Will the coverage map be more specific for T-moble or Sprint at some Point in the Future?

[td109702]

What phone do you have?
I have a motorola G6 and a motorola E4

What plan are you on?
Both phones are under the My choice + 1 GB plans

Does your plan include data, or just talk & text?
They include all.

---

Issue Description

I have no cell service period. It was even when I first started with the Defy phones first offered with the company many years back. I switched to Republic Wireless from AT&T for the same reason of no cell coverage. Why I chose Republic Wireless was the option of using WiFi to make calls and the reason for staying with this for so long was the ability of making calls using WiFi from home internet.

I have a cell tower about 3 to 4 miles away if you could shoot an arrow that far, but it is not AT&T or Sprint coverage area. I only get coverage when I am 1 or 2 miles away from the city I work in. Since I do not know what cell tower the service provider would be near my home is, I would like to know if there is a way to find out if it might be T-Moble and if so would it be possible to switch to a T-Moble Sim card since Sprint got purchased by them and service could be better than Sprint in some areas if it was owned by T-Moble.
Thanks for any information that someone might provide.

[Majorninth]

Try using the Root Metrics app to get a better idea of coverage

[rolandh]

Hi @td109702 and welcome to the Community!

@td109702

I have a cell tower about 3 to 4 miles away if you could shoot an arrow that far, but it is not AT&T or Sprint coverage area.

Please allow me to provide some context regarding Republic’s coverage options. Republic provisions cellular coverage with one of two network partners. One partner operates a GSM network and is T-Mobile. Republic’s other partner operates a CDMA network and is Sprint. While T-Mobile and Sprint have merged, the networks remain separate. Cellular coverage is provisioned with one network or the other not both simultaneously.

@td109702

Since I do not know what cell tower the service provider would be near my home is, I would like to know if there is a way to find out if it might be T-Moble and if so would it be possible to switch to a T-Moble Sim card since Sprint got purchased by them and service could be better than Sprint in some areas if it was owned by T-Moble.

I don’t know that we’ll be able to pinpoint the owner of the specific cell tower you reference, however, we can help assess coverage options in your area. For more insight on that, presuming you’re comfortable sharing, might we trouble you for a zip code?

It would also help us better help you if we verified provisioned coverage on both the Moto G6 and Moto E4. Here’s how to tell:

How to Tell If a Phone Is Active on GSM or CDMA

Please let us know what the SIM types are for each phone?

[louisdi]

@Majorninth

Try using the Root Metrics app to get a better idea of coverage

I’d like to offer a differing viewpoint on this. I know there are a lot of folks around here that seem to have a love for rootmetrics, sometimes to the point where I wonder if somehow they’re stockholders, but my opinion is that root metrics is largely useless.

First, it only tends to have data in places where there are lots of people. those are the places that the carrier maps are good in the first place, in rural locations where there aren’t enough users, their data is even more useless than the carrier data.

Second, the data is tainted by phone type. Just because some random user had bad coverage, doesn’t mean you will because your phone might have band 71, when theirs didn’t. Or the other way around.

At its most effective root metrics is really good at reinforcing your opinion through confirmation bias. That’s about it.

[PlaneTherapist]

I don’t like or use RW maps due to lack of detail/information and use the T-Mobile or Sprint maps.

@louisdi

…but my opinion is that root metrics is largely useless.

First, it only tends to have data in places where there are lots of people. those are the places that the carrier maps are good in the first place, in rural locations where there aren’t enough users, their data is even more useless than the carrier data.

Couldn’t agree more and glad to hear someone else saying this in a reply. Root Metrics provides little data for my area and zero for my neighborhood where I most need to know what networks may work. They do have pretty good data along most interstates and many highways that might be helpful for some road-trippers staying on the beaten paths.

[td109702]

This is for both phones. I am using CDMA network due to the fact I have been assigned two separate phone numbers, one is a Republic wireless number and the other is a sprint number. This is been the same since I first joined the Republic wireless family many years back with the Motorola Defy 1.0 phones that were offered at that time. I have never had the GSM sim card except with the AT&T network. The phone that I had with AT&T was very limited in operation (Nokia) and not too technical in use. It was like driving a Model T Ford against a Race car I have now as an example in the differences. I live in the zip code of 71763 and work in the zip code of 71923. Sprint has coverage along the I-30 corridor and a ways in some areas from it on both sides of the interstate. The model phone I use, states when I purchased it unlocked, could be used with both GSM and the CDMA networks. As I understand how Sim cards work, they control what is allowed to be powered up and working in the phone. An example would be allowing some frequencies to be used but not for others and limiting on who can be roamed on when out of Network. That is why I am wanting to find this information so that I might know if it would be better to use a Sim card to use with a GSM network instead of what I am using, a Sim with the CDMA network.
Thanks for any information that might be provided.

[td109702]

I have to correct my answer, I looked on the setting of the Republic app and found that the Sim type is GSM for both phones. I stand corrected on this. When we switched from the Moto Defy phones to the Moto E4 and G6 we had to get new Sim cards since the old did not fit, just too big. I guess that was when the differences on networks occurred. I learned something new when I wanted to completely verify the information as requested.

[td109702]

Since reading your reply more in depth, somehow I feel like I am more confused than when I started this help request. You explained a lot to me. I will let you know some more details, the cell tower in question is located at the JCT of HWY 7 & 8 near Dalark, AR. Google map photos if you want to know more on what it looks like for that specific location. or click link below if I set it up right.

cell tower location

That is the closest tower to me.
I am SW about 3 to 4 miles away from the tower location.

In Arkadelphia, Arkansas, I can be anywhere in town and have nearly full signal most of the time, but from my home, no cell signal from any phone that I have used before or currently. I have used products like what was first suggested of Root Metrics but for the information I am searching for is not listed in that app. I am actively searching for a solution to have both WiFi and Cell coverage at my home location because of two reasons.

1. I am in a rural area and have power outages every now and then and Wifi becomes unavailable as home service and cell reception is then needed.
2. My job demands that I have cell service of some type to be in contact for emergency call in due to problems at work and the other is for using data by cell to check on my workplace at night in case of power outage by remote viewing. Otherwise I would use my home internet to do the remote viewing any other time. I am not a supervisor of my job but just a worker on shift work providing essential services to the city and county. Thanks for help so far.

[td109702]

I installed Root Metrics but could not find the information I was looking for but at least I gave it a try. I do think that you have some valid points about the type of maps and services that phone services could provide. What I would like to see in an app is something like strength of signal for a certain location and who the provider would be for a certain tower and if it is a associated partner with that company. Example a Sprint tower location ownership nearby giving -40 db and saying that Republic Wireless is an associated partner with that cell tower owner and a possibility of a connection if needed.
I also think that some people that have great phone reception and or transmission give better data to these war driving programs for cell reception. I have yet to see an app break down their data by phone brand to a certain company so that someone maybe like me might compare the experience that they might have for the exact same tower. I do appreciate your input on this topic. Thanks.

[cbwahlstrom]

The tower you show appears to be an AT&T tower (judging by the blurred sign). The Republic Wireless GSM partner (T-Mobile) does not have good coverage in that area (your closest T-Mobile tower appears to be a 700 MHz only tower in downtown Sparkman):

https://maps.t-mobile.com/pcc.html?map=mvno-roamd-34l

Republic’s CDMA partner (Sprint) appears to offer only roaming voice coverage in that area:

https://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp?ECID=vanity:coverage

CellMapper has mapped tower data (https://www.cellmapper.net/map), but it’s not exactly easy to use and I can’t vouch for the accuracy.

T-Mobile towers (Republic GSM) in your area:

Sprint towers (Republic CDMA) in your area:

[cbwahlstrom]

@td109702

I will let you know some more details, the cell tower in question is located at the JCT of HWY 7 & 8 near Dalark, AR

I looked up the FCC registration number for this tower. It’s registered to Crown Castle, but I can’t find anyone who’s using it as a consumer cellular communications tower.

[louisdi]

@cbwahlstrom

consumer cellular communications tower.

Consumer Cellular does not own towers, it is an MVNO like Republic. Crown Castle on the other hand is the largest holder of cell towers in the US owning over 40,000 of them. All four of the major carriers (and even regional players like US Cellular) use various Crown Castle towers around the US. There’s no way to know how is on a specific tower other than through something like Cell Mapper or by looking at the panels on the tower themselves and trying to decipher which carrier uses that brand of equipment for the specific bands the antenna can cover.

[cbwahlstrom]

I meant consumer (small c), as opposed to the Consumer Cellular company. I find no consumer endpoint cellular service associated with that tower (which was licensed in 2005).

[southpaw]

Hi @td109702,

It looks like our Community has done a very good job of analyzing your coverage situation, and I’m sorry to see that if power outages leave you unable to depend on WiFi, we may not be the best solution for your cellular needs.

If you’d like to try a CDMA SIM card just for first-hand experience, we’d be glad to send one out to you at no charge.

Although it would still require electricity and an internet connection, if you’re making a lot of work calls while at home, you might want to think about our Extend Home product, which allows you to add a traditional home phone handset to your cell phone number at no additional monthly charge.

[td109702]

I have been away for a day or two to take vacation from work and I am glad to find that there is a lot of information that have been found out by the community of RW. I do appreciate all that has taken the time and effort to find the information for seeing if I can find a better solution or improve on the situation that I am in. If it was not for what is going on with this Covid crisis that our country and at some point our area might be facing, I would not be looking so hard for a solution that needs to be handled. From what I have been asking around with my company is the following that might possibly be workable for me.

1. Purchase a USB power supply dedicated for just the modem. I have tested the modem that I own and it uses very little wattage so if I purchase a semi large capacity power supply, I might still be able to have internet connection for overnight if we were to have storms and I could still be notified by WiFi.
2. Request an upgrade to my line for a repeater to be placed between the main box at the road on Highway 7 and the county road I live on so that I could be assured of receiving full service of DSL at my home.
   FYI, I’m with Windstream and I have an unlimited internet DSL account that I have been grandfathered in at 1.5 MB/s but only getting at most 160 KB/s. It has been that way for many years and documented by a Windstream Tech person that came to my house to check the line at least 5 to 7 years back.

This written request is coming from the main boss of my organization in the city of Arkadelphia, AR. to the company of Windstream, saying, as an essential employee, I may be required to do my job at home as a remote employee given certain situations and that a service enhancement for my service location is needed. When the internet is working, I can do my job without too much wait time and can still tell what is happening where I work. If the internet here since all the flooding around the area, I’m lucky if I can get signal for DSL at home at all. A good example is yesterday, storms moved in and dumped another 3 inches of rain on top of the 4 to 5 inches already from previous days, this resulted in me being out of signal for a half of a day if not a little more than that. I would love to hopefully see that happen if Windstream will act on that written request.

I know that it could improve a little bit in my area if cell towers were in operation but with lots and lots of trees to block cell towers and the closest tower I have to really work with is maybe not even being used but being in reserve and waiting for use in the future. I just want to yell it out that that future is NOW.

I will keep this topic open for a few more days but from what I have read and understand for what has been found in this thread, I have limited options for improvement.

I can’t switch to another company because the tower that gives me the best cell service is not registered as a working tower by a cell company but owned by a non cell company that sets them up for later renting by cell companies.

I can’t switch to another DSL provider because they would use the same line that Windstream owns and provided the service to my location with said same line.

I have to use my own funds for keeping the internet alive during a power outage which I can understand and have to wait for the request for service improvement from a written request from my city employer.

Thanks a bunch everyone that was a very helpful and I hope that others that might be in a similar situation find their solution in some way.

I would like to give thanks for the persons: {louisdi, majorninth, rolandh, planetherapist, cbwahlstrom and southpaw and any other ambassadors of republic wireless that sill might comment in the coming days and for finding the information, giving me possible solutions and or trying something that I have not thought of.} Thanks again, I will close this thread in a few more days but I appreciate all the help even though it is not exactly solved in the way that I would like.