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

---

› See More: How GAIT really works...

Thank so much, Chip.
Can I dear to one step further and ask what the difference between
"TDMA Only" and "TDMA Persistent"?
I actually didn't have any luck while selecting either of the TDMA
modes until I checked "Ignore SID List" and "Ignore SOC List".
What are these things?

Then, when I finally got a strong TDMA signal, when I tried to call,
the network acted as if I was using not activated TDMA phone on AT&T
TDMA network, e.g. I was connected to the network but the message told
me that I hade to register with AT&T…"
Any suggestions?

Lots of thanks.
Vido

"Chip" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> "bones boy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
> > On 28 Oct 2003 18:35:19 -0800, [email protected] (Vido) wrote:
> >
> > >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.
> >
> > With the T62u, you can. I'm sure, since you've crossposted to many
> > NGs, that someone will mention to you how to do this.
>
> On a T62U, dial *777* send. Menu features will be unlocked. Look for
> Protocol Stack under Networks (something like that). You will be able to
> choose technology type (TDMA, GSM).

[email protected] (Vido) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> ...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

There is a way to force your 6340i to either GSM or to TDMA. You do it from
the field test screen.

Keep in mind, it doesnt matter what system or modulation or format of phone
you use, dead spots are caused by RF properties, not modulation methods. If
the dead spots you know of are there, its probably caused by some sort of
obstruction. It takes time to work bugs out of a system, and even then, it
could come down to the company installing another cell, something most
wireless companies dont do untill they have to.
B.

"Vido" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thank so much, Chip.
> Can I dear to one step further and ask what the difference between
> "TDMA Only" and "TDMA Persistent"?
> I actually didn't have any luck while selecting either of the TDMA
> modes until I checked "Ignore SID List" and "Ignore SOC List".
> What are these things?
>
> Then, when I finally got a strong TDMA signal, when I tried to call,
> the network acted as if I was using not activated TDMA phone on AT&T
> TDMA network, e.g. I was connected to the network but the message told
> me that I hade to register with AT&T."
> Any suggestions?
>
> Lots of thanks.
> Vido
>
> "Chip" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > "bones boy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news[email protected]...
> > > On 28 Oct 2003 18:35:19 -0800, [email protected] (Vido) wrote:
> > >
> > > >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.
> > >
> > > With the T62u, you can. I'm sure, since you've crossposted to many
> > > NGs, that someone will mention to you how to do this.
> >
> > On a T62U, dial *777* send. Menu features will be unlocked. Look for
> > Protocol Stack under Networks (something like that). You will be able to
> > choose technology type (TDMA, GSM).
>
> [email protected] (Vido) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > ...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