In its second analysis this year of the Baton Rouge area's wireless providers, RootScore reports AT&T and Verizon continue to vie for top ranking. While Verizon slightly edged out AT&T in RootScore's May analysis, AT&T pulled ahead in the new report for best overall service. AT&T was found to have the best data performance in the area, while the two tied for call and text performance. As in the May report, T-Mobile again came in third in the latest report, and Sprint came in fourth. RootScore says it conducts thousands of data, call and text tests in compiling its reports. Providers are scored on three key service areas: fastest and most reliable data network, fewest dropped and blocked calls, and fastest text service. See the full report here for more specifics.
Wednesday's traffic quagmire was bad business for everybody, but an untold number of businesses and residents on Bluebonnet Boulevard between Perkins and Highland roads have suffered nearly this whole work week without simple lines of communication: phone and Internet service. AT&T customers were dealt a deafening blow on Sunday when a contractor in the corridor nipped a service cable while hammering in an anchor for a utility pole, the company says. The cable had a capacity of 3,600 phone lines and was totally shorted out by rain that day, AT&T spokeswoman Sue Sperry says. "It's hard to say how many [customers] were affected," Sperry says, "because we're not on a grid like Entergy." Lack of a similar cable in local supply further complicated matters, Sperry says, and AT&T wasn't able to deliver a replacement until Thursday. Barrett Benton, owner of Benton, Benton & Associates, says for four days his law firm worked with just one phone line and no Internet. "You just can't survive...
An AT&T spokesperson says the company is working with administrators at Woman's Hospital to come up with a solution to problems doctors and patients are having with spotty service for cell phones and other mobile devices at the new $327 million facility on Airline Highway. "We are working with the hospital on designing and building an internal network so all areas in the hospital can access the AT&T mobile network," says Sue Sperry, AT&T's public relations manager for Louisiana, adding the hospital has yet to agree to an infrastructure upgrade plan AT&T has submitted. "While this infrastructure project takes several months to build once an agreement is reached, AT&T's wireless connectivity team can place interim radio services to boost cell service in the hospital's interiors." Sperry says outdoor cell towers often cannot penetrate large structures with the same ease they do residences, especially those built to withstand hurricane-force winds, such as the new 500,000-square-foot...
While the sleek, new $327 million Woman's Hospital on Airline Highway is a state-of-the-art facility, it has a problem: There's virtually no cell service inside the building. Doctors and patients tell Daily Report they've been frustrated by an inability to use cell phones and other mobile devices inside the 500,000-square-foot hospital. Woman's administrators are frustrated, too. They say they contacted AT&T—the predominant provider of cell service by the hospital's employees and physicians—regarding concerns about the adequacy of cell phone service at the new campus last year. At that time, an additional tower was requested, but AT&T responded that it could only provide the hospital with a base station—and not until the end of January 2013, says Paul Kirk, the hospital's vice president of information technology. In the meantime, Woman's has purchased an antenna system to be installed by mid-October at a cost of $500,000, which will provide coverage for AT&T,...
The Daily Reveille reports Verizon is the best wireless carrier in Baton Rouge, with AT&T a close second, according to a study done by RootMetrics, a Seattle-based data statistic company. T-Mobile and Sprint follow in third and fourth, respectively. Verizon beat AT&T in the texting category, taking an average of only 3.4 seconds to receive a text compared to AT&T's 4.2 seconds. T-Mobile took 4.8 seconds to receive a message and Sprint took 13.1 seconds. AT&T's 4G LTE network beat Verizon in terms of average download speed at 12.9 mb/s to Verizon's 10.9 mb/s, but Verizon had a faster upload speed — 7.6 mb/s to AT&T's 5.5 mb/s. T-Mobile had download speeds of 3.5 mb/s and upload speeds of 1.4 mb/s. Sprint, with no LTE network in Baton Rouge, had download and upload speeds of 0.4 mb/s. The study also showed AT&T and Verizon were the most reliable networks for data delivery in Baton Rouge. To read more about the study, click
T-Mobile USA says it has agreed to buy wireless spectrum rights from Verizon Wireless and swap other spectrum holdings with the company, bolstering the ability of both to offer faster wireless data services. Verizon doesn't yet own the entire spectrum that it wants to transfer to T-Mobile. It has agreed to buy spectrum rights from a consortium of cable companies, but that deal is facing tough scrutiny from regulators in Washington. The deal between T-Mobile and Verizon is contingent upon the Verizon cable deal going through and gives added reason for regulators to approve it. T-Mobile is the fourth-largest cell phone carrier in the country and is starved for spectrum compared to its larger competitors. Neither T-Mobile nor Verizon is disclosing what T-Mobile would pay Verizon for the spectrum.
A new report on cell phone service in the Baton Rouge area by independent phone carrier analyst group RootMetrics says Verizon and AT&T provide the overall best service, with Verizon slightly edging out AT&T. RootMetrics says it conducted thousands of data, call and text tests throughout Baton Rouge to compile the report, then analyzed the tests to find who performed the best in three key service areas: fastest and most reliable data network; fewest dropped and blocked calls; and fastest text service. The final tally of scores has Verizon slightly ahead of AT&T, though the two essentially are at a draw in all three categories for the top spot; those providers are followed by T-Mobile at No. 3, with Sprint bringing up the rear on the list. Verizon and AT&T were determined to provide the best data service, as well as the fastest text service, while Sprint joined the two atop the list for the fewest dropped and blocked calls. Check out the complete report
Good vibrations
There was a time when text messaging was reserved for intimate conversations with family, close friends and lovers.
Report: AT&T and Verizon top wireless providers in B.R.
In its second analysis this year of the Baton Rouge area's wireless providers, RootScore reports AT&T and Verizon continue to vie for top ranking. While Verizon slightly edged out AT&T in RootScore's May analysis, AT&T pulled ahead in the new report for best overall service. AT&T was found to have the best data performance in the area, while the two tied for call and text performance. As in the May report, T-Mobile again came in third in the latest report, and Sprint came in fourth. RootScore says it conducts thousands of data, call and text tests in compiling its reports. Providers are scored on three key service areas: fastest and most reliable data network, fewest dropped and blocked calls, and fastest text service. See the full report here for more specifics.
Most AT&T customers on Bluebonnet regain service after a week without
Wednesday's traffic quagmire was bad business for everybody, but an untold number of businesses and residents on Bluebonnet Boulevard between Perkins and Highland roads have suffered nearly this whole work week without simple lines of communication: phone and Internet service. AT&T customers were dealt a deafening blow on Sunday when a contractor in the corridor nipped a service cable while hammering in an anchor for a utility pole, the company says. The cable had a capacity of 3,600 phone lines and was totally shorted out by rain that day, AT&T spokeswoman Sue Sperry says. "It's hard to say how many [customers] were affected," Sperry says, "because we're not on a grid like Entergy." Lack of a similar cable in local supply further complicated matters, Sperry says, and AT&T wasn't able to deliver a replacement until Thursday. Barrett Benton, owner of Benton, Benton & Associates, says for four days his law firm worked with just one phone line and no Internet. "You just can't survive...
AT&T says it's working with Woman's to improve cell service
An AT&T spokesperson says the company is working with administrators at Woman's Hospital to come up with a solution to problems doctors and patients are having with spotty service for cell phones and other mobile devices at the new $327 million facility on Airline Highway. "We are working with the hospital on designing and building an internal network so all areas in the hospital can access the AT&T mobile network," says Sue Sperry, AT&T's public relations manager for Louisiana, adding the hospital has yet to agree to an infrastructure upgrade plan AT&T has submitted. "While this infrastructure project takes several months to build once an agreement is reached, AT&T's wireless connectivity team can place interim radio services to boost cell service in the hospital's interiors." Sperry says outdoor cell towers often cannot penetrate large structures with the same ease they do residences, especially those built to withstand hurricane-force winds, such as the new 500,000-square-foot...
Woman's battles poor cell service at new facility
While the sleek, new $327 million Woman's Hospital on Airline Highway is a state-of-the-art facility, it has a problem: There's virtually no cell service inside the building. Doctors and patients tell Daily Report they've been frustrated by an inability to use cell phones and other mobile devices inside the 500,000-square-foot hospital. Woman's administrators are frustrated, too. They say they contacted AT&T—the predominant provider of cell service by the hospital's employees and physicians—regarding concerns about the adequacy of cell phone service at the new campus last year. At that time, an additional tower was requested, but AT&T responded that it could only provide the hospital with a base station—and not until the end of January 2013, says Paul Kirk, the hospital's vice president of information technology. In the meantime, Woman's has purchased an antenna system to be installed by mid-October at a cost of $500,000, which will provide coverage for AT&T,...
Verizon tops study on wireless carriers in B.R.
The Daily Reveille reports Verizon is the best wireless carrier in Baton Rouge, with AT&T a close second, according to a study done by RootMetrics, a Seattle-based data statistic company. T-Mobile and Sprint follow in third and fourth, respectively. Verizon beat AT&T in the texting category, taking an average of only 3.4 seconds to receive a text compared to AT&T's 4.2 seconds. T-Mobile took 4.8 seconds to receive a message and Sprint took 13.1 seconds. AT&T's 4G LTE network beat Verizon in terms of average download speed at 12.9 mb/s to Verizon's 10.9 mb/s, but Verizon had a faster upload speed — 7.6 mb/s to AT&T's 5.5 mb/s. T-Mobile had download speeds of 3.5 mb/s and upload speeds of 1.4 mb/s. Sprint, with no LTE network in Baton Rouge, had download and upload speeds of 0.4 mb/s. The study also showed AT&T and Verizon were the most reliable networks for data delivery in Baton Rouge. To read more about the study, click
T-Mobile USA to buy, swap spectrum with Verizon
T-Mobile USA says it has agreed to buy wireless spectrum rights from Verizon Wireless and swap other spectrum holdings with the company, bolstering the ability of both to offer faster wireless data services. Verizon doesn't yet own the entire spectrum that it wants to transfer to T-Mobile. It has agreed to buy spectrum rights from a consortium of cable companies, but that deal is facing tough scrutiny from regulators in Washington. The deal between T-Mobile and Verizon is contingent upon the Verizon cable deal going through and gives added reason for regulators to approve it. T-Mobile is the fourth-largest cell phone carrier in the country and is starved for spectrum compared to its larger competitors. Neither T-Mobile nor Verizon is disclosing what T-Mobile would pay Verizon for the spectrum.
Verizon narrowly edges out AT&T in B.R. cell service report
A new report on cell phone service in the Baton Rouge area by independent phone carrier analyst group RootMetrics says Verizon and AT&T provide the overall best service, with Verizon slightly edging out AT&T. RootMetrics says it conducted thousands of data, call and text tests throughout Baton Rouge to compile the report, then analyzed the tests to find who performed the best in three key service areas: fastest and most reliable data network; fewest dropped and blocked calls; and fastest text service. The final tally of scores has Verizon slightly ahead of AT&T, though the two essentially are at a draw in all three categories for the top spot; those providers are followed by T-Mobile at No. 3, with Sprint bringing up the rear on the list. Verizon and AT&T were determined to provide the best data service, as well as the fastest text service, while Sprint joined the two atop the list for the fewest dropped and blocked calls. Check out the complete report