Cell Service in Denver Metro (Columbine, Vail: house, neighborhood, bars)

[themaster]

I'm not a 100% expert.. but if you’re having dropped calls etc. I would suggest making sure you get a good reception phone for your network..

I have used Verizon’s network in town for 4 years and I have used sprints for 1 year.. I have had dozens of not well received phone calls in the boonies of the mountains.. (mainly then I was with verizon..) around town pretty much just works..

I would highly suggest sprint > alltel > verizon (I consider verizon greedy so.. that's just my thought don't give them your money unless you like greedy corporations.. not to mention their coverage campaigns are just lies)

This is what I know if you’re with sprint.. you roam on alltel/verizon.. if you’re with alltel you roam on verizon/sprint.. and if you’re with verizon.. well sometimes you don't roam.. (sprint has a feature which there pulling but that feature is called forced roaming.. meaning you force yourself onto alltel/verizon through a feature in the phone)

If you’re happy with AT&T and I'm not sure of this but I believe both they and t-mobile use GSM and as of such you'll just be roaming with whatever GSM provider you’re using before.. also it's my understanding CDMA (which is sprint/verizon/alltel) penetrates farther than GSM

Also if you’re trying to save some money.. you might be able to take over a sprint Sero contract if you can find one.. sprint sero is.. (this is what I have.. and still appears to be the deal of the century.. the data alone is worth the plan.. the plan was discontinued this summer)
$30 a month
- 500 Minutes (night and weekend thing all that jazz)
- Unlimited Texting
- Free Data/Internet

The best place for phone knowledge including some local knowledge (though I admit it's rare to talk about it.. a SEARCH will reveal local knowledge information) if not mentioned.. is howardforums.com

(I did read a suprising comment on howardforums about verizon's coverage in denver being poor.. however this has not been my experience.. only in the mountains have I ever had problems with calls)

[jazzlover]

Most any of the carriers do OK if you don't venture away from the I-25 and I-70 corridors. If you do, then it's a different story. In the rural areas of Colorado (and a lot of the other Rocky Mountain states), there are only two carriers that tend to have pretty decent service--Verizon and Alltel. Verizon tends to be better in the western and northern parts of Colorado--Alltel better in the southern and eastern parts. Verizon may acquire Alltel by 2009.

The other caveat in the rural parts of the state: Despite the fact that carriers are no longer required to provide analog service--and are phasing it out in many areas--in some of the more remote rural areas of the Rocky Mountain West, analog service may be the only cell service available. Most of the fancier phones (picture phones, Blackberries, etc.) do NOT have 800AMPS analog service capability. That is why I keep my tri-band plain-jane phone with analog capability. I often have service in remote areas of Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming while the fancier phones show "No Service." Verizon and Alltel still offer one or two models with analog capability. If your travels take you off of the beaten paths, getting one of those phones may make sense.

Here is a good website to read on cellular service. Bookmark it--for some reason, the search engines don't come up with it readily:

Mountain Wireless-Colorado Cellular Reviews

I'm not sure, but I think the guy who maintains this site may be a C-D contributor. In any case, it's a great site for reference. He probably can't plug his own site on C-D, but I'm glad to--it helped me decide what carrier to use several years ago, and the info there was right on.

[mrlucero2002]

Go with Cricket if you are looking for great service, an affordable price, and value.
They have unlimited talk and text and their service as really improved.

[amanda200]

Hi,

Can you share which cell phone providers have the best service in not dropping calls in Denver area?
Thanks.

[BarryK123]

I have Verizon and have NEVER had a dropped call. Only places there's no service that I've found is in Clear Creek Canyon and Arapahoe Basin.

[Snikt]

AT&T and I haven't had any issues. I've also gotten service in the mountains when people with Verizon hadn't

[DenverBrian]

My Sprint has worked extremely well for over 10 years now. Vail Resorts partners with Sprint and that means Vail, Breck, A-Basin and Beaver Creek are well covered. In Denver itself, I have had several instances where I have great signal when my friends' i-Phones can't find a signal.

[bluescreen73]

Go with Verizon. We moved back from TX and brought our AT&T phones with us and their coverage is the pits. They're not as established as Verizon is here.

[maximusmgm]

Sprint has worked quite well for me over the past 5 years. I think I've only dropped 2 calls in that time. I can't say that for Verizon or AT&T.

[WiW]

I live in Lowry and my verizon coverage at home sucks! I also had trouble at Yale & Broadway. But other than that, I've had good coverage.

Anyone else live in Lowry? What provider do you use and are you happy with them?