90 replies to this topic

[Kokopelli]

Time to get a new smart phone and sign a new 2 year contract. Can't decide who to go with, Verizon or AT&T.

Curious what folks experiences have been with these carriers as they "Wander the west". Does one stand out against the other?

Thanks!
-Rick

[rotti]

No contest. Verizon

MT, WY, SD, CO are my primary experiences.
Hell, AT&T doesn't even work that well in Denver!
Consumer Reports rates Verizon 1st and AT&Hell last.

[Barko1]

We have verizon on the phone through Walmart - Straight Talk. No contract, uses the Verizon network, set price, no surprises, and cheaper than my previous deal with Verizon. We also have an IPad that is on AT&T. We have had pretty good success with AT&T, often can get a signal with it when we have nothing on the verizon cell, but at times the opposite has been true. So what has worked best is to have the two different carriers, and of course in a lot of those remote places we have nothing which is OK as well. I know AT&T has a bad rep but I have been pleasantly surprised accessing the web when way out in the sticks.

[highz]

Where I am, Verizon is really the only choice. By the way, I cut down my phone bill by getting rid of the cell plan and got a MiFi wireless hub and Verizon data plan instead. I use Skype or TextFree on my iPod Touch to turn it into an "iPhony". The only drawbacks to this are having to power up the MiFi, and you don't have 911 with most VOIP. For 911, I have my SPOT.

[Barko1]

Where I am, Verizon is really the only choice. By the way, I cut down my phone bill by getting rid of the cell plan and got a MiFi wireless hub and Verizon data plan instead. I use Skype or TextFree on my iPod Touch to turn it into an "iPhony". The only drawbacks to this are having to power up the MiFi, and you don't have 911 with most VOIP. For 911, I have my SPOT.

What does the data plan cost?

[Overland Hadley]

Verizon.

[highz]

What does the data plan cost?

Varies depending on the data plan, which always seem to be changing. If you only need email, sending/receiving calls and updates to WtW, with some websurfing you can get by with the lower GB download plans. Mine costs $40 per month after all the hidden fees. It was part of a MiFi/iPad bundle plan.

If you plan on streaming movies, it might not be very cheap...

[MakersTeleMark]

Verizon in Colorado. Or a sat phone in the fun places.

[Lighthawk]

Verizon in Nor Cal.

Use an Android phone and you can use your annotated google maps (I even copied spots and info from WTW ) and it's accessible on your phone. Go one step farther with BackCountry Nav Pro ($10 app) and you can have GPS capability even without cell signal. It's even possible to take data from google maps and download a klm file which you will have on your BC Nav maps, again without any cell signal.

[leadsled9]

Verizon in CA, CO and AZ.