Cingular offers best cell phone coverage

Many college students rely on wireless services as their primary lines, forsaking "land lines" such as dorm room phones. It is difficult to walk around campus and find someone who is not talking on his cell phone, sending a text message, or taking a digital picture. Data services like text messaging, and camera technology are some of the extra features that attract users.

While cell phones are convenient due to their small size and transportability, the wireless network is not without its disadvantages, the most common of which is low signal strength and bad reception in heavily wooded areas or basements.

An investigation done by The Heights revealed which wireless service provides the best signal strength and reception in various popular spots on campus. Overall, Cingular Wireless provided the best reception and signal strength, while AT&T Wireless came in last. The other providers, who all performed similarly, were Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, Nextel, and Sprint PCS.

All wireless service providers use radio signals to transmit digital calls. Since radio signals travel in straight lines, service may be interrupted in areas where there is an increased amount of foliage or buildings.

The same might occur in basements and buildings with thick walls according to Mark Elliot, Northeast regional media manager for Sprint PCS.

"Wireless phones use a radio frequency signal and that's a line of sight technology," said Elliott. "If there's a barrier where you're using your wireless phone even when near a cell site, foliage, thick walls, or basement locations may impact the strength of your signal."

Cell sites, which are placed throughout network grids, transmit the radio waves. Most of the service providers said that they place cell sites every mile to provide blanketed coverage, especially in metropolitan areas like Boston.

Transmitters may be placed on buildings, in floor cables, or from "towers" that often look like solar panels. Some services may provide in-building coverage where needed.

"I think we sponsored BC's athletics a couple years ago so we might have an agreement with BC to put additional sites on campus," said John Redman, public affairs manager for Nextel. "That is something that should be checked with the regional manager though."

Service providers vary in the kind of hardware technology they use to provide optimal service, the most common of which are Global System for Mobile (GSM) and Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA).

Richard Enright, director of networks for Verizon Wireless in New England said that it is a misconception when people think that one company's radio signal is stronger than another's.

"There are different frequencies and some get into buildings a little better but we have many frequencies in Boston that show no real clear-cut difference [in performance]," said Enright. "Where you see the difference is in a particular area with a large number of transmitters."

Another misconception is relying on the number of signal bars on one's cell phone to determine the ability to place a call, according to Elliott.

"That's a tool that's helpful but the signal bar doesn't necessarily indicate if you can place a call," said Elliott. "It may indicate strength but you shouldn't base your experience on that one measure."

"Most times if your wireless phone has any type of signal strength, it will be able to place a call," he added. "The times when you wouldn't be able to make a call is when the phone says it's searching for a network in that area."

This was demonstrated when during the tests, Nextel displayed only one signal bar but still offered full service and clear reception.

Roaming services away from one's home area code do not diminish network quality either, said Alexa Kaufman, Northeast public relations manager for Cingular.

She said that most wireless providers, including Cingular, have agreements with other carriers in areas not covered by the particular company.

"If you're in a location where Cingular does not provide service, we have business arrangements with other carriers to provide it on our behalf," said Kaufman.

"What that means to a student or to a customer is not really a whole lot because it doesn't matter to you who you're roaming on," she added. "Where it's not transparent to the customer is depending on the type of calling plan that you have."

Service quality is affected by phone models that work on different technologies, however, causing providers to test all phones prior to release.

"We test phones before we sell them, and there's definitely some difference in the phone manufacturers in terms of quality," said Enright.

"Some things are solved with new software and we try to catch things before they're broken," he continued.

Nextel, however, only sells Motorola phones due to their ability to support two-way technology.

"Our products are fairly unique in that they are for two-way as well as cellular," said Redman. "Motorola is the only company who supplies Nextel phones. You can't get another phone and use it on our network because the hardware supports the iDEN and TDMA technology for two-way."

In interviews with The Heights, the various service providers stated their plans for network improvement in the BC area within the end of the year. "I think we know we've got some improvements ahead of us in the BC area," said Enright. "Verizon Wireless has a site coming online in the next 60 days in that area which should greatly improve service indoors."

"We've done a lot of work this year in Boston especially for the DNC [Democratic National Convention]," said Kaufman. "Cingular, sometime before the end of the year, hopes to acquire AT&T Wireless, which will allow us to double the size of the network."

"Sprint is continually evaluating our network to make sure it's performing at the highest levels, and we're analyzing areas like BC that are pushing for more cell sites," said Elliott.

Service providers hope that these improvements and more will offer better services to the college demographic who are increasingly reliant on wireless technology.