Cell Companies???

[razorwyr]

I was wondering what companies would give the best overall coverage across the US? East of 35? Southeast region? I have lived in the south most of my life and have used several cell phone providers and have determined that it really depends on where I live to which one is going to be the best for me. Does anyone have an opinion on who they feel gives the best coverage as they travel the country? With towers going up constantly providers piggy-backing off each other more frequently, coverage has definitely gotten better over the last 5-10 years. What are some major areas where coverage is non-existent at best? Would it be more worth my while or the money to invest in a sat-phone?

[golfhobo]

I'm not sure who has the BEST coverage these days. As you say... it depends on the area you will be driving in. When I started 5 years ago, I bought my FIRST cellphone. I compared Sprint, Verizon and either AT&T or Alltel (can't remember) and saw MUCH more "coverage" from Sprint for the bulk of my route... which was West Coast and Back to NC.

I'm pretty sure you can go on ANY company's website and see their coverage "map" and compare for yourself.

The "weakest" coverage area I saw, even for Sprint, was the SouthWest EAST of California. I.e: There aren't enough people living in AZ, NM and southern Nevada (except around Vegas) to warrant FULL coverage and investment in towers. As you say... that may have changed since I signed up.

Unless you are hauling Top Secret Government freight.... and/or have some kind of need for CONSTANT contact (in which case, you shouldn't be driving a truck and being SO distracted,) I can't even IMAGINE the need for a SatPhone!

As far as contact with your company? Most use (ah... what the heck is it called?) that IS a "satellite comm system." They can reach you even when your cellphone isn't working.

[Malaki86]

I've got Sprint and there's very few places where I don't have a signal. I run all over, mainly west of I-35 and south of I-40. Come to think of it, the only time I can recall in the recent past where I don't have a signal is on Ohio Rt 32, east of Cincinnati, after I get into the hills.

[GMAN]

I think that Verizon probably has the best over all coverage, especially in some rural areas. I have had Sprint for about 9 or 10 years. While I have never been completely happy with them, I have not been unhappy enough to change companies. If I could get a better deal with a cell company I would go with them. I have a friend who lives out west and uses T-Mobile. He pays less than I do and has good coverage where he runs. I have heard others mention that they don't have as good coverage in the Midwest or southeast. When I first started with Sprint there were wide gaps in coverage in the western states. I rarely am in an area where I don't have coverage, but have been in a few areas recently where I have lost calls or had little or no signal. Most of the time you can make calls when you have a good signal.

[Kurbski]

I have AT&T and they drop quite a few calls on us. Returning to FL from NC last week, There were a few areas on I-95 and I- 26 without coverage. My wife gets dropped calls daily from home with a decent signal, so she called and they said they have some cell towers that are not working and are " upgrading the system". So I would go with another provider until they can fix there problems in the SE.

[heavyhaulerss]

I have had verizon for over 10 years. they are the best overall. not the cheapest but for coverage they are the best for me. to save 10 -300 bucks a month, but not get out when I need to is not worth it to me.

[TK THE TRUCKER]

I have driven all over the country with Sprint and Verizon. I finally got sick of Sprint after continually dropping calls non stop even with different phones. That was a few years ago though so maybe they've got better. I switched to Verizon and had much better luck. It is a bit pricey though but it's also nice to talk to someone that speaks english and is in America when you call cusomer service, unlike Sprint.

I just upgraded to the HTC Incredible after having the original enV for a couple years. I like it a lot and with a full ghz prcessor it's quick even on the internet. I've been able to get on here more than I used to becuase I can do it when I'm waiting around for something with my local job. I bought it before I knew about the Motorola X coming out. I probably would have got that for it's larger screen and HDMI capabilities.

[sgreer78]

at&t has always worked great for me. Like Verizon, they are a little on the pricey side, but other than that, I have no real complaints. No provider is going to be perfect, so there's no use in trying to find one.

[thebaldeagle655]

I have ATT&T, I highly do NOT recommend them. If you are like me, you want a phone that will not only talk but be able to access at least a limited internet, especially for me, weather related apps. With the introduction of the new Iphone4, it seems that the "partner providers" for ATT&T, no longer are allowing the unlimited broadband access that I was sold. I contacted customer service and was told, sorry, that was beyond their control and no, I couldn't cancel my contract without paying the early termination fee of $300. Attorney letter went out Friday, I'll see if that $25 helps

[Pack_Rat2]

I started out with sprint. They suck, constant over charges lousy tech support and so on. Then I had T-Mobile no real complaints there except some spotty coverage. Now i have Verizon my better half and I share 2000 minutes plus we both have the droid phone which means we both have the unlimited data plans on those. And I also have my aircard for my laptop. Which is unlimited with Verizon only because we were alltell people and had unlimited aircard with them so my card is grandfathered in. The kicker is Verizon is not cheap we pay $280 a month for what we have. But i have great coverage and above average AMERICAN tech support.

[GMAN]

To the best of my recollection I have always reached an American when I have called Sprint. They have always done a good job when I have had a problem with my phone or air card. The bad side is that it can take a while to get through their voice mail prompts.

[razorwyr]

I appreciate all the responses. I have had T-Mobile, Verizon, Alltel, and Cingular in the past. T-Mobile is on my permanent do not use list because of the way they treated me and well over half my subscribed unit when we returned from our last tour of duty in Iraq. They charged us all different fees to hold the numbers while our plans were on hold, charged us additional months after our contracts were supposed to be put on hold, etc. and then cancelled our plans and reported us to the credit bureaus for not paying our bills on time, plus tried to get us to pay extremely high reconnection fees since our plans were terminated due to non-payment on accounts that were supposed to be on hold. T-Mobile was by far the best coverage I had until I switched to Verizon after the fiasco. I loved the coverage I had with them, until I moved here to Mississippi. I live just off the first exit as you enter the state westbound on 20/59 and I have had horrible coverage here with them, though ATT is very reliable around here. I don't mind paying the extra amount, just was wondering others thoughts. I will probably just stick with Verizon, they've always treated me great.

[Lost_in_Ohio]

Stay away from verizon Pay as You go phones. These are the noncontract cheaper verizon phones. They don't have the ability to roam. I found that out the hard way down in Mississippi last year. I now have a contract smart phone by verizon and I have driven from Ohio to Arizona with no problems at all.

[Malaki86]

I too have always reached an American when I've had to call Sprint over anything, which is very rarely. For example, they used to charge me Mexico roaming fees every time I went to Laredo or El Paso. When I would get the bill the next month, I'd call them and they'd reverse the charges immediately.

I've got a total of 3 phones with 800 shared minutes + the laptop aircard. I pay $160 per month total.

[Luzon]

Here's a post I made a little while back. It may offer some help. Maybe not.


Smartphone

[Jackrabbit379]

I have ATT&T, I highly do NOT recommend them. If you are like me, you want a phone that will not only talk but be able to access at least a limited internet, especially for me, weather related apps. With the introduction of the new Iphone4, it seems that the "partner providers" for ATT&T, no longer are allowing the unlimited broadband access that I was sold. I contacted customer service and was told, sorry, that was beyond their control and no, I couldn't cancel my contract without paying the early termination fee of $300. Attorney letter went out Friday, I'll see if that $25 helps

I guess different people have different strokes. Or something..
I've never had any trouble with AT&T. I have wonderful (with the exception of a couple dead spots) service, and I can pretty much talk on my phone all night. Of course, I don't have an IPhone. My wife has one, but I wouldn't have a clue how to work one. I don't even use the internet on my phone. I just use it to talk. My bill is a little high, but I am happy with my service with AT&T. Sprint aint a patch on AT&T's shirt when it comes to good service on hwy 82 in no man's land.

[geeshock]

I'd have to say verison. Of course I'm still under the old altel plan so my bill is a little cheper than some but since they swiched over to verison, the coverage is exceptional, obviously, wv, ky andsome other states it's hit and miss but overall, they have awsome coverage

[Luzon]

I'd have to say verison. Of course I'm still under the old altel plan so my bill is a little cheper than some but since they swiched over to verison, the coverage is exceptional, obviously, wv, ky andsome other states it's hit and miss but overall, they have awsome coverage

I too was under the Alltel plan and had zero problems. I did decide to change to one of the Verizon plans because I wanted unlimited talk. I wish I hadn't done that because I don't really need the data plan that I also took but as far as the coverage - it's even better than Alltel's was.

If Sprint were the last cell phone company on the planet I'd be using smoke signals to communicate. I absolutely hate Sprint but that's a personal thing. I've talked to others that love sprint and would never ever use Verizon. So, your best bet is to make the best choice you can with the info you have and pray that you can "logistically" return your phone within the 30 days and try another carrier if you end up not being happy with the first.