Off Network in Central Alabama

Weird stuff here today. Our phones say Off Network instead of Cingular. It
showed a strong signal but I thought it was an outage. But no, the phone
works and we receive calls. So I guess we are roaming. I even managed to
get Pay bill with *729 so I am unsure what is going on. I thought maybe
this was related to TX/AR outages somehow. The towers here are owned by
another company (Unicel) but Cingular operates on them.

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› See More: Off Network in Central Alabama

On Fri, 4 Aug 2006 12:56:45 -0500, "SteveC" <[email protected]>
wrote in <zTLAg.27885$%[email protected]>:

>Weird stuff here today. Our phones say Off Network instead of Cingular. It
>showed a strong signal but I thought it was an outage. But no, the phone
>works and we receive calls. So I guess we are roaming. I even managed to
>get Pay bill with *729 so I am unsure what is going on. I thought maybe
>this was related to TX/AR outages somehow. The towers here are owned by
>another company (Unicel) but Cingular operates on them.

What appears on the phone display is a function of both phone firmware
and SIM/network programming, and isn't something to worry about.

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

No, it turned out to be a new feature that shows that the tower nearest to
my house is non-Cingular. Most of the time I am on a Cingular tower. Got a
letter today informing me that after SEP 13, my service will be terminated
as I spend half my time on non Cingular towers. It always said Cingular
before and I have been a Cingular Customer for six years! No matter. I
called and they told me in no uncertain terms they didn't want me.

We just got towers here making the phones really usable for the first time.
They took my $90 per month without argument when I couldn't use it much; now
it costs them too much although I used only about 400 primetime minutes a
month of the 1000 I bought. I lose all my rollover minutes too.


"John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Fri, 4 Aug 2006 12:56:45 -0500, "SteveC" <[email protected]>
> wrote in <zTLAg.27885$%[email protected]>:
>
>>Weird stuff here today. Our phones say Off Network instead of Cingular.
>>It
>>showed a strong signal but I thought it was an outage. But no, the phone
>>works and we receive calls. So I guess we are roaming. I even managed to
>>get Pay bill with *729 so I am unsure what is going on. I thought maybe
>>this was related to TX/AR outages somehow. The towers here are owned by
>>another company (Unicel) but Cingular operates on them.
>
> What appears on the phone display is a function of both phone firmware
> and SIM/network programming, and isn't something to worry about.
>
> --
> Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
> John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

SteveC wrote:
> Got a
> letter today informing me that after SEP 13, my service will be terminated
> as I spend half my time on non Cingular towers.

> "John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> and isn't something to worry about.


Getting a letter informing you that your service will be terminated is
certainly something to worry about.

SteveC wrote:
> No, it turned out to be a new feature that shows that the tower nearest to
> my house is non-Cingular. Most of the time I am on a Cingular tower. Got a
> letter today informing me that after SEP 13, my service will be terminated
> as I spend half my time on non Cingular towers. It always said Cingular
> before and I have been a Cingular Customer for six years! No matter. I
> called and they told me in no uncertain terms they didn't want me.
>
> We just got towers here making the phones really usable for the first time.
> They took my $90 per month without argument when I couldn't use it much; now
> it costs them too much although I used only about 400 primetime minutes a
> month of the 1000 I bought. I lose all my rollover minutes too.

What you needed to do was to go somewhere where you were on Cingular's
network, and use those other 600 minutes. They go by the percentage of
munutes that you use, not the percentage of minutes that you pay for.

It would be a more reasonable policy if they said something like, "50%
of your monthly allocation of peak minutes must be on Cingular's network."

DecaturTxCowboy wrote:
> SteveC wrote:
>> Got a letter today informing me that after SEP 13, my service will be
>> terminated as I spend half my time on non Cingular towers.
>
>> "John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> and isn't something to worry about.
>
>
> Getting a letter informing you that your service will be terminated is
> certainly something to worry about.

A class action by all the subscribers that are being booted off of
Cingular's network due to the 50% issue is likely to be filed soon. The
grounds will be that Cingular sold service to individuals, knowing that
there was no native coverage at their address. The attorneys want to
wait a bit until the size of the class grows.

What got me was how the Cingular representative wouldn't listen. I offered
to switch to another plan; I also told them that we are teachers and now
back at school. My wife mostly talked to a friend who is also with
Cingular, so her minutes had really gone up and of course they didn't cost
anything. For the next 9 mos or so, our usage pattern would change
drastically back to what it usually is.

I talked to Unicel and they are bending over backwards for us. They are
giving free phones, free switchover, free accessories, and similar family
plans priced even less. I will use the same towers. The funny thing is that
for the next several months, we will be using more than 50% roaming on the
Cingular towers in Tuscaloosa where people around here work. Unicel assured
me I would be getting no letters from them.

A lot of people here have Verizon but they all roam in Bibb County where we
live. Verizon, Cingular, T-Mobile, etc are concentrated in the cities so
you either get a cellphone in the city and roam at home or you get one at
home and roam in the cities.

Bibb County is between Tuscaloosa and Jefferson (Birmingham) and almost
everyone here works in Tuscaloosa or Birmingham so why there are no Verizon
or Cingular towers here is beyond me.

But I am not going to beg someone to take my money. They gladly took about
$90 a month for 6 years when there were no towers here. Now that we can
actually use the phone and have decent service, they are balking.

"SMS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> SteveC wrote:
>> No, it turned out to be a new feature that shows that the tower nearest
>> to my house is non-Cingular. Most of the time I am on a Cingular tower.
>> Got a letter today informing me that after SEP 13, my service will be
>> terminated as I spend half my time on non Cingular towers. It always
>> said Cingular before and I have been a Cingular Customer for six years!
>> No matter. I called and they told me in no uncertain terms they didn't
>> want me.
>>
>> We just got towers here making the phones really usable for the first
>> time. They took my $90 per month without argument when I couldn't use it
>> much; now it costs them too much although I used only about 400 primetime
>> minutes a month of the 1000 I bought. I lose all my rollover minutes
>> too.
>
> What you needed to do was to go somewhere where you were on Cingular's
> network, and use those other 600 minutes. They go by the percentage of
> munutes that you use, not the percentage of minutes that you pay for.
>
> It would be a more reasonable policy if they said something like, "50% of
> your monthly allocation of peak minutes must be on Cingular's network."

I hope there will be a suit. I am saving the letter and my statements and
will monitor the situation. I talked to the mayor and Probate Judge (County
Chief Executive) and they are to write letters to FCC and Alabama Public
Service Commission. I also plan to call BellSouth, the parent company, to
tell them I will be switching long distance providers. I may also drop
Directv. Be good for them to know they can be dropped too!

Of course, I doubt that they will care. BellSouth is being sold along with
Cingular, is it not? Back to ATT (I mean SBC).
"SMS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> DecaturTxCowboy wrote:
>> SteveC wrote:
>>> Got a letter today informing me that after SEP 13, my service will be
>>> terminated as I spend half my time on non Cingular towers.
>>
>>> "John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>>> and isn't something to worry about.
>>
>>
>> Getting a letter informing you that your service will be terminated is
>> certainly something to worry about.
>
> A class action by all the subscribers that are being booted off of
> Cingular's network due to the 50% issue is likely to be filed soon. The
> grounds will be that Cingular sold service to individuals, knowing that
> there was no native coverage at their address. The attorneys want to wait
> a bit until the size of the class grows.

SteveC wrote:
> What got me was how the Cingular representative wouldn't listen. I offered
> to switch to another plan; I also told them that we are teachers and now
> back at school. My wife mostly talked to a friend who is also with
> Cingular, so her minutes had really gone up and of course they didn't cost
> anything. For the next 9 mos or so, our usage pattern would change
> drastically back to what it usually is.

It's not that they wouldn't listen, it's that the representative is
simply doing what he or she's been told to do. Those letters are final,
there is no negotiation. The class action on all the terminations of
service will likely be filed before the end of 2006. If you lost any
money as a result of the termination, be sure to keep your records.

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 15:31:08 -0700, SMS <[email protected]>
wrote in <[email protected]>:

>SteveC wrote:
>> What got me was how the Cingular representative wouldn't listen. I offered
>> to switch to another plan; I also told them that we are teachers and now
>> back at school. My wife mostly talked to a friend who is also with
>> Cingular, so her minutes had really gone up and of course they didn't cost
>> anything. For the next 9 mos or so, our usage pattern would change
>> drastically back to what it usually is.
>
>It's not that they wouldn't listen, it's that the representative is
>simply doing what he or she's been told to do. Those letters are final,
>there is no negotiation. The class action on all the terminations of
>service will likely be filed before the end of 2006. ...

Hopefully not, because the only likely winners are the lawyers, at the
expense of the rest of us, who will wind up paying whatever it costs.
Just say no.

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

I called BellSouth today and talked to a friendly represtative, and got the
address of the General Manager in Birmingham region. I told her I was
dropping everything related to their company, one by one. That is DSL, long
distance, wired service, and they have some deal with Directv here too. DSL
has always been crappy and I am tired of paying for both wireless and wired
service too.

If they are going to drop me in the middle of a two year contract, then they
can refund my 5000 rollover minutes, equivalent to $450.00 and the $300.00 I
paid for the phones. My parents are retired BellSouth employees, so I know
whom to talk to. I never open a BellSouth bill without an invitation to get
a Cingular plan or add some Cingular service. It will require my taking off
one day to go to Birmingham, but it will be worth it. I've been down this
road before.

They cannot have it both ways. They either have to drop all the Cingular
customers in Bibb County or accept all of us. They cannot pick the ones who
pay money but don't use the service.

"John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 15:31:08 -0700, SMS <[email protected]>
> wrote in <[email protected]>:
>
>>SteveC wrote:
>>> What got me was how the Cingular representative wouldn't listen. I
>>> offered
>>> to switch to another plan; I also told them that we are teachers and now
>>> back at school. My wife mostly talked to a friend who is also with
>>> Cingular, so her minutes had really gone up and of course they didn't
>>> cost
>>> anything. For the next 9 mos or so, our usage pattern would change
>>> drastically back to what it usually is.
>>
>>It's not that they wouldn't listen, it's that the representative is
>>simply doing what he or she's been told to do. Those letters are final,
>>there is no negotiation. The class action on all the terminations of
>>service will likely be filed before the end of 2006. ...
>
> Hopefully not, because the only likely winners are the lawyers, at the
> expense of the rest of us, who will wind up paying whatever it costs.
> Just say no.
>
> --
> Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
> John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 21:59:09 -0500, "SteveC" <[email protected]> wrote in
<[email protected]>:

>I called BellSouth today and talked to a friendly represtative, and got the
>address of the General Manager in Birmingham region. I told her I was
>dropping everything related to their company, one by one. That is DSL, long
>distance, wired service, and they have some deal with Directv here too. DSL
>has always been crappy and I am tired of paying for both wireless and wired
>service too.
>
>If they are going to drop me in the middle of a two year contract, then they
>can refund my 5000 rollover minutes, equivalent to $450.00

Unfortunately, you've already agreed that they have no cash value -- see
your Service Agreement:

Rollover Minutes are not redeemable for cash or credit and are not
transferable.

>and the $300.00 I
>paid for the phones.

OTOH, I think you're got a good case there.

>They cannot have it both ways. They either have to drop all the Cingular
>customers in Bibb County or accept all of us. They cannot pick the ones who
>pay money but don't use the service.

What makes you think they can't?

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

LOL; I know that. That doesn't mean you won't get anything. As I say, I
know what I am doing. At the same time, I know there are no guarantees. I
will let you know how the new company goes. Looks like I will save money
and I will have no contract.
"John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 21:59:09 -0500, "SteveC" <[email protected]> wrote in
> <[email protected]>:
>
>>I called BellSouth today and talked to a friendly represtative, and got
>>the
>>address of the General Manager in Birmingham region. I told her I was
>>dropping everything related to their company, one by one. That is DSL,
>>long
>>distance, wired service, and they have some deal with Directv here too.
>>DSL
>>has always been crappy and I am tired of paying for both wireless and
>>wired
>>service too.
>>
>>If they are going to drop me in the middle of a two year contract, then
>>they
>>can refund my 5000 rollover minutes, equivalent to $450.00
>
> Unfortunately, you've already agreed that they have no cash value -- see
> your Service Agreement:
>
> Rollover Minutes are not redeemable for cash or credit and are not
> transferable.
>
>>and the $300.00 I
>>paid for the phones.
>
> OTOH, I think you're got a good case there.
>
>>They cannot have it both ways. They either have to drop all the Cingular
>>customers in Bibb County or accept all of us. They cannot pick the ones
>>who
>>pay money but don't use the service.
>
> What makes you think they can't?
>
> --
> Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
> John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

I just went to Cingular.com and put in my zip code and it accepted me for
Familytalk 700 with two lines and the similar plan I have now. It offered
to sell me phones, etc. This is crazy. There is no Cingular tower in my
town though 10 miles north and west there are. I don't understand this at
all.

"John Navas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 21:59:09 -0500, "SteveC" <[email protected]> wrote in
> <[email protected]>:
>
>>I called BellSouth today and talked to a friendly represtative, and got
>>the
>>address of the General Manager in Birmingham region. I told her I was
>>dropping everything related to their company, one by one. That is DSL,
>>long
>>distance, wired service, and they have some deal with Directv here too.
>>DSL
>>has always been crappy and I am tired of paying for both wireless and
>>wired
>>service too.
>>
>>If they are going to drop me in the middle of a two year contract, then
>>they
>>can refund my 5000 rollover minutes, equivalent to $450.00
>
> Unfortunately, you've already agreed that they have no cash value -- see
> your Service Agreement:
>
> Rollover Minutes are not redeemable for cash or credit and are not
> transferable.
>
>>and the $300.00 I
>>paid for the phones.
>
> OTOH, I think you're got a good case there.
>
>>They cannot have it both ways. They either have to drop all the Cingular
>>customers in Bibb County or accept all of us. They cannot pick the ones
>>who
>>pay money but don't use the service.
>
> What makes you think they can't?
>
> --
> Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
> John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

SteveC wrote:
> I just went to Cingular.com and put in my zip code and it accepted me for
> Familytalk 700 with two lines and the similar plan I have now. It offered
> to sell me phones, etc. This is crazy. There is no Cingular tower in my
> town though 10 miles north and west there are. I don't understand this at
> all.

Must be extended GSM heh heh heh