How To Determine Best Cell Provider For Site Location

[jalbao]

Is there a way to determine which cell provider (Verizon, Sprint, etc) offers the best signal to a specific location without having to make a visit out to the location?

For example: If I know the street address of a site location, I can find information on surrounding Towers/Antenna's of the location via AntennaSearch. However, AntennaSearch does not specify which cell provider is using the Tower/Antenna. So, if AntennaSearch returns, say 10 antenna's within a one mile radius of the site's address, I can safely assume that at least one of the cell providers (Verizon, Sprint, etc) offers a decent signal to the site. Unfortunately, AntennaSearch, is not capable of specifying which cell providers are using those 10 antenna's.

Is it possible to determine which cell provider(s) offer a signal to a specific location without having to:
1. Make a visit to the site
2. Call each cell provider for signal offerings
?
If so, how?

Thanks.

 

[WayneH]

Simple answer: no. AFAIK no one, unofficially, documents where signal is available, and what the carriers tell you, we know, is not often accurate.

The best way is to visit the location you know where you want service and use a spectrum analyzer to see who's out there. You would need to know which freqs the carriers are licensed. Other options are to borrow a phone and visit the location. You can also drive around the area looking for the towers (or buildings) but not all providers provide owner signage.

 

[jalbao]

Thanks for your input, Wayne.

 

[mdulrich]

For example: If I know the street address of a site location, I can find information on surrounding Towers/Antenna's of the location via AntennaSearch. However, AntennaSearch does not specify which cell provider is using the Tower/Antenna..

All the searches I have done on AntennaSearch show who owns the towers and who has what antennas on those towers. Clicking on the links on the antenna reports gives callsign information, height, etc. Pretty easy to see who should have good coverage in a specific area.

Mike

 

[wlmr]

All the searches I have done on AntennaSearch show who owns the towers and who has what antennas on those towers. Clicking on the links on the antenna reports gives callsign information, height, etc. Pretty easy to see who should have good coverage in a specific area.

Mike

Mike, sadly your statement "should have good coverage" may not even be a guarantee. It also depends on what antennas are used, what coverage pattern they create, and even if they are in good condition. A lightning strike may affect coverage and might not be found out about right away. I'm only going to mention additional performance headaches like intermod and desense in passing.

Going to a location and doing your own "can you hear me now" test is the final answer on how good/bad coverage from a provider is going to be.

 

[mdulrich]

Mike, sadly your statement "should have good coverage" may not even be a guarantee.

That is why I said "should" and not "will".

Mike

 

[MTS2000des]

Coverage maps are not always accurate. You should never rely on them, even the ones used by the engineering staff of (insert your provider of choice here).

Best way to find out what works and what doesn't if service is critical at locations is to ask those who are in those areas that you know. See if you can even borrow their phone and test the coverage, especially inside buildings or structures. You would be amazed at how a given system can work exceptional on the street, but depending on building construction, interference, load on the system, etc may diminish or become unreliable inside a building. And don't be fooled by the number of "bars" on a handset, this is not always accurate. All modern systems use digital modulation of some sort, and not all meters are calibrated to show true SQE (Signal Quality Estimator), usually putting a handset in test mode will reveal the true SQE: the RSSI in -dbm, the actual sector, Sys ID, (in CDMA) the pilot and neighbor lists, and most importantly the TX power step and BER.

HowardForums: Your Mobile Phone Community & Resource is a great resource, it's like the RadioReference of cellular. You should search posts in the carrier specific forums for data or complaints in the areas you are inquiring about. If there is a problem and someone is on HoFo, chances are they will post about it.

Another good option is to purchase the pre-paid phone of the carrier you want to try. AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and others usually have a 20-30 dollar basic phone, some may include a few bucks credit, but airtime cards are available for 10 bucks and up. It should be enough to test out the actual carrier and not hassle with signing up, canceling, and fighting for credit. You could always craiglist the phone or donate it. If that carrier is acceptable, keep it as a backup/spare.

Most carriers offer at least a 14 day (some 30) trial period. READ THE TERMS, some (like Verizon) claim you pay nothing except usage IF you return the phone in ORIGINAL CONDITION, cancel before the period is up, etc. Some others make you pay a pro-rated fee for the month you used, and usually keep their activation or setup fee, and may charge a restocking fee. Be careful that third party retailers (such as Best Buy) may have their own terms and conditions regarding returns of cellphones. I say the best way to try out a carrier is do the cheap prepaid phone thing. You'd only be out 20 bucks or so and not have to worry about hassling with cancellation a contract phone if things don't work out.

DON'T PORT YOUR NUMBER IN until you are SURE you want to keep the new service. Trust me on this one. You can always port a number into any carrier at any time later on anyway.