Coverage Related Question - Travelling

[boxermansr]

I'm going to be taking a trip in the next two days from El Paso, TX (the farthest west in Texas you can get), to Austin, TX. For the most part, I'll be on I-10 and I-35. I'm wondering if anyones drove this route (either to, or from, or driving through El Paso to somewhere) -- and if so, what was/is coverage like between here and there. I've looked at many maps, and some of them -appear- as though I'll be digital roaming a good portion of the way, but I'm just preparing myself for any areas where I may have no service. I used to have AT&T about six years ago with the digital one rate plan, and coverage between San Antonio and El Paso was pretty good (most analog) so I'm hoping the same will hold true w/ Sprint.

Also, I have F&CA, and I'm wondering, not only is roaming covered, but is long distance as well? Say I use my phone in the middle of no-where, it's not gonna charge me for long distance either, right?

Thanks

[sandrshe]

Anytime you are off the sprint network, you will get charged roaming fee and long distance! Just add the $5 america plan to your account before you take your trip. A 3 minute call can easily cost $5 so why not have it unlimited?

[Ted]

The OP says he has F&CA... so he's covered.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the long distance is included, anyone?

[boxermansr]

Anytime you are off the sprint network, you will get charged roaming fee and long distance! Just add the $5 america plan to your account before you take your trip. A 3 minute call can easily cost $5 so why not have it unlimited?


I have the 5.00 add-on option. I am attempting to clarify if JUST roaming, or roaming AND long distance will be covered in that.

[DrDeke]

Well, for what it's worth, the original poster did say that he had the free and clear america plan... So to answer the question, yes, free and clear america eliminates both roaming and long distance charges within the US, so you should be all set.

[boxermansr]

The OP says he has F&CA... so he's covered.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the long distance is included, anyone?

According to Sprint's website:

Sprint PCS Free & Clear AmericaEnjoy no additional charges for roaming in this expanded coverage area, reaching more than 280 million people, as long as less than half of your monthly call time is used while roaming. Sprint may terminate service if more than half of the minutes in a given month are used while roaming off the Sprint Nationwide PCS Network.


Doesn't clarify as to whether or not LD is included, though I've heard it is, and I've also heard it isn't.

[boxermansr]

Well, for what it's worth, the original poster did say that he had the free and clear america plan... So to answer the question, yes, free and clear america eliminates both roaming and long distance charges within the US, so you should be all set.

Cool deal - now all I need to do, is figure out more or less, if any, what kind of coverage I'm gonna have on the way. Does anyone know who (more or less) SPCS 'prefers' to roam on (there appear to be alot of 'smaller' wireless companies with covrage between here and Austin) -- its a good stretch of area, so I'd hope that I'll be covered pretty well.

[DrDeke]

I rode the train through Texas in February; I don't remember the exact route, but we came in from the north and went through Dallas and Fort Worth, then went south to San Antonio, then west/north through El Paso and eventually into New Mexico... At any rate, I recall roaming on US Cellular and I think some Western Wireless. Cell phone signals along railroad tracks outside of cities are usually pretty poor, but I bet that you will have coverage all of the way on the interstate, if not through Sprint then through a roaming provider.

The way CDMA 800 works is that the phone first registers on the AMPS network, then if it receives a notification bit that CDMA is available, it (might) try to register with the CDMA network instead. Unfortunately, the signal strength from the train is so low that a lot of times, it won't register with the CDMA network even if it tries, so I'm not sure which areas are analog and which are digital. It did seem, though, that in areas where the signal was pretty good, my phone (an N400 at the time) did usually go into digital roaming.

You might want to buy a car power adapter though, since if you do spend much time in analog roaming, your battery will be drained rather quickly.

[zócalo]

Well, for what it's worth, the original poster did say that he had the free and clear america plan... So to answer the question, yes, free and clear america eliminates both roaming and long distance charges within the US, so you should be all set.


Is this an opinion, or do you know either from experience or from Sprint directly that there are no long-distance toll charges on a F&CA plan? I've only recently added F&CA to my plan and have yet to try a long-distance call while roaming, so am just trying to get a clarification on the F&CA details. Thanks for any help.

[lcyals]

Is this an opinion, or do you know either from experience or from Sprint directly that there are no long-distance toll charges on a F&CA plan? I've only recently added F&CA to my plan and have yet to try a long-distance call while roaming, so am just trying to get a clarification on the F&CA details. Thanks for any help.

Answering the OP's question and yours ^. Was recently in Texas, I don't remember all the routes, but I was in the Dalla-Ft. Worth area, San Antonio, Houston, some other back water areas. Sprint service was very good throughout. Only had a few instances where I was roaming and it was digital. When I was roaming, like I said, it was in some back water area. I had F&CA at the time and made a couple of calls while roaming. No LD and no roaming charges. Personal experience.

[DcDave63]

I have had F&CA (roaming) for my mothers phone for a few months, which is based out of NY State. As you can see on the pic of the bill, there ar eno charges for LD.

[zócalo]

Thanks VW Maniac and DCDave for relating your firsthand experience with F&CA and long distance.