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

Tin Woodsman wrote:

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....

smootharc wrote:

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.

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.

I have very good coverage with cingular. Like most services there are some dead spots.

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?

Lostone wrote:

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.

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.

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.

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.

Haven't had any problems with Cingular. Was able to get a full signal down by the base of the Castlerock chair...

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.

Fourwide wrote:

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.

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.

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)