3g Expansion In Los Angeles (finally!!!)

[lax2tlv]

I know this has little to do with WM6; however, when I was gonna post it on the Hermes forum, I came across a post of someone asking how to unlock the Hermes/TyTN/8525 to work on SPRINT (a CDMA provider). I decided to come back here, where I do most of my creeping and share it with more level-headed people such as yourselves.

ANYWAYS...I just got off the phone with an AT&T rep that was extremely knowledgeable (for a change) and he gave me some GREAT new info:

-3G expansion to the rest of Los Angeles, including the WEST SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, SANTA MONICA, and other dead spots in the Basin and the Valley is set to start ANY DAY! The rep told me that 2 TOWERS within 2 miles of my location (Winnetka Ave & Vanowen St) are COMPLETED and are set to be activated ANY DAY NOW, noting that the planned activation day had passed. One of these towers is located around Sherman Way and Canoga, while the other is located around Victory and De Soto. He added that a 3rd tower in the close vicinity is set for activation on September 25th...

-Video calls are already enabled in 3 test markets, including DETROIT, and will be released to the public once tower switching and caching issues are sorted out to enable higher quality less delayed functionality.

-For those of you without internet in LA, sit tight, it is set to be back up @ exactly 19:29 PST. (Go figure)

In conclusion it's about fkn time this happens! By the time i get HSDPA here, my friends in Israel have been on HSOPA for the better half of a year now. O well; since I'm used to EDGE, this will be HUGE.

[GldRush98]

bad ass man.
I've got some friends where I live and 3G is supposed to go live around september 29th here. I can't wait!
I feel your excitement, haha

[twist]

Any word on Agoura Hills ?

[peezy]

My gf is an att manager she says that ALL of the towers should be up and running by the end of the year. Im 3 blocks away from 3g service right now and its f*kin killin me :mad:

[DeniaL]

Man, those towers are just too far...i'm near Burbank and Owensmouth which is like 1 mile from those towers, but I don't think the signal goes that far :( Sooooo close but yet so far!!

[lax2tlv]

Man, those towers are just too far...i'm near Burbank and Owensmouth which is like 1 mile from those towers, but I don't think the signal goes that far :( Sooooo close but yet so far!!

A - if the rep told me it would reach Winnetka and Vanowen, then I'm sure it will reach you, and B - He did not give me a whole list of planned towers; he searched for ones that will give me service at my address. I'm sure the expansion is way more widespread than just our cluster of blocks, and, as peezy implied, by the end of the year 3G should be pretty solid accross all major metropolitan areas in the US. I just hope they don't plan to simply spread the patchy service they have in the East Valley and West LA and try to pass that off as "complete 3G coverage". I've dropped 3G service in many places that are right in the middle of the blue areas on AT&Ts coverage map, while even more areas have one bar of UMTS, which often fails to even connect to the internet and if it does, speeds are often slower than EDGE! AT&T needs to get their sht together and put behind the half-ass job they've done while dedicating resources to EDGE for the iPhone!

Any word on Agoura Hills ?

I didn't ask him, though think it's pretty safe to assume that AT&T will focus their resources on properly covering all of LA City before expanding to the suburbs.

[walshieau]

still cannot believe that LA doesnt have 3G... we have had 3G for at least 2 years... 4G trials starting next year :D:D:D

[d1eter]

:D I'm in remote island.., and HSDPA here is soooo fast.. I think since 3-4 months ago.. :D
I'm used to GPRS before that.., so you probably know how it feels...

[cuttriss]

gonna be so nice to finally take advantage of that! a bit crappy to live in ventura county and only get 3g when i'm at a show in LA, haha.

[k2bikerider]

I'm quite surprised that LA coverage isn't better. I live in the Atlanta Suburbs and our coverage seems to be better than that... It extends into most of the suburbs and beyond. I would like better coverage, but I can't complain...

[lax2tlv]

I'm quite surprised that LA coverage isn't better. I live in the Atlanta Suburbs and our coverage seems to be better than that... It extends into most of the suburbs and beyond. I would like better coverage, but I can't complain...

Atlanta's land area is 131.8 sq mi (341.2 km²), while the area of Los Angeles and its ENCLOSED unincorporated cities includes:

- City of Los Angeles - 469.1 sq mi (1,214.9 km²)
- Beverly Hills - 5.7 sq mi (4.7 km²)
- Santa Monica - 8.3 sq mi (21.4 km²)
- West Hollywood - 1.9 sq mi (4.9 km²)
- Culver City - 5.11 sq mi (13.25 km²)
- Inglewood - 9.1 sq mi (23.7 km²)
- Burbank - 17.4 sq mi (45 km²)

And theres more but u catch my drift; we're looking at at around 5 times the size of Atlanta WITHOUT SUBURBS. Takes AT LEAST 5 times more towers to get it running. Not that I'm in any way justifying AT&T for depriving us with EDGE for SOOO LONG.

:D I'm in remote island.., and HSDPA here is soooo fast.. I think since 3-4 months ago.. :D
I'm used to GPRS before that.., so you probably know how it feels...

The same applies here on a bigger scale. It is ALOT faster to cover a tiny island with towers than it is to cover the whole US. Now when we're talking about an island that's not exactly that small, such as walshieau's over here, then we have good grounds for complaints to AT&T....

[mviana]

@lax2tlv

What department did you call? Do you have a number? Or is it just the regular CS number? I'm in Orange and I'm about 1 block away from 3G and it bloooooows. I would like to know how soon they will get me enveloped in some nice 3G speeds consistently.

Thanks

[RemE]

I'm seeing 3G in Orange and around JohnWayne Airport but alas, 3G dies away about 1 mile from my house in CDM. Hoping Newport Beach gets it someday soon...

[lax2tlv]

still nothing... I wonder how much longer they plan on postponing this beyong the original activation date... It seems more and more appearant that AT&T's "3G launch" was intended for little more than bragging rights. While my office is in the MIDDLE of a blue "3G" zone on AT&Ts coverage map, UMTS reception ranges from 0-1 bar outside to nothing indoors. I really don't get it... I mean I do - stinginess and iPhone EDGE priority, but it just pisses me off. This is 2007!!! Some places in the world have cellular broadband speeds that exceed those of land based ISPs! I just really hope they get their act together FAST!

[swtaltima]

:D I'm in remote island.., and HSDPA here is soooo fast.. I think since 3-4 months ago.. :D
I'm used to GPRS before that.., so you probably know how it feels...

HA HA HA, Thats a good one :p . You would think LA would have been one of the first places considering how gadget oriented we are.

This is good news by the way, thanks for sharing lax2tlv

[netnerd]

better return that I(nferior)Phone, cus u wont be able to enjoy those 3G/dsl speed! haha

[lax2tlv]

Ok, it's funny that this happened on the day i decided to try and revive this thread:

I was driving home from work on Vanowen St from North Hollywood, an area which has had 3G coverage for quite a while, while watching some free MobiTV in the LA traffic. My eyes widened with excitement when the phone (running BLACK MAGIC LE) showed full HSDPA reception as a crossed Lindley Ave, then Reseda, then Tampa, and all the way to my place on Winnetka where the HSDPA was still on but at 2-3 bars of reception. HOWEVER, to my great dismay, as soon as I ended the data call, the same ol' "E" was right back up there... :( forcing WCDMA + going back to where I was apparently getting full 3G reception failed to pick up UMTS... Now, given what little knowledge I have + some educated guessing, I suspect one of the following scenarios as being the culprit of this disgusting event:

A. There could have simply been a glitch in the phone, where it showed the H and 3G symbols instead of the E; HOWEVER, the streaming video on MobiTV was significantly better than anything i've seen on EDGE. Maybe some caching may be responsible for this?

B. Newly activated UMTS towers were able to register my phone when it attempted to continue an existing HSDPA data call, but have yet to be instructed to register idle phones looking for signals.

I raised this issue to an AT&T rep. Unfortunately, as opposed to the extremely helpful and friendly rep I got last time, I got some douchebag that hasn't been laid in 3 years claiming that he "cannot elaborate beyond the information presented in the coverage map posted on the AT&T website, or [he] would be compromising the security of their cell sites." Fucken idiot....

Anyways, I was hoping someone with a little more technical expertise in the matter could help clarify what's going on here and why my excitement was cut short when I was seconds away from bragging to all the 3G-less iPhone owners I know...

[DeniaL]

Man, I hope they stick to their august date for launching 3G in the SFV. That would be an awesome B-Day present from AT&T :)

[GldRush98]

Ok, it's funny that this happened on the day i decided to try and revive this thread:

I was driving home from work on Vanowen St from North Hollywood, an area which has had 3G coverage for quite a while, while watching some free MobiTV in the LA traffic. My eyes widened with excitement when the phone (running BLACK MAGIC LE) showed full HSDPA reception as a crossed Lindley Ave, then Reseda, then Tampa, and all the way to my place on Winnetka where the HSDPA was still on but at 2-3 bars of reception. HOWEVER, to my great dismay, as soon as I ended the data call, the same ol' "E" was right back up there... :( forcing WCDMA + going back to where I was apparently getting full 3G reception failed to pick up UMTS... Now, given what little knowledge I have + some educated guessing, I suspect one of the following scenarios as being the culprit of this disgusting event:

A. There could have simply been a glitch in the phone, where it showed the H and 3G symbols instead of the E; HOWEVER, the streaming video on MobiTV was significantly better than anything i've seen on EDGE. Maybe some caching may be responsible for this?

B. Newly activated UMTS towers were able to register my phone when it attempted to continue an existing HSDPA data call, but have yet to be instructed to register idle phones looking for signals.

I raised this issue to an AT&T rep. Unfortunately, as opposed to the extremely helpful and friendly rep I got last time, I got some douchebag that hasn't been laid in 3 years claiming that he "cannot elaborate beyond the information presented in the coverage map posted on the AT&T website, or [he] would be compromising the security of their cell sites." Fucken idiot....

Anyways, I was hoping someone with a little more technical expertise in the matter could help clarify what's going on here and why my excitement was cut short when I was seconds away from bragging to all the 3G-less iPhone owners I know...

Sounds like they're testing it in the area you drove in to, but the towers aren't set to broadcast the signal, but if you come with in range of the tower while in transmission the tower will let you use it's signal.

It definitely was not caching... the caches are only a few seconds long, so any cached high-quality video would've dropped through with in a couple seconds.