New tower info/

[waxlrose]

There is supposed to be a new tower going up in my area, and I really need to know for sure when it is coming up.

A little info:

I'm currently on alltel, and we are get divested to at&t. The thing is we are on the very edge of alltel service now. We bounce off of Verizon towers alot. Alltel i supposed to be building a tower a mile from my house. Antennasearch.com shows it and gives a filing number.

We are supposed to switch to AT&T in Feb, and if they tower isn't up yet, I will have a feeling I will get little to no service. I've tried calling customer service and they say they don't know anything about towers or when they will be built. Anyone know of any way to get some info on this?

[Clay™]

If the tower wasnt turned on before the sale closed in June then it will not be turned on for 60-90 days after AT&T's 3G UMTS network goes live. If AT&T turns it on with CDMA then it must remain active for 3 years post close per the agreement with Verizon. All new towers not on the air the day the sale closed were put on hold. It is very frustrating from a customer standpoint but will eventually result in a AT&T having better coverage when the towers are finally turned on.

[waxlrose]

The tower is not even built yet. So does that mean they won't even start construction until the network goes live?

[Clay™]

I would need more information to say for certain but in my market AT&T has completed multiple towers that were on the Alltel plan but not built since the close but they are not turning these towers on yet. They are even building towers that were only on the Alltel wish list. The expense of a new tower is pennies for AT&T. The biggest problem with building towers isnt money, it is NIMBYs, environmentalists and government agencies!

[Jordan T]

Clay, are the new sites UMTS-only or do they have CDMA as well. That is, will coverage be getting better once the transition happens, or are they already online as CDMA. I'm curious about a few areas around here Verizon has coverage Alltel doesn't (Clearwater Junction, Haugen, a couple other scattered areas)

[Clay™]

Any site that wasnt on the air the day the sale closed will never have CDMA. It makes no sense for AT&T to build and support it for Verizon/Sprint's benefit.

[Jordan T]

Okay, that's great to hear. I hope there's a few new sites around here!

[sprke81]

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If the tower wasnt turned on before the sale closed in June then it will not be turned on for 60-90 days after AT&T's 3G UMTS network goes live. If AT&T turns it on with CDMA then it must remain active for 3 years post close per the agreement with Verizon. All new towers not on the air the day the sale closed were put on hold. It is very frustrating from a customer standpoint but will eventually result in a AT&T having better coverage when the towers are finally turned on.

Alltel also has a new tower going up close to my house that was in the works before the sale. The new tower plans went in front of the county planning board after the sale and I went to the meeting. Att was at the meeting and was pushing for the tower and said they wanted it built by the end of the year. After a month of haggling the county and city approved it. There is now flags and stakes at the site but that's it. My point is the tower was in the works before the sale and now ATT is taking it over building it...would this tower be built and not turned on then for awhile after the conversion?