exist in the U.S. to
this day (you're not the only one who travels).

FWIW, your opinion seems a little too tainted--due to a CS issue with
Verizon--to be taken seriously. There are people who have had negative
CS experiences with Cingular. And Sprint, and T-Mobile...

--
Mike

Ted B.

2005-09-27, 5:48 pm

> So the whole country is better served by GSM than CDMA/AMPS except for
> Hershey, PA. What a coincidence.

Well, every area I've travelled, anyway. That does cover quite a bit of the
country. It's only a "coincidence" that someone ASKED about Hershey shortly
after I got back from that area, and noticed that Cingular doesn't seem to
work as well there as it does in all other areas I've tried it.

>
> You did say you had a GSM-only phone, right? If so I'd love to see you get
> a signal in some of the AMPS-only boonies that exist in the U.S. to this
> day (you're not the only one who travels).

Like I said, there are areas where neither Verizon NOR Cingular have
coverage. You can't expect a single cell service to have coverage
everywhere, even if you still have a dinosaur analog phone. If you expect a
cell phone to work everywhere you go, then ALL cellular services suck raw
eggs. You have to put it in perspective . . . does the service work for you
most of the time? If so, then it's pretty good. I travel a lot, and I'm
overall pretty happy with Cingular.

> FWIW, your opinion seems a little too tainted--due to a CS issue with
> Verizon--to be taken seriously. There are people who have had negative CS
> experiences with Cingular. And Sprint, and T-Mobile...
>

No doubt. But I'd never claim that Verizon has poor coverage. Their
coverage is pretty good, also tested by myself in many areas of the U.S.
I'd personally never go back to using Verizon as I don't agree with some of
their predatory (IMHO) billing practices. But then, the OP did ask about
coverage. I don't remember if I've ever been to Hershey/Harrisburg area
while carrying a Verizon handset. If so, I didn't have any coverage
problems there, as I would have remembered, if I did. -Dave

Joseph

2005-09-27, 11:48 pm

On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 09:10:39 -0700, "Mij Adyaw" <mijadyaw@nospam.net>
wrote:

>If Sprint does not work well, I would go with Verizon. Verizon uses CDMA
>technology and EVDO that is superior to the GSM technology that is offered
>by Cingular.

And if you do not use data it's a moot point at best.

- -

Joseph

2005-09-27, 11:48 pm

On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 10:05:46 -0700, "Tinman"
< mlynch@REMOVEMEcitli
nk.net> wrote:

>You did say you had a GSM-only phone, right? If so I'd love to see you
>get a signal in some of the AMPS-only boonies that exist in the U.S. to
>this day (you're not the only one who travels).

And in another three years that won't matter either as AMPS will be
shut down anyway.

- -

Tinman

2005-09-27, 11:48 pm

Joseph wrote:
> On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 10:05:46 -0700, "Tinman"
> < mlynch@REMOVEMEcitli
nk.net> wrote:
>
>
> And in another three years that won't matter either as AMPS will be
> shut down anyway.
>

First, three years is a heck of a long time, relatively speaking (i.e.,
50% longer than a two-year cellphone contract).

Second, AMPS is not going to be "shut down." Certainly not in the
boonies where there is no other coverage. (Though I suspect you don't
understand the difference between a requirement to "shut" something down
and a non-requirement to keep something up.)

But I'll be sure to mention your point the next time, when in an
AMPS-only coverage area, a GSM/Nextel user asks to borrow my
dual-band/tri-mode phone.

--
Mike

Tiffany

2005-09-28, 2:48 am

"Ted B." <noway@nohow.not.ever> wrote in message
news:43396733$0$1382
7$892e7fe2@authen.white.readfreenews.net...
>
> That's good to hear. Now, are you a Verizon, Sprint or Cingular customer?
> If so, which one? :) -Dave
>

Cingular

Ben Skversky

2005-09-28, 5:48 pm

You might want to check T-Mobile too.

"ST" <ShidongTong@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1127805711.908040.216510@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Hello,
>
> I recently moved to Hershey, PA. I am thinking of switching from
> Sprint to Cingular, or Verizon. I don't get any signal on my Sprint
> phone in my office, but my colleage can talk on his Verizon phone.
>
> Could those people in Hershey please tell me how do you like Cingular
> in this area?
>
> How does Cingluar compares with Sprint or Verizon?
>
> I have been with Sprint for several years. My currently plan is 750
> minutes, two phones, evening starts at 8:00 pm, for $60 a month. Can I
> get similar deal with Cingular or Verizon?
>
> What kind of phone would I get if I decided to switch?
>
> Thanks!
>
> ST
>

Joseph

2005-09-28, 5:48 pm

On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:52:31 -0700, "Tinman"
< mlynch@REMOVEMEcitli
nk.net> wrote:

>But I'll be sure to mention your point the next time, when in an
>AMPS-only coverage area, a GSM/Nextel user asks to borrow my
>dual-band/tri-mode phone.

If you want to put your head in the sand and pretend that AMPS is not
going away go for it. The fact remains that AMPS *will* be going away
eventually.

- -

Tinman

2005-09-28, 5:48 pm

Joseph wrote:
> On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:52:31 -0700, "Tinman"
> < mlynch@REMOVEMEcitli
nk.net> wrote:
>
>
> If you want to put your head in the sand and pretend that AMPS is not
> going away go for it. The fact remains that AMPS *will* be going away
> eventually.
>

Covering your bases is not putting your "head in the sand."

But I'll be sure to use that phrase the next time, when in an AMPS-only
coverage area, a GSM/Nextel user asks to borrow my dual-band/tri-mode
phone: "No you cannot borrow my phone. It's not my fault you had your
head in the sand here in BFE and thought your phone would still work."
Yea, I like that. (I think I can pull it off without asterisks, so feel
free to use my allotment.)

--
Mike

John Richards

2005-09-28, 5:48 pm

Joseph wrote:
> On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:52:31 -0700, "Tinman"
> < mlynch@REMOVEMEcitli
nk.net> wrote:
>
>
> If you want to put your head in the sand and pretend that AMPS is not
> going away go for it. The fact remains that AMPS *will* be going away
> eventually.

An argument could be made that "you* have your head in the sand.
"Eventually" could be a long time off. In the meantime, I'm going to
keep buying hansets that have AMPS as one of the fallback roaming
modes, to ensure coverage in the boonies. The average life cycle of a
handset is only 18-24 months, so it's not like you're making a lifetime
investment.

--
John Richards

Joseph Huber

2005-09-28, 11:48 pm

On Wed, 28 Sep 2005 16:57:21 GMT, "John Richards" wrote:
>Joseph wrote:
>An argument could be made that "you* have your head in the sand.
>"Eventually" could be a long time off. In the meantime, I'm going to
>keep buying hansets that have AMPS as one of the fallback roaming
>modes, to ensure coverage in the boonies. The average life cycle of a
>handset is only 18-24 months, so it's not like you're making a lifetime
>investment.

Same here. Out in the boonies I travel to, there are a couple of
small communities that just got AMPS service in the last 2 years, and
the carriers are still fighting over AMPS roaming agreements. Digital
service in these areas is years away.

Joe Huber
huber.joseph@comcast.net

LinkBot