Cell phone, high speed internet, cable (Grand Forks, Minot: rentals, house, maintenance)

[esj414]

Well, we will be heading to ND in less than a month. We are going to Minot. Can anyone tell me about the cable and high speed internet providers. What about cell phone service. I have Sprint and my husband has AT&T. Will we have to change cell phone providers.

Also any info on the bas housing list would be appreciated. Does it go pretty fast. How long have people been waiting? 1 month, 6 months, one year? Do you know of any specific places with short leases in case we have to move off base for a while? Thanks for any info you can provide.

[ElkHunter]

If you haven't done so already, you might want to read this thread.

Questions about Minot AFB

And Welcome to the Forum!

EH

[Kamsack]

Originally Posted by esj414

Well, we will be heading to ND in less than a month. We are going to Minot. Can anyone tell me about the cable and high speed internet providers. What about cell phone service. I have Sprint and my husband has AT&T. Will we have to change cell phone providers.

Also any info on the bas housing list would be appreciated. Does it go pretty fast. How long have people been waiting? 1 month, 6 months, one year? Do you know of any specific places with short leases in case we have to move off base for a while? Thanks for any info you can provide.

Verizon has the best coverage in the state overall and most of our family from Minot to Grand Forks has Verizon with little coverage problems. There are still a few holes here and there especially between Highway 2 and I-94 and in the far northwest part of the state.

Here is a link to a past topic a few months ago which may provide some insight.
Cell Phone Companies

From my understanding....Sprint uses Verizon and Alltel towers for their service in most of the state. So with Sprint you will have service, but may have to watch about roaming charges. AT&T still has a ways to go in the state with coverage and I know least about it. I do know Verizon bought out Alltell recently with I think I read a promise to share its bought out cell towers with AT&T in order for it to expand its services in North Dakota. I certainly would call Sprint to ask about any roaming charges in ND and coverage... same goes for AT&T.

My father in law works for SRT in Minot as a maintenance person and they do offer high speed internet and cable to most areas outside of Minot proper which is under the domain by Midcontinent communications. At least this is my understanding.... I am not sure about the base if they would use Midco for cable or SRT.

I am sure others can chime in with more details. I know nothing about the base and housing issues....so will rely on others there.

Dan

[magiccity]

As for base housing, depending on your military rank will depend on your waiting list. The base has finished a majority of the housing rebuilding and should finished late next year or 2011. If you are going to live in Minot for 3 or more years, are you sure you want to lose your housing allowance. Once the base housing modification is finished, the base housing will be privatized.

[esj414]

My husband and I are trying to keep an open mind about everything. We are city people and we do not like the cold weather so this is going to be a huge adjustment for us. Like I said, we are trying to keep an open mind, but unless we absolutely are thrown for a loop and fall in love with Minot we will probably try to get out as soon as possible. We do realize that getting out as soon as possible could still mean we will be there for years.

We are open to both base housing and off base housing. If we live off base we want the same type/size/quality of house but would want to save some money. If its gonna cost the same we prefer to stay on base just for the convenience. We are at the top 10 percent of the list, so hopefully the wait won't be too long.

I guess we'll take a look at what's available when we get there. We would want at least two bedrooms, preferably three and a garage is a definite. We will be there in less than 3 weeks. If anyone has any leads please let us know. Definately, interested in short term furnished rentals in case we choose not to stay in temporary lodging. I'm surprised that I can't find any on the web. I would imagine this is a pretty common need.