Advice needed - Carrier coverage in the US for holiday

focbde

focbde

Gawd
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Jan 31, 2008
Messages
545
Hey all,

My parents are going on a rather mammoth tour of the US this month.

They're driving in a huge ring starting in Chicago, through Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, then back to Chicago.

I'm after advice, given the above, regarding what provider they should go for when getting a SIM card to use over there. They want a fair bit of data allowance, calls not so important.

Any info/thoughts most welcome :)
 
Tmobile is fine in major cities, but not so much in the in between areas. Verizon has the best coverage overall IMO, but costs the most.

You might want to look at Project Fi. They would be able to be on both the Tmobile network and the Sprint network.
 
I disagree with Fi completely. Sprint and T-Mobile are both urban based carriers, and Fi is fucking HORRENDOUS if you use a lot of data, which is your priority. Get something from PagePlus, or another Verizon-based MVNO. Straight talk will work well too.

Another thing to consider is that while Verizon has the best coverage, your phones (especially if they're from outside the US) might not work very well on them, if at all. At that point, you'd have to go with AT&T or T-Mobile.

So, what phones will you be using and where are your parents from? Since I assumed they were international, and all.
 
Verizon with their "unlimited" plan. Done.

If they don't have Verizon compatible phones, AT&T is the next best for coverage.
 
As someone who drives through very remote parts of the central U.S. regularly, Verizon is easily in its own class. Anymore, AT&T is second place, but it's a distant second.
 
Many thanks for the replies all! Just shows I was right to ask as obviously it's a minefield!

To answer the question: they're from Germany and the phone being used is a Galaxy S7 - European. I believe in terms of bands this should still be fine in the US, but limited to LTE as I don't think it has CDMA support.

Regarding Verizon that should work fine, as the phone they have supports all bands of LTE that Verizon use (2, 4, 13 apparently) and GSM obviously is no probs.
 
T4rd said:
Verizon with their "unlimited" plan. Done.

If they don't have Verizon compatible phones, AT&T is the next best for coverage.
Click to expand...

Hi there, sounds like a good option only this is not possible if using own device it seems... I'm wondering whether it's worth it in that case to just go for it and have the phone thrown in anyway...
 
Yeah, the internation S7s will have issues in the US. AT&T and T-Mobile won't support their bands, they would have to flash the appropriate firmware, which is kind of a bitch. They won't be able to get on Verizon at all (since it's not a CDMA device). Perhaps some throwaway $50 Android phones and that PagePlus MVNO might work.
 
Yes, just realised that Verizon/Sprint use CDMA...

Regarding AT&T/T-Mobile though, apparently the phone we have is fine there as it does support the requisite bands for GSM, 3G and LTE. It supports:

GSM:

850, 900, 1800, 1900

HSDPA:

850, 900, 1900, 2100 HSPA+

LTE:

700, 800, 850, 900, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2600.

From the info I have regarding, for example, AT&T, that should mean all is well?
 
Just confirmed via AT&T website and phone is compatible. So, guess it's AT&T given that the consensus seems to be that it's the second best choice for coverage...
 
I find AT&T and Verizon to be a wash coverage-wise. You'll be fine with AT&T through that entire area - I've covered much of it myself.
 
Honestly, just get a TracFone. A Samsung Galaxy Luna will run you $100.

Select a service plan for minutes, text and data (they have a 90 day plan with 750 minutes, 1500 texts and 1.5GB of data for $50).

You can buy TracFone card codes directly off their website for additional data ($10-1GB).

If they start running low they can stop into any WorstBuy, DollarGeneral, Walgreens, CVS, Home Depot, etc.

You can even look up nearby locations on their website.

Also, AFAIK, all TracFone Android smartphones use Verizon's CDMA network.

So, maybe $200-ish all said and done?
 
Chas said:
Also, AFAIK, all TracFone Android smartphones use Verizon's CDMA network.
Click to expand...

From the TracFone wiki:

TracFone Wireless operates as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), holding agreements with the United States' largest wireless network operators to provide service using their networks, including Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile US, Sprint Corporation, and U.S. Cellular.
Click to expand...
 
Chas said:
Honestly, just get a TracFone. A Samsung Galaxy Luna will run you $100.

Select a service plan for minutes, text and data (they have a 90 day plan with 750 minutes, 1500 texts and 1.5GB of data for $50).

You can buy TracFone card codes directly off their website for additional data ($10-1GB).

If they start running low they can stop into any WorstBuy, DollarGeneral, Walgreens, CVS, Home Depot, etc.

You can even look up nearby locations on their website.

Also, AFAIK, all TracFone Android smartphones use Verizon's CDMA network.

So, maybe $200-ish all said and done?
Click to expand...

Hey Chas and cheers for that,

Their site appears to be down at the moment so can't visit. :(

I've checked and my parents' S7 is compatible with AT&T in the states and so they're looking at 60 bucks for unlimited (not that it's REALLY unlimited, but...) and not having to buy another phone...
 
AT&T will most likely be OK if they stick to the interstates. But other wise its hard to beat Verizon in the Midwest...
 
Domingo said:
I find AT&T and Verizon to be a wash coverage-wise. You'll be fine with AT&T through that entire area - I've covered much of it myself.
Click to expand...
They certainly aren't a wash in the central flyover states (KS, NE, IA, etc.), in my experience. But, as the guy above said, you won't be in bad shape with AT&T on interstates. But once you get off of those and into true BFE, all bets are off. I can still go 20+ miles at a time without AT&T coverage in rural KS as of this year.
 
Verizon is definitely better in many areas and matches AT&T in others. Rarely is AT&T the better of the 2, but it is still far better than Sprint and T-Mobile.
 
Don't believe everything said in this thread..

http://bgr.com/2017/02/08/t-mobile-vs-verizon-coverage-2017/

TMobile has been the absolute most aggressive about expanding their Network so coverage now is not the same as it was a year ago and most people who talk about how much better Verizon is are not working off of the type of experience you will get today.

Not saying that TMobile is the absolute best but from experience I've been places where Verizon was the only decent signal in the area and then all of a sudden I'm still streaming YouTube videos to my TMobile phone after my dad's Verizon phone lost all signal.

When traveling across the country which is best is going to vary by location. The only thing that will always hold true is that Sprint sucks everywhere.

Given the phones though that would narrow it down to either at&t or TMobile. Both have good mvno's but for rural coverage stick to the flagship brands for the partner roaming (ie TMobile roams on at&t and vice versa as needed).
 
While T-Mobile's network has grown leaps and bounds the past 2 years (and it has!), it's still not in Verizon's territory in the out of the way places. Granted, most people don't need coverage in a wheat field in Nebraska. T-Mobile's real strength is going to be later this year, when they roll out 600Mhz coverage, which will blanket the US.

HOWEVER, we're discussing this month, not this year. And since his parents are A: only here temporarily and B: want to get it right the first time, I would suggest a Verizon MVNO.

That article is right abouta lot though. Especially about T-Mobile overtaking AT&T based on Network. Hell, even my work iPad on Verizon has some deadspots in NJ where T-Mobile shines.
 
Here's a pretty good chart on who is the best and worst carrier last updated on June 2017:


Verizon is #1 at 91.
T-Mobile is #2 at 90.

Difference of 1 point but much cheaper.
 
entropism said:
HOWEVER, we're discussing this month, not this year. And since his parents are A: only here temporarily and B: want to get it right the first time, I would suggest a Verizon MVNO.
Click to expand...
I'd be careful with the MVNO route. You miss out on certain roaming agreements that way, which can be huge in remote areas. For example, a big chunk of western Oklahoma is still covered with towers owned by a regional mom-n-pop provider, and you're SOL without roaming there. You can find similar situations in various chunks across the Midwest/Plains (albeit usually not as large geographically). Full Verizon postpaid service is the only way to really maximize your rural coverage, inconvenient as that is for travelers needing a temporary solution.
 
CHANG3D said:
Verizon is #1 at 91.
T-Mobile is #2 at 90.

Difference of 1 point but much cheaper.
Click to expand...

Sadly, not much cheaper as of today due to them raising the price of the "One+" pack. 4 lines unlimited is the same price on both (which is ridiculous), though T-Mobile's includes tax while Verizon's doesn't. Verizon accepts corp discounts though.
 
Thanks very much everyone for all your replies, typical [H] willingness to help!

For the most part they're going to be on or near interstates, so I think with that in mind things will be fine. I've basically directed them to go to the Best Buy around the corner (sort of) from their first hotel in Chicago and get an AT&T Gophone card, and they'll probably just get the 60$ unlimited plan. That compares very favourably with prices over here in Germany anyway, which is quite expensive all told.
 
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