Verizon Network Superiority, Why would the other carriers allow this???

[deputc26]

I know building Cell networks is expensive but Verizon's network is so clearly superior (talking normal voice connection not 3g or anything) that it constitutes a ridiculous competitive advantage. I am often out in the middle of no-where and myself and my other verizon friends consistently have service while others don't.

I know there are certain places where Verizon is not the best but it is by and large the exception. I won't even consider using another network so verizon has *my* market pretty much cornered and a high percentage of my friends are in the same boat.

Why on earth would the other carriers allow such a huge competitive advantage to exist?

I've read the wiki and several other pages on CDMA vs. GSM and who shares what networks but nothing was really clear, does Verizon/Sprint/Virgin Mobile share a network while AT&T and T-Mobile share another? How does that work?

Sick of Verizon's crippled phones and annoying nickel & diming, really hope someone is planning to step up.

Awright this has turned into somewhat of a rant, maybe I should go to bed

 

[zerocool84]

Different companies choose to focus on different aspects of their business. Verizon chose to focus on their network. AT&T chose to pump out money and focus on the phones but left the network on the backburner which has obviously done them very well. I like Sprint cus you pay a lot less and still get to roam on Verizon's network and Sprint's network is still infinitely better than AT&T. AT&T rapes it's customers. They charge a lot for horrible coverage but people want certain AT&T phones so bad that they are willing to put up with the lack of coverage to have those phones.

 

[QueBert]

It's been posted about on here, but you should look into PagePlus, they use Verizon towers, and you can use any Verizon phone with the service. They offer no contract plans, $30 for 1200 minutes + 1200 txt. or $40 for unlimited minutes + unlimited txt + 50 megs data. If data isn't a big deal for you, with P+ you can get Verizon access for CHEAP. Also they don't add tax, so the $30 plan is $30 straight up. I've read their customer support's awful but I can count the number of times I've had to call T Mobile in the year I've had them on 2 fingers. Switching to P+ in a few days so I can get the Verizon Coverage with the low low prices

 

[Mike]

GSM phones are for the most part far superior to CDMA phones. ATT used this to gain market share instead of beefing up their network. Verizon did what was required, offer better coverage to make up for the lack of phones. Most people care more about coverage than what phone they have anyways. Those that don't, have an iPhone with ATT.

 

[boomhower]

I am also with Sprint, get to use Verizon towers without having to pay Verizon's prices. Verizon and Sprint can share all around. AT&T and GSM can share voice but not data, T-Mobile chose to use a different frequency.

 

[insect9]

I wish I could use Verizon. I've tried but the only company I can get decent coverage with here is ATT.

 

[Zenmervolt]

GSM phones are for the most part far superior to CDMA phones.

Yeah. Unless you count things like voice quality or signal encryption or the number of calls a single tower can handle or, really, any technical measurement at all.

GSM is still TDMA at its heart and is, frankly, shit.

However, most GSM providers are aggressively shifting over to UMTS (in many of the larger markets the switch is complete), which is CDMA technology even though many operators still market it as "GSM" because non-technical users don't know any better. UMTS is roughly on par with CDMA2000 from a technological standpoint in current implementations.

 

[deputc26]

I am also with Sprint, get to use Verizon towers without having to pay Verizon's prices. Verizon and Sprint can share all around. AT&T and GSM can share voice but not data, T-Mobile chose to use a different frequency.

How expensive is roaming on Verizon's network? This sounds good.

 

[deputc26]

It's been posted about on here, but you should look into PagePlus, they use Verizon towers, and you can use any Verizon phone with the service. They offer no contract plans, $30 for 1200 minutes + 1200 txt. or $40 for unlimited minutes + unlimited txt + 50 megs data. If data isn't a big deal for you, with P+ you can get Verizon access for CHEAP. Also they don't add tax, so the $30 plan is $30 straight up. I've read their customer support's awful but I can count the number of times I've had to call T Mobile in the year I've had them on 2 fingers. Switching to P+ in a few days so I can get the Verizon Coverage with the low low prices

That is awesome, I was going to do Wal-Mart Straight Talk but this sounds better. You can Seriously use ANY CDMA phone on it? So I could get a droid minus data and use that?

 

[Mike]

Yeah. Unless you count things like voice quality or signal encryption or the number of calls a single tower can handle or, really, any technical measurement at all.

GSM is still TDMA at its heart and is, frankly, shit.

However, most GSM providers are aggressively shifting over to UMTS (in many of the larger markets the switch is complete), which is CDMA technology even though many operators still market it as "GSM" because non-technical users don't know any better. UMTS is roughly on par with CDMA2000 from a technological standpoint in current implementations.

Yea, speaking from a purely features standpoint

 

[QueBert]

That is awesome, I was going to do Wal-Mart Straight Talk but this sounds better. You can Seriously use ANY CDMA phone on it? So I could get a droid minus data and use that?

yeah any Verizon handset, a lot of Sprint & Alltel phones will work too if flashed. I'm picking up an older Moto Q9c today and going to switch to P+unlimited for $40, best deal around by far. Straight Talk has some good rates, their $45 plan has unlimited data which is really nice. But all the info I could find says you can only use Straight Talk phones which kind of sucks.

 

[pm]

I'm with Zenmervolt and Mike. CDMA is superior to TDMA (GSM) from a technical perspective - noise, encryption, voice quality, etc.

GSM is superior to CDMA in terms of worldwide adoption and thus in terms of handset choices.

And as Zenmervolt said, the GSM standards group have been moving their standards to CDMA as the basic technology over the years. 3G GSM (UMTS) is based on W-CDMA.

As far as Verizon's network - first I would say that which carrier you think has the best signal is strongly dependent on where you are. I've been in ski resorts in Colorado where the only signal available at all is T-Mobile. If you lived near at that ski resort, you would probably conclude that T-Mobile has the best network available.

Second, Verizon is using CDMA and this is a technically superior method of dividing bandwidth among multiple users compared to GSM's TDMA method. This helps with their quality.

Third, Verizon spends a huge amount at the various bandwidth auctions and generally gets premiere bandwidth swaths by paying a lot of money. The frequency of the band is important because certain frequencies don't penetrate walls, or water or trees very well, and your perception of signal quality is also determined by how well the signal strength holds up as you walk in a building or are near the fringes of the towers. So, Verizon's competition puts up with it - because Verizon outbids them at the auctions. I agree with Mike here as well - AT&T spends a lot of their money on ramping technology and getting good deals with handset manufacturers, Verizon's big selling point is the quality and breadth of their network and this is where they have been spending money. T-Mobile seems to spend a fair bit of effort on friendly customer service, and Sprint seems to emphasize high data rates.

I've read the wiki and several other pages on CDMA vs. GSM and who shares what networks but nothing was really clear, does Verizon/Sprint/Virgin Mobile share a network while AT&T and T-Mobile share another? How does that work?

Verizon and Sprint share a network technology, and some towers, but their network is more or less their own. CDMA is a way of taking bandwidth and chopping it into pieces to be used by wireless users. It's a technology, but it's not a network - with a network being a whole bunch of these towers all linked this technology together. Virgin Mobile rents tower/network capacity from Sprint. T-Mobile and AT&T have different networks as well, but are using the same communication protocol and signalling technology and thus their handsets are more or less compatible (they are on different frequencies as well, so the handset has to deal with this).