Subject: [NEXTEL-1] List of NEXTEL Coverage Drops: An Updated List of Areas where Nextel Phone Service Regularly

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2003 05:12:26 -0500

List of NEXTEL Coverage Drops: An Updated List of Areas where Nextel Phone Service
Regularly
Last modified 02/04/2003

Drops

This list is intended to provide a consolidated reference to a series of posts, messages,
and other observations as to dropped calls in
predictable areas/roads using Nextel's iDEN phone service in the US.
In the past, posts to a variety of cellular groups and e-mail to the Wireless Notes page
have indicated a systemic set of drops along major
roadways on with Nextel's service which are, from observation and use, proportionally more
prevalent and thus more noticeable than other
similarly situated carriers, such as BAMS/Verizon, AT&TWS, and the various Cingular
properties. (See for example the significantly shorter
Verizon Cellular and Express Network Drops/Reset List as a comparison.)
This list thus serves as a central source where such drop information may be collected,
posted, and utilize in furtherance of service
improvements by Nextel.

General:

After using Nextel for approx 3 years now, I've noticed a significantly greater number of
drops while moving using the Nextels as compared to
the Verizon (ex-Bell Atlantic, ex-GTE), AT&T Wireless, Cingular (ex-SWBell/Boston) and
Sprint accounts which we subscribe to.
Generally, while driving (or on the train) in areas where we and apparently other cellular
subscribers of top-level/"nationwide" carriers other
than Nextel enjoy uninterrupted coverage, the Nextels just drop a given call. These drops
are in the same location, ie, "at the CT/MA line
heading EB on I-84".

(I'm not considering Voicestream here since they are, from my experience, not good at
anything more than Metro area coverage, and we never
bothered trying them due to their comparatively limited coverage area.)

All the drops are what would probably be loosely termed "handoff drops", ie, as a vehicle
moves along a road, the Nextel phones which we use
and I've had a chance to personally try repeated times have an annoying tendency to get
highly distorted and then drop or just immediately
drop and indicate "Try Again" on the phone's display.

In most if not all cases, we've called Nextel to report the problem(s), and when we were
able to get someone who didn't reply with some
perfunctory "It's your phone" (all 3 of them!?) or "We don't have coverage there" (in the
middle of BOSTON?!?) and who instead took down a
trouble ticket, no improvements were noticed. (And as soon as an area is improved and the
drop no longer happens it is removed from the list
as it comes to my/our attention.)

Although we currently use Nextel mainly for business purposes, these drops force us to
keep an extra phone (usually Verizon) around for
important calls since we can't rely on Nextel in many areas to keep a call from dropping.
If it weren't for the unlimited incoming, we'd probably
drop Nextel in 2 seconds since the service, at these many, many 'drop areas', is so
frustrating that it's not worth the aggravation of paying a
premium to maintain the account(s).

Thus, the list below details areas where we have had repeated drops over a period of time.
I encourage others who have noticed similar drops
where they are the mail [email-masked] and advise me of other locations.
The criteria for a drop being "worthy" :) of getting posted by me/others are:

Drop occurs at least 3 times traveling in the same direction (ie, Eastbound on a given
road) Drops occur over a period of more than a month, eg, if you notice a drop on
05/01/2002 it still needs to drop on 06/01/2002 for it to be posted.

Drops are moving drops, ie, these aren't "I can't get coverage when I sit in my living
room corner" situations, but areas
where there is otherwise good coverage and the phone just for no apparent reason drops.
(This isn't just for motorists;
we've also had problems on Amtrak and commuter rail services where the Nextels keep
dropping all the time but other
passengers on the train have uninterrupted service.)

Drops are in areas of otherwise good coverage, eg, the drops listed are not in the
numerous areas where Nextel has no coverage. Thus, there are no posts saying "My Nextel
dropped on I-91 crossing the MA/VT line" since Nextel doesn't cover there, yet.
Drops are in areas where other carriers like Verizon, AT&TWS, Cingular, Sprint (well, they
are sometimes better than
Nextel! :) ) or the local A/B carrier DON'T drop on the SAME stretch of road. Thus, a post
will be listed only if on the
same road in the same place you can use another carrier other than Nextel and not get
dropped. In other words, these
posts reflect the apparent fact that the area can be covered (since other carriers seem to
do it), it's just that Nextel is for
whatever reason unable to provide the same level of service.

Please feel free to submit your drop experiences with Nextel which meet the above
guidelines so that we can provide a more
comprehensive list.

Additionally, if you feel that an item is incorrect, please let us know the specifics of
your experiences in the given area so we can
test it and modify the list accordingly.
     Thanks!

Disclaimer/Note: I have nothing to do with Nextel other than using a few of their phones
as a paying subscriber. I don't detest
them like I do Sprint (which to me is worthless other than as a competitor to AT&T/Verizon
to keep their prices down), but am getting fed up with their constant and all too obvious
drops which they seem to either not care about (from the way the cust service reps address
such calls) or move so lethargically that they are way, way behind the service levels of
many of the other carriers. While I try to keep this list current (it is the same list I
nag them with when I'm bored and want to see if they are interested yet in fixing a given
drop :) ), you should test these out for yourself and not use this as a dispositive and
authoritative source of information as to Nextel's cellular service (or lack thereof). In
other words, these are just my other other observations -- we try to be accurate, but we
make no representations other than what we have observed (and if others notice we are
wrong about a given drop, please mail us so we can test the drop and modify the list
accordingly.)

     Nextel Dropped Call List by State

     Massachusetts

Masspike/I-90 -- Mile Marker 26, Blandford, Eastbound. (Note: Verizon good there,
SNET/Cingular as well, all other carriers, inc. Nextel, drop.)
Masspike/I-90 -- Natick exit, Eastbound, on the downhill before the exit. Only Nextel
drops; all other carriers OK. Reported to Nextel on 5/1/2001 and nothing done yet.  I-495
JCT MA-24 -- when heading North on I-495 towards MA-24 (or South after MA-24), coverage
gets very poor and frequently drops. Coverage is also poor at the MA-24 rest areas (NB and
SB sides). Nextel claims they need more towers there as of 6/2002; in the meantime drops
continue.
MA-2 -- at the sharp left turn (outbound)/traffic light approx. 4 miles west of
I-95/MA-128 right at the Mobile station. Calls suddenly drop. Other carriers are also
problematic there but none drop.

07/29/2002
MA-2 -- 3 miles west of I-495 JCT on a slight incline. Calls degrade and then drop or
become too distorted to listed to. CO/Boston (Cingular) does this too, but BAMS (Verizon)
is OK there. Nextel is the worst (other than Cingular) as it always drops or is so
distorted while traveling there that you basically need to hang up and dial again.
08/07/2002 MA-25 at Bourne Bridge and MA-28 to Falmouth -- Pretty poor coverage the entire
way from the Bridge rotary on the Cape side along MA-28 to Falmouth. Frequent drops and
more common poor coverage. Cingluar (CO/Boston) and Verizon (BAMS) are fine there, AT&T is
problematic. All are better than Nextel there.

     New Jersey
US1&9 (actually NJ-169) covered roadway west of Holland Tunnel. Calls initiated outside
(east) of the covered area drop approx 1000 ft. into the covered section. Red light on
phone comes on, meaning the phone can't establish a connection, and won't go back to green
until Kearney St. exit, well after you exit from the covered section. This is a heavily
traveled road and AT&T and Verizon fixed this years ago; Nextel managed to finally cover
the Holland (and Lincoln) Tunnel(s) on or about 2/2002 but a mile or so west they just
drop in the covered section.
I-80, Exit 37 (Mile Marker 37.8), Rockaway/Hibernia, both Eastbound and Westbound calls
drop rather precipitously. Problem has always existed, never fixed by Nextel despite being
called about this 5 times since May 2001. AT&T, BAMS/Verizon, and Sprint do not drop
there.  I-78, WB, at JCT NJ-24 (and where I-278 WOULD have connected had Jersey finished
the badly-neede route). Needs further verification -- some calls from NJ-24E TO I-78W do
not drop, so more testing is required, but there is a notable drop on WB I-=78 there.
I-78, MM 49.2, New Providence Exit, Westbound, as you travel on the newest section of I-78
(finished late 70s/early 80s?), after decent coverage at the animal bridge (an overpass
for animals!; no, NOT the NYC drivers who come to Jersey but actual animals :) ), coverage
degrades quickly right before the exit and by the time you are at the exit it has pretty
much dropped. Again, this is a major E/W highway in NJ where other carriers have no
similar observed problems in the general area on I-78.

US-22, at JCT CTY-531, more or less Dunellen(?). Heading WB, coverage degrades slowly and
then drops more or less around the Jersey-U where County 531 meets US-22. Yet again, a
heavily traveled road, where the other carriers evidence no discernable drops. Notified
Nextel on 6/11/2001, never received a response and as of 4/5/2002 calls still drop there.
NJ-208, passing through Wyckoff area, between NJ-4 and I-287; generally poor coverage,
with a large drop/hole in the Wyckoff exit area. Again, a relatively used freeway which
the other carriers no longer have many problems with. Also, along Skyline drive Nextel
drops at the apex of the hill, while Verizon holds nicely the whole way all the way to
Ringwood.

I-295, at MM 28, JCT NJ-168, just north of the I-76/I-295 split east of Philly. NB callers
from either I-76 transitioning onto I-295N or from I-295 N which were initiated south of
the I-76 JCT are dropped at the exit for NJ-168. Phone actually goes "red" there for a
while, indicating a coverage hole rather than just an inability to hand off? A major
highway junction in South Jersey which AT&T, Verizon (BAMS), and Cingular (Comcast) seem
to handle just fine.  GSP - "Metropark" area/NJ-27, Northbound and Southbound, just a few
miles north of the GSP/I-287 JCT. Northbound callers get dropped shortly after the rest
stop (near the big cell tower in the middle of the road near an overpass; apparently not a
Nextel tower or one with a Nextel antenna bank ;) ) about 3 miles north of the JCT with
I-287; Southbound callers get dropped at the Amtrak/NJ Transit bridge. (Calls placed from
Amtrak and NJ Transit at the silly EWR station generally drop by the time you get to the
Metropark station as well.) GSP - SB on the GSP just north of the JCT I-80 near the toll
plaza. Calls drop suddenly, especially from SB GSP to the E/WB + local exit transition
just south of the toll plaza. No other carrier appears to have similar problems there.
8/14/2002.

New Jersey Turnpike, NB and SB, calls get distorted and then completely drop at or about
MM 73. There are further drops and even spots of no coverage between MM 76 to 79. There
have been variances in the observed drops here, so maybe they are doing work in the area,
but in May 2002 it dropped 3 times on 3 different trips so it merits listing here.

Trenton - I-295/I-195/NJ-29 JCT - Calls originated on I-295N become distorted over Del.
River bridge on I-295, and drop entirely upon merging onto I-195E. (Additional poor
coverage at the Amtrak/NJTransit line just north of Trenton.)

     New York
NYC - Queens - on I-278 approx 1 mile north of the I-495 JCT as you head south on I-278.
Coverage gets choppy as you pass under the LIRR overpass, and then as you head up the
viaduct south of Queens Blvd. it drops.
NYC - Queens - I-495/LIE Eastbound on upper roadway just east of the I-278 JCT. Calls drop
at the apex of the elevated section. All other tested carriers have no problem there.  NYC
- Queens - Grand Central Parkway WB at JCT Cross Island Parkway (near mental facility
south of GCP/Union Turnpike JCT). Calls drop heading west as you cross over the CIP.) NYC
- Bronx - on I-87/Deegan, Southbound, calls drop under Alexander Hamilton Bridge (I-95
approach to GWB). Calls need to be initiated approx 1 mile to the north; a call will not
carry from that point to south of I-95. By the time you hit Yankee Stadium, the call has
dropped.  NYC - Bronx - on I-87/Deegan exit to 3rd Ave Bridge, upon exiting, call quality
gets poor, and at the McDonald's (to the right) as you make a right turn onto the bridge
approach, the phone light goes red, and any call drops.

NYC - Bronx - on I-87, heading south past Yankee Stadium, calls drop at around exit
3/138th Street.
NYC - Manhattan - FDR at approx 77th St, SB, drops by the time you get to the Hospital
overpass near the 63rd St. exit.
Westchester - I-95 2.5 miles south of the New Rochelle toll plaza, SB, before Mamaroneck
Ave, sudden drop.
Westchester - US-9 (freeway section) from JCT NY-129 (near Indian Point Nuclear plant)
north to Peekskill. In the middle of the approx 4 mile long freeway section, between the
two aforementioned endpoints, calls slowly degrade and eventually drop. All other tested
carriers (ie, everyone other than Nextel) work fine there and do not drop.
Suffolk County (Long Island) - on LIE/I-495 a drop all of a sudden EB at exit 71.  Taconic
State Parkway - at the Dutches / Putnam County Line, drops in both the northbound and
southbound directions (as well as many others on the Taconic; other carriers have varying
degrees of coverage on the Taconic but Nextel is at the lower end of the list).
     Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
I-95, NB and SB, just S. of Exit 7 between MM 20 and MM 21; drops pretty suddenly, likely
due to poor coverage (very weak signal is indicated in that area).
I-295 just south of JCT US-6; at the large interchange (built in anticipation of I-84
coming to Providence), heading south, calls get distorted, and then about a mile south of
the JCT of US-6 and I-295 along I-295 the calls just drops.
US-6 in Scituate and along the US-6 Bypass. Calls drop all over, from just west of I-295
as you go up the slight hill heading west along US-6, to the US-6/RI-101 split/traffic
light, to where US-6 Bypass rejoins US-6 west of the Scituate Reservoir, all the way to
the CT line. (It also drops at the CT line but so does everyone else.)
Connecticut
East Hartford, I-84 EB an WB, calls drop routinely on hill at JCT I-384. All other
carriers don't manifest this problem.
East Hartford to Manchester, I-384 EB/WB -- many drops from apex of I-384 near where it
currently ends and becomes US-6 (the freeway to Providence hasn't been built for 45 years!
:( ) all the way to JCT I-84 in Manchester, 09/16/2002.
West Hatford, I-84 EB and WB, calls distort and then drop between the CT-72
JCT/interchange and the US-6 and/or CT-4/Farmington Ave. exits. 08/20/2002.
Southington, I-84, EB, calls distort then drop from the EB hill before the CT-10/Queen St.
exit for Southington and will drop approx 1 mile east of the exit as you head east along
I-84. 08/20/2002 Chesire/Wolcot, I-84 EB and WB, just west of JCT I-691. As you go up/down
the large hill with the truck climbing lanes, calls get distorted and then drop. AT&T also
drops, all the others are fine. Nextel was notified of this on 3/10/2002 and said there
was nothing they could do until they added towers, although signal stregnth in the area is
generally good.
Waterbury, I-84, EB and WB, just west of CT-8 JCT. Calls drop quite suddenly, but
otherwise good coverage in the area. As usual, it seems it is just some sort of handoff
problem.
Middletown, CT-9, just north of Exit 10/Airport Rd/JCT CT-154 south of Middletown. As you
travel south of Midddletown on CT-9, after 65MPH zone starts up again, the road inclines
up a hill. Nextel drops at the apex of the hill heading back down, all other carriers
perform well there (this used to be a problem for other carriers, but only Nextel has not
remedied it as of yet). 08/15/2002.
Chesire, CT-9 north of Exit 8/Fox Hollow Rd., traveling south on CT-9, calls drop while
going up a hill just north of exit 8. 08/22/2002.
Deep River, CT-9, near exit 3, calls degrade SB past exit 3 towards exit 2 and the
I-95/CT-9 split. NB calls are OK till 1/2 mile before exit 3, and then start to degrade
and generally drop (daytime) or slowly recover (nighttime?) heading north. 8/16/2002.
Meritt Parkway (CT-15), Hamden, at Exit 60, NB starts getting bad through tunnel, gets
better as you approach exit 60, and then 1/4 of a mile south of exit 60 degrades and
suddenly drops. SB it starts getting bad at exit 60, and drops by the time you get into
the tunnel. No other carrier with the possible exception of Voicestream has this problem.
8/12/2002.
I-95. MM 21.6, Westport/Fairfield-ish :) (forgot the town I was passing), calls suddenly
drop. 8/9/2002.
Delaware
Del Mem Bridge/I-295 NB - calls originated NB at JCT I-95/I-295/DE-141 will drop at the
apex of the bridge or shortly after heading down to the Jersey side.
DC
Reservoir Road, Georgetown -- drops occur as you drive north between JCT with 37th Street
and Holden (sp?)

Corrected Problems
The following were problem drop areas but have apparently been corrected and/or no longer
suffer from regular/repeated drops.
New York
NYC - Queens/Manhattan - on Queensboro Bridge - calls drop both ways at or about the apex
of the Bridge. Sometimes
WB calls will not drop but the connection gets highly distorted. EB almost always drops
immediately at the apex of upper level,
more towards Queens-side on the lower. BAMS/Verizon and AT&T used to have the same problem
maybe 4 years ago, both
currently handle this just fine and rarely drop anymore. Corrected: 06/09/2002
NYC - Queens - I-495/LIE EB and WB at Lefrak City/Woodhaven/Queens Blvd overpass - calls
drop right around Lefrak
City. (I-495 is one of the busiest highways in the region and yet Nextel still has drops
there after being informed about it 2 years
ago.) (People with older i500s say they don't get dropped all the time there but newer
i2000s and the 80 series always seem to
have this problem. Any others notice this?) Corrected: 06/09/2002

http://www.wirelessnotes.org/nextel-drops.html

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