AT&T has recently added a cell site in Floriston, California, filling a coverage gap that previously existed along Interstate 80 between Reno and Truckee. CID 1308.

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A new T-Mobile cell site was recently put into service near the corner of Vista Blvd. and Baring Blvd. in east Sparks. The antennas are disguised in a flagpole located in the shopping center at the northeast corner of the intersection. CID 4334x.

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Sprint has added a cell site which improves coverage between the Floriston and Hirschdale exits. They have co-located antennas at an existing cell site occuppied by Nextel and AT&T. See our maps to view up-to-date cell site locations for all carriers.

T-mobile has placed their antennas atop a newly-heightened monopole behind Wal-Mart on Damonte Ranch Parkway and South Virginia Street. Their antennas are over 100-feet high, providing improved coverage in the south Reno area. CID 1326x. See our maps to compare cell site locations for all carriers.

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Construction is in-progress on a 24-foot extention of the monopole located behind Wal-Mart at Damonte Ranch Parkway and South Virginia Street. Permits show that T-Mobile will be co-locating antennas on the newly hightened structure. Cricket, Clearwire, AT&T and Sprint which are currently located at the site may move to higher positions on the pole.

Verizon Wireless has announced plans to acquire Alltel, which will result in Verizon Wireless becoming the nations largest wireless carrier and improve their native (non-roaming) coverage in much of rural Nevada outside of the Reno area.

RCR Wireless News has published pre-merger and post-merger coverage maps and other details about the merger.

New cell site construction in the Reno area has slowed to a crawl so far this year. Lately I’ve been listening to podcasts that cover the latest cell phone and wireless industry news and rumors. Check out the “Podcasts” I’ve added to the Links page.

AT&T Wireless has announced that they have launched a new Mobile TV service in 58 markets nationwide, including Reno. The new service requires a new exclusive handset.

With the swarm of earthquakes that have hit the northwest Reno area since February there has been heightened awareness of procedures to take to prepare for earthquakes.

After a major quake cell phone and land-line communications may be unavailable due to damage to cell sites, power failures and/or overloaded communication channels due to too many people trying to use their phones at the same time.

After a quake phones should be for emergency calls or brief calls to check the status of family and close friends. If you are unable to place calls, you may be able to communicate via text messaging as was common during the 9/11 attacks. An interesting National Communication System tech bulletin describes the use of SMS in times of disaster and otherwise.

In a press release, AT&T has announced that it will be adding 80 new cell sites this year further expanding it’s higher-speed wireless network. No specific details on Reno were announced.