Phone coverage and wireless at USNA

gwensgarden2@verizon.net

5-Year Member
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Jul 4, 2010
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Does anyone have recommendations on the best cell phone service? My At & T worked well during I day, but I hear certain dorms don't get reception. Thoughts? Do they use iphones? There didn't seem to be any wireless on campus. Is there wireless in town? I was liking the fact that I could web cam with my son's 4g (if he buys one)....but it only works on wireless/router not on 4g network.

Right now I just send a cheapy pay as you go for plebe summer's 3 calls.

tx
 
My son has AT&T i phone, the 3 G one I think. Worked beautifully from his dorm room on the north side of Bancroft all year. He is housed for block 2 summer training on the opposite side of Mother B and it is doing well there also.

Don't mean to discourage you, but, as plebes they do not have much time to talk on the phone anyway. We heard from ours maybe once a week. This is not like civilian college, where you can call your kiddo all the time, as they are running to class (no walking and talking at USNA ....in uniform.....which is all the time!) or whenever. Study time every night, no calls then.

Son did have a roomie who talked hours after lights out to his gf in California nearly every night. Nothing they could say would deter him. His grades suffered. Son and other room mate requested different situation for second semester and got re-arranged.

You see mids out on various portions of Red Beach on the phone, trying for a bit of privacy and service! Basically, I wouldn't worry about it too much as they don't have much time to chat anyway.

There is no wireless on the yard for visitors. Silly DoD rules and such!
 
In my experience Verizon has the best coverage in Annapolis (on the yard and otherwise) and throughout the Northeast. At the same time if you do not get coverage at a certain spot on the yard with any carrier, there is always a spot within a short walk where you can. Not worth changing carriers.
 
Service from inside the room is as much luck of room draw as it is carrier. Sometimes you can find service in a hallway, but that doesn't really help plebes all that much. Outside bancroft, verizon worked pretty well, but it's all pretty similar.
 
My DD started Plebe year with T-Mobile and had reception in her room in Bancroft Hall only if she stood on the windowsill leaning - not too good.

Switched to Verizon and no problem since switching but she was also in a different room second semester. I think what everyone has said so far is true, reception depends on your location in Bancroft Hall and on the Yard.

GoNavyMom
 
My Plebe started with Verizon and had terrible service in both 1st and 3rd wings. Switched to ATT and had much better service in bancroft. He and his roommates got bluetooth earpieces for their cells, parked the cell on the windowsill and then each had "reception" in the room.

In DTA - Starbucks and Citydock Cafe have wireless.

Also remember that you can not pug a none issued DOD device (or I understand now one swept by the IT staff) into a DOD Network.
 
There is no wireless on the yard for visitors. Silly DoD rules and such!

There's no wireless at the Naval Academy even for the midshipmen.

And it's not a DoD-thing because USMA and USAFA both have wireless.

The netbooks they get issued cannot connect to non-DoD wireless services and since there is no wireless, the netbooks are basically worthless as far as the internet goes. My sons tell me that it makes an excellent door jam, however.

Also, the internet is deplorably slow at certain times of the time when basically the entire Brigade is in their rooms.

For all the tax dollars that go into the Naval Academy, their internet connectivity is WORSE than your local community college.

I could never quite understand it.
 
what about Metro PCS? Is anyone familiar with the coverage level at USNA or NAPS?
 
Also, the internet is deplorably slow at certain times of the time when basically the entire Brigade is in their rooms.

Sounds like they need to start blocking access to social networking sites and messenger ports during study hours....maybe that will clear up some bandwidth?
 
Sounds like they need to start blocking access to social networking sites and messenger ports during study hours....maybe that will clear up some bandwidth?

It sure would. Lots of Mids might have higher grades, too.
 
Nimitz Library has wireless access.

Actually if more mids actually went to the library to study rather than stay in the hall with all of the halls distractions grades would be better. My new 2Lt would tell you that getting in the habit of going to the library to study as a Plebe will serve you much better than staying in Bancroft.

Social networking sites take very little band width. My Mid said it has much more to do with streaming video and Internet Radio...
 
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