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skibum1321
10-12-2009, 02:40 PM
Does anyone know if they ended up expanding the Verizon coverage last winter? Specifically, I am looking to know if it works on Bragg Hill. I know it works at South and that's great and all, but I'm up for a contract and will be switching this winter if the coverage hasn't been expanded.

noski
10-12-2009, 03:09 PM
PM Treeskier if he doesn't chime in soon. He is a Bragg-Hiller. The locals usually use ATT, since it has the best coverage in most parts of the Valley, however having said that, they leave much to be desired.

Strat
10-12-2009, 03:31 PM
I don't believe so - we just had family up from the NYC area who had little to no service throughout the Valley. But I don't know about Bragg Hill specifically.

notorious
10-13-2009, 08:23 AM
Over the summer, the ATT (formerly Cingular) signal has markedly deteriorated from its previous strength in the Valley. Areas with good signal now have none. It also seems to be strongly affected by the weather. Does anyone have a clue as to what is going on? Whom to contact?

Strat
10-13-2009, 08:28 AM
The Unicel to AT&T switch was aggravating in a lot of ways, but I haven't noticed a deterioration in coverage because of it. There's certainly no one to contact at the corporate monstrosity that is AT&T Wireless, haha...

noski
10-13-2009, 08:44 AM
Read this letter to the Valley Reporter addressing this very issue. I would call the number posted in the letter:

Read Here (http://www.valleyreporter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2712&Itemid=59)

skibum1321
10-13-2009, 10:40 AM
I think I'll wait until these AT&T issues have been resolved to make my decision. Noski, I know that Gregg has AT&T and they always get service at the house (I'm a member of his ski house). I was just wondering whether the switch to AT&T would actually be necessary for this winter (and it appears that it will be).

TreeBandit
10-13-2009, 10:47 AM
I have Verizon and it only works at South as well as several spots along the long trail. I wish I still had my AT&T for VT.

notorious
10-13-2009, 03:35 PM
Read this letter to the Valley Reporter addressing this very issue. I would call the number posted in the letter:


Read Here (http://www.valleyreporter.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2712&Itemid=59)

Noski, thank you for the prompt attention to this, and for pointing out the letter which I missed. I called the number given, and was told that "ATT's closest tower was 25 miles from my Valley location." They are opening a case on my complaint, but could neither respond to any of the points made in the letter, nor connect me to anyone with actual knowledge of transmission locations in the Valley. Stay tuned...

I did mention that this is a general issue, not specific to me, and that the CofC and local newspaper are interested (was that ok?)

noski
10-14-2009, 07:38 AM
I did mention that this is a general issue, not specific to me, and that the CofC and local newspaper are interested (was that ok?)

Namedropping is good.... :-) Indeed, we are ALL very interested. Run with it!

notorious
10-18-2009, 12:32 PM
I did mention that this is a general issue, not specific to me, and that the CofC and local newspaper are interested (was that ok?)

Namedropping is good.... :-) Indeed, we are ALL very interested. Run with it!

As agreed, an ATT tech rep contacted me when I was at my Valley location. He claims my problem is that my iphone is a 3G technology, but there are no 3G transmitters in the Valley. One is to be in place by Nov 30. In the meantime he recommends switching the phone to 2G. (I guess I can figure out how to do it, or I can ask one of the Apple geniuses (that's what they call them). So then, I asked," What would explain the deterioration in my wife's Motorola Razr phone reception? It's a 2G device." Answer: "She needs a new sym card. Get it swapped for free at an ATT store. Her phone is 3 years old" (She doesn't lose phones like I do.)

This is all fine, as far as it goes, and I must say the ATT response was timely and efficient. (But not at all similar to the reasons for poor service given to Darlene McCormack, the VR letter writer, nor those quoted in this week's VR follow-up by the ATT "spokesperson."

Oddly enough, of course, this weekend the service is vastly improved, without switching my iphone to 2G (whatever that is), nor my wife's sym card.

A much larger issue of significant concern comes from this encounter with the telecom monster...i.e., why doesnt the MRV have 3G service generally available? The economic viablity of the Valley depends on state of the art communications capability. For those of us without trust funds, economic survival depends on remaining in contact with the souces of our income. One 3G transmitter (at the top of the Sugarbush Access Rd, I believe I was told --- definitely to be on the west side of the Valley) is not enough.

Noski, may I humbly request that the MRVChamber, in its role of supporting Valley businesses and the needs of those of us whose incomes support these businesses (and Town governments) determine an appropriate campaign to accelerate the tech upgades by this sole supplier monopoly. Does anyone regulate this, state or Fed? Could our Senator or Congressman's staffs help? Can/should those bothered by the signal coverage issues unite through this or the chamber website in order to pool information? Why do I sudenly feel like I'm in an emerging market f.k.a.3rd world country?

Did you know that the most tech advanced place in the world is Bermuda. USA is like 17th, Japan 19th? What place is the MRV in?

David Sellars interviewed the owner of Small Dog on WMRV this am. The point was made that it is common for Valley homes to have 3-4 computers. This would not be necessary if the wireless signals were updated.

I believe this to be an issue of urgency. There can be no economic survivability in the MRV without full, state of the art, connectivity.

One thing is for certain, the sqeaky wheel gets the grease. The VR reports in this week's edition that issues raised by VR compainants and VG owner Troy Kingsbury were resolved. Now my service is better, too. Further calls to ATT at the 800# in the McCormack letter linked in by Noski by any more unsatisfied customers should produce beneficial results. Thanks to Noski for her help.

Strat
10-18-2009, 01:08 PM
I wonder if AT&T is actually planning on bringing 3G to Vermont in general. At least at the time of the Unicel changeover, there was absolutely no 3G service in the state, which many a corporate salesman neglected to tell the throngs of people buying iPhones earlier this year. Their coverage map still shows none: http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/

HowieT2
10-18-2009, 08:50 PM
I did mention that this is a general issue, not specific to me, and that the CofC and local newspaper are interested (was that ok?)

Namedropping is good.... :-) Indeed, we are ALL very interested. Run with it!

As agreed, an ATT tech rep contacted me when I was at my Valley location. He claims my problem is that my iphone is a 3G technology, but there are no 3G transmitters in the Valley. One is to be in place by Nov 30. In the meantime he recommends switching the phone to 2G. (I guess I can figure out how to do it, or I can ask one of the Apple geniuses (that's what they call them). So then, I asked," What would explain the deterioration in my wife's Motorola Razr phone reception? It's a 2G device." Answer: "She needs a new sym card. Get it swapped for free at an ATT store. Her phone is 3 years old" (She doesn't lose phones like I do.)

This is all fine, as far as it goes, and I must say the ATT response was timely and efficient. (But not at all similar to the reasons for poor service given to Darlene McCormack, the VR letter writer, nor those quoted in this week's VR follow-up by the ATT "spokesperson."

Oddly enough, of course, this weekend the service is vastly improved, without switching my iphone to 2G (whatever that is), nor my wife's sym card.

A much larger issue of significant concern comes from this encounter with the telecom monster...i.e., why doesnt the MRV have 3G service generally available? The economic viablity of the Valley depends on state of the art communications capability. For those of us without trust funds, economic survival depends on remaining in contact with the souces of our income. One 3G transmitter (at the top of the Sugarbush Access Rd, I believe I was told --- definitely to be on the west side of the Valley) is not enough.

Noski, may I humbly request that the MRVChamber, in its role of supporting Valley businesses and the needs of those of us whose incomes support these businesses (and Town governments) determine an appropriate campaign to accelerate the tech upgades by this sole supplier monopoly. Does anyone regulate this, state or Fed? Could our Senator or Congressman's staffs help? Can/should those bothered by the signal coverage issues unite through this or the chamber website in order to pool information? Why do I sudenly feel like I'm in an emerging market f.k.a.3rd world country?

Did you know that the most tech advanced place in the world is Bermuda. USA is like 17th, Japan 19th? What place is the MRV in?

David Sellars interviewed the owner of Small Dog on WMRV this am. The point was made that it is common for Valley homes to have 3-4 computers. This would not be necessary if the wireless signals were updated.

I believe this to be an issue of urgency. There can be no economic survivability in the MRV without full, state of the art, connectivity.

One thing is for certain, the sqeaky wheel gets the grease. The VR reports in this week's edition that issues raised by VR compainants and VG owner Troy Kingsbury were resolved. Now my service is better, too. Further calls to ATT at the 800# in the McCormack letter linked in by Noski by any more unsatisfied customers should produce beneficial results. Thanks to Noski for her help.

If it makes you feel any better, I live about 30 miles north of NYC in westchester county and ATT 3G coverage is spotty at best. I think ATT is acutely aware of the limitations of their network. My understanding is that they have committed 20 billion to upgrading the network.
In their defense, it is only in the last year or so that 3G devices have been available and I would guess most of the devices on the network or only 2G

Disabling 3G on your Iphone shouldn't change your 2G reception but it will save battery power.

Yard Sale
10-18-2009, 10:03 PM
We have no problems w/ ATT Iphone on the Mtn or in the valley.

castlerock
10-18-2009, 10:34 PM
We have no problems w/ ATT Iphone on the Mtn or in the valley.

Coverage is fine but data is only at EDGE speeds. 3G is supposed to come to VT in 2010, but I doubt the valley is on any priority list. OTOH, there are plenty of places with open Wifi.

mattlucas
11-07-2009, 04:14 PM
So, 3G is fine on the mountain and in the valley? I was thinking about changing from Verizon to Sprint.

Thanks for any insight.

win
11-07-2009, 06:59 PM
Let me chime in. In order to get Verizon here last winter we gave them a free site in our 22 acre lot to put up a temporary tower. Because of the location one can get good service in the Lincoln Peak area and parts of East Warren and East Waitsfield. I get very good bars at my house. Verizon is going to put in a permanent tower high up in Sugarbush Village, but they did not get this done this summer, so the same temporary tower is being used. I hope that when they get this tower in place, they will then put something up at Mt. Ellen. We are eager to help them. The best thing to do if you are a Verizon user is to call them and tell them you need service in the Valley or you are switching. We convinced them last year that the majority of our visitors use Verizon and are angered not to get service here and are thinking or switching to another service.

Personally, I have AT&T and am very pleased with the service. The only spots where I do not get service in The Valley are in the heart of Warren Village and Rte 100 between the Citgo Station and Hap's. I get good bars at both base areas, in Slidebrook and along German Flats. Last week when I was in the New York area I actually experienced more problems with dropped calls than I have experienced in the Valley.

mattlucas
11-09-2009, 12:49 AM
Huge thanks for the cell info.

Are you using an ATT smartphone that needs 3G to be effective, or just making regular calls? I really need a blackberry that works in the valley, but would prefer to cut my bill almost in half if possible with another carrier.

However, I've been very pleased with Verizon service in civilization for the last nine years, and will put in a complaint tomorrow.
(I've had a lot of practice on here)

Hoping Vermont gets blanketed with lots of coverage and lots of snow in the near future.

gone.skiing
11-09-2009, 09:17 AM
ATT iPhones work fine for voice and E data, but there is no 3G that I can see yet.

djd66
11-11-2009, 09:14 AM
I was a verizon customer for 12 years or so,... came to the valley and had to buy a "local" (Unicel) phone - it was a pay as you go deal that had good coverage at the mountain - which is where I need it. I would forward my verizon calls to my Unicel phone when I hit exit 5 on 89. This worked for a few years until I decided to dump verizon and switch to ATT. Upgraded to the latest and greatest BB Bold 3G. I do not get 3G service at the mountain but it does not effect data coming through at all. BB Bold is a wifi capable phone - when you go in the Gate House, you can utilize the free wifi service for faster transfer rate.