vpFREE2 Forums

XVP: cell phones in casinos

#1

In a message dated 2/19/2006 4:44:15 PM Pacific Standard Time,
dipy911@yahoo.com writes:
If you can't get a signal,
it is probably the construction of the building.
I have found it difficult to get reception in several casinos in LV, but tend
to agree that it is constructed for this purpose. At the Fashion Mall across
from Wynn, I find reception is often difficult too! I have not had the same
experience in LA, San Fran, Chicago, etc.

China

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

#2

In a message dated 2/19/2006 4:44:15 PM Pacific Standard Time,
dipy911@... writes:
If you can't get a signal,
it is probably the construction of the building.
I have found it difficult to get reception in several casinos in

LV, but tend

to agree that it is constructed for this purpose. At the Fashion

Mall across

from Wynn, I find reception is often difficult too! I have not had

the same

experience in LA, San Fran, Chicago, etc.

China

My wife and I have our own phones, both LG, and Verizon. We also
have reception problems at the Fashion Show Mall, but rarely anywhere
else. I also think it is the construction. I'm amazed how good our
reception is .. it usually works in an elevator!

Here's my question. Do the different providers have separate cell
towers, or is a sharing system used?

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, China15334@... wrote:

#3

Major carriers (Cingular, Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS) each have
their own set of towers. Minor carrier lease bandwidth from major ones
(e.g. Virgin Mobile uses Sprint PCS). I'm not sure about T-mobile.

In cases of carriers that are the results of mergers (e.g. Sprint +
Nextel), the tower technologies can be so different that a phone
designed for one half of the network might not work on the other half.
That's supposedly one of the reasons why Verizon Wireless didn't
seriously bid on AT&T Wireless.

JBQ

···

On 2/20/06, brumar_lv <brumar_lv@yahoo.com> wrote:

Here's my question. Do the different providers have separate cell
towers, or is a sharing system used?

#4

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Jean-Baptiste Queru" <jbqueru@...>
wrote:

Major carriers (Cingular, Verizon Wireless, Sprint PCS) each have
their own set of towers. Minor carrier lease bandwidth from major ones
(e.g. Virgin Mobile uses Sprint PCS). I'm not sure about T-mobile.

I'm sure you are right about this, but it's somewhat surprising, and
the result must be an inefficient system. I recall, about a decade
ago, the Feds held a series of auctions to sell city franchises for
cell phone companies. I thought the reason for doing this (aside from
generating huge bucks for the government) was to prevent overlapping
technologies (cell towers, etc.) by giving a monopoly to only one
company in each city. It made sense to me, but it seems there is
duplication anyway. How did this happen?

#5

Unlike in Europe where operators realized about 25 ago that
interoperability was very important, in the US carriers have
ignored the issue or even taken explicit steps to prevent
interoperability when technology made it possible.

iDEN (used by Nextel), US CDMA (VZW and PCS), US GSM
(Cingular and T-mobile), ATTW TDMA (now almost extinct
except in sparsely populated areas) and analog coverage
all require custom hardware on the towers.

In certain countries in Europe (it's certainly the case in
France), wireless operators have legal requirements to
provide near-universal-service in the entire country, which
gives them a strong incentive to exchange coverage over
sparsely populated areas. In the US, coverage is still
a coveted competitive edge.

JBQ

···

On 2/20/06, brumar_lv <brumar_lv@yahoo.com> wrote:

I'm sure you are right about this, but it's somewhat surprising, and
the result must be an inefficient system. I recall, about a decade
ago, the Feds held a series of auctions to sell city franchises for
cell phone companies. I thought the reason for doing this (aside from
generating huge bucks for the government) was to prevent overlapping
technologies (cell towers, etc.) by giving a monopoly to only one
company in each city. It made sense to me, but it seems there is
duplication anyway. How did this happen?