Cell phone reception?

[mmessler]

Anyone use Virgin Mobile down there? I think they run off Sprint's network, but I'm not sure. And how about Cingular?

 

[jenseib]

Anyone use Virgin Mobile down there? I think they run off Sprint's network, but I'm not sure. And how about Cingular?

I don't think they run off a of Sprint/Nextel's network. In our areas that is the best reception, and my sone had virgin Moblie and has terrible reception at palces that Sprint/Nextel has good reception.

 

[kaboule101112]

We use Tracfone, the prepaid wireless: supposedly uses whosever towers are available. Has anyone tried these?

 

[mmessler]

I don't think they run off a of Sprint/Nextel's network. In our areas that is the best reception, and my sone had virgin Moblie and has terrible reception at palces that Sprint/Nextel has good reception.

I just read the back of the package of the new phone I bought. It says "under Virgin Mobile USA's arrangement with Sprint, VM USA customers have access to service on the Sprint Nationwide PCS Network reaching more than 250 million people". Maybe it depends on the phone? Mine has good reception pretty much everywhere around here, and I don't remember having any trouble with my old VM phone the few times I used it at WDW, but mostly from the resorts.

 

[mmessler]

We use Tracfone, the prepaid wireless: supposedly uses whosever towers are available. Has anyone tried these?

My mother used to have one of those, and hated it. She said she could never get a decent signal. But I don't remember her trying it at WDW. And it seemed a lot more expensive that Virgin as well as some other prepaids at the time.

 

[kaboule101112]

Thanks for the info. None of the cell phone services work great where we are (too many hills), so we just use them for basics. Hopefully they'll work at WDW.

 

[Faerie]

I have Sprint PCS, my BF has Nextel. While they are the same company, they run on different networks. He has better reception most times because Disney employees (Bus drivers etc.) have nextel phones. There are Nextel Towers on property because of this.

 

[jedijill]

Hi! I work for Sprint Nextel so I can tell you the following things:

Nextel is the official provider for WDW so there are a lot of towers on Disney property.

Sprint also has good coverage.

Virgin Mobile does indeed operate on the Sprint network. Virgin Mobile leases the service and resells to their customers.

The metal studs in the hotels cause interference with CDMA phone service. That is why you will see people outside their rooms using their phones.

HTH

Jill in KC

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

We have At&t Cingular (whatever they are calling it this week) and we have always have great reception in the parks & bad reception in the resorts. We usually end up on the balcony to make calls.

 

[sdbirdsong]

I had AT&T (CINGULAR) the old Cingular which is the new AT&T ... anyway.... Last year my sis loves the pooh ride so I called her and stuck the phone up so she could hear it from home the whole time and even in the building, it was fine. DIdn't have a problem with reception..
Course, now I switched to Verizon, so who knows what it will be like this year.

Way back when, I had WorldCom. They got bought out by AT&T who then got bought out by Cingular who is now AT&T again. You need a scorecard to keep up with the players. We'll probably end up with only a coupe of phone companies just like back in the Dark Ages when the only phone company was AT&T.

BTW, I got fed up with Cingular shortly after the "merger" and switched to TMobile. They were treating the AT&T customers like step-children and were trying to force me to "upgrade" my GREAT plan of 19.99 a month that I had had forever.

 

[exhumed616]

My service provider is Nextel and I usually get amazing reception. I guess that's what a lot of people are saying too .

 

[disney.nut]

We have Suncom and never have any problem at Disney or surrounding areas.