T-Mobile enhances its 3G network in time for holiday travel

If you have T-Mobile wireless service and encountered dead zones at O'Hare or Midway international airports, you may have had a better experience starting this week.

T-Mobile said it has completed the upgrade to its 3G network at the airports. It's just a coincidence that the work was finished now, said T-Mobile spokeswoman Elizabeth Sexton.

"There was a bit of a push to get this ready for travelers over the holidays," she said.

As the Thanksgiving weekend winds down and the December holiday travel season surges, travelers with T-Mobile service likely will have better coverage inside all the airport terminals, baggage claim areas and tunnels linking the parking structures at the airports.

Also earlier this month, T-Mobile boosted its network along the CTA Red and Blue Lines, keeping travelers connected throughout the Chicago Loop to the airports, she said.

T-Mobile also plans more upgrades to its network throughout the North and Northwest suburbs, but specific information isn't available yet, she said.

Wireless competitors say their networks are strong, so they don't have to add anything more now. They said they've regularly enhanced their networks to ensure seamless service at the airports and train stations, despite bigger holiday crowds.

"We really don't need to do anything extra," said Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Carolyn Schamberger. "We have a deliberate strategy to continually invest in our network year-round."

Verizon's Midwest headquarters is in Schaumburg.

Chicago-based U.S. Cellular said it has made its 3G network upgrades since last year and have "a number of projects going on" around the suburbs. It has recently improved coverage by building new cell sites in Elk Grove Village, Wadsworth, Willow Springs, McHenry, Winnetka and Joliet, said Kevin McNeary, U.S. Cellular director of network engineering and operations.

AT&T Inc., which has its Midwest headquarters in Hoffman Estates, said it recently added about 100 cell sites to expand its 3G network in DeKalb, Kane, McHenry, Grundy, Kendall, LaSalle, Putnam and Will counties as well as parts of Peoria and Champaign-Urbana, said AT&T spokeswoman Amy Grundman.

Sprint recently launched its 4G network in the Chicago area, so it's bragging that everything is really covered.

"Everyone coming in and out of the airports should have it just perfect," said Sprint spokeswoman Candace Johnson.

Let me know what your experience has been.

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