AT&T

[Eric Treece]

Does anyone use AT&T? I am curious what the actual coverage for them is on the plains. I currently use Verizon, but they have been sucking royally since they took over Alltel in Northern Michigan.

 

[Gordon Spencer]

AT&T has terrible coverage especially 3G compared to the other carriers. Alltel and Verizon have not merged . Not as of yet anyways . The merger has to be approved by the FCC and the Department of Justice . You will have seen no changes at this time due to any merger . Nothing will change till the approvals occur. Cyfre does alot of business with Alltel and have met with Verizon officials about the proposed merger . So my info is from pretty reliable sources. The latest I have heard is they are hoping for first quarter of 2009 for an approval.

Does anyone use AT&T? I am curious what the actual coverage for them is on the plains. I currently use Verizon, but they have been sucking royally since they took over Alltel in Northern Michigan.

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

I've got ATT and haven't had awful results. No, there isn't much 3G coverage out there but that isn't a huge deal to me when chasing. It's a nice thing to have, but generally when chasing I'm only using my data connection to run GRlevel3 and upload my GPS location to spotter network, and maybe load a web page or two. While coverage is spotty at times on the in the central plains states, they have very solid coverage here in the midwest which is why I still hold my plan with them.

You can view their coverage map here:

http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/?type=data

Pretty good, unless you start getting further north towards the Dakotas.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

I have ATT and it's horrible. It's so bad I'm going to pay the $170+ to break the contract so I can switch to Sprint or Verizon, whichever has better service.

 

[Tyler_Costantini]

I had it for two years! the 2g covrage was ok but the speed sucked!!!!!!!!!!! Sprint kicks it up and down the block!! heh.. Some of the my chase buddies have Altell soon to be Vorizon.. and its really good also, BTW Sprint roams to Altell which makes the Kansas covrage awsome for me..

 

[Adam Lucio]

Ive also used AT&T with no trouble around here in the midwest. As far as plains coverage goes, its good around main roads and highways but once your about 5 miles onto the dirt-back roads...its gone. So if your going to be doing a data check, do it on a main road and then let pure instinct take over once your out there. A good balance IMO.

A signal boost kit will help, which I may purchase this winter....still browsing.

I also noticed the wifi option dissapeared when AT&T took over Cingular and [for me] is srictly GSM.

 

[Stephen Locke]

I had an AT&T air card early summer of 08 and found it unusable in rural Kansas so I switched to Alltel. Alltel is better in Kansas but disappears when I cross the state-line into Oklahoma. I guess the question for me; Is there any one carrier that has the entire midwest thoroughly covered? Seems to me you have to choose a carrier who has a strong signal in your primary geographic area. For some reason my iPhone (AT&T) would get a signal when my AT&T air card for the laptop would not . . .

 

[Scott Weberpal]

I use a sprint aircard and I had great coverage from N. TX to the Dakotas and everything in between.

 

[Skip Talbot]

I've noticed a few holes in the plains with my tethered Razr, even with an external antenna. However, are the other carriers competing with costs? I can get unlimited data tethering my phone for just $20 on top of my voice plan. True this option was designed just for downloading to the phone, and a full data plan costs $60 on rop of a voice plan. But do Sprint and Verizon have similarly priced options?

 

[Eric Treece]

Thanks everyone for your input. I know where I travel on the Great Lakes AT&T has been getting rave reviews amongst the crew of the ship I am on. I never had a problem with Verizon but as of this season, the entire west side of Michigan on Lake Michigan and including the Straights of Mackinaw have gotten horrible. My phone keeps locking on to a Verizon tower somewhere out in the sticks, but I dont have any bars. Meanwhile I know that Alltel has a tower (244) that I would lock on to religiously but now I can't buy my way on to that tower. I hate to dump Verizon because I have gotten awesome coverage throughout the Plains. I looked into Sprint as well but they won't help me as much on Lake Superior. If that merger hasn't taken place yet, I wish it would sooner than the expected date. Thanks again!

 

[Joe Dorn]

I have ATT and it's horrible. It's so bad I'm going to pay the $170+ to break the contract so I can switch to Sprint or Verizon, whichever has better service.

Alltel has a $30.00 per month plan (in addition to basic plan) with unlimited time (as far as I know it has not changed). I have used it extensively in Texas, Louisiana and east of the Mississippi with few connectivity problems; others have reported good coverage in the plains area.

You can cut the data plan on and off with no fees...

I have been with Alltel for years and have no desire to change. I am going to renew early to avoid any changes Verizon might bring to the table.