How GAIT really works...

....at least with Cingular.

Apparently they define which areas are GSM (their own or partner's
like T-Mobile) and which are not - TDMA (Cingular or their partner's)
or other, like AMPS, I suppose.

So what's frustrating is that if you are in GSM area and you don't get
GSM signal for whatever reason (i.e. dead-spot or in the building),
the phone will _never_ switch to TDMA or AMPS, although I know those
networks I available (I had my old AT&T TDMA phone with me.)

On the "micro-level", e.g. in one-city boundaries, this defeats the
whole purpose of GAIT. On the "macro-level" - when I travel far, e.g.
to the mountains to ski, the phone will switch to TDMA, I hope. I am
still to see how this is going to work, because I have GSM stretching
for quite a bit around where I live (New York City). But there are
still some dead-spots still in this area which I hoped to cover by
having a GAIT phone and a corresponding plan.

I spent l-l-lots of time with their customer and tech support people
to gather this. Finally I got one guy on the phone who was really
knowledgeable and honestly explained me the way it works...

I tried Nokia 6340i and Sony Ericsson T62u: I went to the areas where
I knew there were dead-spots for GSM coverage - three on the highway,
one on the bridge, at my friend's house and at one other place - all
within ~20 mile radius from NYC where the whole area is marked as
solid GSM... BTW there is no way to force the phone into any
particular mode, they don't even indicate the mode on the display, so
you wouldn't know.

Is that how it's supposed to be?

Can anybody share their experience with GAIT? With Cingular or any
other provider.

Thanks

Vido

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› See More: How GAIT really works...

Vido wrote:
> ...at least with Cingular.
> Can anybody share their experience with GAIT? With Cingular or any
> other provider.

Vido - post this on the alt.cellular.cingular NG. Its very interesting
what you experienced and I express the same concerns that I have.

Vido wrote:
> ...at least with Cingular.
> Can anybody share their experience with GAIT? With Cingular or any
> other provider.

Vido - post this on the alt.cellular.cingular NG. Its very interesting
what you experienced and I express the same concerns that I have.

Vido wrote:

never mind, it just appeared, though I didn't see a CC to that NG.

Vido wrote:

never mind, it just appeared, though I didn't see a CC to that NG.

I have a SE T62u and a 6340i. I tried the 6340i, but I had a lot of
issues with it here. I am using my T62u because it works better in my
roaming area where I spend most time (including the OTA updates which
did not work on 6340i). When I called Cingular to ask a question, the
rep was encouraging me to switch to the new Cingular Nation plan. I
declined this offer, and she asked me why, I stated that my current
Preferred Nation plan is serving me well, I would lost my rollover
minutes if I switched, and the evening/weekend option goes doen for my
price range (39.99 for 350/5000, vs 45. for 400/1000). I sometimes go
over 1000 n/w minutes...plus no Family Talk option is available with the
Cingular Nation plans (except on GSM, which doesn't yet have good coverage).

Long distance to Canada is 0.59/minutes...whoah...I haven't seen an LD
charge to Canada that large for almost 10 years.

AD

In alt.cellular.sprintpcs About Dakota <[email protected]> wrote:
> I have a SE T62u and a 6340i.


Frankly, no one in the SPCS newsgroup is likely to care about GAIT.

No one in the Nextel newsgroup either.

Could you try removing those newsgroups from the list please?

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services
22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950
Steve Sobol, Proprietor
888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * [email protected]

You will not lose your rollover minutes if you go with the $45 for
400/1000 plan, or above. They will transfer from plan to plan, as long as
your new plan offers rollover minutes.
I had moved to the GAIT Nation Plan in July (as soon as it was
available), as I wanted the peace of mind of not having any roaming charges.
All of my rollover minutes have followed from a Home, Preferred Nation, and
now GAIT Nation Plan.


Have a good one,


--
Mark A. Smith


"About Dakota" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have a SE T62u and a 6340i. I tried the 6340i, but I had a lot of
> issues with it here. I am using my T62u because it works better in my
> roaming area where I spend most time (including the OTA updates which
> did not work on 6340i). When I called Cingular to ask a question, the
> rep was encouraging me to switch to the new Cingular Nation plan. I
> declined this offer, and she asked me why, I stated that my current
> Preferred Nation plan is serving me well, I would lost my rollover
> minutes if I switched, and the evening/weekend option goes doen for my
> price range (39.99 for 350/5000, vs 45. for 400/1000). I sometimes go
> over 1000 n/w minutes...plus no Family Talk option is available with the
> Cingular Nation plans (except on GSM, which doesn't yet have good
coverage).
>
> Long distance to Canada is 0.59/minutes...whoah...I haven't seen an LD
> charge to Canada that large for almost 10 years.
>
> AD
>