Category: WEBSITE

Well, it’s been a few years since the last blog posting on this website. How ever we continue to update the following pages:

• Maps continue to be updated as new cell sites are added.
• We continue to participate on the website CellMapper.net as user rwi775.
• Follow us on Twitter for updates of new websites and cell site photos

Thanks for your interest!

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.

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 just come across Cell Phones.org – a website which features comprehensive cell phone and carrier news and reviews.

Cell Phone Reviews and Free Cell Phone Information from Cell Phones.org combines timely information from sources such as The Boy Genius Report, Engadget, company press releases, as well as original content and commentary to deliver timely information about the latest cell phone news all on one website. Their carrier reviews give national coverage information for most cell phone service providers, mentioning the pros and cons of each provider.

New cell site construction in the Reno area has slowed to a crawl so far this year. Lately I’ve been listening to podcasts that cover the latest cell phone and wireless industry news and rumors. Check out the “Podcasts” I’ve added to the Links page.

With the swarm of earthquakes that have hit the northwest Reno area since February there has been heightened awareness of procedures to take to prepare for earthquakes.

After a major quake cell phone and land-line communications may be unavailable due to damage to cell sites, power failures and/or overloaded communication channels due to too many people trying to use their phones at the same time.

After a quake phones should be for emergency calls or brief calls to check the status of family and close friends. If you are unable to place calls, you may be able to communicate via text messaging as was common during the 9/11 attacks. An interesting National Communication System tech bulletin describes the use of SMS in times of disaster and otherwise.

After about 2 months of testing and configuring, the new website powered by WordPress is live.

The new website design will allow other wireless users to post comments and allow more interactivity between others. Features of the new site include:

• RSS feeds so you can easily monitor wireless news, website changes and comments

• Get e-mail notifications of comments and replies

• More features to come

I have just completed the “Dead Zone” pages that lists previously reported dead zone and drop-out areas. More importantly, anyone can now submit their own experiences with dead zones or drop-outs via our online form. See the Dead Zone link at the top of the page.

To prevent spam all submissions are moderated, but should appear on the web site within 24 hours.

Thank you for your participation. With the help of user reports, hopefully the wireless carriers will act quickly on this information and fill coverage holes where needed.

Added link to Santa Clarita Valley Wireless – photos and map of Cingular cell sites in that area.

View all 2006 Archives

Dec 20, 2006	New Nextel cell site active at Robb Drive and Sharlands Avenue – a new monopole next to the Winner’s Corner convenience store.
Dec 9, 2006	Verizon Wireless launches EV-DO wireless broadband service in Reno area Reno Gazette-Journal article.
Dec 6, 2006	New T-Mobile cell site active at Rock Blvd. and Greg Street in Sparks, next to Abbey Carpet. CID 4340x.
Nov 12, 2006	Added a few Commercial Web Site Links
Nov 8, 2006	New Cingular cell site active on Overmyer Road in Sparks, which is 2 blocks SE of McCarran and Glendale. This new cell site will improve coverage and capacity in the I-80 and E. McCarran Blvd. area. CID 6118x.
Nov 2, 2006	New T-Mobile monopole cell site active behind Speedway Market at Peckham Lane and Neil Road. CID 4337x.
Oct 13, 2006	New Sprint PCS cell site at the Galena High School football field. A temporary mast was recently erected, and there are plans to put the antennas on one of the stadium light poles.
Oct 11, 2006	New Cingular cell site now active behind Sportsman’s Warehouse near Moana and Kietzke Lane (CID 6121x). The site is a 75′ tall flagpole that should enhance coverage at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Atlantis Casino and residential areas to the east of the site.
Oct 10, 2006	New Cricket cell site active on North Edison near Mill Street – co-located on a monopole with Cingular Wireless. This new site will improve coverage in the  industrial area of south Sparks.   Cingular micro-cell site discovered at the Cingular Wireless store at Damonte Ranch Parkway and South Virginia Street (CID 6195x). This site provides 1900Mhz coverage at stores around the shopping center. Due to the limited coverage of the site, it will not be included in the “number of known cell sites” totals or on the maps at this time.
Oct 9, 2006	New Verizon cell site active at Pyramid Way and Queens Way in Sparks. The new site is co-located on a church tower with Cricket.
Oct 6, 2006	New Verizon cell site approved for construction on Chalk Ridge Court in Somersett development in west Reno.   New T-Mobile cell site approved for construction near Speedway Market at Peckham Lane and Neil Road.
Sept 28, 2006	New Verizon cell site under construction at Pyramid Way and Queens Way in Sparks. The new site is co-located on a church tower with Cricket.
Sept 26, 2006	New Verizon cell site now active at Aircenter Circle near Longley Lane and Mira Loma Drive. The new site is co-located on an existing pole with Cingular and Cricket.
Sept 16, 2006	Thanks to a spotter, a new Cricket cell site has been discovered on Grove Street, between Kietzke and Harvard. The spotter indicates the site went up around the beginning of this year. The antennas are on a guyed pole.
Sept 13, 2006	Updated links to Sprint PCS and Nextel’s Published Coverage Maps to new website showing zoomable street level coverage maps.
Sep 9, 2006	New Sprint cell site active behind Wal-Mart at South Virginia Street and Damonte Ranch Parkway. The site looks to be temporary, with the antennas mounted on a guyed pole, The site is next to a permanent monopole currently occupied by Cricket and Clearwire.
Sep 3, 2006	New Cingular cell site approved for construction – flagpole next to Sportsman’s Warehouse at Kietzke and Moana Lane.
Aug 17, 2006	Added Premium Content that let’s website contributors download Google Earth KML files showing cell site locations for all the wireless carrier’s in the Reno/Tahoe area.
Aug 4, 2006	Discovered 4 new Nextel cell sites along I-80 corridor between CA/NV border and Hirschdale, filling in former coverage gap.
Aug 3, 2006	Nextel co-located on Chalk Ridge Ct. in Somersett development in west Reno.
Aug 1, 2006	Changed link to Cingular’s new interactive, street-level coverage map.   Added map point for newly discovered Cingular cell site in east Dayton near Pinenut and N. Rainbow Dr. (thanks to R. Silver)
Jul 25, 2006	Cricket and T-Mobile cell sites now active on Chalk Ridge Court in Somersett development in west Reno. T-Mobile CID 4338x.
Jul 23, 2006	3 carriers approved to co-locate on existing monopoles providing coverage to the Somersett development in west Reno: Cricket, T-Mobile and Clearwire Wireless Broadband. Sprint PCS already provides coverage from the site located Chalk Ridge Court.   Cricket approved to co-locate on a monopole with Cingular on North Edison Drive, next to the Truckee River.   Verizon approved to co-locate on a monopole with Cingular and Cricket on Aircenter Circle near Longley Lane and Mira Loma Drive.
Jul 3, 2006	2 new Cingular cell sites discovered covering the I-80 corridor between Reno and Truckee: One is located near the CHP truck inspection station, approximately 1 mile east of the Prosser Village Road/Truckee interchange near Truckee (CID 1254x). The other is located approximately 1.5 miles SSW of Floriston (CID 1255x). Calls on Cingular still drop between Floriston and Farad, however initiating a call is possible courtesy of roaming on a T-Mobile cell site in Floriston.   2 new Verizon cell sites discovered in the Truckee area: One is located east of Glenshire along I-80 – approximately 1.25 miles ESE of the Boca interchange. This site is on a lattice tower co-located with T-Mobile, Sprint and Cingular. The other new site is next to the Northstar Ski Resort administration building, co-located on a monopole with T-Mobile.
Jun 13, 2006	New Nextel cell site approved for construction at 910 Robb Drive, at the Winner’s Corner convenience store.
May 12, 2006	Two side-by-side monopoles under construction above Somersett subdivision, near Sprint’s temporary cell site on Chalk Ridge Ct. At this time known carrier’s that will co-locate at the site include a permanent Sprint cell site, and Clearwire Wireless Broadband.
Apr 23, 2006	New Nextel cell site active at 3105 Plumas Street at an office complex near Brinkby Avenue.   New Nextel cell site active behind Scolari’s supermarket on South Virginia and Hwy 395 freeway – co-located on a monopole with Sprint, Cricket, and Clearwire Wireless Broadband.   New Sprint cell site active near Longley Lane and Aircenter Circle – co-located on a monopole with  Nextel.
Apr 20, 2006	Sprint Nextel to acquire Ubiquitel – the local affiliate for Sprint PCS. News Release
Apr 11, 2006	New T-Mobile cell site active in northwest Reno near Kings Row and Wyoming Ave. The antennas are disguised inside a church steeple at 2207 Kings Row. CID 817x
Feb 27, 2006	New Cingular cell site permit approved at 1750 Mountain St. in Carson City according to Reno Gazette-Journal   New Nextel cell site approved for construction at 3105 Plumas Street at an office complex near Brinkby Avenue.
Feb 14, 2006	New Nextel cell site under construction behind Scolari’s supermarket on South Virginia and Hwy 395 freeway. This site is co-located on a monopole with Sprint PCS and Clearwire.
Feb 6, 2006	Newspaper story about hidden communications gear in Reno Gazette-Journal.
Jan 18, 2006	New T-Mobile cell site approved for construction near Kings Row and Wyoming Ave. in Reno in a church steeple.
Jan 9, 2006	Confirmed new Cingular cell site co-located on monopole approx.1 mile east of Spooner Summit along Highway 50. CID 378x. This location provides good coverage from Spooner Summit east to Carson City for Nextel and Verizon as well. Updated Dec. 13 and 15th updates with CID info.   Discovered new Cingular GSM cell site on tower at Spooner Summit. CID 336x.   2 new Cingular cell sites in Carson Valley, south of Carson City – locations unknown. CID 1358x and 6101x.
Jan 4, 2006	New T-Mobile cell site active in Spanish Springs near the water towers at Pyramid Lake Hwy and Golden View Drive. CID 1315x.