What is the best cell phone carrier out west

[Lisa Truck Gypsy]

I'm heading west from FL, TX, NM, AZ and CA. Specifically Mojave Desert and Death Valley and around the Sedona area. What are your experiences with cell coverage. I've looked on freecampsites.com and seen their cell coverage ratings but I'd rather trust the advise of people in this forum who have been there. 
Currently I'm on MetroPCS and I know that's not gonna do me any good out there.

 

[MrNoodly]

Verizon. Once you get away from populated areas or major highways, the other carriers become spotty.

 

[carlex.escapade]

I would have to agree with @MrNoodly, Verizon works fine.

 

[wagoneer]

Ditto Verizon love/hate thing

 

[highdesertranger]

x4 it's not even close Verizon hands down. there are very, very few places out here where Verizon doesn't work and someone else does. highdesertranger

 

[jimindenver]

I'll agree that I have had Verizon service everywhere but never have I had Verizon and not AT&T at the same time. My booster set up makes it easier to pull in the distant towers so that may be the difference.

 

[blars]

While verizon has the best coverage now, T-mobile may be better in 3-5 years when they complete their 600 Mhz rollout. The phones that handle that frequency aren't even available yet.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

You didn't say if you were interested mainly in cell coverage for voice, or for data, and if data - for, say, work - how important speed might be. 

In general, Verizon probably has the best 4G coverage.  However, because this is widely known in the RV community, most people have Verizon and this has led to an interesting paradox.  In areas where both Verizon and AT&T are available, especially near campgrounds, so many people may be trying to use the Verizon tower at the same time that the speed drops dramaticly. People using AT&T under these conditions frequently report much higher speeds available in these campgrounds.  For people who absolutely, positively need high speed cell for data, Technomadia recommends having both an AT&T account as well as a Verizon account.

Finally, keep in mind that if all you need is voice coverage for emergencies, the old 3G service is all you need for that, and that may be more extensive than the 4G charts are showing.

 

[MrNoodly]

I've also found I often get faster speeds out in the boonies with, say, one bar of 4G, where few people are using the bandwidth, and slower speed in populated areas, with five bars of 4G, where more people are online. It's like highways. Cruising easily on a remote two-lane vs. creeping along an eight-lane during rush hour in the city.

 

[jimindenver]

While verizon has the best coverage now, T-mobile may be better in 3-5 years when they complete their 600 Mhz rollout. The phones that handle that frequency aren't even available yet.

T-Mobile still is working on rolling out their band 12 and the map isn't nearly as pink as they would have you believe. One problem with the low frequencies is that they are using it to cover large tracts with a single tower and that means lots of people on one tower. It's one thing to advertise, totally another to deliver.

All that said, even just having Verison and AT&T I would have been more limited than with my all four carrier attack. T-Mobile and Sprint have been at times the better choice with stronger signals and faster speeds.