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MetroPCS drops calls at specific points

I'm a happy MetroPCS subscriber.
MetroPCS has an interesting behavior of dropping calls at exactly the same location within a few yards when traveling. The calls will drop when traveling in one direction but not in the reverse direction. The drop points are more frequent on back streets and more widely spaced on the interstates.

I've learned where these drop points are in my area so I can work around them. I've been metroPCS subscriber for about 3 years.

I experience good solid connections provided I don't travel through a drop point.

I'm about 95% sure that the issue is with the MetroPCS switching system, not the phones and not the available signal level. I can demonstrate the issue 100% reliably in a high signal spot in San Jose CA.

To demonstrate this, drive your car from the intersection of Lawrence Expresseay on Stevens Creek Blvd towards San Jose. About 200 yards before you reach Saratoga and Stevens Creek the signal level with start to fluctuate wildly from low to high. Move slowly towards Saratoga and the phone disconnects from the network. About a minute later it reconnects with very high signal level. To repeat the process you have to start again from Lawrence Expressway. Driving in the reverse direction has no disconnection. As a side consequence I consistently get better signal traveling in one direction than the reverse direction in weak signal areas, usually back streets.

My suspicion is that lots of money was saved using a home brew switching system vs buying the switching systems that companies like Verizon have. This issue has created a user impression that MetroPCS drops a lot of calls and is low quality service.

Outside this call dropping behavior, service is pretty good.

I'm hoping they will get motivated to fix it on day when PCs get powerful enough to handle the job (I'm guessing they are using PCs for the switch job).

Posted by: reqadr@...   Posted on: 09/05/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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