Category: T-Mobile
Verizon Wireless recently completed coverage improvements along the Mt. Rose Highway stretching from Wedge Parkway in Reno on the east, to Tahoe Meadows near the Mt. Rose summit on the west. Improvements in the past year include the installation of 4 new cell sites along the Mt. Rose Highway corridor and improvements to an existing cell site atop Slide Mountain.
New cell sites include:
- Sky Tavern ski area (at the summit)
- New site serving the Saddlehorn/Arrowcreek/Whites Creek area
- Mt Rose Hwy & Wedge Pkwy
- NDF Galena Fire Station – new taller monopine with room for 3 carriers replacing existing monopine.
 New monopine on distant/right with Verizon Wireless and AT&T antennas. T-Mobile will locate on the bottom position.
T-Mobile has added a new cell site near South Virginia Street & Patriot Blvd. The site is co-located on an existing monopole which is also occupied by Sprint.
Reno ranks 124th of the most populous 125 metro areas in the United States in testing of overall mobile network performance according to a recent RootMetrics report.
Data for the Reno metro area only shows a virtual three-way tie between T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T for overall network performance. Individual tests of Network Reliability, Call and Text are virtually tied between the 4 major carriers which include Sprint. According to the report Verizon is the Award winner in terms of Network speed and Data, while Sprint falls short of the other 3 carriers in those categories.
Now that Reno’s 4 major wireless carriers have launched LTE data coverage, their next update will likely be moving voice traffic to LTE. Here’s an interesting article about Why Networks Want to Move to Voice Over LTE.
The Reno Gazette-Journal posted an article recently that lists the current roll-out schedule for the wireless carrier’s 4th generation data network in the Reno area. Bottom line: T-Mobile’s is already active, the other 3 major carriers had no specific timetable.
Timetable updated July 2013:
T-Mobile: Now
AT&T: By 2013, but nothing more specific – Launched LTE December 2012
Verizon: No estimated date – Launched LTE September 2011
Sprint: No estimated date Washoe County – Expected to launch LTE July 2013
Many people complain about indoor cell phone reception – particularly in their home or office. The major wireless providers have addressed this problem by providing miniature cell sites or “femtocells” to enhance coverage in areas up to approximately 5000 square feet. A recent article on PC World goes in-depth about how to get the best cell phone reception possible with personal femtocells and other devices.
Edit 4/4/10: The AT&T 3G MicroCell will be available for sale in Reno on April 5. See their website for more info.
AT&T is expected to make their 3G MicroCell available this month to customers in the Reno area. The device is a femtocell – a small device that connects to a broadband internet connection and improves cell phone reception to a limited area, such as a home. Brian Klug has posted a very detailed article on Anandtech about femtocell’s that are now available through all 4 U.S. major cell carriers. Read the full article here.

2009 was an uneventful year for new cell sites in the Reno area. T-Mobile was most active adding the most new cell sites and turning on their 3G voice & data network in 2009. Cricket added coverage in the Spanish Springs area. Otherwise, all other carriers did not add coverage via new cell sites this year according to our sources.
For 2010 Verizon Wireless has a new cell site planned for southwest Reno near the Washoe Golf Course. AT&T has a cell site planned to improve coverage in the Somersett area of northwest Reno.
In the new year posts to this website will occur as new cell sites are known, and other major carrier news is announced. For more frequent updates, check out our Twitter MicroBlog Updates in the left column of this website, or follow us from your Twitter account @RenoWireless.
I’ve received a few reports of 3G data service active on people’s phones in parts of the Reno area. At this time it’s showing up in the South Meadows area, but not in Spanish Springs according to reports from T-Mobile subscribers.
T-Mobile has been selling the G1 phone in the Reno area that is 3G data speeds capable, even though 3G data was not yet available. Now T-Mobile customers can take advantage of the faster internet speeds.
Feel free to reply to this post with your experience.
I received this review by Kyle, who lives in the South Meadows/Damonte Ranch area. He was an AT&T wireless customer for quite a while, but got fed up with the unreliable coverage at his home. A few months ago he switched to T-Mobile. Below is his experience:
Coverage is MUCH better in South Meadows. It is also better in south Reno going up Mount Rose HWY around the Chevron station, Monte Rosa Estates, etc. Also better going up HWY 395 North of North McCarran.
Other than that the coverage isn’t any better than ATT. Inside large buildings like Atlantis Casino and the Eldorado Casino, T-Mobile is worse than ATT. T-Mobile has no service at times, whereas ATT had low signal (1-2 bars) but did not drop to no service. With only 5 fewer sites than T-Mo and 850 Mhz, ATT has Reno covered quite well overall as you well know. T-Mobile is also worse between Gold Ranch and Truckee– drops a call where ATT does not.
What I have found is that quality of service has been noticeably better. I drop fewer calls overall (not just in South Reno) and have not had any calls where only one party can hear the other talking and the other party hears silence (happened occasionally on ATT). Calls on T-Mo’s GSM sound better than on ATT GSM (maybe AMR HR vs. AMR FR?). ATT’s 3G sounds great but it kicks you back down to GSM so often that it seems many calls would end up there. I have not had delayed voicemail messages like I would sometimes get with ATT. Fewer “Call Failed” messages, etc. Overall, T-Mobiles network seems to provide a better quality of service, with the only noticeable weakness being the In-building coverage in certain large buildings.
Spanish Springs – We have a business account out there and we are out in Spanish Springs 3 days a week. T-Mobile has much better coverage in the South end of Spanish Springs, especially in the new Spanish Springs Town Centre shopping center with the Costco, Home Depot, etc. AT&T has 1 bar or “no service” in some of these businesses while T-Mobile has a strong signal.
Next Page »
|