Herein is a possible word of warning for anybody using his or her TDMA cellular phone (at least Rogers AT & T) in the US boondocks.

Mrs. Fredd and I just flew to southwest Colorado where we have previously used our Rogers cell phone without a problem. We have used it many other locations while in the US.

I found out through a fluke this morning that, although my phone’s screen reads “Partner” and is at full signal strength, Rogers no longer has an agreement with the local provider (Verizon). The result? Anybody calling my cell phone will get the standard message saying that the Rogers customer is not available and, worse, I am left to assume that nobody is trying to call me.

Outgoing calls through the local provider now carry a $4 per minute credit-card surcharge, but at least there’s an advance prompt. Being able to receive incoming calls is the invaluable feature for us.

What annoys me is that Rogers says there is no way to tell if you are in a location with a provider who does not allow incoming phone calls. The screen does not read “No Service.” Yes, I can call Rogers and they will tell me if they have coverage in a given town or area, but I don’t always know where I will be, especially if I’m driving cross country rather than flying. I could also stop at a payphone, call my cell phone, and see if it rings but it all seems more than a mite inconvenient to do as I’m cruising my 600-700 daily miles on Interstate 84.

When I complained today, Rogers offered to set me up with complimentary voicemail, a nice enough gesture, but of limited value compared to the immediacy of a cell phone call.

We are leisure travellers, but if I were using the phone for business purposes and came to find out I was missing calls that I didn’t even know I was missing, I would also be annoyed.

I am not trying to knock either Rogers or US cellular providers with whom they don’t have agreements, but I would welcome better communication from these communication companies! Any suggestions would also be welcomed but I thought I would share this information which is new at least to me.


Cheers,
Fredd

It would be pretty much impossible to communicate this information in advance.

There are hundreds of mobile providers in the US, some of which only cover very small RSAs (rural service areas). For the cellular companies to try to communicate to customers the full list of all service areas, and whether there are roaming agreements in place would be nigh to impossible, especially as (a) the owners of the licenses is in a constant state of flux, and (b) if signal strength from one provider is weak, you may pick up another with which Rogers etc. do not have a roaming agreement, and thus get the "thank you for calling cellular express" (etc.) message and the credit card prompt.

Simon

Fredd, this list may not be completely exhaustive (it doesn't indicate any places in Colorado for instance), but Rogers does indicate areas in the US where calls cost $4 per minute:

http://www.shoprogers.com/store/wire...s.asp#coverage

(Click on "View the areas that are excluded" about halfway down the page.) Unfortunately, that page does not acknowledge the incoming phone call problem you experienced, but perhaps it can help you be better prepared to avoid the excessive outgoing call charges.

[This message has been edited by CanuckFlyer (edited 08-27-2003).]

Their GSM agreements might be better. They might send you a refurbished free or cheap for your next trip.

At least with the SIM card, you get more information than just a signal bar. So you might actually know directly if incoming calls would be accepted or not.

Canuck Flyer - thanks to you and others for your comments and suggestions. I did check the map you mention on the Rogers website, but oddly enough it shows the town in which we are located as being covered, as it has been for the preceding three years.

The first Rogers rep I made contact with by phone was unaware of the current lack of a local agreement - it took a second call after she tried to "fix" my phone from Montreal for another rep to tell me that the first rep had missed a note in their file.

I also have been told that local (i.e. US domestic) AT & T customers do receive cellular service in this town of 15-20,000 people, so the "AT & T" part of the Rogers name now strikes me as odd and a little misleading, since I am paying "Rogers AT & T" for a plan that includes US coverage.

The "local carrier" is Verizon - http://www22.verizon.com - hardly a small town outfit.

I do realize the technology is still evolving,and will probably change more drastically as GSM becomes the North American standard, so I'm trying not to whine. What I did learn today is that a "Partner" message on the cell phone's screen does not necessarily mean that the phone will receive incoming calls.

Cheers,
Fredd

Fredd,

Are you sure that your phone was actually picking up a Verizon signal while you were in CO? Again, in "dead" spots where a carrier's signal is weak, you may pick up another carrier's network. And Rogers may not have a roaming agreement with Northern Colorado Cellular or whatever.

Simon

Simon,

On previous occasions, I don't know what network was being utilized in DRO. When I tried to call out yesterday I did get a prompt from Verizon to be ready to use my credit card for the $4-per-minute charge [to call a phone in the same room ]as CanuckFlyer mentioned. The second Rogers rep also mentioned Verizon and said that they don't currently have an agreement. Consequently, I am guessing that Verizon would pick up the incoming calls as well, but even that may not be the case.

I thought up until yesterday that the "AT & T" would mean that I would get service everywhere a U.S. AT & T subscriber would, but that apparently is not the case.

I think you're absolutely right though that Rogers doesn't currently have an agreement with whichever company is picking up the signal, even though they did as recently as four months ago.

It would be helpful if somehow the screen would read "No Service" rather than "Partner" but there's probably some technical limitation that doesn't allow that at present.

Another poster mentioned GSM and I would love to convert to that and look forward to an affordable world phone, but GSM plans are still expensive for guys like me, and, while they can claim to cover a high percentage of the population in Canada and the U.S., it's my understanding that it is mainly in the metropolitan areas, and thus is limited once one is outside those.

Thanks very much again to you and others for your suggestions, and I would welcome any and all further suggestions.

Cheers,
Fredd

I'm not sure how useful this would be, but have you considered a cheap or Pay-as-you-Go type plan from a US provider? That way you'd get AT&T service where you expect it.

When I re-worked my phone plans a while back, I dropped vmail from my (Rogers) phone. I've got my Rogers phone set to redirect to my home line if busy or not answered. On my home line I have Bell Canada's vmail plan that includes page-when-there's-a-message, which I've set to page at my cell phone.

So if I'm out of my local calling area, a call to my cell phone rolls over to my home phone, which takes a message and then calls my cell phone to tell me.

andrew

Andrew: I just noticed that you just passed 4K posts. Thanks for your contributions. Congrats.

Thanks!

That's more than the total status miles I've earned in the last two years combined.

andrew


[This message has been edited by Andrew Webber (edited 08-29-2003).]

Well, the reason it shows "partner" rather than "no service" is that no service would mean just that -- no signal to be picked up. Whereas here, there is. You just can't use it without a credit card.

Easy answer - switch to Bell. They have agreements with Verizon and Sprint

Simon:
"Easy answer - switch to Bell. They have agreements with Verizon and Sprint."


Yes, rather than switching to GSM, you might want to consider switching to CDMA, and/or
anything that uses the Verizon network in the US (the best network in the US).


As an aside, if you wish the best coverage in rural areas, you should get a phone that
retains the old analog mode of operation. Unfortunately, many of the newer tiny phones
do not have analog mode, or if they do, have very small batteries, which don't allow much
operation time in rural areas with power-hungry analog operation. Also, the smaller
phones don't have large built-in antennas necessary for the lower frequency analog band
(compared to the higher frequency digital band) - - higher frequencies mean smaller
wavelengths, and smaller antennas.

If you want a good phone for rural or emergency operation, check out the Nokia 5185i.
This is an older phone, but still available from Bell, Verizon, Radio Shack, etc. It has
digital CDMA and the aformentioned analog mode. The "i" version was modified by Nokia
in San Diego for better operation at the lower US frequencies by adding an extendable antenna.
You can get some very high capacity batteries (try eBay) for extended operation in analog
mode, and for the extra security of having enough power while in rural areas. The large
battery also allows the phone to stand up by itself.



[This message has been edited by IJK (edited 08-30-2003).]

Thanks for the suggestions. I’m back in Canada for a couple of days and first checked out the US AT & T website using a postal (zip) code for DRO:

http://www.attws.com/buy/consumer/zi...ter_body.jhtml

“AT&T Wireless services does not provide coverage in your area. We are aggressively expanding into new areas throughout the country, so please be sure to check back in the future. Please check your zip code for accuracy and re-enter if necessary.”

So the person down there who told me that people with US AT & T plans had service in that area is probably not accurate.

I then checked the Rogers site again:

http://www.shoprogers.com/store/wire...=Fraser+Valley &RegionCd=100&flow=GSM

“ Our ongoing negotiations with certain U.S. independent carriers have been unsuccessful in securing reasonable roaming rates. Therefore, to allow us to continue to provide you with great roaming coverage at today’s low rates we must exclude certain areas. View the areas that are excluded. ”

“The following roaming areas are excluded from your plan.”

The catch is that there are no places on the "excluded" list in Colorado or New Mexico. However, that wouldn’t be the first time a company website isn’t up to date. And lumping in Verizon with “certain independent carriers” is a little like calling AC a “regional airline.”

I will pursue all the various suggestions and check out Bell Canada, as well as a cheap US Cell plan. I am also intrigued by your idea, Andrew Webber:

“When I re-worked my phone plans a while back, I dropped vmail from my (Rogers) phone. I've got my Rogers phone set to redirect to my home line if busy or not answered. On my home line I have Bell Canada's vmail plan that includes page-when-there's-a-message, which I've set to page at my cell phone.

So if I'm out of my local calling area, a call to my cell phone rolls over to my home phone, which takes a message and then calls my cell phone to tell me.”

I myself have Telus for local lines at two different residences and an independent long distance provider which has worked well for me with calls at about 8 cents a minute 24/7 almost anywhere in the world, so I don’t know if I could set this up.

Again, a final reminder for anybody else as technologically challenged as I am – just because your cell screen reads “Partner” in the US does not mean you will receive incoming calls.

Thanks again to all,
Fredd

While we're on the off topic of Rogers Cellular, I just found a $30 discount token under a coke bottle top. Not sure what it is a $30 discount off, other than for some Rogers cellular service or telephone set. If anyone is interested, it's yours. [I think the odds of scoring one of these was 1:16, so may be quite worthless.]