Galena cell phone availability. ??????? (2015, home, buy)

[nostrildamas]

I've visited Galena several times over the years. Love the town and thinking of moving there. HOWEVER. and this is a big issue that everyone seems to avoid talking about in town. Every time I visit and I'm within 20 miles of Galena and in particular IN Galena there is NO cell phone service and I have Verizon which is indeed the largest provider around. I mean NO service . The business owners downtown told me there is no service other than occasionally picking up Sprint service there . How can any town expecting to draw any new people let alone more tourists which is the lynch pin of this town without cell service . It's 2015 Galena , not 1988.. I can understand the quaintness of the town not being compromised by cell towers around but the alternative is what ? Not even being able to use a cell phone.. to not be able to call anyone even in an emergency is mindbloggling to me. Do you mean to tell me the people who live in Galena or 20 miles away put up with this? Is there some issue Im not understanding here.. And I don't want spotty sometimes service.. If Galena says " well we tried" but no company thinks we need service here. Thats a lie. Any city management would and should push for something as simple as cell service. So can anyone shed light on this?

[linicx]

This is not true. I just talked to the Sheriff's Office that is located at Galena. According to the dispatcher who has a Verizon phonel and claims to have excellent service in Gallena, US Cellular, Verizon, Sprint and AT&T serve Galena.

[nostrildamas]

Thats cool except I was THERE on 4 occasions the last being 4 months ago. I had no cell service nor did a friend with me anywhere in Galena. I had noticed this before there. I talked to several people and none said they could use theirs either. Thanks for your info though. Anyone visiting there. . must go thru the same thing. It's the talk of the town if you are new there!

[linicx]

I can't disagree wity you as I have not been there. However I don't know whether what I am about to say is true of Galena or not, but it is true where I live and where I have lived in the past. if you have a Verizon phone, and you are in AT&T territory, you will not receive a signal. The same applies if you are in US Cellular territory. OTOH If you cannot receive any signal anywhere in Galena, there may be a problem with your phone.

In any case I would certainly advise the sheriff's department. They don't want an entire town, or visitors and guests that cannot communicate with them. It would be a HUGE issue.

[CSD610]

Some areas are like this and it is not limited to Galena or Illinois, it is everywhere no matter which provider you have.


We recieve service most places, even with our Verizon provider in AT&T territory...

[tlw]

I haven't been to Galena but I have been in a number of the Mississippi River towns south of there all the way to St. Louis. The bluffs around those areas can drop my signal from 4 bars to none in an instant even if I am a good distance from them.
Add in hills, buildings, tower distance, etc., and also individual cell phone models internal antennas can vary greatly in their receiving capabilities …. some are just downright awful. I don't have a lot of signal problems with my iPhone w/AT&T but it can still occasionally happen.

[nostrildamas]

Thanks for all the replies. I will check it out next time I'm there about Verizon not working in an at and t area. etc. The bluff's make sense .. Then they need to build higher towers there. duh.. Not rocket science.. I was simpl going on my own experiences time after time . I will simply stop people on the street next time and see if they have cell service.. . I've traveled all over the US. and only in the mountains of Idaho did I EVER not have a verizon signal and parts of Az in the mountains. This is Illinois not the Cascade range. I will do some deeper digging on this when I visit next. My partner like I said could not use her phone either and she has tmobile. there IS a problem there . and only there in Illinois.
Thanks again. for all the thoughts.

[linicx]

Verizon tends to serve more isolated areas such as along I-44 whereas AT&T tends to serves cities, toursit and college towns. That Galena has service from AT&T, US Celljular and Verizon is quite remarkable.

If you want to understand it better buy a cheap AT&T flip phone and take it to Galena with your regular phone. Call yourself on both phones. PS: TracFones such as Net10 are amazing phones that work well nationally.

[nostrildamas]

Id love to hear from someone presently living IN Galena as to their cell phone service in their home .. thanks linicx for your replied though.