The best internet and cell phone coverage?

[Giggles]

Hey, everyone, for those of you who are already living on the road, I would love to hear your reviews of:

1. What is the company with the best cell phone coverage away from big cities? [font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif] A few years ago, I know it was Verizon. Is that still the case?[/font]

2.  What is the best internet booster, mi-fi, mo-fo, or we-boost? A year ago, I heard a lot of people were using Verizon Mi-fi, but then someone on the internet said that there is a new one called mo-fo (or something like that?? Lol).  I've also heard we-boost is good?  What is the best one for the money?

Thanks!

 

[Giggles]

Oh, also, while I'm getting reviews -- can anyone recommend a good mini-fridge that won't cost a ton and won't suck up a lot of energy?

Thanks!

 

[XERTYX]

I have straight talk. It depends on which phone you pick as to which network it runs off of. They run verizon, at&t, tmobile, and sprint.

Mine is on Verizon. I've never had poor coverage. Here in N ga there are a few places where every network drops except verizon.

Straight talk is hard to say how much data you get for their price. On verizon for $55 a month you get unlimited everything up to 60GB of data before they review your usage and 10 GB of hotspot.

The att and tmobile model phones on straight talk have lesser amounts of "unlimited" data.

I'm considering getting a second phone as an internet hotspot thru visable. As I understand it they use verizon. For $40 a month unlimited everything including hotspot. The hotspot is limited to 5 giga bits per second and 1 device at a time. (Some phones apparently support more devices)

 

[crofter]

Visible for data and Verizon for calling.

Visible is offering Canada and Mexico for free so may improve the voice service in southern AZ. They also advise toggling airplane mode to get a better connection to the tower.
-crofter

 

[Giggles]

Thank you, both of you.

 

[mpruet]

The best is the one that works...   ;-)

Cellular service depends on two key factors.  1) where the tower is and 2) how many users are currently using that tower.  

You might have service with a tower nearby, but if there are a large numbers of users currently using or streaming from that tower currently, then the service will be rather spotty.  This happens to a lot of folks who rely on Verizon when they go to Quartzite in January.  Normally Verizon will be fantastic, but at that time because of contention on the towers, service will not be all that great.  Last time I was there, TMobile worked much better because there just weren’t as many folks on the TMobile tower and Verizon had a lot of contention.  

I’m fortunate to be able to afford unlimited data plans on the three major carriers.  I used to have Sprint, which generally worked well, but now Sprint has been merged with TMobile.  I chose to switch my Sprint plan for an AT&T unlimited data plan which can also support 5G.  I had bought a TMobile plan because it had unlimited LTE support in Canada and I was heading up to Alaska.  Since I already had TMobile, I saw no reason to keep the Sprint, but wanted AT&T as I felt it would work at a condo I had in Colorado.  I currently have CenturyLink at the Colorado condo because my Sprint cell phone had no service there.  I really hope the AT&T works there so I can get rid of CenturyLink - will know for sure in a few weeks.   I also have a verizon JetPack.  I want to keep the JetPack - again because I have an unlimited data plan and don’t want to mess with that deal. 

Like I said, I’m fortunate in that I can afford multiple plans.  Not everyone can afford multiple unlimited data plans.  However —- 

You can pick a main plan for the majority of the time and then more limited plans with the other carriers.  That way while you might have an unlimited (or high) data plan with Verizon, you might have a more limited (i.e. cheaper) plan with either TMobile or AT&T.  Special deals come out frequently, but they tend to not remain available for new customers very long.  But if you get into a good plan with a major carrier, you will generally be grandfathered in if the deal becomes unavailable for new customers.  I would suggest joining the youTube channel technomadia to get notified of new deals and changes in the offerings. 

Eventually starLink will support mobile environments.  Currently they only support fixed setups.  - But I suspect their mobile solution is not going to be a cheap solution.  

However, as starLink becomes more viable, I suspect that we’ll see a lot of good deals coming out of the big three US Carriers so they can protect themselves.  Because of that it would be worthwhile to keep knowledgeable of any deals coming out.

 

[lab_nomad]

I’m fortunate to be able to afford unlimited data plans on the three major carriers. 

So, does that mean you have three cell phones?

 

[WanderingRose]

I like Verizon for cellular, rarely finding myself with no signal at all, and have had a one-device WeBoost for several years which has done an excellent job of boosting weak signal to one that is usable.

 

[B and C]

My main android phone is with native verizon with hotspot feature and a verizon jetpack. I have another cell phone that is with visible MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) on only verizon native towers. I have an at&t mobley (connects to the vehicle OBDII port on the connected car plan. For the mobley I have a usb to OBDII adapter to keep it going even when the van is off.

I like having service with the two biggest carriers. In Quartzsite this year, my verizon phone data was abysmal but my at&y mobley worked well. These two carriers cover most of the US between them.

An MVNO will only work on native towers and will not roam onto other towers like at&t and verizon do. Both my mobley and visible service are unlimited. My main phone and jetpack are too but are throttled after 15Gb is there is congestion.

I use a wilson weboost sleek with a truckers antenna for distant reception and if I am on the very edge, I have a directional antenna to use. I usually have internet when no one else around me does.

 

[RVTravel]

Visible is a Verizon company.

 

[B and C]

^^^That is true. The difference is that verizon has made deals with other providers so verizon phones will roam onto towers that verizon doesn't own. Visible only works on towers that verizon owns. There are remote places I go that my verizon phone works but when I turn on my visible phone and try to make a call, I m asked for credit card info to use the tower in that location.

Verizon works in canada and mexico, I am not sure about visible but probably not.

 

[mpruet]

So, does that mean you have three cell phones?

No, two cell phones and a jetPack.

 

[Ramblin McPete]

When I bought my house in the hills of western MA 20 years ago the only cell service I could get at my house at the time was T-Mobile. So I have had T-Mobile ever since. Now I'm thinking about doing this travel thing by next year, so what do you think? Can I stick with the T-Mobile if I go out to the western states? Or should I be thinking about switching to Verizon? I doubt I will be doing much talking so it will be mostly data...I will have to go look at my current plan but I thought it was unlimited data, might be wrong though.

 

[mpruet]

Use the coverage app to get an idea what to expect.  Also be aware that since more folks have Verizon, there might be more contention on the towers.

 

[Giggles]

I like Verizon for cellular, rarely finding myself with no signal at all, and have had a one-device WeBoost for several years which has done an excellent job of boosting weak signal to one that is usable.

Thank you!

 

[Giggles]

Thanks, everyone.

Well, I guess I'll see how my MetroPCS does the first week, and if the coverage sucks, then I'll switch over to Verizon.

Can you use a WeBoost with any cell phone company? How much do they cost?

 

[Camper]

My weBoost Drive Reach was $499.99

 

[WanderingRose]

My one device WeBoost was under $200, and it was worth every penny.

I can use my phone as a hotspot if I wish, tho that is a data gobbler I avoid whenever possible,

 

[Zmann]

...smoke signals...reliable ...and generational...never censored or sold...

 

[doublegregg]

My weBoost Drive Reach was $499.99

how do you like it? does it help in both urban and rural  areas?

i'm thinking of getting a weboost, of some sort...