Cellular voice and data coverage in the western USA

[robgendreau]

I may be changing my cellular plan and I'm interested in people's experiences with coverage in the West. I'm often on the coast, basically Santa Barbara north to WA. And in inland areas like Owens Valley, Tahoe, Mojave Desert, eastern Kern Co, Anza, S UT, W CO, etc.

I'd say that from what my friends and I have experienced, Verizon has about the best overall boonie coverage, followed by ATT. But we haven't had many fellow travelers with T Mobile or Sprint.

So I'm wondering what folks' experiences have been, away from the interstates, cities and decent coverage areas.

Rob

 

[DaveInDenver]

From personal experience, T-Mobile coverage is worthless away from towns in CO, NM, UT and WY.

 

[craig333]

Thats pretty much what we get on wtw. Just remember out here, once you get off the pavement you lose coverage quickly no matter the provider.

 

[1leglance]

Verizon has always amazed me while traveling in the desert southwest. I get great coverage especially for text (which you should always try instead of voice for getting through).
Add a cell booster in your rig and it is crazy where you can get a signal.

However if you travel to Mexico then ATT is a better option.

 

[trailscape]

Off the track in Utah or Colorado area ATT is useless. Anytime I've seen someone using a phone in a remote location they've had Verizon. I've been out with friends or family and joked about how nice it is to be away from phones and internet in the middle of nowhere and then their phone rings. I have a cheap prepaid phone using Sprint and it works where I want it to, but can't touch Verizon.

 

[robgendreau]

That prepaid idea might not be a bad idea. I seem to recall that Verizon lacked some cheap deals in that regard. Maybe I should look again.

I'm still on unlimited data with ATT, so I'm understandably loath to dump it, even with throttling. I still have to pay for texts, which is getting increasingly obnoxious.

 

[mpinco]

All have spotty service if your outside a major metro area. But some do much better in the high country.

My rankings, top to bottom:

Verizon
Sprint
ATT
T-Mobile

 

[mdmead]

I haven't seen any mention of US Cellular. I've got a few friends who swear by it in the mountains around central WA. I have a Straight Talk phone on Verizon's network and it works fair. I've got reception at our cabin in Oregon, slightly better than the ATT phone/plan I had previously. (What's sad is my phone has good coverage in the Yakima area, but not at my actual house unless I step outside.)

 

[robgendreau]

Their coverage looks horrible in some of the areas I'm researching, but yeah, for central WA it looks OK. http://opensignal.com/networks/usa/u.s.-cellular-coverage

 

[dddonkey]

I use Verizon and never really have any issues as a matter of fact I am sitting at Woods Canyon Lake in Az writing this on my IPad. Now I am using a Wilson cell booster to get 4g but my voice works without any problems. My wife has AT&T and has no service again, but that's not new, we also both have iPhone 5s for a comparison.

 

[Ryanmb21]

Verizon works well for and I bounce all over the country for work. Much better in my experience than AT&T.

 

[zelatore]

ATT used to be awful here in NorCal, but has improved in recent years.
Still, I have Verizon and the wife has ATT due to work. She can barely make a call from the house. I'm about 30 miles south of Sacramento and 5 miles off of I5. It's not downtown SF, but it's not the end of the world either. I've had Sprint, Nextel (back in the day), ATT, and Verizon. All of them get fair to good reception here (Walnut Grove) EXCEPT ATT.

That said, we were in the mountains around Meadow Lake and she got reception when I didn't. Go figure.

 

[complex]

I haven't seen any mention of US Cellular. I've got a few friends who swear by it in the mountains around central WA. I have a Straight Talk phone on Verizon's network and it works fair. I've got reception at our cabin in Oregon, slightly better than the ATT phone/plan I had previously. (What's sad is my phone has good coverage in the Yakima area, but not at my actual house unless I step outside.)

I was going to suggest straight talk. It's an inexpensive way to test providers and see which is best. Or to get a second phone just for expeditions.

 

[BlueCoyote]

From the deserts of S CA, mountains of OR, and just about every place we have been in the US, Verizon has worked. Most of my cooworkers have switched from att / sprint due to poor coverage.
We have been in some remote areas, gotten to the top of a hill / mountain - and gotten 3g or better.


NorthWestOffroad.net
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Maverick XRS

 

[robgendreau]

I was going to suggest straight talk. It's an inexpensive way to test providers and see which is best. Or to get a second phone just for expeditions.

I've been thinking of doing that, on Verizon. Using pay as you go for voice and text. But isn't Straight Talk limited to 30-day plans? I'd like something by the day.

Rob