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30knotwind
Joined: 30 Aug 2005 Posts: 239 Location: White Salmon, WA
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 8:04 am Post subject: cell phone plans: best/worst Gorge/Coast - CONCLUSION |
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I am switching service because I have trouble getting ATT data at remote launches, e.g. 3Mile and Pistol--no signal whatsoever at Pistol.
Please reply with any known service failures, i.e. data, voice or no signal, at any sites you know of, coast or gorge.
I am particularly interested in T-moble because of the Simple Mobile plans.
http://www.mysimplemobile.com/
Friends with Verizon seem to get signals when I can't. Any gaps in the Verizon service?
Thanks!
Chris _________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.30knotwind.com/
Last edited by 30knotwind on Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:48 am; edited 1 time in total |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 11:37 am Post subject: |
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I don't know about T-Mobil, but when I saw a bud download weather maps in 4-5 seconds on Verizon at Roosevelt that took me literally 15-20 minutes on AT&T, I dropped AT&T the next day. (They wanted the street address of the problem, promising to send out a technician to fix it. She could not understand what the technical term "boondocks" meant. She insisted that EVERY place has a street address, admitting later that she has never been outside NYC. That's still funny years later, as I have lived and played near and in remote western deserts for decades now.) That same bud switched to Verizon because it dramatically improved his reception at 3-Mile, where he sails through the dead of winter.
Another local bud, on AT&T, is barely reachable or understandable even in our city of 300,000, let alone on the road.
I get a couple of brief dead Verizon zones driving east of Arlington, especially near Crow Butte, and Port Kelley, deep in a canyon where the Columbia bends north, is in cell hell, period.
Mike \m/ |
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trburl
Joined: 10 Apr 2000 Posts: 196
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 1:29 pm Post subject: |
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T-not-so-Mobile
Last edited by trburl on Fri Jun 07, 2013 12:55 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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bjamin
Joined: 19 Jul 2000 Posts: 57
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 2:06 pm Post subject: |
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Verizon works very well for me everywhere. It is 3G for now in the gorge (at least from HR to Maryhill). LTE (4G) in most cities and even Maui. Entire nation supposed to be LTE by end of 2013. |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 2:31 pm Post subject: |
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trburl wrote: | I have had T Mobile for 7 years and can safely say, their coverage sucks the WORST on the Oregon Coast, bar none. .... I cannot wait to get out of my contract with them, and might even pay the $100 to do it.
I like T Mobile as a company the best, but their coverage when I really need it, for weather data & safety, on the coast, is a total joke. |
They have probably already broken your contract by providing lousy coverage. Legally, it is likely now null and void, and the remaining issue is probably whether your time (or fun) in Small Claims Court or writing letters is worth $100 to you.
When the nationwide (maybe global?) carrier for iW's predecessor tried to make me pay them hundreds of dollars because I had dared to actually download wind data, I made it as obvious to the CEO as a Force 5 tornado in his office that there was no way in hell he was getting one cent from me, that trying would cost him far more than he claimed I owed and that he would lose in court anyway at no expense to me. His tone quickly changed from ^@%&#! to, "Crap; you're serious, aren't you? OK; you win." They're accustomed to dealing with ignorant and/or overworked sheep.
Many much larger corporations have caved similarly once confronted with facts, simple math, the law, and our contracts. Kicking their arrogant asses is not only as much fun as a 4.0 day, but it's often profitable and can protect our credit ratings (my homes, on two occasions). It's like getting paid to windsurf, and can be done on calm days.
Mike \m/ |
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dcfordo
Joined: 15 Jun 2006 Posts: 30
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Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2012 2:31 pm Post subject: |
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Sprint works well for me at 3 mile for wind data. I don't know about Pistol. |
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30knotwind
Joined: 30 Aug 2005 Posts: 239 Location: White Salmon, WA
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:34 am Post subject: |
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FWIW I went with a Verizon plan and the HTC Incredible phone because:
1. Discounters, e.g. Page Plus, will apparently suspend you if you overuse a tether/hotspot.
2. Verizon coverage seems to be the best, based on comments on forums.
3. Voice on the Incredible was the best, which is important when forwarding your work calls to a windsurfing launch.
WHEN SHOPPING FOR A PHONE, TEST VOICE QUALITY
This became the deciding factor on the actual phone. I was 'upgrading' from a 4 year old Blackberry on which voice was ALWAYS as good as a landline.
I started with the LG Spectrum for the first two weeks: voice was unbelievably terrible--everyone I called commented on it and many times I could not be understood at all--the salesperson at the Verizon store confirmed the poor quality by testing my phone and the demo Spectrum. Other LGs were also bad.
Next, I tried the newest Blackberry Bold-like model: voice was not great.
I then tested voice on the not-yet-released, "hot new thing", Samsung Galaxy III(?): it was almost as bad as the Spectrum, but not quite.
I ended up with the HTC Incredible, which had voice quality as good as my four year old Blackberry, modern features and Hotspot capability.
Discount sellers, without official hotspot/tethering features
ATT network: http://www.airvoicewireless.com/
Verizon network: http://www.pagepluscellular.com/
T-Mobile network: http://www.mysimplemobile.com/ _________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.30knotwind.com/ |
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thomas_tlusty
Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 16
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:12 pm Post subject: |
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Is there any carrier that works at Oceanside and Pistol / Cape Seb? ATT doesn't, would be worth it to me to switch if I could find one that did. |
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30knotwind
Joined: 30 Aug 2005 Posts: 239 Location: White Salmon, WA
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:26 pm Post subject: |
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I watched friends get normal coverage from Verizon at Pistol while my ATT signal was completely non-existent. Don't know about your other sites. _________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.30knotwind.com/ |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
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Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2012 9:28 am Post subject: |
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Verizon works better at 3-Mile than it does at my home in a city of 300,000. |
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