
US Cellular Now a Part of Project Fi's Network - Navarr
https://android.googleblog.com/2016/06/more-speed-and-coverage-with-us.html
======
sumitgt
I must say Project FI has worked out really nice for me. I'm usually in Wifi
range, so my data usage is very low. Works out to around $27 each month. And
the service is really good.

BUT, I live in the constant fear of Google shutting down the service. In fact
I'm slowly finding myself skeptical of adopting new Google products because
I'm worried it will go away.

~~~
ElijahLynn
I hear you on the fear of Google shutting it down but I wouldn't with Project
Fi. This is a communications product. They need people to get fast access to
their products. This product will never go away, just like their Fiber
efforts.

They purchased Grand Central like 10 years ago and never killed it.

Grand Central -> Google Voice -> Project Fi.

~~~
readams
Google voice languished for years with no updates, no bug fixes (despite a lot
of serious problems!)

~~~
rch
And it is specifically excluded from Google Fi (you may import your number,
but no going back).

My biggest gripe with Fi is that there is no way to check voicemail or handle
SMS through the web interface. That was the most useful aspect of Voice for
me.

~~~
puzzle
[https://support.google.com/fi/answer/6188337?hl=en](https://support.google.com/fi/answer/6188337?hl=en)

"Once you do this, your text messages and voicemail will sync across Hangouts
everywhere, including: Gmail chat, Google+ Page or profile, Chrome desktop
app, Android or iOS device, Inbox by Gmail, or the Chrome extension."

~~~
rch
That's a good idea, but it comes with caveats:

\- You need a cellular data or Wi-Fi connection to send and receive text
messages, even on your Project Fi phone

\- You will no longer receive SMS messages in your default SMS app, instead
you will receive SMS and voicemail in Hangouts on the web and all of your
devices

~~~
georgyo
> \- You need a cellular data or Wi-Fi connection to send and receive text
> messages, even on your Project Fi phone

On the plus side, you almost never pay for data roaming charges. Even when
abroad.

~~~
rch
Agreed. I've been generally happy with the service so far.

------
plusbryan
Good to see the network growing!

Looking at US Cellular's coverage map ([https://www.uscellular.com/coverage-
map/coverage-indicator.h...](https://www.uscellular.com/coverage-map/coverage-
indicator.html)), this news won't benefit the sf bay area, but help users in
the northwest, northeast, and midwest.

~~~
surge
It'll be good for truly last mile users, I imagine SF bay area has plenty of
options (although I know they want Google too), this seems to provide a
possible broadband ISP option for those that would otherwise have none.

~~~
narrowrail
>It'll be good for truly last mile users

Who isn't a last mile user?

~~~
_acme
I think what is meant by a non-last mile user is someone who tends to stay in
cities and suburbs, and rarely, if ever, ventures into rural areas, where cell
phone service is still often non-existent or limited to one carrier that may
or may not have a roaming agreement with your own carrier.

------
Analemma_
Huh, I did not know until just now that US Cellular owned their own network. I
could've sworn that Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint were the only four
network owners in America and US Cellular was an MVNO. Guess that says
something about either the quality of their network or the quality of their
marketing.

~~~
flyinghamster
US Cellular really is a regional carrier, though they use roaming for
nationwide coverage. They specialize in blanketing areas that have little or
no coverage from the majors (SW Wisconsin being a good example).

On the other hand, one irony is that even though they still have naming rights
for the White Sox' ballpark, they pulled out of the Chicago market and sold
what spectrum they had in the area to Sprint.

~~~
surge
Yep, US Cellular seems to be the only cell phone towers I can get on roaming
when an area is "middle of nowhere" and I'll see a small dealer/shop in small
towns. Like you said, they seem to specialize in markets that other carriers
wouldn't bother with, like remote parts of Alaska, or small mountain towns.

~~~
narrowrail
As far as the Rockies are concerned, Verizon seems to have the best coverage
by far. I've had a cell phone since '96, and ~99% of the resort towns have the
big 4, but VZ is in the most remote places I've seen.

Edit: Here is an interesting chart of wireless providers in the US [0]; lots
more providers w/ 10K-1M subcribers than I realized.

[0][https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_wireless...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_wireless_communications_service_providers#Facilities-
based_service_providers)

~~~
nathancahill
Which part of the Rockies? AT&T has hands-down the best coverage at the ski
resorts in Colorado. They even have coverage in A-Basin, which is a dead zone
to everyone else.

~~~
narrowrail
I am talking about CO, but mostly more off the beaten path resorts such as
T-Ride, Butte, and the Boat. I started with Voicestream (now T-Mobile) back in
'96 and it was quite bad. Back-country has always been best with VZ, and that
is the same today.

------
AcerbicZero
Its good to see them expanding the networks, if only a little. I've been on
Project Fi for ~6 months or so and its been a fairly mediocre experience so
far, but it works well enough for the price point I suppose.

~~~
dforrestwilson
I am also using and loving Google Fi so far. No manipulative billing practices
designed to obscure the true cost. Reasonable metered data prices.

The only downside is having to use a Motorola phone. They seem to always break
within 1.5 years of purchase.

~~~
fizzbatter
I'm quite excited to try it. Unfortunately (or fortunately) i'm on T-Mobile,
with a no contract $30/m Unlimited text/data plan _(very few minutes)_ , and
that's just __really __hard to beat.

Note that this plan might not be available anymore.. not sure really, but i
know i often get flack for being on this plan from tmo. It clearly isn't
making them enough money, but my god, i love it.

~~~
wdmeldon
It's 100 minutes a month if I'm not mistaken. Can't say for sure if the plan
still exists, but it's almost impossible to find any advertising regarding it.
You have to specifically ask for it like those quesadillas at Chipotle. I was
happy with it for a couple years but switched to google Fi when I got my Nexus
6P and I'm perfectly happy with it.

~~~
fizzbatter
As my tmo plan may suggest, i rarely use minutes. Fi only offers a minutes
oriented plan, and i hate that pricing. Feels like i would be wasting money.

Oh, question for you if you don't mind: Since you were on Tmo, can you compare
the reception/coverage for Fi vs Tmo? In theory Fi would have better reception
due to more networks, but i'm not really sure how much Tmo and Sprint differ
in network size/locations. Thoughts?

I'm in USA-WA and the hills/mountains really cause reception issues. So the
reception coverage is important to me. _(Nothing beats Verizon,
unfortunately)_

~~~
amock
Total Wireless offers a plan with unlimited talk and text and 5GB of data for
$35 on Verizon's network. It is throttled at 5Mbps, but if you use little
enough data to make Fi worthwhile I don't think that will be an issue for you.

~~~
fizzbatter
Well, i'm more concerned about the data than talk or text. Most of the calls i
make are done via Google on my laptop (free minutes), so i almost never need
minutes on my phone. It's not the data price of Fi that bothers me, it's the
flat $20 charge for Unlimited Talk/Text that i don't want to pay.

If they gave me $5 or $10/m for reduced talk, i'd be in heaven

------
Fej
This is cool and all, but I'm worried that Google will just pull the plug
during one "spring cleaning" event. Plus T-Mobile's $100/4 lines/2 GB per line
is just unbeatable right now... cheaper and more data.

~~~
Rezo
I regret getting a T-Mobile postpaid plan. Unlike their pre-paid plans, they
tack on the following mandatory bullshit charges to their monthly plans:

Federal Universal Service Fund, State Telecom Excise, County Telecom Excise,
MCTD Surcharge, Regulatory Programs & Telco Recovery Fee, State & Local Sales
Tax, Public Safety Communications Surcharge, County 911

That's $10+/mo of pure BS for a single line. Would love to hear from Google Fi
users if they also do this, if not I'll probably switch.

~~~
russdill
On a recent $49.55 bill, I had $2.48 in taxes and fees.

Taxes & government surcharges State 911 Tax $0.08 Telecomm Relay Systems
Surcharge $0.06 California Teleconnect Fund Charge $0.13 California High Cost
Fund Surcharge $0.04 California Advanced Services Fund Charge $0.06 Universal
Lifeline Telephone Service Surcharge $0.67

Other fees PUC Fee $0.03 Federal Universal Service Fund $1.29 Federal
Regulatory Assessment Fee $0.12

------
benmcnelly
This is great news, as we have quite a bit of coverage by them here (Midwest).
I feel like I see a lot of people mention issues with Fi on the web, I must be
one of the lucky few that have not only had no issues, but stellar performance
all around.

~~~
BooneJS
Yes, they have the best rural coverage in the Midwest (Verizon, thanks to
AllTel, is a close 2nd.)

~~~
pasbesoin
If this extends in/through northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula (UP) of
Michigan, I may indeed switch to Fi.

Actually, I recently took advantage of the Fi discount on a Nexus 5x ($250 @
32 GB), but after some days dinking with it on Fi, I swapped in my Verizon SIM
as planned, to have Verizon service with Nexus quality/timely system updates.
(Needed an additional reboot for LTE to kick in, but since then -- as reported
in numerous places -- it has worked just fine.)

But, I'm increasingly unhappy with Verizon Wireless.

Next up would be to see whether Google Fi's adverstised real/actual/person
support is for real and helpful, and to ask them whether, hey, after all, I'd
like to port my Verizon number to a Fi SIM / service and use that instead of
the Fi SIM that's currently idle.

(I wanted to try it before committing.)

The other is to see whether, now that I'm out from under my 2 year phone
"contract" with Verizon, I can coerce better pricing/capacity out of them.

In any event, I will _NEVER_ again use a phone that is dependent upon Verizon
for updates. So, that means Apple, or my unofficial/"not supported" Nexus,
or...

P.S. If anyone from Google happens by, "pinch to zoom out" on the Nexus 5x is
horrible -- the camera app dies about 50% of the time when I use this feature
on it. _PLEASE_ for the love of deity fix this! (Your error reporting systems
should have about a bazillion and a half incident reports from one particular
device ID. Stock Nexus 5x with only a few big-name apps installed.)

~~~
livingparadox
> Next up would be to see whether Google Fi's adverstised real/actual/person
> support is for real and helpful

I'm a google fi customer and requested support. For me, the support was
fantastic. They were very helpful and did their best to make sure everything
was handled. Sample size of 4-8 requests, though, so YMMV.

~~~
knz
I've contacted them ~ 5 times for minor issues with multiple accounts (getting
a discount when they dropped the nexus 5, minor number porting issues, a
billing question etc) and it has been fantastic. I've never had to wait,
always had someone who was knowledgeable and could quickly resolve my issue.

------
glitch003
Google Fi is amazing. The free international data roaming is like nothing else
I've ever experienced. Land in Japan and my phone just works. No extra
charges, it just works.

~~~
acjohnson55
I have a similar experience on T-Mobile

~~~
zymhan
Agreed, I got a post-paid plan for a month while traveling to and around
Europe, and it's great being able to just use your phone like normal.

------
ryao
I use Google Voice as a landline replacement with an Obihai device and
effectively get free service, minus E911, but I have a cell phone for that.
The costs for wireless must be much higher for Google to be charging, although
I manage to get service on Sprint through Ringplus that is effectively free
too. There are limits, I am charged for overages and I do not get roaming, but
I have real SMS and can use any CDMA capable device. I see no reason to pay
for Google Fi as long as I am in an area where Sprint's network is good. Their
network was terrible on Long Island in 2014, but as of 2016 it seems decent.

If anyone is in an area where Sprint is decent, I suggest trying Ringplus. You
can use an old phone to test it. In my case, I gave a neighbor who did not
have a cellphone an old phone and set it up for him on Ring plus. I heard a
few months later that the coverage was good, so I switched and found that it
is indeed better than it was in 2014. Consequently, I can put the money saved
from not paying a monthly fee into something tangible, like equipment.

It would be nice if Google could offer a similiar service for everyone, but
until either then or Ringplus decides to stop providing free service, I am
sticking with Ringplus. There is no point in paying for a service that a
competitor offers for free.

------
wnevets
I wanna switch to project fi but I just can't get over how cheap tmobile's 5GB
LTE for $30 is.

~~~
hughes
I switched from tmobile's $30 unlimited (5gb lte) plan. I'm definitely paying
$10-15/month more now, but I also travel frequently. The international
coverage makes it worthwhile for me.

As far as phone expenses go, I think I'm still doing pretty well though.

------
danellis
Unless they offer LTE in Canada, this doesn't compare well to my T-Mobile
plan, other than diverse networks. That's the one thing that definitely put me
off trying it.

~~~
jdavis703
I haven't been to Canada with Project Fi, but I got LTE all over London,
Madrid, Copenhagen, Berlin and Málaga with them. I'd think that Canada has
similar infrastructure in place :)

~~~
yebyen
There is, at least in Montreal and the parts of Ontario that I visited on the
way up there. (Traveling from central NY)

------
stevehawk
I'm not a google chat/hangouts/mail/etc user... or current Android phone
user.. so please excuse my ignorance

if I switch to Project Fi am I going to be expected to signup and use all of
these things? As in, is it significantly cheaper because now I'm the product?
Or am I getting a legitimate Android handset I can root and go about my way
like I would with any other carrier?

~~~
glitch003
You are getting a legitimate Android handset that you can root and go about
your way like you would with any other carrier.

(As long as that handset is a Nexus 5x, Nexus 6, or Nexus 6P, because those
are the only phones that work with Google Fi right now.)

------
douche
Oh, US Cellular... Somehow I can be near line-of-sight to one of their towers,
and barely get two bars of service.

At least its cheap, although I am still grandfathered into my parents' family
plan for around $20/month. I think an equivalent individual plan from ATT or
Verizon in this area would run over $100, which would be ridiculous for the
3-4 phone calls a month I make.

~~~
tw04
That seems more likely to be a phone issue than a US Cellular issue. Perhaps
the handset you have doesn't support all of their bands? I had that on my
original One+ 1 on t-mobile.

------
rabble
I love Project FI, but nobody who tries to call me ever gets through. Not
nobody, but really like %75 of the calls don't go through. The data and
international roaming are wonderful.

------
betaby
How does it work? Is this VOIP via LTE and Wi-Fi? How it wakes up to receive a
call? Does phone constantly have Wi-Fi on? Would it drain battery quickly? Any
good write up about tech detail? I have read some reports from people switched
their phones to data only and having VOIP over that LTE. Somewhat doubtful how
reliably can VOIP work on Wi-Fi while phone is locked.

~~~
mdip
I don't know that it works any differently than the others in the handling of
calls. I'm not aware that they're doing VoLTE (I suspect not because my phone
behaves like my Verizon phone did -- dropping LTE data when I'm on a call --
on the occasion that I've had to look).

It differs in handling of WiFi calling in that "it actually works really
well"[1]. Calls started on WiFi switch (mostly) seamlessly to cellular when
you go out of range or the call quality dives. It attaches to some public
access points automatically (with a little "key" icon at the top when it does
so).

On the cellular front, it uses T-Mo and Sprint (and, now US Cellular). Their
networks are quite different[2] and it is able to bounce between them and does
so in a manner that maximizes 4G and overall coverage. There were dead zones
for me on T-Mo that have perfect coverage on Project Fi.

[1] I had T-Mo with WiFi calling previously and even at the time that I left
it barely worked. I'd not receive calls when attached to one of my access
points (or drop them if my phone jumped over to it) and call hand-off to
cellular never worked for me. It always works on Fi and my phone won't even
try to use the other AP for calling (which it figured out on its own).

[2] I believe their 4G technology is similar enough, but below that its CDMA
for Sprint and GSM for T-Mobile, I believe. My information may be out of date,
though. When I signed up there weren't any MVNOs that used those two networks.

------
DiabloD3
This is really great, but I'm still not really wanting to switch because I'd
have to replace my Nexus 5.

It isn't dead yet, and I can't really justify the cost.

------
kmiroslav
Does anyone have any experience of using Google Fi with Google Voice?

~~~
Jayschwa
I was using Google Voice for a few years. When I got Project Fi, I had to
release my old number and get a new one. It was disappointing, but less
annoying than I thought it would be (since I don't use my phone much).

~~~
NotSammyHagar
Currently you don't have to give up your google voice number. You can even use
it as your google fi number if you like, and you can undo that choice and get
it back as google voice later.

------
mdip
This is fantastic. The statements they're making about multiple networks
providing superior coverage have rung true for me, personally. I've been a
Project Fi user in Michigan since shortly after they announced its
availability (I was in a well covered area for T-Mobile and Sprint and got in
early on the invite list, I guess).

My parents have a home "up north" (the thumb area of Michigan) and I've had
service with both T-Mo and Verizon since I've been spending a lot of time up
there. Coverage from VZW/T-Mo, despite being vastly different networks,
suffered from a large dead spot in Fort Gratiot and coverage on the property
was also terrible (low lying, beach front property results in a very
obstructed situation). I switched to T-Mo because I'd pick up Canadian towers
on the property with Verizon which would cause me billing problems[1].

The statements they're making about choosing the best provider from multiple
providers is not marketing. I get 4G coverage all the way up to through the
most rural areas and can pull a signal on the property (2G, sometimes Canada,
but it's there if I need it). T-Mobile and Sprint's network is different
enough that no other MVNOs that I know of support both. Because Project Fi
does, I get excellent coverage -- where T-Mo lacked, at least in the areas I
travel, Sprint has a great signal and my 4G performance is so consistent that
I haven't had occasion to even look to see if I'm in LTE or not (that would
only happen when the music would stop or a browsing session would die -- "oh,
I'm 2G/3G, no wonder!").

Nobody in my family has reliable service except for my wife and I (she's on
Fi, now, too). The Wi-Fi features work seamlessly and are much more
intelligent than I experienced on T-Mo. Due to one of my APs being wonky at
home, Project Fi automatically uses 4G for calls when I'm attached to it. When
I'm connected to my properly functioning AP, it uses WiFi (internet works on
both, but no VoIP service from mobile phones has ever worked on the one). With
T-Mo, I had to turn WiFi calling off because I'd just stop being able to
make/take calls when connected to the broken router. It hands off calls
without issue, as well (there's a brief period where audio is dead when this
happens but I usually don't notice it).

It's a well thought out service and the pricing was perfect for me. I'm on
WiFi 99% of the time and my mobile data is often below 1G/mo, however, with
the work I do I can have a month or two a year where my data goes well beyond
6GB, so I always kept my plan at that level and just donated that money to
T-Mo/Verizon. The prices aren't the lowest in the area when pre-paid offerings
are included, but with the service being what it is, I'd pay _more_ for this
kind of reliability.

[1] T-Mo doesn't charge for Canadian data or texts and allowed WiFi calling
(I'm not sure if Verizon does, yet, or not) so this resolved the problem for
me. Coverage wasn't as good, especially a few years ago with 4G, but it was
good enough.

------
dang
Url changed from [http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/06/08/us-cellular-now-a-
pa...](http://www.androidpolice.com/2016/06/08/us-cellular-now-a-part-of-
project-fis-network/), which points to this.

