West Coast Cell Phone Plans

[Podew]

We spend most of the year migrating up and down the west coast from Baja to British Columbia, avoiding as many large cities as possible... kind of back road ramblers. I have been looking for a cell phone plan that would provide minimal, emergency type service in the Oregon, Calif., W. Arizona, Nevada chunk of the country. Lots of plans out there, but I can't find the single one that might suit our needs. Any tips or ideas anybody??

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA forum!

Its really hard to say specifically, because plans change so much, and its hard to know without looking at exactly where you'll be.

However, I will say back when I did have a Cell Phone, I was pretty happy with the coverage Verizon provided in rural areas. At the time it was significantly better than most of the others - although certainly not perfect.

[RoadTripper 101]

Hi

We have traveled various routes across the west and have had very good luck with our service which is Verizon. Basically I do not remember a no service area. We also had tri-mode phones. There are some remote areas in the west that do not seem to have digiital service. We had a cell at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon when many others did not. Good luck in your search. Also, FYI we do not work for Verizon.

Diana

[RoadTripper Brad]

I too travel out west, specifically between Arizona and Washington at mininmum of once a year, either by car or by plane. I've used T-Mobile and Verizon.

T-Mobile was fine as long as I was along a major freeway, but elsewhere coverage was hit and miss.

I've had verizon for two years now specifically because of the more extensive west coast coverage and have had little to no problems getting a signal.

-Brad

[Mark Sedenquist]

We spend most of the year migrating up and down the west coast from Baja to British Columbia,

I see that you "hail from" Lakeside, OR -- a slice of country about as close to heaven as can be found.

...avoiding as many large cities as possible... kind of back road ramblers.

Finding a cellular account that will work for you is going to be problematic. Without question, the best network, right now for back-country, rural areas is the one formerly owned by AT&T's business division. That network was primarily served by analog repeaters and now belongs to Cingular Wireless, (which by a very clever infusion of capital, now belongs to AT&T). Unfortunately, you are not a gas utility and so you can not access it.

Notwithstanding Diane's experience with tri-mode phones (1- so-called analog + 2 digital) it will be hard to find a service that really works for you. But of the various networks, the best one to try would be Verizon. But don't rely on it!

Mark

[PNW Judy]

I've used Verizon from Washington's coast to Texas to Vancouver BC to Sacramento and all points in-between. It's rare that I haven't had service. I have the plan where I don't pay any roaming charges anywhere in the continental US (so I did have to pay roaming for those calls made from Vancouver BC....no matter, not many were made).

I have friends with other plans that I've been on backroads and byways with. I can often get service when they can't. There may be times when they can get service when I can't but we haven't discovered any of those places yet.

I think some of the other services actually have better plans but I pay more for Verizon because I'm often hiking alone or with just my dog. It's important for me to be able to call for help, if needed. In our area, Verizon definitely has the best coverage.

[ozzyAU]

Is anyone aware of a 'prepaid' Verizon service?

[Midwest Michael]

Yes, Verizon does have a prepaid service. I don't know much about it or even how its coverage area compares its regular billed service, though.

[Podew]

Thanks All for the info... I think I'll check into Verizon and see what they have. Thanks too to Mark... I might be getting the hang of this site!
Podew