cell phone providers

[banefamily]

I'm in the Midwest and probably going to travel the Midwest and south. Bucket trip to Alaska someday.

How are your cell phone providers? I have Verizon but the price is high, I hear a lot of ads about Sprint, T-Mobile, Chat mobility, etc but do not know how they work in the typical campground locations.

Thanks!

[BandJCarm]

Sprint and T-Mobile are basically for big city dwellers, and a few Interstates.



There isn't a best one. They are all expensive.

[Flybob]

For wide area coverage either of the big two Verizon / AT&T are probably a good choice. If you stay in a relatively small area, you can get by with some of the smaller guys, which one depends on what area. The super low cost guys buy unused data packets on major networks and as long as the network is not busy you are OK. In times of high demand the service is sub par. 5G is a totally different animal and is most likely not going to be rolled out in other than major cities/metropolitan areas for some time.

[ChrisRR]

I have sprint and hate it. Once my phones are paid for I’m going right back to Verizon and paying the cost. I have virtually zero service anywhere 4 plus miles off an interstate.

[clr]

I agree with flybob, if your planning on moving around and seeing this country Verizon or AT&T is your best bet. I was with Sprint for 20 years but moved to Verizon due to the poor or nonexistent service in many areas with Sprint. Where my son lives in north Texas it is the big two or no service at all.

[bikendan]

We have the T-Mobile 55+ plan and have driven all over the West and haven't been disappointed.

[ependydad]

I carry Verizon and AT&T. I can tell you that definitely:
- some places both are great
- some places neither are good
- some places neither work at all
- some places Verizon is the clear winner
- some places AT&T is the clear winner

Often times, my external antenna is required on my hotspots to have usable service.

Rarely, but occasionally, my cell booster is required to have usable service.

Overloaded towers in snowbird areas is no joke and decimates service. Times like that, I wish I also carried service from a smaller carrier like T-Mobile.

[Rdeejr]

I used Att for years then switched to TMobile three years ago. Service is not as good but with two kids and 4 iPhones, $128 per month including taxes was worth it.

[Iwannacamp]

I will be the minority here.
I had Verizon for several years. After my divorce I changed to straight talk(Verizon towers) and then AT&T(loved it) and got tired of paying $90+ for a stupid cell phone. New DW had changed to Metropcs(sucks) but cheap. Then we all changed to Cricket wireless. They use at&t towers and I could not be happier. We have 5 phones unlimited for $125 mo.

[banefamily]

Thanks for the responses, I appreciate it.