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I have AT&T and I will be attending Black Hills State University in the Fall. I have read that the coverage is rather shaky at times (but those were posts from two years ago). I checked the coverage map and it says that Spearfish has good coverage in the actual city itself. Was there a recent tower built for AT&T? How good is the service (if anyone has it).
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Last edited by JustinGuy418; 02-25-2012 at 10:55 AM..
Best coverage through the whole region is along the I-90 corridor. Verison and AT&T bought up Altel awhile back and that purchase dramatically improved AT&T's service throughout the Hills. Coverage is lost SW of Hot Springs as one drives into WY--I have experienced that.
Thank you so much for the information! I had heard mixed things, so I was being safe. Now I have to figure out how good satellite reception is in the hills for satellite roaming...for emergencies.
Satellite phone reception will generally be good or better than good. Is it needed in the hills? 10 years ago, yes. Now, not so much.
I was not impressed with AT&T. Coverage around the hills is sub par. I have far better luck with Verizon. AT&T is okay points east. With AT&T I didn't have coverage (no signal) at my house, I have 3g coverage with Verizon. With AT&T I've dropped several calls 3 miles south of Rapid on 79.
Thanks again for more info. Yea, I'm still on my family's plan, so I'm stuck with AT&t. That's why I was curious about calls when in the hills for emergency purposes. I love biking, but the area is new to me, so I definitely wanted to know how satellite coverage was in case I needed it.
Thanks again for more info. Yea, I'm still on my family's plan, so I'm stuck with AT&t. That's why I was curious about calls when in the hills for emergency purposes. I love biking, but the area is new to me, so I definitely wanted to know how satellite coverage was in case I needed it.
Satellite is overkill. If you want a phone for emergencies get a prepaid phone that uses the verizon system. You will be money ahead and if you are in a whoops situation 911 can track a cell far better than a sat phone.
911 systems with cell phones can at the very least identify which tower your phone is affilliated to. Some of the more advanced systems can give lat and long. If during a search the phone can be pinged and a locations can be given within a certain degree of confidence.
Satellite is overkill. If you want a phone for emergencies get a prepaid phone that uses the verizon system. You will be money ahead and if you are in a whoops situation 911 can track a cell far better than a sat phone.
911 systems with cell phones can at the very least identify which tower your phone is affilliated to. Some of the more advanced systems can give lat and long. If during a search the phone can be pinged and a locations can be given within a certain degree of confidence.
Thank you so much for the info! I will definitely look into that. I've been known to go hiking for hours/days at a time and wasn't sure how the hills would take emergency calls. Arizona almost killed me on my last visit when I was at the Grand Canyon. AT&T apparently hates people who go hiking...I don't know why. Anyways, you've been a big help, thanks a bunch!
I've done a good amount of hiking and camping in remote areas over the years. Seems like a quarter mile to half mile walk/hike to a ridge, in most cases one can get a text message to fire off. If your stuck in a ravine in a remote area you will likely be SOL.
Even if you're in a general area with cell service, when you're in uneven terrain that can easily block signals in areas you might be.
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Better than a cell phone
