Registered: Jan 2000
Location:
Posts: 219

Well I looked at Omnisky, YadaYada, and GoAmerica. None of them covers places I live or work. This is Omnisky's answer:

quote:

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Our network coverage is constantly expanding however, there are some areas where we do not currently have coverage. Any network expansion would rely on our carriers expanding the wireless CDPD network. At this time we are not able to answer specific questions about when network expansion will take place in a certain area of the country. Please check our website regularly to check on network coverage.

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Taki
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Registered: Aug 2000
Location:
Posts: 7

Your Not Alone

I live between Detroit and Toledo, OH, I have the same problem.
It would be nice if someone used the old Idirum Satellite phone Satellites to offer wireless access nationwide.

Registered: Jul 2000
Location:
Posts: 3034

Nope. You're not the only one. I'm out of luck on all counts. There's no wireless data carriers here. There's also no GSM or CDMA provider in the area, so I'm out of luck on the VisorPhone front too.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Connecticut USA
Posts: 2682

My cellular provider, Verizon, has coverage here in Connecticut. However, there are two places my cell phone won't work due to poor signals: my home and work (neither of which are in rural areas). There's even a cell tower less than 500' from my home (not Verizon's). I'm sure any of these wireless plans are no different coverage-wise. They've been telling me for the past 2 years that they're working on expanding coverage areas all the time. Not!

Next month when my contract is up for renewal, I'm going to put them on the spot and see what their excuse is this time. This whole wireless idea is nice, but the providers really need to get their acts together. Especially at the prices they're charging!

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God bless America, my home sweet home...

Registered: Oct 2000
Location:
Posts: 106

Re: Your Not Alone

quote:

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Originally posted by ziggy_34
I live between Detroit and Toledo, OH, I have the same problem.
It would be nice if someone used the old Idirum Satellite phone Satellites to offer wireless access nationwide.

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Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

How about international people....I live in the country's biggest city (Sydney) and no network at all
But at least we have a good GSM network.....

Ironically Florida almost has a statewide coverage...maybe they should have voted wireless

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Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Burlington, VT, USA
Posts: 127

This is a problem for a LOT of the country. The entire state of Vermont is out of luck right now -- the only digital cellular provider does TDMA, which is useless for data.

And if you look at coverage maps, they're almost always centered around major metropolitan areas.

Toolkit, if you have GSM, you can at least get one of the GSM adapters (like the Xircom) and use your phone and a standard dial-up ISP.

Geographically, much of the US is out of luck for wireless coverage. But the major metro areas are covered, and that's plenty to keep the wireless providers happy for now. :-(

(Oddly, the map of areas NOT covered by wireless data looks just like the map of counties that voted for Bush. Conspiracy theorists, run with THAT one. (But not on this board, please. :-)

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Denny Atkin / [email protected]
Editor-in-Chief, Handheld Computing Magazine / www.hhcmag.com

Registered: Feb 2000
Location:
Posts: 70

No luck in GA.

No coverage in the state of Georgia for Omnisky or Yadayada

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tuffy

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Sydney Australia
Posts: 1883

quote:

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Originally posted by dennya
(Oddly, the map of areas NOT covered by wireless data looks just like the map of counties that voted for Bush. Conspiracy theorists, run with THAT one. (But not on this board, please.

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But off course, Gore invented the internet, if there is none people will vote for Bush.... makes sense doesn't it?

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

Rural areas are going to be without wireless connectivity for some time to come, I'm sure.

I live in the middle of Saint Paul, MN. I have a Sprint PCS phone that does not work at my house, even though I am about 200 feet from the interstate and less than a mile from downtown.

What bugs me is this:
1) Their maps show that there is full coverage.
2) They sold me a phone KNOWING my address
3) When I first complained, they told me to update my phone
4) When I called again, they said they'd run a trouble ticket and get back to me (they never did)
5) When I called back to see what was up, they said "oh...that's a known service hole. We have no plans to fix that." And, because I've had my phone for more that 15 days, I'm SOL with a 2 year contract I can't really fully use.

So, they knowingly sold me phone that they know would not work at my address and refuse to refund my money.

I've since learned that Sprint PCS's 'nationwide' coverage is pretty much like swiss cheese. You can't go more than a few miles without hitting a sever service hole and dropping a call.

I have NO love for the wireless industry at this point.

Thanks for letting me vent...

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Registered: Jan 2000
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 1683

Oops...I kind of ran off-topic on that last post.

Back to the topic at hand, I don't think a large part of the country will see wireless technologies, as they are today, ever.

Current wireless systems require towers every so many feet. To install these towers, you need to justify the cost by having enough subscribers in the area. The population ourside of MAJOR metroplitan areas is simply to small to justify so many antennas.

So, until REAL sattelite technology comes along, we are at the mercy of these companies. (Sadly, the Iridium network was probably a few years before its time).

THAT said, one possible future development is the advent of the high-bandwidth sattelite systems. Within 2 years, we should have 3+ megabit, 2-way sattelite systems. Combine that with your own, personal wireless ethernet antennae (people have reported 20 mile radiuses (what's the plural of radius?) with those things, and, theoreticaly, you could have your own local wireless system out of your own house.

I could then receive my phone, cable, and internet through one satellite dish, hook that up to my own private server, and then use my Visor 2002 model with combination ethernet phone and have my own city-wide network.

You have to dream...

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We're all naked if you turn us inside out.
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