Sprint uses Verizon towers

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I was told today that the FCC is requiring cell carriers to share towers. Dealer told me that means Sprint will now work off of Verizon's towers up north.

[LMITOUT]

From what I understand Sprint has always used Verizon towers and vice versa. They both share the same CDMA format. When people say Sprint coverage is worse than Verizon's I say hogwash. The real problem is more likely the phone and it's internal radio. Some work better than others. I've never had a problem with reception on Sprint.

[Big Dave2]

From what I understand Sprint has always used Verizon towers and vice versa. They both share the same CDMA format. When people say Sprint coverage is worse than Verizon's I say hogwash. The real problem is more likely the phone and it's internal radio. Some work better than others. I've never had a problem with reception on Sprint.

You must never go west of the Cities then.

[LMITOUT]

That's where I live, plus I travel to ND a few times a year with no issues with coverage. Are their dead spots or weak signal areas? Sure. And they were there when I had Midwest Wireless, who is now Altel, who is now Verizon as well.

I don't think you can have a phone or service that is going to work everywhere 100% of the time. There are going to be areas where there is no coverage regardless of the carrier. It's the nature of the wireless beast.

[bigbad401]

I travel west of the cities fairly often and I don't have any issues with my Sprint service. I agree that the phone itself has a lot to do with the reception that you get.

[deadeye]

So true. I guess when I looked for a cell phone I really just compared maps and went with what worked where I spend most of my time. Verizon ended up being my best bet cause it was great in ely. If I had been elsewhere it would have been sprint or at&t.

I think its good that they are sharing the towers. Its redundant to keep popping up stuff next to each other if we can get along. In the end it will make service better because there wont be wasted double coverage. More area can be covered with less money.

[LMITOUT]

I think the "share" thing might be misunderstood as well. They might not be sharing the radio equipment, but rather the tower itself with each carrier still having their separate antennas installed on the tower. This will help increase coverage while cutting down on cost and the hassle of acquiring approval to build towers.

Two carriers, such as Sprint and Verizon, will use each other's antennas to get calls completed but it costs them lease fees and roaming charges. I think sometimes people believe that if they have a VZ phone they only talk to VZ towers but that isn't the case. If it were there would be a dead spots galore because it just isn't possible for one company to have enough towers to ensure coverage. Thankfully there is a little give and take between carriers.

[upnorth]

I have a Verizon phone from work and a AT&T phone of my own and both have their good areas and bad areas. I will say most of the time I am covered by one or the other.

[deadeye]

Either way its one less thing that has to be built. I like it when we don't waste extra time, money and space on something like that. More efficient and more smart = win win.

[Big Dave2]

When people say Sprint coverage is worse than Verizon's I say hogwash. The real problem is more likely the phone and it's internal radio.

Well, I'm pretty sure it's not hogwash. I have T-mobile, not because it is the best coverage but because it is the cheapest. I know for a fact that verizon's coverage is far better than t-mobile in the outstate area. It's also better at my home and my wife and I plus about 10 people that I know in my hometown that have t-mobile have gone through several phones and it's not the phone.

I also know that sprint coverage is not as good as AT&T. A friend of mine has his cell phone service paid for by his company and they switched a couple of years ago from AT&T to sprint and he complains all the time about his sprint coverage.

[Big Dave2]

On another note, I was surprised to see that my sons Tracphone had no service at all inside Target Field! Downtown Minneapolis and no service. My phone had full service.

[LMITOUT]

I also know that sprint coverage is not as good as AT&T.

All depends where you're at, and that's going to be common for all carriers. I would guess that more people would say ATT's coverage is not as good as Sprint or Verizon if they were surveyed in the outstate area.

At work we use Sprint with no complaints, and that's why I switched my personal cell to Sprint because I had first hand experience that it worked well here and in ND and places in between. That's about a guy can do.....try what works in the areas they are going to be in most of the time and go with it. Somebody saying ATT's coverage is better than VZ in Alexandria doesn't mean it's going to be that way everywhere.

[LMITOUT]

On another note, I was surprised to see that my sons Tracphone had no service at all inside Target Field! Downtown Minneapolis and no service. My phone had full service.

The Twins officials had mentioned there were issues with cell service in Target Field and it was something they were going to work on. Apparently they have repeaters at the ballpark but need some fine tuning yet to increase the coverage.

[Big Dave2]

I could believe that statement if you were just comparing AT&T to verizon. I think those 2 are very comparable but I would have a hard time believing that more people in the outstate area have better service with sprint than AT&T or Verizon.

I could be wrong but I think that both Sprint and T-Mobile roam off of AT&T towers in a large part of northern Minnesota when you get away from major highways.

[LMITOUT]

Verizon/Sprint are CDMA.

ATT is GSM.

That is my point about people saying Sprint is worse than Verizon. For the most part they can use the same towers.

[Big Dave2]

Verizon/Sprint are CDMA.

ATT is GSM.

That is my point about people saying Sprint is worse than Verizon. For the most part they can use the same towers.

Maybe they can but they don't.

[Neighbor_guy]

"Share the same towers".....

Yes they do, kind of.....

We have Verison, AT&T, and Tmobil all sending signals and using the roof top here at work. Same tower different signal and control cabinates. So they "share" the physical tower, but not the network.

Sharing the same towers usualy only refers to 911 service. Meaning if you dial 911 from a sprint phone and there is no sprint network in the area, but there is Verison service your 911 call will go threw.

But as has been said before, go north of Cloquet, better have Verison.

[LMITOUT]

Those three are on different systems, so yes, it wouldn't be suprising that they share the same physical tower, but not radio equipment on said tower.

Sprint and VZ run CDMA so they CAN share the same radio equipment.

[upnorth]

AT&T works better in a a lot of places up north than Verizon.

[Scott K]

AT&T works better in a a lot of places up north than Verizon.

I agree, I have full signal at my cabin with AT&T, and friends, and brother have no reception with Verizon. The best advice is to look at the maps for coverage, and pick the one that you will be in the most. For me, that was ATT, and it will be different for everyone.

Ford vs Chevy, Marcom vs Humminbird

[PierBridge]

I would say a better comparison is Ford Pinto versus Cadillac Escalade.... J/K...

It nice to see the other providers catching up to Verizon as far as coverage goes for sure! And if they have to use or Free-load off of our towers so be it....

When you have the coverage dominance that Verizon has had for the last 20 years it does take a bit for people to catch on that the other providers have some decent coverage...Win Win for the consumer!!

[Big Dave2]

[quote=LMITOUT

Sprint and VZ run CDMA so they CAN share the same radio equipment.

[LMITOUT]

I think you'd be surprised at who actually has the better coverage, as rated by independent parties.

Maybe people will finally begin to catch on instead of believing old wive's tales. Until then I'll enjoy my cheaper plan and superior coverage. Just trying to help you guys out!

[PierBridge]

So says the guy who's thinking about coming over to the Dark-

side "droid" world of Verizon wireless....

[LMITOUT]

Nope. Android. Not Droid.