NextLight offers suggestions for cell phone struggles - City of Longmont
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NextLight offers suggestions for cell phone struggles

Want better cell phone service? So does most of Longmont. But in the meantime, Longmont’s community-owned NextLight internet has some tips that might help ease some of the pain.

 

“Everyone hates dropped calls and lost signals,” said Valerie Dodd, NextLight’s executive director. “We hear about it all the time, even though we’re not a cell phone provider. So we want to help where we can, by offering some ways to improve reliability in and around your own home.”

 

Cell service in Longmont became especially spotty over the summer due to conflicts with a federal research site on Table Mountain. The site is one of two locations in the U.S. that studies radio emissions and frequencies, restricting radio signals – including cell signals – within 50 miles. Federal authorities recently tightened enforcement of those standards, which left mobile devices struggling.

 

So what can residents do? While NextLight can’t help with cell service away from home, frustrated callers can consider the following suggestions for improving their home’s connection.

  • When at home, go into your phone’s settings and enable WiFi calling. (The exact process will vary depending on the phone’s operating system.) This will let your phone use your personal wireless network to make the call instead of relying on the cell signal. This does depend on having a good WiFi router that can cover most or all of your home, such as NextLight’s Whole-Home WiFi service. WiFi calling should not be used on an outdoor network away from home, because the phone will often keep trying to find cell service.
  • For truly dependable home phone service, NextLight offers a Digital Voice landline. This uses fiber-optic connections, avoiding the need for cell service entirely when making or receiving calls at home. For more details, call NextLight at 303-774-4494 or go online to https://mynextlight.com/internet/digital-voice/.
  • Talk to your cell phone provider– they may have some options for improving your service. This can generally be done by dialing 611 from your phone or calling your provider’s customer service number on their website.
  • Finally, cell phone customers can also submit an informal complaint about their cell service to the Federal Communications Commission. To reach out, call 1-800-CALL-FCC or go online to the FCC Complaints Portal.

 

About NextLight
NextLight is Longmont’s community-owned fiber-optic internet service, empowering a fully connected Longmont with the resources for life. NextLight has made Longmont the first “gigabit city” in Colorado and been nationally recognized for its speed, affordability and quality. To learn more, visit www.mynextlight.com.