2020

Consumer Generated Cell Phone Coverage Maps

GotReception.com

SignalMap.com

Consumer-generated cell phone coverage maps are maps that are created by individuals or consumers to provide information about the quality and availability of cell phone coverage in specific areas. These maps are typically created using data collected from users' personal experiences and observations, rather than relying solely on data provided by the cellular network operators.

There are several reasons why consumers create and use these maps:

Accuracy and Real-time Information: Consumer-generated maps can provide up-to-date information on cell phone coverage in a particular area. Since the data is collected by users who are actively using their cell phones, these maps can reflect the actual performance and quality of the network at any given time.

Unbiased and Independent Data: Unlike coverage maps provided by cellular network operators, consumer-generated maps are not influenced by marketing or promotional efforts. Users provide data based on their personal experiences, which can help provide a more unbiased and independent view of the actual coverage.

Crowd-sourced Data: Consumer-generated maps often rely on crowd-sourced data, which means that many users contribute their data to create a comprehensive view of coverage across different locations. This collaborative approach allows for a broader and more detailed coverage map compared to individual assessments.

Community-driven Efforts: Consumer-generated coverage maps are often part of community-driven efforts to improve the transparency and accuracy of information about cell phone coverage. Communities can use these maps to identify areas with poor coverage or network issues and advocate for improvements from cellular network operators.

It's important to note that consumer-generated cell phone coverage maps may not always be 100% accurate or comprehensive. The data collected depends on user participation, and coverage can vary depending on factors such as the user's specific device, network technology, and local geography. However, these maps can still serve as a valuable resource for individuals seeking insights into cell phone coverage in different areas.

What is CheapOAir & Is It Legit?

What experiences have you had booking through CheapOAir? I am booking a flight and found the site is $100 cheaper than every other site including Kayak, Travelocity, Orbitz, and the airline's website. It sounds too good to be true? Has anyone had any experience with the service?

Tips:

Be mindful of the fact that you are buying tickets for consolidators. If you do not know what that means, you may want to do a Google search. With them, there is nothing wrong, but you should be an educated customer. When you book from a third party, read your ticket's terms and conditions carefully. You will normally pay additional fees that are not levied by the airlines.

Perhaps the largest value with them right now would be their buy now, pay later tickets. If you want to buy a ticket after you are hoping Covid will end, a low deposit could help you minimize your financial loss, should the pandemic stretch out longer than planned for.

If you are inclined to change your own itinerary, Cheapo is not for you, because the fees are steep.

The only problem that came up is the same sort of problem you get with using most third-parties. When I missed my connecting flight due to a storm delay on my first flight, it was hell trying to talk to someone about getting a new flight and accommodations for the night since I didn't book through the airline. Still a cheap flight, though.

There were quite a few additional fees, buying checked bags, etc. that showed up as you completed the purchase that brought the price up.

What is CheapOAir?

CheapOair partners with more than 400 carriers, including Air France, Jet Blue, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines. Comparing airline, hotel, or cruise options and booking them at your leisure is simple on the online travel platform. Every fare comes with the price-match guarantee of CheapOair-if you find a cheaper price within 24 hours of booking for the very same itinerary, CheapOair matches it and refunds you the difference.

Signing up with CheapOair helps you to control your travel directly from your account, review previous transactions, and monitor flights. For every $1 spent, members will have the added advantage of collecting points, which can lead to discounts of up to 20 percent for flights and 55 percent on hotel bookings.

Members can also gain points by recommending to friends and family members or by using a credit card from CheapOair, which can be used to earn points for regular transactions, flights, hotels, and car rentals.

CheapOair lets you browse cheap flight offers through its online booking system at more than 30,000 domestic and foreign locations. To have discounted stays, the organization also partners with hotels, motels, and resorts. With Enterprise, Alamo, and Budget by CheapOair, you can get additional savings.

CheapOair's service rates start at $25 per ticket and extend on all domestic or international U.S. flights. Because of special circumstances, these fees can vary, including business and first-class airfares or fares for unaccompanied minors. The table below shows the most common service fees from CheapOair.

Here is more info on CheapOAir fees.

Where Does AT&T Have 5G & 5G+ Coverage?

By committing to 5G requirements back in 2016, AT&T began running on a 5G network. Presently, with their low-band and millimeter wave spectrum network, they are already serving customers. The coverage map of AT&T 5G includes 190 regions of approximately 120 million individuals by April 2020. Of these, the low-band network encompasses 80 million individuals.

Draining your battery life with iOS 14? You're not the only owner of an iPhone with that problem.

Apple iPhone owners have complained about their battery life being dramatically shortened after updating their smartphone to the latest operating system, known as iOS 14, which launched on September 16, 2020, worldwide.

First off, installing a new OS on an iPhone triggers a lot of stuff to go on in the background, from indexing to recalibrating the battery, and this can go on for hours or even days. Not only does this consume power, but the battery recalibration can give the impression that the battery is draining more rapidly. Add to this the dual-factor that accompanies a new release and several software updates, coupled with a ton and new functionality available that can bring further drain on an older smartphone.

My advice stays the same -- turn off the Health App don't worry about your iPhone's battery for a week or so after installing a new iOS. It takes time for things to normalize. If you go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and the message is that it is good for Peak Performance Capability, then it's either just the normal stuff going on or a bug.

I suspect that having the health app do contact tracing running the background doesn't help also. Read more about what does the iOS health app contact tracing do? Contact tracing is part of the process of supporting patients and warning contacts of exposure in order to stop chains of transmission. It works by logging when two people have been in close proximity to each other for a substantial period of time. If one of the users is later diagnosed as having the disease, an alert can be sent to others they have recently been close to, telling them that they should also get tested and/or self-isolate. This likely requires a lot of processing power in the background of your phone.

Note that rolling back to iOS 13 doesn't help here because that too would be a new operating system, and would need to go through that initial setup period before things settled down.

Not only could there be bugs in iOS 14 that affect battery life, but developers have been given almost no time to release apps that are ready for iOS 14, so problems are to be expected.

So yes, I know it's annoying, but just charge your iPhone more, and keep a power bank or wireless charging pad nearby and see if things settle down after a few days.

For Apple Watch owners

I would recommend unpairing and re-pairing your watch to your phone. It will save all your faces, apps, and settings in the process and it solved the battery drain issue for me. I had to charge my watch multiple times a day after updating to watchOS 7. Then I repaired it and now I get the same or better battery life than I had before the iOS 14 and watchOS 7 updates.

Please add any additional comments or suggestions below . . .

iOS 14 Wifi and Battery issues Continue After Bug Fix Update

On September 16, Apple launched iOS 14 for all compatible iPhones and also rolled out the iOS 14.0.1 update after just one week. Some problems that came along with the iOS 14 update were resolved by this update. But it seems the latest update has some glitches in it as well.

To fix bugs that were reported in the iOS 14 update, Apple released iOS 14.0.1. The bugs addressed in this update were:

Fixes a problem that could trigger your iPhone to reset the default browser and mail settings after restarting
Addresses a problem that could prevent displays of camera previews on iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
Fixes a problem that might impede the connection of your iPhone to Wi-Fi networks
Solve a problem that could prohibit some mail providers from sending an email
Addresses a problem that might prevent the appearance of photos in the News widget

To fix the above-mentioned problems, Apple has rolled out this new update, but after downloading it, the bugs still continue to pop up. There were some unfixed issues and the update came along with some new issues.

These include problems with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and widespread problems with widgets. Keyboard lag, device instability, and weak battery life are the latest bugs identified following the update.

This is the beginning of a big update, and in the upcoming updates, there will be some bugs that will be repaired. Apple is looking forward to the 14.0.2 update to iOS that will address these problems.

Resetting network settings -- go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings -- helps some people experiencing connectivity issues, but for others does nothing other than creating the hassle of having to add back devices and networks.

Performance aside, here’s the list of devices that are supported.

Supported iPhone models

iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max
iPhone XR
iPhone X
iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus
iPhone 6S
iPhone 6S Plus
iPhone SE (1st and 2nd generation)

Supported iPad models

iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation)
iPad Pro 11-inch (1st and 2nd generation)
iPad Pro 10.5-inch
iPad Pro 9.7-inch
iPad (5th, 6th, and 7th generation)
iPad mini (4th and 5th generation)
iPad Air (2nd and 3rd generation)

FCC Finally Cracking Down On “Spoofing Phone Calls"

The FCC reports that more than $3 billion a year could be saved by cracking down on robocalls, adding that fraudulent robocalls have cost Americans about $10 billion annually.

"American consumers are sick and tired of unwanted robocalls, this consumer among them. Caller ID authentication will be a significant step toward ending the scourge of spoofed robocalls. It's time for carriers to implement robust caller ID authentication." – FCC Chairman Ajit Pai

The FCC ordered telephone companies earlier this year to introduce new technologies for caller ID authentication by June 2021. The FCC is now clarifying, stating that carriers should not charge surprise fees for caller ID features to customers.

Modern technology, known as STIR / SHAKEN, enables phone companies to check that caller ID information actually matches the phone number of the caller. The principle is to curtail the use of "spoofing," where phone calls are concealed and made to appear like a credible or trustworthy source is coming from.

In order to be able to incorporate the STIR / SHAKEN technology, the FCC needs phone companies to update their networks if necessary. At the June 2021 deadline, the FCC will include some "tiny extensions" for small businesses that are unable to upgrade on time.

STIR / SHAKEN 's widespread introduction would decrease the efficacy of illegal spoofing, make it easier for law enforcement to detect bad actors, and help telephone companies recognize and even block calls with illegal spoofed caller ID information until their customers enter those calls. Most importantly, when they answer the telephone, it will give consumers more peace of mind, ”FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement.

What Does STIR/SHAKEN Mean?

STIR/SHAKEN is a framework of interconnected standards. STIR/SHAKEN are acronyms for the Secure Telephone Identity Revisited (STIR) and Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using Tokens (SHAKEN) standards. This means that calls traveling through interconnected phone networks would have their caller ID "signed" as legitimate by originating carriers and validated by other carriers before reaching consumers. STIR/SHAKEN digitally validates the handoff of phone calls passing through the complex web of networks, allowing the phone company of the consumer to receive the call to verify that a call is in fact from the number displayed on Caller ID.

How to prevent spam phone calls on iPhone?

Southwest Airlines Canceling Flights & Major Scheduling Problems

Something happened with Southwest Airline's automated rescheduling of flights in the last few days. I talked with a customer service representative today who said 90% of the calls today were regarding this scheduling issue. Flights are getting consolidated but aren't being rebooked correctly.

We recommend that you double-check what flight Southwest Airlines rescheduled you. I had two one way flights that were changed wildly incorrectly.

Thankfully Southwest Airlines has wonderful customer service and will accommodate your needs but it will require a phone call likely to make a change. It also won't cost you anything and you might possibly benefit from changing the flight to a better time or date.

Here is the sample email letter you will receive.

We want to make you aware of a change we’ve made to your upcoming trip. This was done proactively due to a Southwest flight schedule change on your day of travel.

Please review your new itinerary below. Your reservation is confirmed and no further action is required.

In the event this new itinerary does not work for you, we are offering the opportunity to change your flight date(s) and/or time(s) by up to 14 days from the original travel date at no additional cost in accordance with our established re-accommodation practices.

For expedited service, you can change your flight at www.southwest.com/rebook3 within three days of the delivery of this email. Flights with no additional cost will display as “Available”. Should you need further assistance, you can reach a Southwest Representative at 1-800-IFLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792). * Please keep in mind that wait times may be very high at this time.

We look forward to seeing you onboard soon.

-Your friends at Southwest

How to Recover a Stolen Phone

We use our phones for everything. Our phones keep track of our appointments, store important information, and help us keep track of the world around us. If your phone has been stolen, then you probably feel like a major piece of your life is missing. Worse, your data is in danger of being used by the wrong people.

Even if your phone has a passcode, it’s important to protect and recover your data as soon as possible. With Drivestrike, protecting that data is simple. Whether or not you have Drivestrike, though, here’s a guide that may help you recover your phone and protect your information.

How to Recover Your Phone with Drivestrike

If you have Drivestrike, issue a remote wipe immediately. This action will remove all of the data that can be used to steal your identity, harm your company, or perform any other threat.

Next, is your phone a company resource? Does it contain company information? If so, notify your manager and IT team right away so that they can safeguard their data.

After that, you should notify the police that your phone has been stolen. Use your Drivestrike account to access your phone’s location, and then let the police know where it is. You can also use Drivestrike to access helpful information like your phone’s serial number, which will aid the police even further.

Finally, we recommend changing the passwords of any accounts that you used on your phone. This action can provide some protection in case your data was accessed before you performed the remote wipe. It doesn't fully guarantee protection, but it does decrease your chances of data theft.

How to Recover Your Phone if You Don’t Have Drivestrike

Without Drivestrike, recovering your phone and its data will be more complicated, but it’s not impossible.

First, if you’ve stored usernames and passwords in your phone, change those usernames and passwords immediately to protect your data, and implement two-factor authentication whenever possible.

Next, if your phone was issued by your company, or if your phone contains company information, let your manager and IT team know that the phone was stolen.

Now, if you have any information about your phone, including details like the make, model, and serial number, keep those details in mind. You can use that information when you contact the police. If you don’t have that information, contact your phone carrier. They can provide the information and disable your phone remotely.

Now that you have the information you need, consider the details of the theft. When and where do you think your phone was stolen? This information will give the police a general idea of how they might recover your phone. For instance, if you think that your phone was stolen in a place with security cameras, the police may access those cameras to get a description of the thief.

Finally, you can check eBay and local pawn shops to see if the thief has attempted to sell your phone.

Use Drivestrike in Case of Phone Theft

It’s difficult but not impossible to install Drivestrike on a stolen phone. We may be able to entice the thief to install Drivestrike under a different name. If we’re successful, we can remotely wipe the data from the phone and determine its location.

Once your phone has been recovered, or once you get a new one, we recommend installing Drivestrike on your device. Drivestrike protects your important data in case of theft or loss, and it’s available for less than $1 per device per month when protecting multiple devices.

Please contact Drivestrike if we can help you during this time. Phone loss is a stressful situation, and our team is here to help.

T-Mobile Giving 10M Children's Homes Free Wi-Fi

Students are struggling each day with online learning due to unreliable Wi-Fi. This morning, over 15,000 student households in five school districts have been gifted with free internet access, as many children struggle with online learning in the midst of the latest coronavirus pandemic due to poor Wi-Fi.

Good Morning America, "the surprise announced today to students attending five Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania, Jackson, Mississippi, Baltimore, Maryland, Santa Fe, New Mexico and South Bend, Indiana public school districts." Thanks to T-Mobile's Project 10Million, a campaign that aims to gradually get free Wi-Fi to 10 million student households in the US, they will now have five years of free internet access in their homes.

According to the Center for Democracy and Technology, of the 50 million children studying remotely, between 15 and 16 million lack sufficient internet access. As a result, to join online courses, many students have switched to fast food restaurants or school parking lots.

SURPRISE! @ReeveWill had a BIG gift for a South Bend, Indiana school district that will help students get connected to WiFi and bridge the digital divide crisis amid COVID-19. https://t.co/Q03jriTjDj pic.twitter.com/Edcv3tA5jD
— Good Morning America (@GMA) September 30, 2020

Even before the pandemic struck, the digital divide was real, with many households lacking internet access due to ethnic, economic, and regional disparities.

20,000 families were without internet service in Baltimore, which is equal to 40,000 students. And 40 percent of students do not have internet access in indigenous communities in New Mexico.

Through its program, Project 10Million, which offers affordable internet connectivity for free to students who do not have access to it, T-Mobile has provided hot spots with free data for five years in South Bend, where public schools have deployed Wi-Fi buses to communities that need it most.

How is Verizon's New 5G Home Gateway Any Better Than Fast Wifi?

Is it true that in many cases it is faster and cheaper than the internet or “WiFi” from your cable or telco company?

Verizon 5G may be getting a lot bigger. Today Verizon exclusively revealed to PCMag that it's launching the first 5G home router powered by Qualcomm's long-awaited QTM527 antenna, which has the potential to greatly expand the range of the carrier's fast, but short-distance millimeter-wave 5G.

The new router, made by Wistron for Verizon, can be placed inside by a window, so there's no external install needed. A smartphone app guides you on where to put the unit. The device has Wi-Fi 6 and one Ethernet port. The Ethernet port is important because Verizon's millimeter-wave system is sometimes faster than the maximum speed of Wi-Fi routers; in tests in my neighborhood, I've gotten up to 1.7Gbps. Boulben said home users will get between 300Mbps and a gigabit.

For a while now, Verizon executives have been talking about this: the latest customer premises equipment (CPE) that is going to make its 5G Home fixed wireless access (FWA) offering so much more convincing. Well, it's finally coming to eight cities, including two new cities beginning on October 1 in Verizon's 5G Home Internet coverage area: Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The 5G Home Internet equipment, including a single-device 5G internet receiver and Wi-Fi router, was designed for the user to easily set up in their home. It comes in a single package and consumers can find the perfect location for mounting on a wall or window using a mobile app; the 5G gateway can confirm that a 5G signal is usable.

Wistron NeWeb Corporation (WNC), an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) based in Taiwan, is the maker of the CPE hardware. Verizon announced that the home router is operated by the long-awaited QTM527 antenna from Qualcomm, which PC Mag first mentioned.

Verizon notes that including step-by-step instructions, all the user requires to install the unit is in the box. The operator didn't say how long it would take to set it up; during an earnings call in July, CEO Hans Vestberg suggested that he expected the self-installation to be less than an hour. It beats the old paradigm of waiting weeks for an installer to come into the home to set it up, although that didn't happen. Verizon is promising to do it for them for those who don't want to set it up themselves.

The company says that clients can expect average speeds of about 300 Mbps and maximum speeds of up to 1 Gbps, depending on the venue.

For Verizon subscribers, the cost of the service is $50 per month and $70 per month for non-Verizon subscribers. Verizon is tossing in YouTube TV for one month and Disney+ for one year for potential 5 G Home Internet users to entice customers. It also throws in a free Amazon Smart Home Package for smart home fans, which includes an Echo Display 5, Ring Stick Up Cam, Echo Dot, and Amazon Smart Plug.

In areas of Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, Verizon provides its 5 G Home Internet service, in addition to Minneapolis and St. Paul. The new equipment is available in all those cities except Sacramento, where the 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) variant will be converted by customers in 2021.

Through this service, Verizon has said it plans to be in parts of 10 cities by the end of 2020. According to a spokesman, the 5G Home Internet product is designed to use millimeter wave (mmWave) signals at 28 GHz and 39 GHz.

"The new 5G Internet Gateway from Verizon is a game-changer for our customers," said Frank Boulben, Verizon's SVP of Consumer Marketing and Products, in a statement. "The extension of 5G Home Internet to new markets with new and enhanced hardware would provide consumers with the convenience and efficiency to enjoy more digital interactions and increased productivity from the comfort of their home, with people spending more time at home during these tough times."

Verizon suggested earlier this year that it would not wait for its 5G Home service to be completely baked, introducing an FWA service using its 4G LTE network. The LTE service helps the company to grow and develop beyond its Fios and 5G Home footprints into more rural areas.

Major AT&T Wireless Outage For Customers in South East

Yesterday, according to DownDetector.com, reports of problems are coming from Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Spartanburg, and Charlotte, N.C. According to the site, reports started coming in shortly before 10 a.m. and exceeded 3,000 complaints.

South Carolina customers of AT&T experience phone outages throughout the state.

While the official AT&T and DirecTV Service Outages website shows "all clear," Downdetector.com, which reports internet and utility company outages, shows that service outages are recorded in the state of South Carolina and parts of North Carolina and Georgia.

Shortly after 4 p.m. a spokesman for AT&T released this statement on the matter:

“We worked quickly to restore service for customers in South Carolina who experienced interruptions caused by an equipment failure. We apologize for the inconvenience.” Here is an AT&T Map.

Is there an @ATT outage in SC?
— Darci Strickland (@DarciWLTX) September 28, 2020

Wireless networks are the backbone of modern communication, connecting millions of people every day for work, family, entertainment, and emergencies. But when outages occur, they can disrupt entire regions and impact millions of users. Recently, AT&T customers across the Southeastern United States experienced a major wireless outage that left many without service for hours. This event highlighted both the vulnerability of large-scale networks and the importance of resilience in the digital age. In this article, we explore what happened, why outages occur, the impact on customers, and what AT&T is doing to prevent future disruptions.

What Happened During the Outage?

AT&T customers in states such as Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee reported widespread issues with mobile voice and data services. Many were unable to make or receive calls, send text messages, or access the internet. Reports began flooding into outage tracking platforms and social media within minutes. While the exact technical cause has not been fully disclosed, preliminary reports suggested a problem with AT&T’s core network routing equipment. Outages like this typically originate from software glitches, hardware failures, or maintenance errors, rather than physical damage to towers.

The Scale of the Disruption

The outage affected millions of customers across multiple states, including businesses, schools, and emergency services. Retail stores relying on wireless point-of-sale systems reported delays, while remote workers were forced offline. For individuals, the outage meant interrupted communication with family and friends. Although Wi-Fi connections helped some users stay online, those relying exclusively on cellular networks were left disconnected. Outages of this scale demonstrate how deeply dependent society has become on wireless services for daily functioning.

Impact on Emergency Services

One of the most concerning aspects of the outage was its effect on emergency communications. In certain areas, 911 centers reported difficulty receiving calls from AT&T customers. While backup systems helped minimize disruptions, such incidents highlight the risks when critical infrastructure fails. For first responders, reliable wireless communication is essential. Any disruption can delay emergency responses, potentially putting lives at risk.

How Customers Reacted

Social media platforms quickly filled with posts from frustrated AT&T users. Many reported dropped signals and complete service blackouts, while others experienced intermittent connectivity. Hashtags related to the outage trended across Twitter and Facebook, amplifying customer frustration. Some users shared workarounds, such as using Wi-Fi calling or switching temporarily to messaging apps like WhatsApp or Signal. These real-time reactions underscored how quickly news of outages spreads and how reliant people are on instant connectivity.

AT&T’s Response

AT&T acknowledged the outage through official statements, apologizing to customers and working to restore service as quickly as possible. Engineers were dispatched to identify and correct the problem. The company also coordinated with local authorities to ensure emergency systems were supported during the downtime. Within hours, most affected customers saw their service gradually restored. AT&T later confirmed that no cyberattack or security breach was involved, attributing the outage to a technical network error.

Why Wireless Outages Happen

Wireless outages can occur for a variety of reasons:

Network congestion: Overloaded systems can fail under heavy traffic.
Software updates or errors: Misconfigurations during routine updates can cause disruptions.
Hardware failures: Equipment malfunctions in core facilities or cell towers can lead to outages.
Fiber cuts: Construction accidents or natural disasters can damage critical fiber connections.
Cybersecurity threats: Though less common, cyberattacks can target critical network infrastructure.
In the case of AT&T’s outage, the cause appeared to be a technical misconfiguration rather than malicious activity.

Regional Dependence on AT&T

The Southeastern United States relies heavily on AT&T’s wireless network, with millions of subscribers in both urban and rural areas. AT&T’s dominance in this region means that outages have a larger impact compared to areas where carrier competition is more balanced. Small businesses, universities, and government agencies across the Southeast often use AT&T as their primary carrier, which magnified the disruption’s effects.

Business and Economic Impacts

For businesses, the outage created operational challenges. Restaurants using mobile payment systems reported slower transactions, delivery services experienced communication delays, and customer service centers struggled to stay connected with clients. While the outage lasted only hours, the ripple effect on productivity and customer satisfaction was significant. For some small businesses, even short service disruptions can result in lost revenue and frustrated customers.

Lessons From the Outage

Events like this highlight several key lessons:

Network resilience is critical: Carriers must invest in redundancy to minimize downtime.
Transparency builds trust: Customers expect clear communication during outages.
Backup systems are essential: Businesses and individuals benefit from alternatives like Wi-Fi calling and secondary carriers.
Preparedness reduces risks: Emergency services must have contingency plans when wireless networks fail.
By learning from outages, carriers like AT&T can strengthen their networks against future incidents.

What AT&T Is Doing to Prevent Future Disruptions

AT&T has committed to investing in infrastructure upgrades, particularly as it expands its 5G network. This includes:

Expanding fiber backhaul capacity to handle higher traffic volumes.
Deploying redundant systems to reduce the risk of single-point failures.
Enhancing monitoring tools that detect and isolate problems faster.
Collaborating with emergency agencies to ensure public safety systems remain functional.
While no network is immune to outages, these steps can reduce both their frequency and impact.

How Customers Can Prepare

Although consumers cannot prevent carrier outages, they can take steps to stay connected during disruptions:

Enable Wi-Fi calling to use broadband connections when wireless service fails.
Keep alternative apps ready such as WhatsApp, Signal, or Zoom for communication.
Consider dual-SIM phones that allow switching between two carriers.
Stay updated by following carrier announcements and outage trackers online.
These precautions help minimize inconvenience and maintain communication during service interruptions.

Conclusion

The major AT&T wireless outage in the Southeastern United States was a reminder of how critical mobile connectivity has become in daily life. From emergency services to businesses and individual users, millions felt the impact of even a temporary disruption. While AT&T restored service quickly and ruled out cyberattacks, the event highlighted the need for stronger resilience, better communication, and continued infrastructure investment. For consumers, being prepared with backup options can make all the difference when outages occur. As reliance on wireless networks grows, ensuring reliability is not just about convenience—it is about maintaining safety, productivity, and trust in the digital era.

How To Fix Google Calendar Syncing Problems - Force Refresh

Frequently Asked Questions - Force Google Calendar Refresh

This trick will trip the Google system into thinking that you are requesting a totally new URL and will push it to make a new request rather than syncing to the cached version of your subscribed team schedule.

Unsubscribe from your team schedule
Re-subscribe to your team schedule following the steps in Subscribe to a Team Schedule, but stop at step 8
When pasting the full calendar URL into the 'Other Calendar – Add by URL' field, add the following to the end of the URL immediately following .ics before you hit Enter: ?query=1
1. Your URL should look similar to this example:
  https://ical-cdn.teamsnap.com/team_schedule/yourspecificteam.ics?query=1

How To Stream AT&T / DirecTV Red Zone?

Switch to DIRECTV with NFL SUNDAY TICKET and enjoy every live out-of-market game every Sunday. SUBSCRIBE NOW.

NFL SUNDAY TICKET MAX for exclusive access to the RED ZONE CHANNEL® and DIRECTV FANTASY ZONE® channel.

You'll get all the games on CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, and NFL Network with AT&T TV NOW (formerly DIRECTV NOW). No way to subscribe to NFL RedZone is provided by AT&T TV NOW.

This means you’ll get your local Sunday afternoon games, Football Night in America, Monday Night Football, and Thursday Night Football.

You must either be a DirecTV subscriber to buy Sunday Ticket, or you might be able to get the streaming edition of the service if you live in "select areas in different metropolitan cities," if you can't get satellite TV, or if you're a college student if you don't subscribe to the satellite TV service.

Over the last few years, the company has quietly sold the Sunday Ticket online-only edition more commonly than previously thought. It seems clear that AT&T wouldn't want to advertise the idea that without paying for DirecTV, you can subscribe to the costly Sunday Ticket package since the company would still encourage customers to buy the pay-TV bundle.

Last year, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league planned to extend in addition to DirecTV, the delivery of Sunday Tickets to online outlets, which would have ended the exclusive rights of the satcaster on the out-of-market games kit. But it did not happen.

Nflsundayticket.tv is available only to non-DirecTV customers who live in select multi-dwelling unit buildings (apartments, condos, etc.) nationally in the U.S. where DirecTV service is not available, live in select areas within various metropolitan cities, live in a residence that has been checked as unable to access DirecTV satellite TV service due to obstruction

Trump's FCC Nominee Wants to Fight Social Media Censorship

In June, Trump issued an executive order designed to prevent online censorship. The order "requests that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) clarify that Section 230 does not permit social media companies that alter or editorialize users' speech to escape civil liability."

Trump nominates Nathan Simington to Federal CommunThe petition also requests the FCC to clarify when an online platform curates content in "good faith," and requests transparency requirements on their moderation practices.

Simington would take the place of FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, who describes himself as "extremely dedicated to First Amendment" and—unlike some of his colleagues—has declined to be a total Trump bootlicker. Trump had nominated O'Rielly for a third term as an FCC commissioner until O'Rielly gave a speech critical of Trump administration tech and speech policy in July. The White House promptly announced that it was pulling O'Rielly's nomination.

But Thune wants Trump to renominate commissioner Michael O'Rielly, who has hinted he would go against the president's executive order. A bill currently before the FCC would give tech companies the right to censor its users with a small risk of facing legal consequences.

TikTok Uses Data on US Citizens to Censor Speech Deemed Sensitive by the Chinese government

The Trump administration expressed concerns that the hugely popular app could be used as a spying tool by Beijing. Authorities also fear that it could be leveraged to collect personal data on US citizens or to censor speech deemed sensitive by the Chinese government.

TikTok, the short-form video app that’s been downloaded 1.5 billion times, is one of the most exciting and goofiest places on the internet, and possibly the only truly fun social media network in 2019. It is also based in China — and that’s the part that has some users, and now, politicians, concerned.

The concern of US politicians about TikTok started with a Guardian investigation published on September 25, which revealed leaked documents that showed TikTok instructing its moderators to censor videos that listed subjects that were sensitive to the Communist Party of China: for example, Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, and the Falun Gong religious community. The Guardian's investigation came after the Washington Post reported that a search on TikTok for Hong Kong-related topics revealed virtually zero material about the ongoing and widely publicized pro-democracy demonstrations, which at the time had been a major subject on other social media sites.

“Security experts have voiced concerns that China’s vague patchwork of intelligence, national security, and cybersecurity laws compel Chinese companies to support and cooperate with intelligence work controlled by the Chinese Communist Party,” read the letter, addressed to acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire. “Without an independent judiciary to review requests made by the Chinese government for data or other actions, there is no legal mechanism for Chinese companies to appeal if they disagree with a request.”

Net Neutrality was a long-debated topic before the Coronavirus hit.

Read more examples of how the Government and Big Tech are censoring free speech.

Apple Watch Will Soon Measure Blood Oxygen Levels

Apple has announced the Apple Watch Series 6, the latest in its line of popular smartwatches. The Series 6 model maintains the same overall design introduced with the Apple Watch Series 4 and continued with the Series 5, but it adds a variety of new sensors to allow for things like blood oxygen monitoring and better sleep tracking.

Apple says the Series 6 can measure blood oxygen levels in about 15 seconds, using both red and infrared light. The company says it’s partnering with health networks to start large-scale studies using the new blood oxygen measurement feature, including testing to see if it can detect if a person is infected with COVID-19.

The Series 6 also comes with the new S6 processor, which promises up to 20 percent faster performance. It’s based on Apple’s in-house A13 chip and brings the first major update to the Apple Watch’s performance since the Series 4, given that last year’s Series 5 model used the same S4 CPU (rebranded as the S5 with other additions like a compass and a new display controller). Apple says it provides this improved performance while maintaining the 18 hours of battery life of the prior model. The Series 6 can recharge faster, though, going from zero to full in about 1.5 hours.

Verizon Buys Tracfone for $6.25 billion

The mobile operator Tracfone isn’t exactly a household name, but it does have about 21 million customers in the US. Soon, those customers will fall under the Verizon umbrella, as Verizon just announced it is purchasing Tracfone from its owner America Movil.

Tracfone has long worked in the US as a prepaid wireless MVNO, leasing wireless spectrum from some of the country's largest mobile carriers including Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. It also operates under a variety of brands, including Straight Talk and Walmart Family Phones, and has a broad distribution presence of more than 90,000 locations at stores such as CVS, Target, and Best Buy.

That being said, it's not clear how Tracfone will work once the contract with Verizon is done. But there's plenty of time to find out, as Verizon claims it won't wait until the second half of 2021 for the deal to finalize.

This isn't the only MVNO to change hands this year — T-Mobile had to get rid of Sprint's Boost Mobile brand as a result of the T-Mobile / Sprint merger. In early July Dish picked it up for $1.4 billion. By contrast, for Tracfone, Verizon pays $3,125 billion in cash and the same sum in Verizon's stock.

Several mergers in recent years have led to an increasingly concentrated wireless industry in the U.S., with the bulk of control.

Tracfone's top brands include:

Tracfone
Net 10 Wireless
Total Wireless
Walmart Family Mobile
Straight Talk
Simple Mobile

Cell Tower Lease Rates

Cell Tower Average Lease Rates by State

A cell tower lease is an arrangement between the mobile phone service providers ("provider" or "lessee") and a property owner that requires the provider to build and retain a cell service tower at a fixed lease rate for a defined number of years, usually with several renewal options. More than 300,000 such towers operate across the United States offering cellular service and data to customers across the world. The ever increasing demand for mobile phone and data coverage has led to almost 10,000 new cellular sites being built each year, with an average annual lease cost of $45,000.

Cell service lessees are responsible for the care, repair, improvement, and removal of the tower, giving the property owner responsible for lease care if any. The cell tower lease also adds value at the time of selling the house, in addition to producing rent for several years. The average cost of constructing a cell tower is around $175,000, but the cell tower lease will add to the property value of $600,000, or more.

In general, the fair market value of a lease is measured by the proximity of the location to the network of the cellular provider, or the value of the coverage given by the site. The availability of nearby alternative sites would also drive value. It is difficult for most landowners to assess the fair market value of a cellular lease because of a lack of available details. Lease rates for cell towers are not public knowledge, and those rates differ widely. However, in this highly specialized sector, there are companies which are specialized in providing information and assistance to property owners

There are two types of telecommunications leases in the telecommunications industry: a rooftop lease agreement, and a land lease agreement. Cellular sites are, in some cases, built on the roofs of industrial office buildings, and even residential living complexes. These rooftop installations take advantage of the height of the buildings on which they are installed to provide better cellular coverage. In comparison, land leases are usually arrangements between the cellular provider and the landowner of property for space at ground level where a cellular tower is built.

For certain landowners, there are some risks from cell tower leases. The tower occupies property that could be used for other uses of land such as parking lots or retention ponds. Towers establish long-term easements on the property, limiting the use of the property's land site to that or other sections. These leases may also postpone or stop the selling of a property if a seller can not find prospective buyers for the leases to the cell tower.

Cell tower demand is currently strong but this could change with many pending mergers in the cellular communications industry. What's more, one day the advancement of wireless technology could eliminate the need for cell towers, making the structures redundant. Some companies are currently designing smaller towers that can be installed on buildings to save land space and increase the number of possible cell tower locations.

A new study by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) shows that landowners may be able to get more of that rent - money from the rental prices of cellular towers. Cell tower lease rates exposed.

TowerLeases.com is offering landowners free advice on their current mobile tower rent. TowerLease. Com is in the process of offering the landowner "free advice" on its current Cell Tower lease, according to HUD.

Lease negotiations for cell towers depend on location, the size of the object, the type of cell tower, and other factors. Specialist brokers and lawyers can advise property owners who wish to rent a mobile tower on a variety of examples, including, but not limited to, mobile tower rentals for residential, commercial, and industrial purposes.

Cell Tower Leasing consultants use these factors to negotiate competitive lease rates for their clients. The size of the tower site is another property - based on a variable that determines the rental prices of the mobile towers. For example, leases are more expensive in the case of farmland than leases for residential and commercial properties. Also, tower sites are often located in densely populated areas, with a high concentration of mobile towers in urban areas.

The truth is that not all mobile tower leases are the same, and the value of your cell tower can fluctuate over time, depending on the size and location of a cell site. This creates a situation in which not all cell sites are equally valuable and the rental price for a mobile tower lease varies.

What would you do as a landowner to improve the chances of getting a contract for a cell tower?

1. Be Visible. Make sure you have a sign for a cell tower on your property gate or fence by the nearest major road indicating you have land available for lease. Attach your daytime phone number to the sign so wireless company agents have a perfect way to get in touch with you.

2. Pay Attention. Visit your local zoning hearings to see if there are any other towers being constructed in your town or county. Attend the hearings when a tower is on the agenda; you will be able to talk to the company's representative who deals with the sites all the time.

3. Be Patient. It may take years before the wireless companies are interested in your area. But they eventually will come– even in the more rural areas. Also, don’t be afraid to contact the carriers every six months or so to find out if things have changed.

4. Be Diligent. We are often contacted by people who wish to place a tower on their property. They expect that some companies will want to help them lease their land for a share of the action. Unfortunately, this person or company does not exist. The wireless companies don’t need to have you contact them. They know they can find land anywhere. As such, there is no reason for them to make their search rings or their phone numbers public.

5. Don’t Pay. Don’t entertain paying a “site listing service” or a site management company. They don’t work. If you are considering it, ask if they have local contacts in your city with the carriers.

Here is an article from 2013 which shows older lease rates.

Why Your Cell Phone Doesn’t Work During Disasters

Anyone who has experienced a natural disaster will recognize that cellular service is often one of the first things to do. When disaster strikes, don't expect your iPad or mobile phone to come to your aid with all the information you need to save you. There are a few things you can do in advance in case of an emergency, but you won't be able to rely on your mobile device. Your survival plan should include your smartphone as part of it, not just as a backup device.

Even if you still have a landline at home or office, this will not work, and even if you do, you may find that your emergency use pre-empts this use. Even when the mobile is off, landlines still work well, so consider picking up one extra phone to complement an emergency kit. Fixed-line service is not always available, especially after a hurricane, but even without a fixed-line, it may be necessary to prevent emergency calls before using it.

The problem is many people try to use their phones at the same time in an emergency, but the increased volume of calls can lead to network congestion, causing delays of up to an hour and a half or more between calls and in some cases even longer. Cell phone towers can also be knocked out during storms as well and there are lots of reasons for this happening.

If you cannot make a call with your phone, you may have to wait a few minutes before re-selecting the option to reduce network congestion. If you are unsuccessful after making a call with a mobile phone, you can wait until you have been reconnected, which helps reduce network traffic jams and delays between calls and other calls. Or if you were unable to end your call after using your mobile phone, just wait a few minutes and then choose the dials to ease the congestion or wait until the next call.

If you have a landline, you may need to have call forwarding on your home phone when you are evacuated. If not, you will have no home in an emergency - landline.

If you don't have a mobile phone, keep a prepaid calling card that you can use if you need it in the event of a disaster. If you do not have an active cell plan, you can reach 911 via your smartphone, even if it is not covered in the area where you are in an emergency or if the smartphone does not have a smartphone with you in an area where you are not in an emergency. And if you have lost your mobile phone, it can help that your family, friends, colleagues, family members, and even neighbors can still get in touch. Those of you who donate a mobile phone should keep your prepaid card, which you use for emergencies, and keep it for emergencies.

This also applies if the power is restored or if you have been evacuated to a place that has electricity but has no electricity. Have a plan to recharge your batteries by charging your wireless devices with a car charger or with everything you have at hand. Keep your battery in a safe place, such as at home or in the boot of your car or on a portable charger.

It is important that the mobile phone is charged during a disaster and protected from the elements. They now know that mobile phones can be used in an emergency, as first responders use all available resources. To prepare your mobile device for emergencies like a smartphone, you should have a battery, charger, and a safe place to do so in your home or car.

Sometimes good mobile service is difficult enough so you might just try texting and not making a phone call. Try not to send photos and video because this can clog the mobile networks.

If you lose power during a storm at home, you can access local weather reports on your mobile device, and if a natural disaster strikes near you, stay indoors and listen to emergency broadcasts and radio stations. If you live in a rural area with limited access to cellphones, reliable radio and NOAA warning systems are incredibly valuable devices. Whether it is a man-made disaster or a man-made disaster, your family must be prepared for the worst so that you and they can act quickly and decisively.

One handy mobile web application we have created is Disaster Relief Maps to help people see mobile-friendly emergency maps on their phones. Most emergency management Government web sites are publishing information for desktops and are not user friendly on the phone.

How To Check For Cell Phone Coverage By Address

When it comes to choosing the best mobile operator, most people think of the Big Three. The Big Four are known as AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile / Sprint. However, but they should also include a number of other smaller MVNO carriers that use these major networks.

All four networks are available in the US, with AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint each having their own LTE networks. According to paid studies most carriers will claim they have coverage everywhere but we know this is not true. Coverage only matters at your home address and the only way to check this is by asking someone else in your area, trying it out, or by looking at coverage complaints submitted by customers on the cell phone coverage reviews map above or on the check cell coverage by address mobile map.

check for cell phone coverage by address

You can search this map to see which areas have the worst overage on each of the four major networks in the United States. Use the small search circle in the lower left-hand corner of the map. This map allows you to filter coverage reviews of all major mobile networks by simply clicking on the carrier on the right-hand side of the map.

Enter your country, city, postal code, home or office address select your current location, filter by carrier type and region, and select the best and worst coverage in your area for each of the four major networks in the United States. In this example, you choose one of four different types of mobile towers for the USA and specify a country.

Use can other tools like RootMetrics, OpenSignal, CellReception.com, or SignalMap to see what others are reporting about the range of the operator in your area based on positive signal strength. However, these providers do not allow you to provide reviews on carriers in specific locations. There is also a map to look at cellular towers and antenna locations nearby.

RootMetrics does not have a map of the mobile towers in the viewfinder, but in some areas, it shows the cell signal quality. Although Root Metrics does not have a map of mobile towers, it is a strong indicator of signal quality in your area.

Note that all carrier coverage maps show the general area of coverage, but not specific cellular towers or antenna locations near you. All carrier coverage maps somewhat inform users about the type of coverage and signal quality you can expect based on the address you enter in the search bar, as well as the display of cellphones and transmission towers.

T-Mobile Tower Map lets you enter your zip code, locate a location on the map, and see if 4G LTE coverage is available. Search for T-Mobile 5G coverage from your current location, and it's available in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

Sprint gives you the ability to look up any address you want and allows you to see the coverage that's in your location. To access the website you are using, such as T-Mobile Tower Map, first, enter your address in the search engine of our website. Go to our mobile phone comparison engine and check the coverage at your exact location, and you will begin to gain a better understanding of coverage at the sites you are using.