Hello, you're in the dead zone
Region's cellphone users still have problems making, keeping connections
You're driving along, talking on your phone. It could be something as mundane as trying to determine which cereal to pick up at the grocery store or as crucial as trying to seal a business deal.
Then come the unexplained silences, the fragments of talk, and the sudden realization that the other person's just not there.
You've been trapped. In a cellphone dead zone.
Even as cellular phones have become necessities of modern life and companies have tried to improve service, it's still possible to find yourself in a dead zone in Boston's western suburbs, according to residents and a survey by Globe West.
''Our area is full of cellphone dead spots," said Stephanie Price, a 33-year-old Cingular Wireless subscriber who lives in the Waban section of Newton. ''There is literally no way to drive to my house and not drop a call."
To examine how reliably the phones work these days, a Globe West reporter took comparable phones from the four companies serving Massachusetts -- Cingular Wireless,
Calls were made on each phone from the same location within a one-minute period, and a record was kept of whether calls went through clearly on the first try, had an obviously weak connection, or failed to connect after three attempts.
A total of 480 phone calls were made from 120 locations ranging from Newton to Boylston and from Norfolk to Lincoln.
Sixty-two of the calls, or about 13 percent, didn't connect on the first try.
The communities with the most dead spots were Lincoln and Boylston, which each had six. About one-fourth of the calls placed in those towns did not go through. The main thoroughfares -- the Mass. Pike, Route 128, and Interstate 495 -- had the best coverage. Of the 23 communities where a call was placed, only three -- Millis, Natick, and Stow -- did not have at least one dead zone.
Cellphone company spokesmen readily conceded that their coverage is not perfect, and said they continue to work on installing new towers to improve service.
''We're never satisfied with our coverage," said John Redman, New England communications manager for Sprint Nextel. ''Seasoned users recognize that no matter which carrier they use, there's going to be some areas where you can't use your phone."
The cellphone representatives say coverage won't be at 100 percent any time soon because of two limitations: they can't place towers everywhere; and existing towers can only support so many calls, so during peak hours some callers may be shut out.
''I don't anticipate anything in the near term that we would say we are done," said Gerald Marquis, a New England representative for T-Mobile. ''It will be achievable, but it's certainly years away. The industry is still relatively in its infancy. Just like at the turn of the century there was wiring providing electricity. It takes a good amount of time to provide that reliability."
The companies frequently monitor which calls get dropped, and they do their own tests to see how their phones -- and those of their competitors -- work in a given area. Verizon, for example, each month sends out 50 computer-equipped vehicles that travel 100,000 miles nationally and make 300,000 calls to test signals to make sure calls go through the first time, according to Michael Murphy, a New England Verizon spokesman.
The results of these tests, which the companies keep private for competitive reasons, are used to target areas in need of a new tower.
Viewed in a positive light, the Globe West survey found reception to be pretty good, with about 87 percent of the calls going through the first time.
But with cellphones becoming ubiquitous -- to the point that many people are now canceling land lines and using cellphones as their only service -- the results seem less impressive. Consider your reaction if the television failed to turn on one out of 10 times you pushed the power button. Or if the electricity went out 36 days a year.
Or consider what would happen if you were in Lincoln -- an area notorious for its bad reception -- and your car broke down in the middle of a snowy night and you needed to call for help.
The survey was by no means definitive; with all the variables involved, if the same test were done again it would likely produce different results. In addition, the survey only measured the ability to start a call with each carrier in a given location. It suggests that a call already started may only briefly fade out in that area. Then again, nearly all calls were placed from a stationary car without the obstruction of bricks and mortar that many callers have to hurdle from a home, office, or shopping mall.
All the calls were placed on a weekday between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Those hours meant that the survey missed rush-hour periods when commuters using their phones might in some locations ''max out" the available capacity of cell sites, causing some users to get an all-circuits-busy message. On the other hand, the survey missed night and weekend times when network performance could be expected to improve because fewer subscribers would be competing for service.
A similar survey done by the Globe four years ago that examined all of Eastern Massachusetts found similar results. In that survey, about 90 percent of all calls went through on the first try, and Lincoln was again one of the least connected communities.
A Consumer Reports survey released this month found that users rank cellphone carriers below services such as hotels, supermarkets, digital cable TV in terms of customer satisfaction. About one-third of the 50,515 Consumer Reports subscribers who responded to the survey nationwide said they were seriously considering changing providers.
In the Boston area, the survey found that users are most satisfied with Verizon and least satisfied with Nextel, which has since merged with Sprint.
Part of the problem is that several companies have merged in recent years, and their formerly competing systems aren't always compatible. AT&T Wireless merged with Cingular in October 2004, for example, and the Cingular towers and the AT&T towers right now are not communicating, which leads to spotty coverage. Technicians are hoping to fix the system in Massachusetts by June, according to Kate MacKinnon, New England spokeswoman for Cingular Wireless. Similarly, Sprint and Nextel completed a merger last August and their systems right now use different technologies.
It has also been difficult for companies to find places to build towers as residents and community leaders raise concerns, either over real or imagined health hazards or worries about putting up an eyesore.
Wayland voters in November narrowly approved a new wireless district on Reeves Hill, clearing the way for the first town-approved cell tower to be built. Cingular Wireless had to take the town to court, though, before the tower could be built.
For many callers, though, it matters little why there are no towers. They just care that their phone isn't working. Some commuters even develop routines after learning where the dead spots are.
A query placed on the Globe's boston.com website yielded dozens of responses from people who had complaints about their reception in areas west of Boston.
''When I was commuting from Cambridge I learned to sign off before I crossed the Waltham line into Lincoln," said Jo Seraphin, a 50-year-old Sudbury resident who uses T-Mobile. ''All of Lincoln is a black hole. I've never found a pocket of service there. The same dead zone plagues Wayland."
''It is odd that in a town like Lincoln, where I would imagine every man, woman and child has a cellphone, that cell service appears to be totally lacking," said Tom Sherwin, a 56-year-old management consultant from Framingham who says he always loses coverage around Walden Pond. ''Driving through Lincoln means a 100 percent chance of losing your connection."
Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.
Breaking up is easy to do
Jo Seraphin, Sudbury, T-Mobile
''There are dead zones throughout MetroWest. When I was commuting from Cambridge I learned to sign off before I crossed the Waltham line into Lincoln. All of Lincoln is a black hole. I've never found a pocket of service there. The same dead zone plagues Wayland. Although if I am lucky, I can get a call through heavy static/noise. In our Sudbury home, it seems that the phone service provider is key. I have no difficulty using my cellphone at home. My son, on the other hand, must stand in the yard to obtain service. Go figure."
Tom Sherwin, Framingham,
''I think it is odd that in a town like Lincoln, where I would imagine every man, woman and child has a cellphone, that cell service appears to be totally lacking. Driving through Lincoln means a 100 percent chance of losing your connection."
Paul Demko Jr., Berlin, Cingular
''I drive to work every weekday on Route 117 -- from Bolton to Waltham at Route 128. I subscribe to Cingular had find several completely dead zones driving through Sudbury, Lincoln, and Weston. Colleagues tell me that Verizon phones suffer no such dead zones, but I have no personal experience."
Stephanie Price, Newton, Cingular
''I live in the Waban section of Newton, and our area is full of cellphone dead spots. There is literally no way to drive to my house and not drop a call. Major dead spots include: Comm. Ave. and Chestnut, Beacon and Chestnut, Woodward and Chestnut, Beacon and Beethoven. I'm not sure if it is related to the giant TV and radio towers just over the border in Needham, but I wish they would rectify the situation."
Ellen Dorian, Watertown, Cingular
''As a business coach, I rely on my cellphone to be available to my clients. So, it's very frustrating that there are so many dead spots in my area. I consistently lose service when in Belmont at Cushing Square. I also experience consistent loss of service in Newtonville near the Mass. Pike. There are several dead spots in Lexington as well, especially between Woburn Four Corners and Lexington Center, and on 128 in the Hanscom Field area."
