Hutchinson, KS 67501

[richmond23]

I have been monitoring that area quite a bit, I live on the west side of Wichita and it surprised me that Hutch stayed as a roaming area as long as it did. Is AT&T actually selling service up there yet or were those two towers just for roaming?

As somebody said it would be nice if they covered the K-96 corridor as I actually know quite a few people that commute to the Metro to work daily (Not something I would ever do :-) Who knows, maybe they will push 3G out that way while they are at it! It would be nice...

It's always nice to hear AT&T doing anything in and around Wichita. Until they launched 3G here I thought they had forgot we existed, all the excitement was on the coasts. :-( It always and still amazes me that AT&T does not have native coverage west of Salina on I-70. Somebody was talking about the Westlink stores closing, is it possible AT&T might be trying to pick up Westlink or at least pieces of it? They have a pretty decent rural network.

Nah, they aren't selling service in Hutch yet and it would nice if they were selling service here. I have several Hutch friends that have iPhones and they are very happy with the service that is being provided in the area at this time. I think it will just be a matter of time before AT&T adds on in the area. I think the closing of the Westlink stores might be indicative of that.





Oh, you know you enjoy a nice trip to the big city.

Haha, yeah my wife and I like to venture over there for dinner and a movie. LOVE the Warren Theatre.

Me personally, I prefer a trip to Best Buy and check out toys

[richmond23]

Starsky and Hutch huh?

There ya go!!!

[jasonw]

I have been monitoring that area quite a bit, I live on the west side of Wichita and it surprised me that Hutch stayed as a roaming area as long as it did. Is AT&T actually selling service up there yet or were those two towers just for roaming?

They are not selling service in Hutchinson. When I go to an AT&T store in Wichita, they always tell me it is partner coverage. If I tell them that I have home coverage, they will say they do have sites in Hutchinson, but they cannot sell service there.

As somebody said it would be nice if they covered the K-96 corridor as I actually know quite a few people that commute to the Metro to work daily (Not something I would ever do :-) Who knows, maybe they will push 3G out that way while they are at it! It would be nice...

I don't think they have the capacity for this yet. According to wireless advisor they have a license for PCS only. They also have a license for the 1.7/2.1 band, but it says future. Does anyone know when this will become available?

For a short time, the AT&T coverage map was showing home coverage in Hutchinson. The lastest update shows partner coverage.

[richmond23]

They are not selling service in Hutchinson. When I go to an AT&T store in Wichita, they always tell me it is partner coverage. If I tell them that I have home coverage, they will say they do have sites in Hutchinson, but they cannot sell service there.



I don't think they have the capacity for this yet. According to wireless advisor they have a license for PCS only. They also have a license for the 1.7/2.1 band, but it says future. Does anyone know when this will become available?

For a short time, the AT&T coverage map was showing home coverage in Hutchinson. The lastest update shows partner coverage.

Jason,

What is the 1.7/2.1 band? Is this data service?? Just something below 3G?

Thanks!

[Squid7085]

Haha, yeah my wife and I like to venture over there for dinner and a movie. LOVE the Warren Theatre.

Me personally, I prefer a trip to Best Buy and check out toys

I like to think they are some of the nicest theaters in the country. In my opinion its worth and extra few bucks to be in that atmosphere, not to mention the THX and sound. Oh, we are spoiled here. I also enjoy trips to Best Buy but I leave depressed because I have no money right now!

They are not selling service in Hutchinson. When I go to an AT&T store in Wichita, they always tell me it is partner coverage. If I tell them that I have home coverage, they will say they do have sites in Hutchinson, but they cannot sell service there.

Humm, that makes me wonder if they are planning to start selling there. Its probably the largest market in Kansas that AT&T does not sell to. Like somebody stated, it is probably cheaper for them to put up romaing towers than to pay roaming fees.

I don't think they have the capacity for this yet. According to wireless advisor they have a license for PCS only. They also have a license for the 1.7/2.1 band, but it says future. Does anyone know when this will become available?

For a short time, the AT&T coverage map was showing home coverage in Hutchinson. The lastest update shows partner coverage.

Depends on how many Mhz of PCS they have, AT&T has deployed 3G on PCS in places. I just don't know if they are going to those markets actively yet. I don't think anybody knows what AT&T plans to do with the 1.7/2.1 AWS band. I think they bought it as a backup with no current plans to deploy. Although I could see it as being part of their LTE deployment.

I also just looked at the map, not sure what the deal is there... Is there anybody that is in Hutch that could tell us the MNC up there?

Jason,

What is the 1.7/2.1 band? Is this data service?? Just something below 3G?

Thanks!

The 1.7/2.1 band is just another frequency that the FCC has allocated for Wireless services. Currently AT&T uses Cellular (850Mhz) and PCS (1900Mhz). But recently the FCC sold off 700Mhz and AWS (Paired 1.7Ghz/2.1Ghz) AT&T owns both 700 and 1.7/2.1, however the lower the Mhz, the further and better at penetrating buildings, so providers tend to try to use those first. Which makes me think 1.7/2.1 is just for extreme cases were they need it. Currently T-Mobile is deploying their 3G on AWS (1.7/2.1)

I think I explained that all right...

[richmond23]

Squid,

it makes sense what you said about the bands...etc... Ah hell, the phone works and does what I want it to, so I shouldn't worry too much

I hear ya on the Best buy thing though, i usually ended up using my Best Buy card in that store and racked up a huge bill!! But hey at least I got some good stuff out of it. I'll leave the card out of my wallet for a few months or so and build some credit up BTW I hear there is another Best Buy being built on the west side?? Right next to Olive Garden I believe.

As far as the Warren theatre is concerned, to me it is the ONLY theatre to watch movies in. I am willing to drive the extra 45 minutes to watch a movie.

[Squid7085]

Squid,

it makes sense what you said about the bands...etc... Ah hell, the phone works and does what I want it to, so I shouldn't worry too much

I hear ya on the Best buy thing though, i usually ended up using my Best Buy card in that store and racked up a huge bill!! But hey at least I got some good stuff out of it. I'll leave the card out of my wallet for a few months or so and build some credit up BTW I hear there is another Best Buy being built on the west side?? Right next to Olive Garden I believe.

As far as the Warren theatre is concerned, to me it is the ONLY theatre to watch movies in. I am willing to drive the extra 45 minutes to watch a movie.

Yup, right behind the Olive Garden and Granite City in New Market Square.

[jasonw]

Someone asked for the MNC in Hutchinson. The MNC showing on my phone is 310-410.

[Squid7085]

Someone asked for the MNC in Hutchinson. The MNC showing on my phone is 310-410.

So it appears that AT&T is running a native roaming network there despite what the coverage map says.

[richmond23]

So it appears that AT&T is running a native roaming network there despite what the coverage map says.

so uhhhh what does this mean?? Does it mean that we actually have NATIVE coverage whereas the coverage map says that we are using a partner network?

[Squid7085]

so uhhhh what does this mean?? Does it mean that we actually have NATIVE coverage whereas the coverage map says that we are using a partner network?

Heh, sorry, sometimes I forget to talk in layman's terms. Basically every GSM network in the world has a "code" called the MNC, Mobile Network Code I believe. AT&T's is 310-410, so if he is seeing that number than AT&T MUST be running towers in Hutch. Sometimes it costs a provider less to construct towers and run them in some areas than to just pay the roaming fees. It does not surprise me that Hutch fits that bill.

There was for a bit two coverage dots in Hutch on the Map, but it appears to be gone. The thing people are talking about is that since you mentioned them putting up more towers, it might be possible that AT&T plans to expand coverage in that area and actually sell service, something that would be welcome.

[richmond23]

Heh, sorry, sometimes I forget to talk in layman's terms. Basically every GSM network in the world has a "code" called the MNC, Mobile Network Code I believe. AT&T's is 310-410, so if he is seeing that number than AT&T MUST be running towers in Hutch. Sometimes it costs a provider less to construct towers and run them in some areas than to just pay the roaming fees. It does not surprise me that Hutch fits that bill.

There was for a bit two coverage dots in Hutch on the Map, but it appears to be gone. The thing people are talking about is that since you mentioned them putting up more towers, it might be possible that AT&T plans to expand coverage in that area and actually sell service, something that would be welcome.

Thanks Squid, that makes perfect sense to me. I really hope that are going to be putting up new towers in the area. The lady that helped my wife and I with our iPhones at the Wichita West Store promised me she would check with her "tower guy" and let me know if for sure that more towers coming up. I think it would be awesome if AT&T started selling service in Hutch. More than anything else, I want that 3G network

[zephxiii]

hell, if it's cheaper to put up towers than to pay roaming costs, might as well sell service in that area too.

[Squid7085]

hell, if it's cheaper to put up towers than to pay roaming costs, might as well sell service in that area too.

Those "Roaming only" towers seem to have been popping up quite a bit recently, not sure what AT&T's "long term" plan is for those. Around here in Wichita they have also put up some towers South of the city in Winfield. The coverage here pretty much ends not far outside of the Metro area and doesn't cover places that us Wichitans travel to the most. Including Cheney Lake.

The thing with Hutch is that its not that large of an area, and its not that far from Wichita, so 5 towers could easily cover the entire populated area and connect it up to the Wichita coverage. Again, the 3G thing might be Iffy completely based on capacity.

[Haas_Dave]

hell, if it's cheaper to put up towers than to pay roaming costs, might as well sell service in that area too.

Hutchinson is listed to be in a different cellular market than Wichita, and it's very possible AT&T isn't allowed to sell to that market... having native coverage does not mean the carrier can (or will) sell service there.
There's an ongoing debate in this forum about a sole AT&T tower in MT (which is devoid of AT&T service) that is similar in scope to this discussion.

AT&T does this across a lot of highways in the South Plains as well, such as the areas along I-27 in Texas and I-35 in Oklahoma. They may have native coverage on the highways and towns it crosses, but can't/won't sell service to the markets/towns that highway crosses.