Ok, tips when choosing a cell phone provider... If you move around a lot or travel a lot then getting good cell phone coverage can be a real problem. It can be even worse if your trying to get coverage out in the boonies. First rule in Fight Club, we dont talk about coverage maps! LOL This post is going to focus on coverage.... Not prices, best deals, phones etc... I may post some more info on that later if people express an interest. Cell phone coverage maps provided by the carriers are just a guess based on where their towers are and the topo contours of the area and the building and tree cover. The only way to know if a particular carrier has coverage in the areas you need to be is to do your homework. 1. Look at the coverage map for your carrier and get an idea if they think you might be covered where you plan on being most of the time. 2. Ask others in the same area who they are using for their cell phone coverage. Dont take their word as gospel that the coverage is good, just use this as a clue that it is possible with a specific carrier to get coverage. 3. Ask what type of phone they are using, make and model and do an internet search to determine which phones for that carrier are known to get good reception. This isnt about what is the latest, greatest, hottest phone, this is about getting good coverage where you plan to be... So dont be shocked if you find out that the latest iPhone reception may not be all that hot... 4. Last but not least you may have to try out the different carriers in an area to determine if you can get coverage. To do this cost effectively look for cheap prepaid phones on different carriers and activate them. Many times you can find older prepaid phones laying around that people will toss so keep your eyes open, look on eBay, Craigslist, Amazon... Try the different carriers cheaply with a prepaid services and see how it works where your at. If it seems to work well, then start shopping for a phone you plan to keep. This can be hit or miss depending on the areas you are at. Most towns and cities the coverage should be acceptable for most of the major carriers. The separating factor then will likely be network speeds available in your area 4g vs 3g etc. However if your going off the beaten path you may find that your coverage is spotty at best. So it can be a situation of trial and error. I have gone through that this year as I have been spending a fair amount of time out in the boonies on our property. To be fair we really arent in the boonies, and most of the carriers tell you they have coverage where we are... Bwaaaahahaha! They are FUNNY! So it has been a process of trial and error and we are still testing services... So dont get frustrated, just be prepared to have to try each and see what really works. Here is a very very quick list of prepaid carriers that might work for you where you plan to go. This is just a sample of one from each carrier so you can start your research. If you would like more info on prepaid carriers let me know and I will be glad to help. On Sprint Network: Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile On Tmobile Network: Straight Talk (here you have to look for a Tmobile branded phone to try this, Straight talk has phones on all 4 major networks, but I hesitate to recommend them due to bad customer service) You can find cheap new Tmobile prepaid phones for $50-60 now that work pretty well. Coverage I found to be spotty unless your in a town or city. On ATT Network: Straight Talk(Again look for an ATT branded prepaid phone, typically a go Phone) ATT coverage was decent in many areas, but not anywhere near what the coverage map shows. We found that coverage was very spotty in the areas we were at this year and many times no coverage when they said there was... So you will have to give it a try in your area to determine if it will work for you. On Verizon: I recommend Page Plus prepaid. Find a Verizon prepaid phone. I found a Straight Talk on CDMA-V network which is Verizon at Walmart for $30 to try this out. No problems activating it on PagePlus. There is a lot more info I can help with on the phones and networks. Just give me a shout. I hope this helps you out. It has been a real pain trying to get things working and it changes every place you go... So just be prepared for the unexpected! LOL If you going through cell phone purgatory dont feel alone... There is a web site if I can find it again where people report their coverage quality for their location, if I find that I will pass it along... It didnt help me, but you might find it helpful. Have fun!
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 17:44:11 +0000
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