Cell Phone reception in the Adirondacks

[sideshow]

Northville/Benson

A few years back I had ATTWS service in Northville. Just barely got the signal on S Main St, at the Orendaga. I don't know how, but I also had vague service in Benson. It was one bar and would cut out before the call could go through. I guess conditions were just right or there was some kind of atmospheric phenomena.

[Klinkhamer]

Nw Adks

Almost no cell coverage if travelling up north of Paul Smiths on rt 30 until you get to Malone. If anywhere in the Santa Clara tract, forget it. I think once you get outside Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, it seems pretty much out of signal except for certain specific locations. Finding them is like an Easter egg hunt. I did manage to get a signal in village of St Regis Falls, although I may have been getting the signal from a Canadian tower, who knows? On the northern fringes you are often hitting towers across the border.
I fly-fish alot, so I leave it in car when on river in case I take a spill. If it gets wet, the warranty is void too, so in the car it stays.

[quasimodo1]

How about strategically located sattelite phones with protection, id required and serious charges for frivolous use?

[ADKHUNTER]

Wish I could be more helpfull. I've heard of some kind of a cell phone repeater type thing that could be mounted to a roof or other high point, that helps give a couple of hundred feet of " local reception" I've not reasearched it though.
Motorola did or does make a digital " bag type " phone 350 -550$ last I looked . The extra watts or whatever it has , does help getting a signal.
In the meantime , I just play hide and seek with verizon when I'm up at camp. ( a little bit south of Old Forge ) My wife understands and when I'm alone up there that If I can't check in for 3 - 4 days , I'll drive out to where I can. Time for fresh milk and bread by then anyways
I still like the old saying , " Don't call me , I'll call you "

Phil

I do the same 1894. If it were up to me I'd just walk in and never be heard from again but wives like to hear our voices I guess.

[Rock]

People in Willsboro have been using Unicell, it seems to be working well.

Also Verizon works in Etown and in some parts of Willsboro and keesville all which are in Essex County.

[1894]

Wish I could be more helpfull. I've heard of some kind of a cell phone repeater type thing that could be mounted to a roof or other high point, that helps give a couple of hundred feet of " local reception" I've not reasearched it though.
Motorola did or does make a digital " bag type " phone 350 -550$ last I looked . The extra watts or whatever it has , does help getting a signal.
In the meantime , I just play hide and seek with verizon when I'm up at camp. ( a little bit south of Old Forge ) My wife understands and when I'm alone up there that If I can't check in for 3 - 4 days , I'll drive out to where I can. Time for fresh milk and bread by then anyways
I still like the old saying , " Don't call me , I'll call you "

Phil

[ADKHUNTER]

please don't turn this into a heated discussion about cell phones and hiking.

My cell phone is not healthy and will need to be replaced. I hate to do it because it means signing up for a new plan and I've got a real cheap one from about five years ago. Many months I use all of seven minutes, but with a teenager driving, soon going away to college(where land lines aren't even used anymore) it seems time to bite the bullet and move on.

Since I have to purchase a new plan I can also choose a new carrier if I want.

In central New York it doesn't matter whether it's Verizon or Cingular. But other parts of the state there can be quite a difference in coverage.

I was recently with someone quite a ways in kayaking and I was flabbergasted that they got signal. Verizon.

I'd like to know where and what carrier folks have that have worked in the Adirondacks. Any and all areas please since I spend time all over the place.

Acadia, I'll have to do a bit more research on. Remember I usually spend two weeks up there every year, so this is not a hiking tool, it's a way to be able to be gotten hold of by family and check up on my house etc.

PM me if you'd rather keep your usage of places and carrier private.

Thanks guys. I'd just like to make a good decision before I lock into a two year plan.

I'm sure you've already picked a plan but for information purposes i have verizon and it works great in Schroon lake but stops as soon as you cross the Northway heading west toward Minerva. Strange, you might think it would last to the top of the ridge at least. My camp is half a mile from electric and phone service and I have thought of a satellite phone for emergencies. I spend alot of time there alone and its a long walk to a phone if I have car trouble.

[Buckethead]

The issue of Cell service on the Northway has been hit up pretty hard my the Press Republican paper in Plattsburgh. There have been 2 recent deaths on the highway, and one, if not both *may* have been avoided with cellular service.

An article about Senator Betty Little's plan is here:

http://www.pressrepublican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/NEWS/701270318/1001&ts=ts3

The APA has approved some smaller towers to be built, but so far as Hawk pointed out the cellular providers have not made a commitment due to the small coverage area.

[redhawk]

Anyone who would rather people die than have a cell phone tower erected a few miles up from a 100 foot MACDONALDS sign is out of their mind.

Ah but under the current proposals, they can have cell coverage. the phone carriers don't want to do it that way. They want to maximize their profit.

So, it's not the DEC, it certainly isn't me. it's the cell carriers. If you are so concerned, then write them and complain, and write to your congressperson and other elected officials and tell them that if they are concerned about human life, they will right regulations requiring companies making profits to put some of them back in the interest of public safety.

Or am I out of my mind to expect that to be a solution as well?

There are miles and miles of highway 30 and others that have no cell service, and no emergency phones. Lets use taxpayer dollars to install emergency phones there. In fact, did you know that Hamilton County has no 911 service? The third or forth largest county in New York? It's one of the main roads into the Adirondacks. If the concern is so great, what about all those factors.

I have written to state and local officials about the same issues I have expressed here.

Now, let me ask. Exactly what steps have you taken to do something about it?

[Snarcher!]

Anyone who would rather people die than have a cell phone tower erected a few miles up from a 100 foot MACDONALDS sign is out of their mind.

[redhawk]

After the tragic death of Alfred Langner on the Northway on Friday, Senators Marty Golden ( R-Brooklyn) and Betty Little (R-Queeensbury) are calling for legislation to allow constuction of new celltowers on the Northway to eliminate the 50 mile zone of no coverage.I hope they use the nice towers that look like sick white pines.

"I wonder how many wrongful deaths there were before the inception of cell phones?

Perhaps one should look at the possibility that if the Lincoln Town car came with something like Norstar or what the GM cars carry, then it would not have happened either and they should sue Ford Motor Company for not having it as mandatory equipment on the Lincoln? Or maybe sue the state because if the whole Northway had guard rails, then the car wouldn't have gone off the road out of sight. Maybe they should sue the Border patrol for not preventing them from traveling since the weather was obviously so cold and dangerous. What about people who don't have cell phones if full service on the Northway is implemented? Should the state provide them for those people or would it be negligent if they were trapped in their car and could not call for help? Maybe we should pay a couple of million for a study to find out exactly how often an accident occurs where all occupants of the car are trapped, unable to get out, but ambulatory enough and conscious enough to dial a cell phone.

I don't care what or how many precautions you have in place for any given situation. Sometimes fate intervenes and stuff happens. It's just the way things are, and all the pseudo-intelligence of humanity and technology won't make a difference.

Personally, if they had a Lincoln Town car, then i don't think she's too strapped for cash. he was retired so there is no loss of income. His death will be cheapened by her attempt to make financial gain for it, the communications company using it to try to increase their coverage and profits and the politicians using it to suck up to the communications companies while claiming to be looking out for the welfare of it's citizens."

===================================

Following taken from a post on the adkhighpeaks forum.

"Adirondack Council spokesman John Sheehan said his group helped the state get permits in 2002 to build 32 new towers that would cover the Northway's dead zone.

He said a conglomerate of cellphone providers is blocking the plan - instead pushing for three 200-foot towers that could also provide service to towns near the highway.
Sheehan said that under that system, "there would still be a dead spot where these people went off the road."
Don't blame the environmentalists either:

quote:
The Adirondack Park Agency, which governs land use in the park, and environmental groups agreed in 2002 to install 33 towers, each about 40 feet tall, which they say would have eliminated the dead spots. But major cellphone companies declined to provide service, saying the towers were too small, Senator Little said.
John F. Sheehan, a spokesman for the Adirondack Council, an environmental group, said the companies did not go along with the plan because it was unprofitable, since it would not cover the communities on either side of the highway."

=====================================

And finally a letter to Senator Little:

"Dear Senator Little:
"In reference to your call for cell coverage on the Northway.
It is not the fault of the state, but the cellphone companies themselves:

"Adirondack Council spokesman John Sheehan said his group helped the state get permits in 2002 to build 32 new towers that would cover the Northway's dead zone.

He said a conglomerate of cellphone providers is blocking the plan - instead pushing for three 200-foot towers that could also provide service to towns near the highway.
Sheehan said that under that system, "there would still be a dead spot where these people went off the road."

The Adirondack Park Agency, which governs land use in the park, and environmental groups agreed in 2002 to install 33 towers, each about 40 feet tall, which they say would have eliminated the dead spots. But major cellphone companies declined to provide service, saying the towers were too small, Senator Little said.
John F. Sheehan, a spokesman for the Adirondack Council, an environmental group, said the companies did not go along with the plan because it was unprofitable, since it would not cover the communities on either side of the highway."

So if you really want to do something about it, beyond "politic", then how about legislation requiring cellular companies offering coverage in the populated area, to also provide coverage along the Northway in a way that fits in with the APA plans? They would still have a choice, cover all the Adirondacks or none of the Adirondacks.

William Redhawk
Wells, NY"

[chairrock]

After the tragic death of Alfred Langner on the Northway on Friday, Senators Marty Golden ( R-Brooklyn) and Betty Little (R-Queeensbury) are calling for legislation to allow constuction of new celltowers on the Northway to eliminate the 50 mile zone of no coverage.I hope they use the nice towers that look like sick white pines.

[frankcarey]

My $.02: He who can predict which technologies will dominate the future will do better. ATT/Cingular's decision to abandon TDMA (I think they were TDMA) in favor of GSM created some confusion for us ATT/Cingular customers but it seems to be getting better as more of their net is changing to GSM. Their dual mode phones are no longer offered which tells me that GSM is now the biggest part of their net. We recently got new phones and at that time got to see the Cingular computerized coverage maps at the phone center store. I had them call up Old Forge, NY, and saw the green line that defines the "cloud" within which service is available in the Old Forge area. But there was a larger cloud that covered a significantly greater area around Old Forge. The store staff explained that there were only two available phones that would work within the larger "cloud". I forget their terminology but these two phones were described as "5 watt" models or something like that. These phones have no other features - no camera, etc. We opted for these phones. We can get a signal at odd places such as in front of the Outback restaurant on the Big Moose Rd and a a point on the Twitchell Rd but not at our camp (sigh). Somebody told me that the tower in Old Forge is up on Macauley Mountain at the top of the ski lift so that would surely help getting a signal in some of the more remote surrounding areas. A neighbor at Twitchell Lake was once able to get a signal in the old analog days but no more. I can't believe there is any analog service available anywhere.

[Gomer]

Update: Had analog roam in and out, mostly in, all the way up to Rock Lake Mt. Beyond that, I stopped listening.

[chairrock]

Service with verizon in the village of Tupper Lake, spotty service just west oflLong Lake.