I need a carrier education

[swanysto]

So a few years back I was on Sprint. They had just got the iphone and their network was a mess. I then switched to Verizon. Verizon has been good for the most part, however, I have always had problems inside solid concrete/block buildings(work). I have to step outside the building to call/text people back or check my voice mails. The people I work with have the same phone, and they are on AT&T and use theirs with no issue throughout the day.

Do they run at different bands that make one work in buildings better? Is it a CDMA/GSM issue? I seem to fun into the issue no matter where I travel. I do not know much about this kind of stuff, but I would like to understand it a little more.

 

[Artdeco]

It's a problem, some bands penetrate much better

http://hightechforum.org/low-versus-high-radio-spectrum/

 

[Dulanic]

Also if you can get on your works wifi? Phones with wifi calling will make a huge difference.

 

[JeffMD]

Picking a carrier based on band frequency is pointless now, carriers carry a number of different band frequencies since going to 4g, and it is hard to tell which freq you will end up getting as it depends on the tower you are using.

The strength inside the building these days come down to signal strength. It is clear, OP, that verizon's tower is quite a distance away while ATT has one very close. Where I work sprint built one very close and you can get a good signal anywhere, while verizon and ATT are weak and T-Mobile is nonexistent.

Verizon supports wifi calling on phones that support it (also post pay only I believe) so a wifi connection can route voice and SMS messages (the voice mail doesn't however).

 

[Puffnstuff]

If the phone won't natively support calls over wifi you can get a 3rd party app that will and keep what you've got. Google hangouts will call over wifi as will text now (keeps a static phone number) so you've got options.

 

[swanysto]

Only problem with Wifi calling is that I am not always at my office. I have to go to job sites that don't have wifi.

I don't necessarily agree Jeff. This happens no matter where I am. I am in the construction business, and we work in a lot of precast/block buildings all around the city. I can walk out of these building and immediately have full bars and make crystal clear calls and get fast internet. Same thing if I am in the basement of houses. I can walk upstairs and get great service. Same thing with my wife when she is at school.

 

[JeffMD]

Swany, you don't have to agree, but it is fact.


Everyone supports low and high frequencies now, but the towers are built with a transceiver using only one of those frequencies.

Also the phone itself will have an effect, some phones are worse at low strength.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Swany have you considered getting a signal booster for your vehicle to help you maintain contact in areas where there's a weak signal?

 

[swanysto]

Swany, you don't have to agree, but it is fact.


Everyone supports low and high frequencies now, but the towers are built with a transceiver using only one of those frequencies.

Also the phone itself will have an effect, some phones are worse at low strength.

I guess Verizon is just poor in the 4 states that I travel to. Time to get AT&T I guess.

Puffnstuff: I would rather not get a signal booster, if AT&T works just fine with only the phone. None of my co-workers have the issues I have, so they must have better towers in the states I work in.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Doesn't T-Mobile Extended Range LTE (aka "Band 12") go through walls better?

 

[JeffMD]

Poofy, it might, but not every tower has it. Even if it is made apart of all new towers, old towers don't get upgraded aside from a much slower update cycle.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Doesn't T-Mobile Extended Range LTE (aka "Band 12") go through walls better?

Yes, but 3 of the 4 carriers have 700 MHz capabilities, so they should all be fine.

The other obvious factor is how close you are to those towers, because having 700 MHz is one thing, but having it where you need it to be is another. But keep in mind it's not a guarantee either because most of Japan uses Band 1 (2100 MHz) which penetrates just fine. Most of the world used 2100 MHz UMTS and had no issues either.

 

[pm]

In general lower frequencies penetrate buildings better than higher frequencies - for example, table 1 in this link: http://www.vilicom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Penetration-Loss.pdf which shows a 12dB loss at 2400MHz, an 11dB loss at 2100MHz and a 9dB loss at 900MHz. There are other similar papers out there showing the same thing. That said, there are certain frequencies that correspond to the absorption wavelength of certain building materials that and so "lower is always better" isn't always true... but it's generally true.

Second, being closer to a higher frequency tower will result in a better connection than being farther away from a lower frequency tower. So where the towers are relative to where you are is more important than the frequency... which is why people in major cities can have great reception at >2GHz inside of buildings.

Back to the original question, swanysto, if you want the best coverage you want the network with the best tower coverage for the area that you are at. In general across the US, that's Verizon, but specifically where you are it can be AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile. In general, you will have the best service with Verizon, but there will be times when, for example, the AT&T tower is closer and the AT&T guys have better coverage... and if that specific coverage is more important than broader general coverage, then you could consider switching to AT&T.

Towers don't all cover all frequencies - in fact, they usually don't - so if you want to totally geek out, you can pull up the maps (which can be hard to find) of which towers are on which network (2G, 3G, LTE, etc) and which frequencies and optimize your phone for that.

WiFi calling helps a lot - but only if you have WiFi and only if your phone and network support it and only if there is WiFi where you are at.

GoogleFi picks the best tower or WiFi between Sprint and T-Mobile and uses both networks and will use WiFi if that's available so that can be a good option.

To maximize your odds of the best coverage, always choose the phone with the most supported frequencies and the one that has the most networks (2G, 3G, LTE) coverage. So in general when you are picking phones and you need to decide between two phones, look at what bands each covers and pick the phone with the broadest coverage.

 

[lakedude]

The best carrier is very location dependent, especially if you factor in being indoors. Most everybody swears by Verizon but where I work my cheap $25 a month "unlimited" Sprint re-seller rules. I can play You Tube videos all day long with no hiccups but all the guys with expensive phones on expensive plans have no bars inside the building. I'm not claiming Sprint is better everywhere but where I work Sprint is awesome.

 

[lxskllr]

The best carrier is very location dependent, especially if you factor in being indoors. Most everybody swears by Verizon but where I work my cheap $25 a month "unlimited" Sprint re-seller rules. I can play You Tube videos all day long with no hiccups but all the guys with expensive phones on expensive plans have no bars inside the building. I'm not claiming Sprint is better everywhere but where I work Sprint is awesome.

Sprint gets a lot of flak, but the service has been acceptable for me. I get pretty good(not 100%) coverage just about everywhere I go.