Very OT: Cell Phone coverage Concord/Carlisle Rt.126 area | FerrariChat
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Very OT: Cell Phone coverage Concord/Carlisle Rt.126 area

Discussion in 'New England' started by Bad Chariot, Sep 18, 2007.

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  1. Bad Chariot

    Bad Chariot Formula Junior

    Dec 6, 2003
    262
    Reading, MA
    Full Name:
    Michael
    #1 Bad Chariot, Sep 18, 2007
    This is off topic I know but I am sure there are many of you who travel or have traveled Rt.126 thru Lincoln-Concord-Carlisle. I have AT&T (Razr phone) and the cell phone coverage is AWFUL. I drive this way from my house in Chelmsford down to Framingham to avoid the traffic plus it's a very nice ride. I would like to see who else travels this area and if some of the other cell phone carriers have better coverage in this area. The part that is really an issue is the 3-4 miles before Walden Pond going 126N.

    My wife is pregnant now with our 2nd child so having a reliable cell phone has now become extremely important. I used to work for Cingular for 5 years so I "had" some loyalty to them but now its out the bleepin window. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

    Mike
     
  2. TCM

    TCM Formula Junior

    Nov 10, 2003
    552
    Tyngsborough, MA
    #2 TCM, Sep 20, 2007
    I have the same issue Mike. I would think Verizon would be a tad bit better since they dont use the sattelite GSM frequency, but T Mobile is worse by far for rural reception. So if any, Verizon would be the best bet IMO. Hope this helps.
     
  3. masterflex164

    masterflex164 Formula Junior

    Oct 17, 2004
    630
    New England
    #3 masterflex164, Sep 20, 2007
    wtf, GSM isn't satellite.....
     
  4. TCM

    TCM Formula Junior

    Nov 10, 2003
    552
    Tyngsborough, MA
    #4 TCM, Sep 20, 2007
    Haha, I guess that is what happens when you end up posting late at night when exhausted. Meant to say the Verizon uses the TDMA (or is it CDMA?) frequency which has better coverage then the global GSM setups. Too bad most of their phone offerings are terrible.
     
  5. Theo

    Theo Formula Junior

    May 6, 2002
    359
    Westford, MA
    Full Name:
    Theo Pappas
    #5 Theo, Sep 21, 2007
    I feel you pain. I did the same route last year for a year (from Westford to Wayland) and there were 2 dead zones once I crossed Rt 2 to 126 in concord and then again from 126/117 intersection to about the 126/20 intersection. It was a pain telling people not to call me before or after work since I had bad cell phone reception.

    Theo
     
  6. BigHead

    BigHead Formula Junior

    Oct 31, 2003
    995
    Outside of Boston
    Full Name:
    Dennis
    #6 BigHead, Sep 21, 2007
    A couple of years ago, the Boston Globe did its own experiements to determine cell coverage areas, which carriers were better, and where the biggest black holes were. The lede of the article was, basically, Lincoln, MA was the worst locale in metro Boston for cell phone coverage.

    And I should know, because I live there. Basically, Sprint is bad, AT&T is worse, and T-mobile, well forget about it. A new Sprint/Nextel tower went up near Rt 2 a year back, and it has helped a lot, but overall, go with Verizon Wireless. VzW has the best coverage overall, and that's especially true in New England. As you go down Rt 2 (or 126 or 117 or into the wilds of Lincoln) it may fade down to 1 bar, but you won't lose your call.

    And, btw, both VzW and Sprint use CDMA, while T-Mobile and AT&T use GSM (Nextel uses something else entirely different, but it will eventually be folded into Sprint entirely). TDMA predates GSM.

    vty,

    --Dennis
     

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