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Tin Woodsman
02-05-2006, 10:59 PM
One thing I forget about that is a downer is the real lack of reliable cell phone service with Verizon in the valley and on the mountain. I can get service in most of Waitsfield, but not at SB or in Warren. It used to be better at SB from the top of Super Bravo on up, but no longer. Got much worse 2 years ago. That's unfortunate (though not for the people who had to deal with loudmouths on the lift who don't know how to use them politely).






Note: Moved this part of the thread on its own way to keep it from taking over the thread about things liked and disliked about the MRV.

Lostone

smootharc
02-06-2006, 07:22 AM
One thing I forget about that is a downer is the real lack of reliable cell phone service with Verizon in the valley and on the mountain. I can get service in most of Waitsfield, but not at SB or in Warren. It used to be better at SB from the top of Super Bravo on up, but no longer. Got much worse 2 years ago. That's unfortunate (though not for the people who had to deal with loudmouths on the lift who don't know how to use them politely).

Seems to do okay for me. Had Verizon, but the Cingular store had a map that showed down, it seemed, to the exact foot where their service existed. It seems to be pretty accurate from my initial tests....throughout the valley, up at SB, at North, and spotty but also at MRG. Down 100 about 6 miles to upper border of Granville reservation. YMMV....

noski
02-06-2006, 07:54 AM
Seems to do okay for me. Had Verizon, but the Cingular store had a map that showed down, it seemed, to the exact foot where their service existed. It seems to be pretty accurate from my initial tests....throughout the valley, up at SB, at North, and spotty but also at MRG. Down 100 about 6 miles to upper border of Granville reservation. YMMV....
Many of us who live here use Unicel (formerly Cellular One). There are towers in the Valley and coverage is pretty fair.

KingM
02-06-2006, 05:04 PM
Unicel is what we have and IMHO "fair" is being generous. I can't even get coverage at Shaws in the heart of town 75% of the time. The cell is only useful for trips to Burlington or Montpelier.

freeheel_skier
02-06-2006, 08:41 PM
I have very good coverage with cingular. Like most services there are some dead spots.

Lostone
02-06-2006, 08:52 PM
:?: Seems this thread is being taken over by cell phones, which might be a full thread on its own. Might I suggest splitting it so that the original topic keeps its value? :?:

Tin Woodsman
02-06-2006, 09:28 PM
:?: Seems this thread is being taken over by cell phones, which might be a full thread on its own. Might I suggest splitting it so that the original topic keeps its value? :?:
Make it so, #1.

Mt St Pipier
02-07-2006, 08:22 AM
I would agree with Tin Woodsman's comments about Verizon. Used to be able to get an ok signal at our condo at South, and now we get nothing. They need to put up one of those fake fir tree towers somewhere.

madskier6
02-07-2006, 08:55 AM
My experience is the same with Verizon except that I can't get any coverage in the Valley at all. Maybe it's the phone itself and not the service. I have to go to Montpelier on I-89 before my phone picks up a strong enough signal to get a call through.

I have had good coverage experience in the Valley with Sprint. My personal cell service is through Sprint (for the wife and children) while the cell phone I get from work is Verizon. With Sprint, I generally get service up on the mountains (North and South) and in the Valley. Service at MRG is sketchy. I'm generally pleased with Sprint's coverage.

noski
03-20-2006, 11:29 AM
So... I have seen Sprint, Verizon and Cingular mentioned here. I use Unicel myself. The question I have is if the chamber and a volunteer committee were to begin pursuing increasing cell service in the valley for benefit of visitors, what are the most popular cell service providers an MRV guest would be using (that is most used in Boston and greater NYC areas)? Verizon? I suspect Unicel is not at the top of the list.

03-20-2006, 12:00 PM
Haven't had any problems with Cingular. Was able to get a full signal down by the base of the Castlerock chair...

Fourwide
03-20-2006, 12:47 PM
is very popular in the NY/NJ/Ct area. I live there, subscribe to Verizon, own (and have no cell service) in the MRV. Somewhat inconvenient, especially for weekend visitors.

smootharc
03-20-2006, 12:55 PM
is very popular in the NY/NJ/Ct area. I live there, subscribe to Verizon, own (and have no cell service) in the MRV. Somewhat inconvenient, especially for weekend visitors.

Went from Verizon to Cingular....for a variety of reasons in my local area upstate NY...and Verizon didn't have anything in the valley, while Cingular now has great service except at the valley fringes. They promised they would, and seem to have delivered.

Mt St Pipier
03-20-2006, 01:00 PM
This data from Wireless Week is national, but does offer some guidance:
Cingular subs 52.3mm
Verizon 49.3mm
Sprint Nextel 45.6mm
T-Mobile 20.3mm

My circle of friends (married with kids in their 30s) has mostly Verizon or Cingular. T-Mobile has cheaper plans and seems geared towards a younger audience. Sprint used to be mostly in urban areas, but with the Nextel merger has picked up push-to-talk users (for business) and a better signal in rural areas.

noski
03-20-2006, 01:01 PM
so based on these comments, it seems Verizon & Cingular are most poplular services for visitors at their home location (whether or not there is service in the MRV). Of those it seems Cingular has the best coverage currently. So if I were to launch this project I should focus on Verizon? (again, for benefit of visitors, not residents)

madskier6
03-20-2006, 02:04 PM
I agree that the focus should be on Verizon. They seem to have the most subscribers without any coverage in the Valley (not the most subscribers overall, just the most frustrated subscribers that visit the MRV). As I said before, I get reasonably good coverage in the Valley with Sprint.

Tin Woodsman
03-20-2006, 02:42 PM
Susan -

It has to be Verizon. They are the legacy cell carrier in all of the Northeast (grew out of NYNEX and Bell Atlantic) so they attracted a lot of customers with their incumbent status and the superior network coverage that allegedly brings. It's been pretty disappointing to see their service in the MRV actually regress in the last 3 years. I used to be able to get a signal above 2500' at SB. No more. Given that Congular and Sprint already seem to have a modicum of service in the area, focusing on Verizon is a no-brainer.

noski
03-20-2006, 03:18 PM
I'm on it. No idea where this will go, but I am willing to work on it during the Spring lull. I may be back with more questions, but off I go....

daevious
03-20-2006, 04:58 PM
The Cingular GSM service roams on the Unicel towers, which cover the valley pretty well and the ski area very well (there's a tower in the 22 acres parking lot). Service is good even in Slidebroook.

With Verizon you can get a reliable signal at the top of Upper Organgrinder, the top of Roxbury Gap, a section of German Flats Road, and on Bragg Hill but that's about it. A lot of people from outside of the valley have Verizon--even Vermonters. Verizon has said there aren't enough residents here to justify an investment in improving coverage, but I don't think they realized that thousands of their subscribers come up here on weekends and holidays.

skibum1321
03-22-2006, 08:08 AM
so based on these comments, it seems Verizon & Cingular are most poplular services for visitors at their home location (whether or not there is service in the MRV). Of those it seems Cingular has the best coverage currently. So if I were to launch this project I should focus on Verizon? (again, for benefit of visitors, not residents)
Verizon is definitely the most popular in Mass. I have Verizon and pretty much everyone I know has Verizon as well. Coverage is spotty from 89 in NH until a little after the Stowe exit in VT.

noski
04-17-2006, 04:05 PM
Well, here is an update. Verizon is the master of veils of secrecy. I have gotten 4 canned email responses to date. One each from Inetta, Shikina, Stacy and Cass. Clearly there is no real person who is on the other end of my request.... Anyone have a contact before I call the Public Service Board for info?

noski
05-03-2006, 11:21 AM
I actually talked to a woman today who was (a) named Ellen, (b) was in Walmouth MA and (c) knew where VT was. It was a beautiful thing. I have her personal cell number now, and she is handing my request off to Engineering. If I don't hear from them within one week, I am to call her back. She says they are now doing VT enhancements though at first glance could not see where our area was on "the list"- but would defer to Engineering. Things are looking up.

Lostone
05-03-2006, 02:33 PM
Did they check to see if they have it listed as Sugarbush, as opposed to Mad River Valley?

May just be keyed to the ski area?

But if they know where Vermont is, that would be a good thing. :roll:

Or maybe not? :wink:

noski
05-09-2006, 09:51 AM
Today I spoke with the person in charge of real estate & development. He told me that there are no immediate plans for this area to receive service. Priorities for VT are currently I-89, I-91, Rt 4 and Rt 7.... I have requested a formal response from their press person that I can post here, or they can post directly. (My next tack is to figure out how to get a Corporate Retreat or meeting here of Verizon mucky mucks.... then see what they think when they can't use their phone.) I also asked if a petition/letter with 1000 signatures would make a difference. I figured between us all we could grassroots that.

Tin Woodsman
05-09-2006, 11:45 AM
Today I spoke with the person in charge of real estate & development. He told me that there are no immediate plans for this area to receive service. Priorities for VT are currently I-89, I-91, Rt 4 and Rt 7.... I have requested a formal response from their press person that I can post here, or they can post directly. (My next tack is to figure out how to get a Corporate Retreat or meeting here of Verizon mucky mucks.... then see what they think when they can't use their phone.) I also asked if a petition/letter with 1000 signatures would make a difference. I figured between us all we could grassroots that.

Keep up the great work Susan!!

Mt St Pipier
05-09-2006, 02:02 PM
Today I spoke with the person in charge of real estate & development. He told me that there are no immediate plans for this area to receive service. Priorities for VT are currently I-89, I-91, Rt 4 and Rt 7.... I have requested a formal response from their press person that I can post here, or they can post directly. (My next tack is to figure out how to get a Corporate Retreat or meeting here of Verizon mucky mucks.... then see what they think when they can't use their phone.) I also asked if a petition/letter with 1000 signatures would make a difference. I figured between us all we could grassroots that.

It may not be that difficult or expensive for them to accomodate us. Obvisouly Unicell / Cingular already has a tower somewhere in or near the Valley. I would be surprised if there wasn't space available on said tower. With current lease rates only about $2000 a month, it seems like short money to keep quite a few people happy. As you said, the key is getting the right person at Verizon to notice.

shady
05-09-2006, 03:30 PM
My company does work for Verizon all over Vermont, in the cell tower regime. We do the survey, the design, the layout, the whole 8 1/2 yards. I asked one of our guys who is in close contact with Verizon about the lack of a reliable signal around Sugarbush. He has the same problem too. The problem however is that VZW doesn't like to do "island" sites. They would rather do "string" sites to tie in a bunch of sites together. Our concentration right now is on the I-91 and US 7 corridors. Even the stuff for US 4 corridor right now is on hold. So unfortunetly I don't see VZW coming to the Valley anytime soon. When they're done with the major corridors, I doubt VT 100 in the area of the 'Bush would be considered a major one since there'd be quite the gap through Granville Gulf, and I doubt getting a tower built in there would be quick and easy, given its a preserved area/reservation. Down the line, though, who knows what'll happen.

This is the one area which I had PERFECT coverage with Sprint and now I switch to VZW and have nothing.

-shady

random_ski_guy
01-31-2007, 10:03 PM
To my surprise my tmobile blackberry has worked fine for both email and phone service with near full bars at the base and on the mtn.

Strat
02-01-2007, 07:35 AM
To my surprise my tmobile blackberry has worked fine for both email and phone service with near full bars at the base and on the mtn.
Maybe they have a deal with Cingular/Unicel?

random_ski_guy
02-01-2007, 11:08 PM
I don't know what's going on with t-mobile. I checked my bill online, don't see any roaming charges for my time this week in VT.

TimKeogh
02-02-2007, 03:15 PM
Did an actual PAY PHONE get installed in the new GH Lodge ??

Last year I lost my car keys in a yard sale (stupid me) and needed to get in touch with my wife.

Stack-o-quarters was the only way.

Maybe a cell phone at guest services would be nice...

skigal
02-02-2007, 03:22 PM
Pretty sure there's one at the bottom of the stairs, next to the water fountains.

Lostone
02-02-2007, 09:20 PM
The phone in the Gatehouse is not an actual pay phone. It is a free local phone, but can be used with a phone card. :wink:

CapeSkiGuy
02-06-2007, 11:13 AM
Just to add to the discussion...
Any cell tower improvements in MRV probably have to be in compliance with the federal mandate for Enhanced 911. In short, the "island" type coverage probably will not comply, because the locator requirement for E911 works via triangulation of a signal. This means three towers are required at a minimum. Time was, that a string of cell towers could "bump" a 911 call straight down the line until a vacant land-line connecton was found. Now this will no longer suffice. I'm oversimplifying, but I think that locating more towers in the MRV will take more time and money than we realize right now. I doubt any cell carrier will be willing to invest in infrastructure unless it is in compliance with E911. Repeaters may help, but perhaps not, considering the local geography. Mountain areas call for towers on top of mountains, which can be an unpopular solution. My Sprint coverage is good at the mountain, bad at the base of the access road, and roams throughout the valley. The towers are so far away that the battery dies quickly. But...Sprint works well for me away from the MRV, so I think I will keep it.

Yard Sale
02-06-2007, 12:17 PM
Cingular Baby. Good allover.

shadyjay
02-08-2007, 09:31 PM
I used to have Sprint and when we would stay at the Bush, I would be the only one to have cell reception. That's because back then, Sprint was an ASC sponsor and they put up a couple antennaes - I know they have them at the top of Northridge - maybe top of LP, cause I never had service off the mtn. Now I got VZW and have very little anywhere in the Valley. Bummer - but I can go a few hours without using my phone. After all, I live only 10 mins north.

VZW is on-again/off-again as for coverage. Just when we think they're concentrating on one corridor, they switch us off to another. Though their main goal is to get off Unicel on 91 south of WRJ. Many of those sites are still in the permitting stages. These things take time.

If its the case of VZW can't do an island site for SB, I don't see them ever coming to the Valley. I don't think a tower through Granville Gulf will be easy to get through the permitting/enviros/etc.

Everyone wants their cell phone to work but noone wants to see the tower.
(see also: clean/reusable energy but no windmills - won't someone think of the birds & bats)
:lol:
yada yada yada

-Jay

random_ski_guy
02-08-2007, 11:01 PM
So Jay, what is allowing my t mobile blackberry phone to work in the valley? T mobile's footprint is generally limited to cities, yet it works at SB and around the valley.

shadyjay
02-09-2007, 11:06 PM
So Jay, what is allowing my t mobile blackberry phone to work in the valley? T mobile's footprint is generally limited to cities, yet it works at SB and around the valley.

'Cause T-Mobile is partnering with someone as part of their "extended network" deal. According to some searching on Tmobile's website, they appear to be partnered with Cingular..... I mean, AT&T now (again). (Did they go from AT&T to Cingular and now back to AT&T? When will the madness end)...

-JH