Caller: Hello?
Me: Yes.. Can you..
Caller: You’re really breaking up.
Me: Yes I know… can you..
Caller: I can’t — You’re really breaking up.
No, this is not a scene from a bad romantic comedy, this is a seemingly every call occurrence made from my cellphone in Battery Park City.
Added to the litany of issues I have with my iPhone 4 and my ever super human “death grip,” I’ve had quite enough with the cellular service, or lack thereof in this neighborhood.
In an effort to find some answers — or at the very least attempt to find some maps letting me know where in Battery Park City one would have the best shot at making an important call, an interesting website surfaced.
Cellreception.com is a cell review site which does product and service reviews throughout the United States. Although it’s pretty rudimentary in collecting data (you have to sift through piles of comments), sometimes leaving you to wonder if the phone issues are actually more user error than cell reception dead zones.
Some Battery Park City related complaints I found on the Internet include:
A Verizon Customer:
“Verizon’s signal fades in and out, and there is no consistency. Very high probability of call being dropped.” – Person in Rector Place
A Cingular/AT&T Customer:
“My roommate has Cingular and can only get reception in 1 corner of our apartment” – Person in Battery Park Area
A T-Mobile Customer:
“I live in NYC, Battery park city and I have had little or no service the last year I have been living here, The customer service is Horrible, THEY REALLY DO NOT CARE AND CANNOT FIX THE PROBLEM! tried to switch to a new phon(which they made me pay for, LOL) PLEASE DO NOT GO WITH T-MOBILE IN NYC, THIS IS HORRENDOUS SERVICE AND RECEPTION.” -Christine from Battery Park City
In another cell reeption data study, the Wall Street Journal had published an article stating that the worst cell reception areas are located in and around the West Side Highway. In an included reception map, the area near Battery Park City suggests that no one in our neighborhood ever experiences dropped calls. Which I find incredibly hard to believe.
According to the recent Nielsen study, only 92% of all cell phone calls go through in New York City. Those figures are not enough, what I really want to know is how many phone calls actually go through in Battery Park City.
So now we ask you the question: How is your cell service?
[poll id=”3″]
I have an iPhone 3GS and after many conference calls getting dropped, on days I worked from home, I got a skype subscription. Now, whenever someone calls me, I just tell them to hang up and that I’ll call them back through skype.
I have AT&T and there is pretty much no reception at all inside my BPC north apartment. Got a Microcell as soon as it became available last month. No problems since.
Personally I think the Verizon building on West Street has a jamming signal preventing AT&T customers (like myself) from getting good service. Of course, I’m kidding 🙂
But what gives with AT&T down here? I have to constantly remind my wife that reception on our Blackberries was just as horrendous as on our iPhones today…
wow – does this resonate! I moved from 50 Murray Street west four blocks to the Solaire last year and it’s almost comical (when it’s not) that my AT&T blackberry NEVER EVER works in my apartment. I’ve considered getting the microcell but what’s the point? as soon as I walk outside – or up to my roof – I have the SAME PROBLEM.
I did discover a 5 bar hot spot the other day while having a coffee at the new Pain Quotidien but generally speaking, this is a MAJOR problem which I’ve been told is related to our lovely green environment which doesn’t permit the installation of antennas in parks…
something’s gotta give! and articles like these are key to getting the situation addressed.
as for respondents who claim their calls never drop, they’re lying!
thanks for the forum,
Diane
Hooked up a ATT 3G Microcell the other day. All 5 bars came on within 45 minutes. Best $99 investment ever ;))
Got Sprint, never have problems except near the water but I expect that.
anybody stop to think about Hudson as the factor…airplane traffic…heavy boat traffic..also perhaps some sort of safety consideration?
From the previous comments, it seems like it’s the AT&T subscribers who are plagued with bad cell phone service in Battery Park City. My cellphone service provider is Verizonwireless and I don’t have any problems with making, receiving or staying connected to calls. My apartment is in the Visionaire, which is on the same street as the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park, about as far south in BPC as you can go.
I have both an AT&T and Verizon iPhone. They both have poor, spotty reception.