question

[mdk32014]

So say i am in a location with no service would i be able to get service from another provider for free? For example when i go to the mountains Verizon gets service from a local provider.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[SpookDroid]

It depends on the carrier agreements. If T-Mo has agreements with those carriers, you will be able to use their network as if you were still on T-Mobile, but if not, you're pretty much in the dark. Emergency calls, however, I believe are covered.

 

[dpham00]

So say i am in a location with no service would i be able to get service from another provider for free? For example when i go to the mountains Verizon gets service from a local provider.

Posted via the Android Central App

It depends on the roaming agreements. Assuming that they are in place then you would get service at no extra charge.

Also for 911 calls, all carriers must accept, regardless of roaming agreements.

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4

 

[dpham00]

Another thing to keep in mind is that the phone has to be compatible with the other network's technology. For example, in remote areas, Verizon probably only has lte band 13 and cdma 2g/3g. In this case, if you have a Tmobile s6, you won't be able to use Verizon's LTE band 13 or cdma network, as tmobile chose not to incorporate these radios into their phone.



If emergency support is your main concern the unlocked iphone 6 /6p bought directly from Apple fully supports all 4 major carriers.

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4

 

[mdk32014]

Does tmobile have roaming agreements with anyone? Is it the same for postpaid and prepaid account. I am trying to see what the service might be like when I travel to Ashe County in the mountains near Boone North Carolina still. Traveling there soon so I guess I shall see for myself I was just wondering as because of the roaming agreements verizon works up there with no problem.

 

[SpookDroid]

You can check if they're covered here.
Check Cell Phone Coverage and Signal Strength in Your Area | T-Mobile

I believe that also includes roaming agreements as well.

 

[Shilohcane]

I checked OpenSignal for Boone, North Carolina and Verizon is the only service there that is any good. T-Mobile is the worst of all of them but both AT&T and Sprint aren't that good there either. As you know Boone is a mountainous area that kills both T-Mobile and Sprint's high spectrum signals.

I think your best option is buying a Verizon Wireless No-Contract Phones Verizon Wireless No-Contract & Prepaid Phones - Best Buy

 

[raino]

TMO's roaming allowance is a joke. 5MB to 200MB. Ironic too, considering they need higher limits the most.

 

[boogas8]

TMO's roaming allowance is a joke. 5MB to 200MB. Ironic too, considering they need higher limits the most.

Yeah its unfortunate. But when companies can charge as much as they want to allow T-Mobilr to have customers roam on their networks its expensive. Wouldn't you charge a lot if you were the company that T-Mobile wanted to roam on?

Sent from my Galaxy Note 4 via the Uncarrier

 

[raino]

Yeah its unfortunate. But when companies can charge as much as they want to allow T-Mobilr to have customers roam on their networks its expensive. Wouldn't you charge a lot if you were the company that T-Mobile wanted to roam on?

TMO does have a solution in some places: build out its own network, for the spectrum they own but haven't deployed (I'm talking AWS/PCS, not 700a.) But when they choose to not do that, even their legitimate complaints seem a bit like them wanting to have their cake and eat it too.

 

[Shilohcane]

TMO's roaming allowance is a joke. 5MB to 200MB. Ironic too, considering they need higher limits the most.

Well you can always pay a extra $60 more a month for AT&T and Verizon if money isn't important to you... T-Mobile is so good where I live and play that I don't even turn on the roaming option on my service. I haven't lost signal one time in 2015 according to my App OpenSignal with T-Mobile/MetroPCS and at only $35 a month. Some people don't mine overpaying for Verizon or AT&T but I do. However AT&T & Sprint doesn't work as good as T-Mobile at my home.

 

[Shilohcane]

TMO does have a solution in some places: build out its own network, for the spectrum they own but haven't deployed (I'm talking AWS/PCS, not 700a.) But when they choose to not do that, even their legitimate complaints seem a bit like them wanting to have their cake and eat it too.

Then again that is true about AT&T, Verizon and Sprint that all have holes in their coverage. You would need to get a satellite phone if you expect to have coverage every where in the USA. Also, in some high traffic areas even the over priced services like AT&T and Verizon have congestion and poor signals but they just don't care about fixing their services either with that logic....

 

[raino]

T-Mobile is so good where I live and play that I don't even turn on the roaming option on my service.

The whole premise of this thread is roaming/what will happen in situations where one (specifically, the OP) might have to roam. The signal where you work and play is irrelevant, because 1) roaming is being discussed, and 2) hopefully nobody would be dumb enough to sign up for service through TMO if their work/residence/most frequented places are in the sizeable TMO coverage holes.

Then again that is true about AT&T, Verizon and Sprint that all have holes in their coverage. You would need to get a satellite phone if you expect to have coverage every. Also, in some high traffic areas even the over priced services like AT&T and Verizon have congestion and poor signals but they just don't care about fixing their services either with that logic....

Yes. Everyone has coverage holes, but who's likely to have more of them: AT&T, Verizon, or TMO? And especially compared with Verizon, it's not even close.

Congestion is a real issue too (albeit not the scope of this thread) and right now, you're more likely to come across congestion on AT&T and Verizon. But that does not mean it's not starting to happen on TMO. In fact, TMO's whole strategy of deploying its network almost exclusively in/near urban centers lends itself to congestion, unless they keep supplementing their bandwidth and/or employ AT&T/Verizon-like policies of limiting data plans, etc. So worst case, you end up with congestion on all carriers, but TMO with still the worst nationwide native coverage and laughable roaming limits.

 

[Shilohcane]

Yes. Everyone has coverage holes, but who's likely to have more of them: AT&T, Verizon, or TMO? And especially compared with Verizon, it's not even close.

I am just a customer that is happy that the Un-Carrier freed me from AT&T contracts prison. T-Mobile meets my current needs and I am not over paying by $60-$80 a month extra for Verizon or AT&T services that are no better at least in my environment. BTW, I don't have a contract that locks me in with T-Mobile like Verizon and AT&T does to force their customer to stay on their over priced networks. T-Mobile works for me now and by the end of 2015, T-Mobile may even have a similar national network access PoP as AT&T or Verizon's networks.

Only T-Mobile won't have as much network congestion issues as AT&T & Verizon have now. T-Mobile network has more mid-band spectrum and towers build closer together than the other two to reduce network congestion. T-Mobile before 700Mhz had to build 2 to 4 more towers in a cell zone that AT&T and Verizon with it's Sub-1Ghz specturm. TMO's higher spectrum frequencies and more cell towers closer together are now a T-Mobile advantage over network congestion. T-Mobile's network has live Carrier Aggregation between 700MHz and AWS (Band 12 + Band 4). T-Mobile has lots of backhaul fiber optics from having so many more towers. Plus T-Mobile will be rolling out LAA micro cells for even better congestion reduction by the end of 2015. T-Mobile will still be about half the monthly cost as AT&T and Verizon.

T-Mobile Map end of 2014 vs T-Mobile Map end of 2015.

http://tmo.rocks/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/DTCapMarketsCoverage.png

 

[Almeuit]

Most companies don't have a huge roaming limit .. They'd rather you not use tons of data when doing so. I believe Sprint has a low limit to (like 300 MB). Roaming is meant for having a signal when needed .. Not really streaming your music on it... Since as you said Raino.. You shouldn't choose your service with T-Mobile if you're going to roam a ton in your area... Shouldn't do that with anyone really.

When I was on sprint and would roam to Verizon it was mainly when using things like navigation at the most .. Or a phone call. If someone is roaming they shouldn't keep doing things such as streaming music. Just my .02 cents.

 

[Almeuit]

That's a great chart...except att has never used cdma....it was TDMI then they went to gsm

Posted via the Android Central App

Huh? The chart is showing everything about the phone .. It says no for CDMA since AT&T doesn't have it. They always do this when going through the approval process. They list exactly what each phone does and doesn't have.