Tri-mode, digital roaming, and forcing
Student
live in a good digital service area and know Verizon is great for
digital. If I force my phone to only go into cdma digital this means I
can never incur roaming charges right if I go somewhere else. I
understand there will be places I might need the analog. However some
parts of Maine are tricky and know people who were charged roaming. I
understand if I need to make a phone call I can swith back to
automatic however I just want to make sure that digital roaming on
verizon is free also. I have an AC plan.
Frank S
pay for roaming, depending on your plan, whether digital or analog.
-Frank
"Student" <phonesrco...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bdf80113.04012...@posting.google.com...
Mike
(Student) wrote:
The costs for roaming have nothing to do with digital or analog
technology. You can be charged roaming on a digital network, or not
be charged roaming on an analog network. Check the roaming
indicator... if it's a solid triangle (on most phones) and the screen
says "Roaming", you will be charged.
Maine should be less of a problem than it used to be. VZW recently
added U.S. Cellular roaming in parts of the state that were not
already covered by VZW's home network. We have a regular here who
lives in the area, and she can probably inform you about this more
than I can. U.S. Cellular has only been included in Maine in very
recent PRLs, so you should *228 - option 2 and update if you have an
older PRL.
I believe the U.S. Cellular network up there is mostly, if not
entirely, CDMA digital, but there's probably still analog coverage
from both USC and even from VZW in Maine. Both would be included in
AC for you, either digital or analog (VZW, of course, includes their
own coverage).
Mike
Steven J Sobol
> Too all experts and those with experince I have tri-mode phone but
> live in a good digital service area and know Verizon is great for
> digital. If I force my phone to only go into cdma digital this means I
> can never incur roaming charges right if I go somewhere else.
NO NO NO NO
Check your Roaming indicator and it will tell you what you need to know.
It's entirely possible (on Verizon) to be in digital coverage and still
pay for roaming.
> parts of Maine are tricky and know people who were charged roaming. I
> understand if I need to make a phone call I can swith back to
> automatic however I just want to make sure that digital roaming on
> verizon is free also. I have an AC plan.
The only carrier I know of where "Digital"=="don't get charged for roaming"
is Sprint, and even they're changing. Get that concept out of your head or
you could be in for an expensive cellular experience. :) Check your roaming
indicator to find out whether you'll be charged. Which phone do you have?
--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjs...@JustThe.net
PGP: C57E 8B25 F994 D6D0 5F6B B961 EA08 9410 E3AE 35ED
Student
> Student <phonesrco...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > Too all experts and those with experince I have tri-mode phone but
> > live in a good digital service area and know Verizon is great for
> > digital. If I force my phone to only go into cdma digital this means I
> > can never incur roaming charges right if I go somewhere else.
>
> NO NO NO NO
>
> Check your Roaming indicator and it will tell you what you need to know.
>
> It's entirely possible (on Verizon) to be in digital coverage and still
> pay for roaming.
>
> > parts of Maine are tricky and know people who were charged roaming. I
> > understand if I need to make a phone call I can swith back to
> > automatic however I just want to make sure that digital roaming on
> > verizon is free also. I have an AC plan.
>
> The only carrier I know of where "Digital"=="don't get charged for roaming"
> is Sprint, and even they're changing. Get that concept out of your head or
> you could be in for an expensive cellular experience. :) Check your roaming
> indicator to find out whether you'll be charged. Which phone do you have?
Thanks guys that makes alot of sense. I understand that I have to look
at the triangle but I assumed most people did anyway. I figured that
people get with with roaming charges while driving. They began talking
in a coverage aread but drove through a roaming area and so they
woulld never know. Do verizon phones beep when you are roaming or
should people look at their phones periodically if they know there is
a possibility of spotty coverage in an area. My reasons for asking
this question was basically to find out if there were any more
benefits to keeping my phone in cdma mode only. Battery life is one
what are others?
Steven J Sobol
> Thanks guys that makes alot of sense. I understand that I have to look
> at the triangle but I assumed most people did anyway. I figured that
> people get with with roaming charges while driving. They began talking
> in a coverage aread but drove through a roaming area and so they
> woulld never know. Do verizon phones beep when you are roaming or
> should people look at their phones periodically if they know there is
> a possibility of spotty coverage in an area. My reasons for asking
> this question was basically to find out if there were any more
> benefits to keeping my phone in cdma mode only. Battery life is one
> what are others?
Some phones definitely can be set to beep when you move to a network that
is considered "roaming" by your carrier. Kyocera phones can, and Nokia phones
can. I don't know about LG, Samsung or Motorola, though.
Battery life is the biggest benefit to using digital, in my opinion. I'm on
the fringe of coverage in a mountainous area, so sometimes I end up using
analog, and as far as I personally am concerned, there isn't a ton of
difference between analog call quality and digital call quality as long as
you have a decent signal.
Of course, the phones have better battery life because they use less power.
Student
> Student <phonesrco...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Thanks guys that makes alot of sense. I understand that I have to look
> > at the triangle but I assumed most people did anyway. I figured that
> > people get with with roaming charges while driving. They began talking
> > in a coverage aread but drove through a roaming area and so they
> > woulld never know. Do verizon phones beep when you are roaming or
> > should people look at their phones periodically if they know there is
> > a possibility of spotty coverage in an area. My reasons for asking
> > this question was basically to find out if there were any more
> > benefits to keeping my phone in cdma mode only. Battery life is one
> > what are others?
>
> Some phones definitely can be set to beep when you move to a network that
> is considered "roaming" by your carrier. Kyocera phones can, and Nokia phones
> can. I don't know about LG, Samsung or Motorola, though.
>
> Battery life is the biggest benefit to using digital, in my opinion. I'm on
> the fringe of coverage in a mountainous area, so sometimes I end up using
> analog, and as far as I personally am concerned, there isn't a ton of
> difference between analog call quality and digital call quality as long as
> you have a decent signal.
>
> Of course, the phones have better battery life because they use less power.
Thanks I just changed it. Got the phone yesterday and explored the
phone thoroughly. The ironic part about it is that i changed the phone
to be when i change service area. Then i began to look for my prl. I
went to menu then pressed 0. pressed 000000 then got a new menu asking
me to force etcc.. i hit the first thing called ESN i wanted to get
out of there so i pressed ok. suddenly it said i was changing service
area. Now i am on the phone trying to make sure i did not mess
anything up. It is probably nothing. I know i can't tell them i was at
that menu because I am not supposed to be there..
Steven J Sobol
> Thanks I just changed it. Got the phone yesterday and explored the
> phone thoroughly. The ironic part about it is that i changed the phone
> to be when i change service area. Then i began to look for my prl. I
> went to menu then pressed 0. pressed 000000 then got a new menu asking
> me to force etcc.. i hit the first thing called ESN i wanted to get
> out of there so i pressed ok. suddenly it said i was changing service
> area. Now i am on the phone trying to make sure i did not mess
> anything up. It is probably nothing. I know i can't tell them i was at
> that menu because I am not supposed to be there..
The ESN is the phone's Electronic Serial number; you can't change it, so
you don't have to worry about that. Again; which brand and model of phone are
you using? The series of 0's implies Kyocera to me...
XFF
> I figured that
> people get with with roaming charges while driving. They began talking
> in a coverage aread but drove through a roaming area and so they
> woulld never know. Do verizon phones beep when you are roaming or
> should people look at their phones periodically if they know there is
> a possibility of spotty coverage in an area.
Verizon will never hand you off to another carrier during a call. If
you leave one carrier's coverage area and enter another carrier's
coverage area, your call will drop and you will have to re-connect,
regardless of whether one carrier incurs roaming charges or not.
There's simply no inter-carrier handoff. That also means that if
you're on VZW's network or on the extended network at the beginning of
the call you will never be automatically handed off to a roaming
network during the call. Simply check your roaming indicator before
you place a call (or before you accept a call) and there won't be any
problems.
Unknown
I was going to say this, but I was not sure it was true. Thank you for
sharing.
I've read this thread with curiosity since I live in Maine and use a
FreeUp phone. I live in a roaming area (Augusta), work in a VZW area,
and only use the phone for emergencies in the roaming areas.
Whomever mentioned in this thread the info about USCell is correct. On
Oct 1, 2003 USC turned on their new CDMA digital service around the
state and they are continuing a large build-out with new towers. USC
is only selling CDMA phones now. The service here in Augusta is
fabulous albeit roaming. BTW, I can use the FreeUP phone on the
weekends and use up the free weekend minutes.
In the past, if you moved out of VZW zone you were most likely going
to roam in analog since the other major carriers and towers in the
state are TDMA or GSM (with the exception of York County). And I knew
that there was no hand off between digital and analog. I was not sure
of the hand-off between carriers, but suspected that the same was
true.
So, judging from these comments "Student" has nothing to worry about
as long as he/she checks to make sure they are not roaming at the
beginning of the call. As he/she get used to the range of the towers
around the state, they will know where the roaming begins and ends. I
know all the nooks and crannies.
jeb
Bill Radio
Verizon network that is not roaming to you, to one that is, you will only be
charged the rate applicable to the first tower you access. For example, if
you have a NY Local plan and start a call in Buffalo, and talk all the way
to Cleveland, the portion of the call that is handled in PA and OH which
should be roaming, will not incur a roaming charge.
Of course, the reverse is true. Start a roaming call in Cleveland and
re-enter NY during the call, the entire call will be charged as a roaming
call. This further ensures that you will not suddenly start racking up
roaming charges when you cross a roaming boundary, whether on, or off, the
Verizon network. The same is true for LD. You won't start getting LD
charges if you travel outside of your LCA during a call.
However, crossing a boundary usually means a change of SID area, or cellular
channel, and in many markets that can mean the call will drop anyway. These
inter-SID drops are becoming less common, though.
Bill Radio
Click for Western U.S. Wireless Reviews at:
http://www.mountainwireless.com
"XFF" <x...@austin.rr.com> wrote in message
news:298d9cbf.04012...@posting.google.com...
> phonesrco...@hotmail.com (Student) wrote in message
news:<bdf80113.04012...@posting.google.com>...
>
>
Al Klein
(Student) posted in alt.cellular.verizon:
>at the triangle but I assumed most people did anyway. I figured that
>people get with with roaming charges while driving. They began talking
>in a coverage aread but drove through a roaming area and so they
>woulld never know.
The charges are based on where you made the call. If you drive out of
Verizon range and hand off to another carrier (although I think that's
impossible), you're still on an in-network (non-roaming) call.
>My reasons for asking
>this question was basically to find out if there were any more
>benefits to keeping my phone in cdma mode only. Battery life is one
>what are others?
It's not. If the phone loses digital coverage it'll eat more power
searching than if it found analog service. It's only when digital
coverage is available but, for some reason your phone decides to lock
onto an analog cell, that you'll save battery by switching to digital
only.
Student
All that new informations is amazing. It all makes sense, sort of. If
that is true which logically I believe it is. Why is it that cell
phone companies may charge for roaming calls bills later. And why is
it that so many people do not look at the phone for the triangle? It
seems so simple. Is it just that I havea new phone and I look at it
all the time? Maybe when I get used to it I might stop looking? I
think reading all these posts a month before getting my phone has and
will help me avoid any stupid charges.
Pants
will help me avoid any stupid charges.
And thus you have learned the reason this newsgroup exists - for
knowledgeable users to help less knowledgeable users. Welcome aboard.
Al Klein
(Student) posted in alt.cellular.verizon:
>All that new informations is amazing. It all makes sense, sort of. If
>that is true which logically I believe it is. Why is it that cell
>phone companies may charge for roaming calls bills later.
Because the carrier you roamed on takes time to bill your carrier.
> And why is it that so many people do not look at the phone for the triangle?
No one ever lost money betting on the stupidity of the public.
Pants
triangle?
If I am correct, version 10 of the LG 4400 phone softwate says "Roam"
instead of showing a triangle.
Mike
On my LG 4400 with v10, it operates the same way the phone's earlier
versions did. The triangle is still there, flashing for Extended
Network, solid for roaming.
Mike
Rod
BTW, I can use the FreeUP phone on the
:: weekends and use up the free weekend minutes.
Are you saying you used the "free" minutes while roaming and it didn't
deduct from your balance? I noticed when I forced analog and roamed on my
phone on the weekends that my minutes available included the "free" minutes
but I never placed a call to see.
Rod