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pdhoffman
01-02-2003, 01:01
Carrying a cell phone is something about which I do not have a choice. I will be carrying.

That being said, is there a preferred cell phone service provider that would be best for the AT in general? If the services are all using the same towers then it wouldn't matter, but I don't think that is true. So does one have better coverage than another.

I do subscribe to the position, articulated so well in earlier threads, that no one is going to know I am carrying. I am mainly going to use it as a voice mail service. Spare me the arguments about carrying vs. not carrying. I just want to know which one to carry.

Pete Hoffman

stranger
01-02-2003, 02:29
First of all...I know everything. Second, I am the absolute leading expert on thru-hiking and only my opinion counts. So basically what I have to say is bible. No cell phones...I don't care if you are dying on the trail...under no circumstances shall you compromise your AT experience by carrying a cell phone, even if death is breathing down your neck! I would like to call out to other "traditional thru-hikers" to cut off the hands of hikers who use cell phones. You must realize that when I hiked 17 years ago cell phones were the size of watermelons and I could not carry one because the wings on my feet could not support the weight, so now YOU cannot carry one either. If I didn't do it...then NO ONE should do it. Now please make a personal donation to my webpage.

Wander Yonder
01-02-2003, 05:49
pdhoffman, I have been asking around a lot trying to find the answer to that same question.

So far, Verizon is what most people have told me, and if you check the service maps, they seem to have the best coverage. http://www.rentcell.com/coverage-map-airtouch.htm

Also, if you scroll down near the bottom of this page, you can click on the name of the carrier and it will show their service areas on the map. http://www.cellular-news.com/coverage/usa.shtml

Verizon's America's Choice plan looks pretty good to me, but up near Maine it will all be roaming at $.60+ per minute.

Sprint and AT&T don't appear to have as good a coverage.

Hope that helps. If anyone else has personal experience, I'd love to hear it! :)

peter2003
01-02-2003, 14:59
I am going to carry a small cell phone (out of sight) and will use the Verizon America plan. I think the cost is about $39 for 1 phone and $20 for additional phones. You get about 4,000 free minutes a month if you call after 9:00PM. This year I hiked 60 miles in the Troutville area and and had only 1 night where I could not get a Verizon tower.

Jack Tarlin
01-02-2003, 15:15
Considering the monumental screwing that Verizon did to its own people (surprise layoffs at Christmas time, limited severance pay, halting benefits, insurance, etc.) while paying its top executives an obscene ammount of money (one of them made 78 million last year) I respectfully suggest that if at all possible, you do business with another company. Surely there are other companies out there more worthy of your patronage.

MOWGLI
01-02-2003, 18:44
Baltimore Jack: You may know alot about hiking the AT, but your wading into some murky water when you talk about Verizon. Yeah, people lost their jobs just before the holidays, but it was no surprise. How do I know? I know some of them. I've worked for the company for 19 years. The Union in my locaton was keeping the rank & file in the dark about the layoffs.

Another thing.. No one made $78 million last year. That's called propoganda. Yeah, some executives made millions, but far less than many other CEOs were paid. There was nothing unethical or immoral about it.

Before you think I'm some shill for Verizon, let me set the record straight. I'm anything but that. I spent 5 years as a proud member of CWA and many of my friends are CWA members. I have critized the company many time for many different things.

Here's the deal... In the 90's with the internet explosion, everybody and their brother was calling Verizon for a 2nd phone line. As a result, Verizon hired lots of technicians to meet this demand.

Fast forward to 2003...

The economy is in the crapper, cell phones are cannabilizing the land lines, and Verizon is still regulated and competing against unregulated cable tv providors and lots of other telcos. Verizon lost over 2 million lines to competition in NY alone. All those technicians that were hired in the mid-90s simply don't have enough work to keep them busy. That's called the free market.

Wanna blame someone? Blame the FCC for keeping Verizons hands tied while all their competition remains unregulated. Blame the government bueracrats that allowed companies like Worldcom, Enron & Global Crossing to pillage & plunder and stick it to their shareholders and retirees. Worldcom alone soaked Verizon for several hundred million because of their Chapter 11 filing. Blame the current administration for focusing entirely on Irag while the economy goes down the drain....

Its unfortunate that Verizon had to lay people off. This isn't he old Soviet Union however. We can't keep people employed just to keep the masses happy. If layoffs were not undertaken now, Verizon could become uncompetitive, and even more people might have to be laid off in the future, and the retirees who depend on a Verizon pension (including my father) could be left out in the cold.

The other side of the coin is that the layoffs were in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement, and were upheld by the courts and an arbitrator. That doesn't make it palatable. Those are the facts however. The Union also refused to negotiate with Verizon on a plan to obviate the layoffs as it involved shared pain for all. Thats unfortunate.

So... I don't wanna get in a pissing match about this. Just wanted to provide another side to the story. And by the way, Verizon donated over $16,000 last year to protect Sterling Forest State Park in New York State where 10 miles of the AT can be found. I know, because I arranged the grant through the 501 (c) 3 that I donate my time to.

My hope? I hope that the economy turns around and those that were laid off are rehired (if they wanna come back). I am sure the company would be willing to hire back many if not all of those that were laid off if there was indeed work for them. Maybe in 2003 we'll finally start talking about the economy instead of dropping bombs...

One last editorial comment. Don't use Verizon for your cellphone service during your hike. Don't use Cingular, Sprint or AT&T either. Leave the damn thing home. They're not necessary on the trail.

Little Bear
GA-ME 2000

Bad Ass Turtle
01-02-2003, 22:49
I carried a cell phone on my 2001 hike, used Verizon, and could get coverage on the average I would say 3 out of 5 times I tried it. I always tried to be on a ridge line, but there certainly were times when I couldn't get a signal.

That cell phone came in very handy when I was injured and needed a friend to give me a lift to a doctor. . .

Jack Tarlin
01-03-2003, 17:16
The 78 million figure came directly from the New York Times a few days ago; I wish I could remember the name of the guy in question and his position. But Little Bear is probably right my knowing little about this .....I very happily withdraw from this discussion.

Oh, and for what it's worth, L.B.'s suggestion to leave the phone at home is right on the money.

MOWGLI
01-03-2003, 21:23
Jack, the article in question was an OP-ED in the NY Times by Bob Herbert on 1/1/2003. The guy in question was the CEO Ivan Seidenberg. The $78 million comes from the value of stock options that he holds at their apex in value. They were not exercised, and the stock has dropped significantly since the $78 million figure was calculated.

I think we beat this one to death...

Dirtyoldman
01-04-2003, 07:49
Just too add a bit of fuel to the verizon fire....
I had a contract taken over by verizon who promptly tried to alter the terms of my service. To make a long story short after many trips to the local manager for billing adjustments and so on I finally ended up dumping them. Verizon was sued in a class action suit for this and many other practices. I will never,ever use verizon again!

At+ t has given me solid service and coverage for the last year and a half. I highly reccommend them over Verizon!

Hammock Hanger
01-04-2003, 09:50
Of the cells I saw on the trail ATT got the best reception. Nothing was 100% but there service seemed to get out when others didn't. HH

pdhoffman
01-04-2003, 10:06
DOM,

I understand that Verizon might be SOB's on their business practices. The question still remains are they the best for having the phone actually work while on the AT, or is there someone better

Pete Hoffman

Dirtyoldman
01-04-2003, 11:08
considering the fact that most cell phones can use anyones tower (for a price) I would tend to look very closely at how much you will have to pay for using a competitors system. I would also point out that for a long conversation a phone card in town is way cheaper then any cellular call.

if your really worried about coverage they do make 3 watt phones.:D

SkyKing
01-28-2003, 21:30
I have AT&T..and not having hiked all the AT....have driven most of the US and everywhere the AT covers. I'm very happy. No L/D or Roaming. But then again....I ain't IN the mountains! p

CeeJay
01-29-2003, 15:05
I have a Verizon cell phone and tried to use it from Iron Master's Mansion during the Ruck last weekend. Three times it didn't work at all and the one time I did get a connection, the connection was so poor that the person on the other end hung up. We had it with us out west last summer and it worked about half the time. I am going to put mine in my bounce box and use it when I am in a town.

Papa Bear
01-29-2003, 16:49
The Verizon all-america plan worked fine for us (from Ridge tops) from NJ to ME (which is as far as we hiked last year). Even in Maine (through Stratton) we did not have to pay roaming charges, although it usually would switch to analog there, which uses up the battery MUCH faster.

This is because the analog circuits in your cel phone use more power - nothing to do with your carrier. Beware of that - you can run your battery down in a few minutes!

Pb

gravityman
01-29-2003, 19:12
I had no idea that the digital phones also had analog capability! Pretty nifty... Do all phones have this ability?

Gravity Man

sli74
01-30-2003, 09:03
No gravity man, not all phones have both digital and analog, it has to be a dual band or a tri mode phone. You can set it up to pick up digital only or either. :)

Papa Bear
01-30-2003, 11:29
Originally posted by gravityman
I had no idea that the digital phones also had analog capability! Pretty nifty... Do all phones have this ability?

This ability is not only nifty but it is essential if you intend to use a cel phone over a large area and especially in more rural areas. Plans that provide service over multiple states generally must use multimode phones, since the local service providers that are aggregated together to make a wide area service, often use different digital protocols, and in more rural areas the only service is often the older analog technology. I know that NY and CT use two different digital protocols and in upstate NH and ME only analog would work. Hence "tri-mode".

Before signing up for a plan make sure you have a phone that will work in all relavant areas. BUT don't worry too much about this (just check) since most phones sold now a days are tri-mode.

But still be forwarned: watch out for analog - it eats batteriies. I use a Motorola Star-tak phone and it tends to last several weeks in digital mode (probably 20 - 30 short calls) but could run down in just 2 or 3 analog calls.

Pb

Scorpion
01-30-2003, 15:16
Can you tell when a call is in analog mode?

SkyKing
01-30-2003, 20:03
Papa Bear....I had a Motorola Star-tak until about a year ago. Mine would only get 4/5 calls TOTAL no matter the mode and would last no more than a few days before dead......despite new batterys. Also the reception was POOR..to say the least. Could be I had "the ole lemon" :) I now have a Nokia and am very happy. My service was nation-wide Suncom..which is now AT&T. I guess, however, they all have their good/bad points.....phones AND service providers.

Papa Bear
01-30-2003, 20:21
Originally posted by Scorpion
Can you tell when a call is in analog mode?

On my phone there is a "D" or an "A" that lights up on the upper left of the screen. Check the manual with your phone.


Originally posted by Skyking
I had a Motorola Star-tak until about a year ago. Mine would only get 4/5 calls TOTAL no matter the mode and would last no more than a few days before dead

Sorry Skyking, that souds like a dud to me. I know a bunch of folks who like them (including me). But like anything nowadays it's soon obsolete. Mine is between 2 and 3 years old so there is probably much better stuff out there now.

Pb

atraildreamer
06-11-2006, 01:49
Try the TracFone. It is a pay as you go cell phone. It has coverage over much of the East Coast by service arrangements with whatever service provider is available in the area.

My Nokia TracFone will automatically switch between analog and digital service. I buy 120 minutes of time for $32.09, each call costs about 26 cents/minute, 52 cents if out of your home area (roaming).

You can change your home area, so a thru hiker could reset the home area to whatever section of the AT that they are currently hiking.

Keep the conversations short, and to the point, dumping all the crap that most people call conversation these days, and you'll be surprised how long 120 minutes of airtime will last.

Currently $23 for a TracFone at Wally World. :)

bigben
06-11-2006, 23:39
I have Verizon and had good signal at Springer, Woddy Gap and Big Cedar Mountain, but not much else. Of course my cheapo LG phone blows. My friend has Cingular and a much better phone and had better service throughout.

1Pint
06-11-2006, 23:50
I've worked for the company for 19 years.
Little Bear
GA-ME 2000

Have you really been working for them since you were 8 years old? ID says you're 27 now, minus 19 = 8?? Yeah?

Frolicking Dinosaurs
06-12-2006, 07:18
We have Cingular with a multi-mode phone and have had no service in places where others were happily chatting away dozens of times - it is frustrating. Most were using Verizon (sorry Jack). We had no service in Damascus at Trail Days, can barely get service at our home (less than 1 mile from an Interstate spur!) and drop more calls than Carter has little pills. I absolutely recommend you avoid ATT / Cingular for the AT.

Skidsteer
06-12-2006, 18:34
We have Cingular with a multi-mode phone and have had no service in places where others were happily chatting away dozens of times - it is frustrating. Most were using Verizon (sorry Jack). We had no service in Damascus at Trail Days, can barely get service at our home (less than 1 mile from an Interstate spur!) and drop more calls than Carter has little pills. I absolutely recommend you avoid ATT / Cingular for the AT.

Have your phone checked, FD's. I had full coverage at TD on my Cingular phone.

Ewker
06-12-2006, 19:48
Have your phone checked, FD's. I had full coverage at TD on my Cingular phone.

is yours digital and analog?

I use T-mobile and had no service at Trail Days. I can go to manual settings and do a search but nothing came up :mad:

Skidsteer
06-12-2006, 20:32
is yours digital and analog?

I use T-mobile and had no service at Trail Days. I can go to manual settings and do a search but nothing came up :mad:

No. Quad-band GSM.

Mountain Man
06-12-2006, 21:17
No. Quad-band GSM.

Skidsteer, I've got Cingurlar and mine is also Quad-band GSM and I couldn't get any service at all during trail days which really surprised me because my phone normally does pretty good around towns.:confused: Who knows it's just one of them things I guess? I was planning on taking it on my Thru next year for use when I get in town but now I have my doubts about taking it. Probably be better off without it anyway. I live and work through the week way back in the woods real close to the AT here in North Georgia. ( no cell towers around) One minute my phone has full reception and the next it has nothing. OH well??? Although it does pretty well down around towns (normally). I don't count on it back in the woods at all.

Skidsteer
06-12-2006, 21:43
Skidsteer, I've got Cingurlar and mine is also Quad-band GSM and I couldn't get any service at all during trail days which really surprised me because my phone normally does pretty good around towns.:confused: Who knows it's just one of them things I guess?

Hmmm. Go figure. Well, cell phone signals in the mountains are fickle at best. It appears I was hogging the frequency in Damascus :D .

I didn't actually make or receive a call in Damascus but I did specifically check to see if I had a signal or not. Four strong bars, no variation.

Personally, I'll be happy to give mine up when I retire.

Mountain Man
06-12-2006, 22:09
Hmmm. Go figure. Well, cell phone signals in the mountains are fickle at best. It appears I was hogging the frequency in Damascus :D .

I didn't actually make or receive a call in Damascus but I did specifically check to see if I had a signal or not. Four strong bars, no variation.

Personally, I'll be happy to give mine up when I retire.

I know what you mean mine would have been gone years ago if it wasn't for business. They can be a pain.:(

Buckles
06-12-2006, 22:21
I'm an exec. in the wireless industry. I've been in this business since phones were the size of cinder blocks. I've done everything in this business, twice.

In all seriousness, I could spend weeks, probably months, creating the ultimate A.T. map of wireless coverage, with county-by-county geography, detailed licensees and operators by frequency band, the location of towers, who's leasing space on what towers, who has roaming agreements with whom (specifically detailing all the Tier 3 wireless operators with licenses to operate throughout Appalachia), etc, etc, etc. I have access to all of this data, updated daily.

But here's the bottomline; the answer you're searching for doesn't exist.

Geography and a hundred other factors play a significant role in determining who's going to provide you with the best service. Foremost, never count on service ever working on the trail itself. I didn't say it wouldn't, just don't bet on it. Wireless network propagation is centered on population and vehicle traffic, not foot traffic. Tier 3 roaming partners to major operators, such as, some in Appalachia who should remain nameless, are unreliable. They're not good at running a business and stink at operating a wireless communications service. Trust me, I know every one of them (and their first born who's going to inherit the family biz).

If you want to use a weighted average, you're not going to find a better coverage solution than Verizon Wireless and Cingular. They have strong in-network coverage and depth in their roaming agreements. Next would be Sprint and T-Mobile. Everything after that is a crap shoot.

By the way, Tracfone is nothing more that a reseller of Verizon, Cingular, etc. Tracfone has no network and no licenses, and therefore, no ability to negotiate any roaming agreements that would bring additional value to their service. You can get similiar prepaid service through the major operators.

The Startac phone with limited calling ability was/is likely a battery that's seen better days. You can go online and find a replacement battery. However, I suggest you pitch it and get a new digital phone.

Also, and this should be obvious, never leave your phone on while on the trail. Not because it disturbs other people (it does!). With poor coverage in the mountains, your phone will begin to "cycle", looking for a service provider. This will kill a battery in an hour or two. Only power the phone on when you need to make a call, then power it off.

Sorry if I just burst the "who's the best cellular service provider for thru-hikers" bubble. I'd rather you know the facts. Pick a major provider, then carrying an prepaid phone card as a backup.

Skidsteer
06-12-2006, 22:30
Buckles has it right, if you're into this sort of thing.

Stick with Cingular or Verizon.

100+ AT Dreamer
06-12-2006, 23:18
Hi all! New here, just did our first little bit on the AT this weekend! Very psyched about finally starting to live my dream instead of just dreaming it! Ok, on the celly issue. Have to admit, I have a heart condition and being just a beginner and a section hiker, my husband is keeping his celly on him but concealed and on silent just in case until we learn how my heart is going to deal with altitude. We have Verizon and on the section we were on, it worked fine. We were at 19E on the TN/NC border down in the gully there and it worked just fine. AFA CW, I wouldn't go back to them if you GAVE me a free line! Constantly dropped calls was a pain. Hope that helps!

weary
06-12-2006, 23:20
All the reviews I've read say that Verison has the best reception, overall on the east coast. If Cingular is as good, or almost, it's pretty bad.

I've never owned a cell phone and rarely use one. But my wife's cingular/IBM strikes me as pretty marginal. We took a seven week tour of the western parks last summer and fall. Cingular connections were rare enough to be virtually worthless.

atraildreamer
06-14-2006, 14:06
If you want to use a weighted average, you're not going to find a better coverage solution than Verizon Wireless and Cingular. They have strong in-network coverage and depth in their roaming agreements. Next would be Sprint and T-Mobile. Everything after that is a crap shoot.

By the way, Tracfone is nothing more that a reseller of Verizon, Cingular, etc. Tracfone has no network and no licenses, and therefore, no ability to negotiate any roaming agreements that would bring additional value to their service. You can get similiar prepaid service through the major operators.


I'll stay with my TracFone and get the benefit of both Verizon and Cingular. :sun

Buckles
06-14-2006, 15:56
I'll stay with my TracFone and get the benefit of both Verizon and Cingular. :sun

Chocolate OR vanilla, not both.

Verizon Wireless is CDMA and Cingular is GSM. There's no commercial phone that supports both bands, and definitely no dual-mode phone sold by Tracfone. You're either buying a GSM or CDMA phone. Some of Tracfone's product does support analog, where it still exists, but most of those voice channels have been dismantled, and eventually, all will.

mtnbums2000
07-06-2006, 19:43
a calling card works the best

neo
07-06-2006, 19:57
Of the cells I saw on the trail ATT got the best reception. Nothing was 100% but there service seemed to get out when others didn't. HH

AT&T and cingular are the same now,the best:cool: neo

strnorm
07-06-2006, 20:12
I use a cheap tracfone from wal-mart, so far seems to work well, you may have to move around a bit to get a signal, and if you break it or lose it you are not out much, roaming uses two minutes for one of your time, but i only carry for emergency.

the_iceman
07-06-2006, 21:10
If you are calling home mostly and have broadband get a Vonage line at home. Unlimited calls $29.99/month with free calling to certain European countries. You can add an 800 # for about $4 - $5 a month. This is what I am thinking of doing. I have been happy with the Vonage. A little choppiness if I forget I am on the phone and start downloading files. I will call home on the 800 #.

I have a T-Mobile Quad-Band GSM Razr. Works all over the world but probably on only 30% of the trail. T-Mobile is very honest about coverage and provides a tool on their page to query a map to check coverage. I find the coverage better than they show. If you are patient you could walk your way up the map to check.

Brushy Sage
11-30-2006, 15:02
This might be of interest to anyone who has waited for a long-winded hiker to get off the pay phone near the railroad in Hot Springs. According to the Marshall News-Record & Sentinel, U.S. Cellular has now erected a "low profile" cell tower on Rich Mountain. It provides coverage in the Hot Springs (and some to Shelton Laurel) areas. Opinions among the town citizenry are mixed. One man remarked that "It's about time we stepped into the '80s." On the other hand, a lady at the Smokey Mountain Diner said that "some folks liked it better before technology caught up with them."

There is no online link to this local publication. The newspaper (very interesting in all aspects of mountain life) is available from:

News-Record & Sentinel, PO Box 369, Marshall, NC 28753. The story is on page one of the Nov 29, 2006 issue. Cost for one issue by mail: $2.50

Sly
11-30-2006, 15:57
Hello Elmer? This is the SoboHobo. Since there are faster hikers ahead, can I reserve a room for tonight? I'll be there about 5, what's on the menu?