AT&T Cell Phone Service in Meredith?

Argie's Wife · 10-06-2010, 07:05 PM

Yeeeesssss!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...o&mod=yahoo_hs

Slickcraft · 10-06-2010, 08:02 PM

And just the other day I was telling my wife that it is about time to upgrade my 4 year old Verizon phone.

The market liked the news, from an AP report:

Quote:

Apple's stock increased 25 cents to close Wednesday at $289.19.
Verizon shares rose 28 cents to $33.36, and AT&T's stock lost 32 cents to $28.62

no-engine · 10-06-2010, 09:02 PM

AT&T signals keep improving on north half of Lake, even Wolfeboro along 109 to Moultonboro, and to Meredith. Like anything there are spots of weak signals.
I was recently told that AT&T has receivers/transmitters (do we say tower) inside the fake "lighthouse" at top of the development called "Meredith Bay" even though in Laconia. Formerly the top of Brickyard Ski Area!

I was a long time 15-year Verizon Wireless user as they used top of Belknap Mountain, but a year ago, I decided I wanted iPhone for reasons not the telephone; I gambled and signals are far better than year ago! I am not sure if I'd go back to VZW if they had an iPhone soon: several homes out of state (MD) do not get a VZW signal, but two miles away they do. Thus, AT&T is great at those spots, in MD and a few other places I go to.

No carrier has reception from Alton to Gilford sections of roads.

patman · 10-06-2010, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

Yeeeesssss!

Then again...there's this:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/...ex.html?hpt=T2

Just because Verizon is going to sell iPhones doesn't mean they'll work everywhere on the existing network and towers...

robmac · 10-07-2010, 07:35 AM

I am very happy with my Verizon service and plan on upgrading to the I-phone as soon as it becomes available.

VtSteve · 10-07-2010, 07:48 AM

Here's a revised version. Apparently the paper didn't generate enough trades

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/...ce=yahoo_quote

Originally, Verizon insisted that the iPhone be what all of their phones are, crippled, and tied to unpopular services.

There would be no visual voice mail, Vcast over iTunes, etc...

Hopefully, that changed. The IOS is a system, not a helter-skelter mix of rushed services. It shows.

Argie's Wife · 10-07-2010, 08:43 AM

If Verizon was smart they'd just offer VCast as an app. If people prefer it, they'll buy it (more $) and use it vs. using iTunes/Music apps on the iPhone. The music app on the iPhone (or iPod Touch) isn't the most user friendly app in the world - I prefer iTunes - but VCast is clunky, at best.

And visual voice mail...? Not sure how popular that feature is for folks; I prefer to text. Give me a responsive keyboard on a touch screen and I'm happy. I currently have an LG Chocolate Touch with Verizon and I was okay with it until I got my iPod Touch. Then I realized how cumbersome and unresponsive it is in comparison to the iPod.

By the way, we have new cell towers going up in Alton very soon... curious to see how that will impact service here....

VtSteve · 10-07-2010, 09:06 AM

The voice mail feature was one of my favs. After dealing with Verizon's kludgey system for years, I was happy to leave. I can play the ones I want, delete the ones I don't, listen later. I don't know how Verizon has done with voice mail on the newer phones.

Vcast was just another controlling moment in Verizon's history. The trouble with Verizon controlling how the UI works, is that they're not very good at it. I find using iPod on the phone to be as good as it was on older iPods, just with no click wheel.

brk-lnt · 10-07-2010, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VtSteve

The voice mail feature was one of my favs. After dealing with Verizon's kludgey system for years, I was happy to leave. I can play the ones I want, delete the ones I don't, listen later. I don't know how Verizon has done with voice mail on the newer phones.

Vcast was just another controlling moment in Verizon's history. The trouble with Verizon controlling how the UI works, is that they're not very good at it. I find using iPod on the phone to be as good as it was on older iPods, just with no click wheel.

I've been using ribbit.com for my voicemail for the last year-ish. It has a bunch of features, but the one I really use it for is the voicemail to text transcription. After a caller leaves a message I get an SMS and/or an email with the message transcribed to text. I find it far easier to read my voicemails than to listen to someone who prattles on for a minute and a half. Plus, if the message is something that I can delegate to someone else to follow up on, I just forward the email (which also has a .wav attachment of the actual voicemail) directly from my phone.

My iPhone has the visual voicemail thing. I tried it once and then just left it unused.

Gearhead · 10-07-2010, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

By the way, we have new cell towers going up in Alton very soon... curious to see how that will impact service here....

Do tell, AW!!!

I live on the lower east side (no, the other one) and I could really use another tower nearby. Another place that doesn't have service is up at Sunset Lake by the Scout reservation. Every time we go there, I have to remember to shut off the phone, or it'll go dead.

This'nThat · 10-07-2010, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

By the way, we have new cell towers going up in Alton very soon... curious to see how that will impact service here....

Can you source this information?

Argie's Wife · 10-08-2010, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by This'nThat

Can you source this information?

The Baysider: http://www.newhampshirelakesandmount...ntroversy.html

And meeting minutes from the Alton ZBA starting in March, 2010.

patman · 10-14-2010, 01:58 PM

They're heeeere...almost:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010...adverizon.html

Verizon Wireless Offers iPad at Stores Nationwide on October 28

BASKING RIDGE, New Jersey and CUPERTINO, California—October 14, 2010—Verizon Wireless and Apple® today announced that iPad™ will be available at over 2,000 Verizon Wireless Stores nationwide beginning Thursday, October 28.

no-engine · 10-16-2010, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patman

They're heeeere...almost:

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010...adverizon.html

Verizon Wireless Offers iPad at Stores Nationwide on October 28

BASKING RIDGE, New Jersey and CUPERTINO, California—October 14, 2010—Verizon Wireless and Apple® today announced that iPad™ will be available at over 2,000 Verizon Wireless Stores nationwide beginning Thursday, October 28.

SURPRISE: AT&T will offer same. iPad on their network, which at this time seems better than VZW.

Latest versions of iPad do same thing as an iPhone, but no telephone. Books better, display imported photos far better, and other items better. I was in the new store in Mall of NH, Manchester, called Small Dog Electronics, headquartered in VT. Waitsfield.

SAMIAM · 10-17-2010, 08:37 PM

I tried to enroll with AT&T because they are the only one available with a plan for our new ipad.......they would not take me because my credit card has a PO # .....they insist on a physical address.I replied that we do not get mail delivery where we live and anything addressed without the box number will be sent back..........didn't matter.
Soooooo,we finally got a real person at MC and changed our card to our physical address,then went through the whole enrollment process again and guess what......this time they would not enroll us because AT&T does not have a strong enough signal in Moultonborough.
Anybody want to buy my ipad?

upthesaukee · 10-17-2010, 09:59 PM

I got an AT&T cell phone back when the store I worked in sold AT&T (it didn't matter where I lived since I worked for a retailer that sold their product). After about 4 years, I started getting emails and ads imploring me to upgrade to a new phone. After another four years, I was advised that soon my phone was not going to work with AT&T and I would have to upgrade or service would cease.
So, I immediately called customer service (I use that term very loosely) to upgrade. In less than a minute of conversation, the CSR told me because I lived in Alton, I could not have their service. I asked how long I had their service and she replied 8 years. I said that ATT had taken my money for 8 years with no problem, and now living in Alton was an issue. She said yes and so did her supervisor, and that if I was to move to Strafford Co NH or York Co ME, or any other ATT territory, they would be happy to help me.
I hung up, called Verizon, and have been happy ever since.

Sorry about your IPAD, Sam. I think it has a calculator function

.

gf2020 · 10-17-2010, 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

...this time they would not enroll us because AT&T does not have a strong enough signal in Moultonborough.
Anybody want to buy my ipad?

Trade your AT&T iPad in for a Verizon one in a couple weeks. There is no AT&T 3G data coverage at the north end of the lake. I can get a 3G data signal on my iPhone in Gilford and Alton but that seems to be about it.

wifi · 10-18-2010, 12:36 AM

There is absolutely no reason people need your physical address unless they are going to send someone around. I have the same thing with no mail at the house. If they demand a physical, I make 'em happy with the address of the post office and change the "PO Box" to "Apt", it works 90% of the time and passes credit card screening.

They can feel satisfied they can send some goons over, and I can feel satisfied they will find a nice brick bulding...

Lakepilot · 10-18-2010, 05:42 AM

We often run into this situation also. Especially when talking to "customer service" in India.

To get around this we list our physical address and then on the next line our PO Box. That way if a company ships something FedEx it goes to the house, but if it's shipped Postal the post office knows to put it in the box.

upthesaukee · 10-18-2010, 09:38 PM

I was told by my local Post Office that if I didn't know how the order would arrive (UPS/FEDEX vs USPS), if I put my street address, 1 Main St for example, but put the ZIP+4 for my PO Box, UPS/FEDEX would deliver to my street and USPS would deliver to PO Box because USPS looks to ZIP+4 for definitive address info. So I started to do that.

What I found was that the Alton PO would send it down to the Bay PO, with a note on the front of the envelope saying "Alton Bay ?" and a stamp asking me to inform the sender what my correct address is

.

You could try a similar thing with ATT, I guess. Just hope they don't send you anything.

SAMIAM · 10-19-2010, 08:34 AM

I tried, but couldn't make them understand that I don't need the service here in Moultonborough because it works off my wireless.....I wanted it to travel so that we could check on lodging, road conditions, traffic, etc.
Good idea to trade for verizon. Definitely check it out.

brk-lnt · 10-19-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

I tried, but couldn't make them understand that I don't need the service here in Moultonborough because it works off my wireless.....I wanted it to travel so that we could check on lodging, road conditions, traffic, etc.
Good idea to trade for verizon. Definitely check it out.

Keep in mind the Verizon version is a wifi iPad + a Verizon MiFi device for the Internet connection on the road. This can be a Good Thing, or a Bad Thing, depending on how you look at it. The MiFi can provide access to multiple devices, where the 3G iPad can only provide access to itself, BUT you also now have 2 devices to remember to bring, keep charged, etc. Overall the AT&T 3G iPad is probably more elegant, but the Verizon approach is more flexible.

If you just need an AT&T SIM for the iPad, contact me offline, I can give you an address to set the account up under.

brk-lnt · 10-19-2010, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wifi

There is absolutely no reason people need your physical address unless they are going to send someone around. I have the same thing with no mail at the house. If they demand a physical, I make 'em happy with the address of the post office and change the "PO Box" to "Apt", it works 90% of the time and passes credit card screening.

They can feel satisfied they can send some goons over, and I can feel satisfied they will find a nice brick bulding...

Sorry, but this is just a tad too skeptical for reality.

The main reason the carriers are worried about your physical address is because of roaming fees. You'll notice that most common accounts allow for "free roaming" these days. Well, this isn't really "free", the carriers cross-bill each other for roaming service provided. For the most part, it comes out to a wash and it was easier for them to just jack up everyones rates to include a sort of flat monthly roaming surcharge, and not have to worry about cross-managing all the billing info.

However, if you end up with a LOT of roaming charges, you're costing the carrier real money every month. It's reasonable for them to assume that people will tend to use their phones at home (where most people also spend a fair amount of time). So, if your house is in an area where they don't have coverage and it goes into roaming mode, that makes your account negative value to them.

Nobody sends "goons" out to someones house to collect on a cellphone or cable bill. We have an automated way to ruin your credit and shove the account over to collections in society today. It's far more efficient.

Speaking of the roaming thing, one way to get out of a cellphone contract early with no fees (presuming you have a contract that allows for free roaming) is to find a spot where your phone has no coverage with your primary carrier. Go to that spot (bring a charger) and call up moviefone or some other toll-free number, and let the call run for several hours. Do this as frequently as possible. You'll end up costing the carrier a ton of money, and you'll normally get a nice contract cancellation letter from them.

no-engine · 10-23-2010, 01:16 PM

The credit card, physical address and PO Box problems are getting more of an issue, mainly for security & fraud protection. I had same problems. AT&T on web says no service north, and therefore will not create an account. I do not get mail at house, as I use PO Box. Using the ZIP + 4 will provide some help, when buying anything on line. I work in a business that takes some phone orders; when we key in a c/c number, we are asked if card is present; we then need to enter the card's billing address, which is a fraud protection! It may be different than a shipping address! Same procedure is used when we have a damaged card.

Go to an AT&T store, a reseller like Small Dog Electronics, or Apple store, and there is not an issue, when buying an Apple data or phone device!
The work-arounds are pretty common sense.

10-06-2010, 07:05 PM	#1
Argie's Wife Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Alton Posts: 1,908 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 533 Thanked 579 Times in 260 Posts	Verizon goes iPhone! Yeeeesssss! http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...o&mod=yahoo_hs

10-06-2010, 09:02 PM	#3
no-engine Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: West side Winnipesaukee, Lakes Region Posts: 516 Thanks: 20 Thanked 52 Times in 40 Posts	Fyi AT&T signals keep improving on north half of Lake, even Wolfeboro along 109 to Moultonboro, and to Meredith. Like anything there are spots of weak signals. I was recently told that AT&T has receivers/transmitters (do we say tower) inside the fake "lighthouse" at top of the development called "Meredith Bay" even though in Laconia. Formerly the top of Brickyard Ski Area! I was a long time 15-year Verizon Wireless user as they used top of Belknap Mountain, but a year ago, I decided I wanted iPhone for reasons not the telephone; I gambled and signals are far better than year ago! I am not sure if I'd go back to VZW if they had an iPhone soon: several homes out of state (MD) do not get a VZW signal, but two miles away they do. Thus, AT&T is great at those spots, in MD and a few other places I go to. No carrier has reception from Alton to Gilford sections of roads.

10-17-2010, 09:59 PM	#16
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,596 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,453 Thanked 1,979 Times in 1,080 Posts	They would find another reason... I got an AT&T cell phone back when the store I worked in sold AT&T (it didn't matter where I lived since I worked for a retailer that sold their product). After about 4 years, I started getting emails and ads imploring me to upgrade to a new phone. After another four years, I was advised that soon my phone was not going to work with AT&T and I would have to upgrade or service would cease. So, I immediately called customer service (I use that term very loosely) to upgrade. In less than a minute of conversation, the CSR told me because I lived in Alton, I could not have their service. I asked how long I had their service and she replied 8 years. I said that ATT had taken my money for 8 years with no problem, and now living in Alton was an issue. She said yes and so did her supervisor, and that if I was to move to Strafford Co NH or York Co ME, or any other ATT territory, they would be happy to help me. I hung up, called Verizon, and have been happy ever since. Sorry about your IPAD, Sam. I think it has a calculator function . __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!

10-18-2010, 12:36 AM	#18
wifi Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lakes Region Posts: 1,321 Thanks: 282 Thanked 287 Times in 169 Posts	"physical address" - pet peeve There is absolutely no reason people need your physical address unless they are going to send someone around. I have the same thing with no mail at the house. If they demand a physical, I make 'em happy with the address of the post office and change the "PO Box" to "Apt", it works 90% of the time and passes credit card screening. They can feel satisfied they can send some goons over, and I can feel satisfied they will find a nice brick bulding...

10-18-2010, 09:38 PM	#20
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,596 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,453 Thanked 1,979 Times in 1,080 Posts	zip+4 I was told by my local Post Office that if I didn't know how the order would arrive (UPS/FEDEX vs USPS), if I put my street address, 1 Main St for example, but put the ZIP+4 for my PO Box, UPS/FEDEX would deliver to my street and USPS would deliver to PO Box because USPS looks to ZIP+4 for definitive address info. So I started to do that. What I found was that the Alton PO would send it down to the Bay PO, with a note on the front of the envelope saying "Alton Bay ?" and a stamp asking me to inform the sender what my correct address is . You could try a similar thing with ATT, I guess. Just hope they don't send you anything. __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!

10-07-2010, 07:35 AM	#5
robmac Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Nashua,Meredith Posts: 951 Thanks: 213 Thanked 106 Times in 81 Posts	I am very happy with my Verizon service and plan on upgrading to the I-phone as soon as it becomes available.

10-07-2010, 07:48 AM	#6
VtSteve Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1,320 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 230 Thanked 361 Times in 169 Posts	Here's a revised version. Apparently the paper didn't generate enough trades http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/10/...ce=yahoo_quote Originally, Verizon insisted that the iPhone be what all of their phones are, crippled, and tied to unpopular services. There would be no visual voice mail, Vcast over iTunes, etc... Hopefully, that changed. The IOS is a system, not a helter-skelter mix of rushed services. It shows.

10-07-2010, 08:43 AM	#7
Argie's Wife Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Alton Posts: 1,908 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 533 Thanked 579 Times in 260 Posts	If Verizon was smart they'd just offer VCast as an app. If people prefer it, they'll buy it (more $) and use it vs. using iTunes/Music apps on the iPhone. The music app on the iPhone (or iPod Touch) isn't the most user friendly app in the world - I prefer iTunes - but VCast is clunky, at best. And visual voice mail...? Not sure how popular that feature is for folks; I prefer to text. Give me a responsive keyboard on a touch screen and I'm happy. I currently have an LG Chocolate Touch with Verizon and I was okay with it until I got my iPod Touch. Then I realized how cumbersome and unresponsive it is in comparison to the iPod. By the way, we have new cell towers going up in Alton very soon... curious to see how that will impact service here....

10-07-2010, 09:06 AM	#8
VtSteve Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1,320 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 230 Thanked 361 Times in 169 Posts	The voice mail feature was one of my favs. After dealing with Verizon's kludgey system for years, I was happy to leave. I can play the ones I want, delete the ones I don't, listen later. I don't know how Verizon has done with voice mail on the newer phones. Vcast was just another controlling moment in Verizon's history. The trouble with Verizon controlling how the UI works, is that they're not very good at it. I find using iPod on the phone to be as good as it was on older iPods, just with no click wheel.

10-14-2010, 01:58 PM	#13
patman Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: NH Posts: 379 Thanks: 56 Thanked 156 Times in 78 Posts	They're heeeere...almost: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010...adverizon.html Verizon Wireless Offers iPad at Stores Nationwide on October 28 BASKING RIDGE, New Jersey and CUPERTINO, California—October 14, 2010—Verizon Wireless and Apple® today announced that iPad™ will be available at over 2,000 Verizon Wireless Stores nationwide beginning Thursday, October 28.

10-17-2010, 08:37 PM	#15
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,891 Thanks: 334 Thanked 1,673 Times in 584 Posts	I tried to enroll with AT&T because they are the only one available with a plan for our new ipad.......they would not take me because my credit card has a PO # .....they insist on a physical address.I replied that we do not get mail delivery where we live and anything addressed without the box number will be sent back..........didn't matter. Soooooo,we finally got a real person at MC and changed our card to our physical address,then went through the whole enrollment process again and guess what......this time they would not enroll us because AT&T does not have a strong enough signal in Moultonborough. Anybody want to buy my ipad?

10-18-2010, 05:42 AM	#19
Lakepilot Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 446 Thanks: 70 Thanked 57 Times in 40 Posts	We often run into this situation also. Especially when talking to "customer service" in India. To get around this we list our physical address and then on the next line our PO Box. That way if a company ships something FedEx it goes to the house, but if it's shipped Postal the post office knows to put it in the box.

10-19-2010, 08:34 AM	#21
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,891 Thanks: 334 Thanked 1,673 Times in 584 Posts	I tried, but couldn't make them understand that I don't need the service here in Moultonborough because it works off my wireless.....I wanted it to travel so that we could check on lodging, road conditions, traffic, etc. Good idea to trade for verizon. Definitely check it out.

10-23-2010, 01:16 PM	#24
no-engine Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: West side Winnipesaukee, Lakes Region Posts: 516 Thanks: 20 Thanked 52 Times in 40 Posts	The credit card, physical address and PO Box problems are getting more of an issue, mainly for security & fraud protection. I had same problems. AT&T on web says no service north, and therefore will not create an account. I do not get mail at house, as I use PO Box. Using the ZIP + 4 will provide some help, when buying anything on line. I work in a business that takes some phone orders; when we key in a c/c number, we are asked if card is present; we then need to enter the card's billing address, which is a fraud protection! It may be different than a shipping address! Same procedure is used when we have a damaged card. Go to an AT&T store, a reseller like Small Dog Electronics, or Apple store, and there is not an issue, when buying an Apple data or phone device! The work-arounds are pretty common sense.