When I purchased my first cell phone in 1992, I went
with US Cellular because they had the best service in eastern Idaho, including
Island Park. Later the service was purchased by Alltel and eventually the area
was transferred to Verizon. I have stayed with the same service for 22 years
because it was by far the strongest signal in areas where I work and hunt.
Around the first of the year, I noticed a distinct drop
in Verizon Wireless’ cellular signal.
All three of our phones and our internet signal were all affected. I
attributed it to weather interference and chose to live with the inconvenience
until spring. Two weeks ago, I called the Verizon help desk and reported the
problem. A service ticket was initiated. One week later I was contacted by a
Verizon service employee with the results of the investigation.
She advised that the decrease in signal strength was not
due to an equipment failure but could be due to either the realignment or the
elimination of a tower. She said that the exact reason for the weaker signal
was “proprietary” and could not be divulged. When pressed on how the company
planned to resolve the problem, she said that Verizon had no immediate plans to
improve service.
Verizon has a map of service areas. Island Park is listed
as a non-priority area. The Verizon employee advised the area is low on the
list to improve the current signal. She offered to let me out of my contract if
I could find better service with another carrier. Unbelievable!
My response is to publish my experience, post it on my
blog and forward a copy to Verizon. I would suggest that if any other residents
have noticed a drop in their Verizon service as well, give them a call. I would
suggest contacting the local sales offices or better yet, drop in and complain
in person. While Verizon is advertising 4G service to the country, Island Park
should be grateful for any-G!
