What cell phone provider has the most coverage in Montana? (Great Falls: to rent, month-to-month) - (MT) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

smilebehappy · 03-07-2010, 08:41 AM

OP, don't believe the online coverage maps you might find.
I travel the state every week, all year round. I have an AT&T and a Verizon phone. It is very rare that I get Verizon coverage and not AT&T; generally they have reception in the same places, even some very remote areas. It is just uncommon to not have reception in any town in the state, I mean any town! (except Eureka)

There are areas of course that due to mountains or canyons you won't have reception with any carrier.

Also, in some areas with poor reception, I have found that if I sit the phones down and leave them in one spot for a while, they will pick up reception.

So, if you want to stay with AT&T you should be fine, though Verizon "officially" has the best coverage in the state.

Gman2007 · 03-09-2010, 02:59 AM

As I'm sure you already know, it would be a good idea to get an external antenna for your phone so you can pull in those weaker signals. I previosly used a cell phone exclusively instead of a land line phone and could not get a reliable signal even living in town. I then purchased one of these Wilson car amplifiers and was amazed at the signal I could pull in.

wilsonelectronics.com

MTsam · 03-09-2010, 01:54 PM

Great idea Gman! Thanks for sharing that advice. When we moved to MT we had AT&T and could'nt pick up squat. We got an Alltel phone and later a Verizon one and had no problems with either.

Montana Griz · 03-09-2010, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snowdreamer

Great idea Gman! Thanks for sharing that advice. When we moved to MT we had AT&T and could'nt pick up squat. We got an Alltel phone and later a Verizon one and had no problems with either.

There is no ALLTEL service in Montana as such. Verizon "bought them out" approx 12 to 18 months ago.

So, comparing Verizon to AT&T........IMHO, "Verizon is the winner", w/o a doubt.

rambrush · 03-09-2010, 06:14 PM

I use Sprint when I am in state and around Anaconda - Butte over to Billings. Then been up through Helena to Great Falls over to Lewistown back south to Big Timber with no problems either. Look at there coverage map it covers the state as well. Sometimes roaming sometimes not no extra charge on my plan.

Mt.SNOW · 03-09-2010, 06:50 PM

Thats great to hear rambrush, I have followed this thread and we have sprint, if
we get moved sometime this summer, we already have sprint but are on a 2 yr
contract, still have another yr to go so I was hoping there would be some coverage from
Great Falls to Helena.

Reziac · 11-15-2013, 08:00 PM

I just talked to someone who has a "Wilson Booster" which let him get 3 bars on his phone here where we normally get zilch. Seems like a good gadget, at least if you have somewhere to plug it in (like your vehicle). Doesn't have its own power supply. Does have an external antenna.

volosong · 11-15-2013, 11:46 PM

This is an old thread, but by coincidence, I was just talking on the phone tonight with a lady friend who lives on a ranch outside Three Forks and works at the BZN airport. I asked her about cellular coverage and she says that Verizon still has the best coverage throughout the state.

When I visit her next month, I'm bringing a T-Moble and an AT&T SIM chip for my phone to compare with each other.

Even though I purchased an unlocked iPhone 5 from the Apple store the other month that is both CDMA and GSM capable, Verizon does not support that particular iPhone 5.

Reziac · 11-16-2013, 12:12 AM

I live near Three Forks. I have T-Mobile, but not for long, because it has all sorts of problems.

My phone uses 3 or 4 different providers depending where I am (and maybe the phase of the moon, it's not consistent). None of them is T-Mobile. Which makes no difference otherwise. (I don't have roaming charges so I don't really care whose name comes up.)

If you have a cheaper service, you're already throttled and will get a weaker signal than folks who give T-Mobile more money. There is no fix for this. (Actually tested against a similar phone at the same location, but 2x more costly service.)

Voicemail DOES NOT WORK. I have to go to Dillon before it works again (no, I'm not kidding). There is no fix for this: When you call in to fetch your voicemail, it asks you to leave a message FOR YOURSELF. Tech support is singularly unhelpful, because T-Mobile doesn't officially work here AT ALL, so it's not their problem.

Coverage is not as good as AT&T's (which seems to do better in these hills than Verizon).

ElkHunter · 11-16-2013, 06:40 AM

My brother had the mobile kit installed in his pickup truck. It provides a cradle on his dash that when the phone is plugged in that cradle, it uses the vehicles sterio speakers as the phone speaker. Then there is a microphone clipped on the visor. Now, when you get a call, because it's on the sterile, you have full adjustment of volume. Also, a handheld cell phone is only. .5 watts. Half of a watt. But plugged in to that cradle, the phone is now a full FIVE watts. Very advantageous while traveling, but, of course it doesn't help when you are out of the vehicle.

He paid about $150. to have that installed in his truck. Well.worth it. He has very few dead spots.