Community Forums

firedoc · 10-12-2014, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nana25K

We have stayed with Verizon for 8 years. The coverage is great. Our only issues are at some NPs and National Wildlife Refuges. But usually at the NWR its a line of site, tree issue . At those we use a Wilson Trucker Antenna hooked up to Rons flip phone and to our JetPack. While it may be pricier than other carriers its one of those "pay to play" items in our budget.

We have a Wilson trucker antenna but have quit using it as I was told it would not support 4G. Was I misinformed? We have Verizon with iPhones.

Bob&AnnaMari · 10-12-2014, 11:28 AM

We split our service between Verizon and T-Mobile. When one is not working well the other seems to be just fine. There are spots in the western states where neither works. It really matters where your travel.

I am also amused about the comments regarding Verizon and national parks. My Verizon was the only phone that worked in Zion National Park, but it was limited to within 100 feet of the center's reception desk. Thiat was one of the more unusual experiences.

AT&T and Verizon are both adding to their networks as fast as possible. T-Mobile's new feature of making their newer phones compatible with wi-fi has opened up their voice and text network to any available wi-fi hotspot. So, what is best today may not be "best" tomorrow. I guess the best answer is "it all depends".

fastcat · 10-13-2014, 10:42 PM

We've had Verizon for as long as they've been in business. Their coverage keeps getting better. Can't really say the same for their customer service but the phone almost always works, as well as their Jet Pack wifi setup.

Earlier this year we got a second phone for me from T-mobile. We travel a lot in the western states and could go for a couple hundred miles at a time with 3-4 bars on Verizon and no service on T-mobile. We finally gave up and got me a Verizon plan so now both phones work well, even in the Nevada and Utah deserts.

Mr_D · 10-13-2014, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grady Ray

We currently have Verizon cell phone service, which is really expensive. Thinking of going with T-Mobile, which is a good deal less expensive. Anybody have any input on their coverage, while traveling, wi-fi, etc.
Grady Ray

We use Kitty Wireless which resells Verizon service. Get the same coverage as Verizon for $12 a month for 250 minutes and some data. Have never come close to using it up. Could even get cheaper for the DW's phone as she almost never uses it. One thing though is that NO roaming is included in our plan so have to keep some money in the account to pay for it since it's prepay only.
One "bad" thing is that you have to buy your phone outright and even now the latest offered is used Apple 5S for $514.95.

Mr_D · 10-14-2014, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

We use Kitty Wireless which resells Verizon service. Get the same coverage as Verizon for $12 a month for 250 minutes and some data. Have never come close to using it up. Could even get cheaper for the DW's phone as she almost never uses it. One thing though is that NO roaming is included in our plan so have to keep some money in the account to pay for it since it's prepay only.
One "bad" thing is that you have to buy your phone outright and even now the latest offered is used Apple 5S for $514.95.

The data on the $12 plan is 10 MB.

Raining Star · 10-14-2014, 05:15 AM

Last year we went from Arizona up to the pacific coast highway into Washington for three weeks. Then across the Canadian Rockies for another three weeks, then finally south through the American Rockies for another three weeks to complete on nine week trip. All told we went through seventeen National and State Parks. Also lots of towns and small cities.

We had along with us my Verizon iPhone 4s, and my wife's T-Mobile droid. In all the places that we had any service it was always available on the Verizon, and less than half the time on the T-Mobile. Not a single instance of having T-Mobile service without Verizon service. Having Verizon without T-Mobile was very common.

Verizon service in Canada was prohibitively expensive, but other than that we had free unlimited voice and data on Verizon (I'm grandfathered on that plan, which isn't available any more)

The T-Mobile had served my wife's needs living in Phoenix but was close to useless when compared with the Verizon when traveling in the boonies. She became frustrated and bought a Verizon iPhone 5 in Washington with a 4 gb plan, which is well within her usage limit. I pull an average of 12-15 gigs a month on my unlimited plan so I don't want to give it up.

In short, if you are mainly hanging near large cities and towns T-Mobile slightly lower cost might be worth looking at. If you need service in all kinds of remote locations the slightly higher Verizon cost is fully justified by my math. Affordability is always a personal call.

As for people saying Verizon is rude, I'd say that they are usually busy. I've never been in a Verizon store where there weren't people ahead of me. Once you get served they provide an unhurried and professional personal service. I'm not there looking for a new friend so I have no problem with their professional demeanor.