Hi all!! I'm looking at getting away from AT&T as my sell phone provider. I've checked out all the plans and I like the cost and rollover minunites Cingular offers, but I'm worried about their coverage area and coverage at some of my favorite fishing destinations where I use my phone the most.

Can anyone tell me how coverage is in the Forks area and along the coast south? and along the strait?

Well hears a few other places that I fish and if anyone has any info please post it

Wind River
Sky
Kalama
Lewis
Snoqualmie
Methow
Skagit/Sauk
Satsop
Nooch

Or any other areas that you've traveled with Cingular service. Any input is welcome!!!

Thanks

FishnBrad:

Can't speak for Forks or the OP, but there is limited service from Verizon in the Concrete area..but you will lose it about 3 miles west of Rockport. From there out there isn't any service, nor will you find signal heading down the Sauk till you get into Darrington.

I switched (had to) from AT&T to Verizon when we moved here, as AT&T's closest cell site was 14 miles away, and they had no plans to extend service out further.

AT&T operates on the TDMA and GSM formats (with new variables coming soon). The GSM format is most popular in Europe and offers more "toys" on the phone, but it also requires cell sites closer together to be effective. Too many miles of road, river and ocean here for GSM to be really effective.

Verizon operates on a platform known as CDMA, and there (currently) are more cell sites that use this platform than any other. I believe Cingular also uses CDMA, as well as US West, but most of those sites are Verizon sites and you'll be paying roaming costs on some of them.

There are some areas that just aren't condusive to cell service due to geography, etc. When I fished Shilshole we found a "dead" spot just off the point, where there was a land-based sweeping radar system. Every time the thing swept we would get zilch for coverage...strong signal just long enough to say "Hello" and then...wham...gone.

Overall..Verizon is probabaly your best bet, IMO.

Mike

Funny thing is that Cingualr may own AT&T buy the time you buy your new phone! or vice versa, or who knows, maybe Microsoft will buy AT&T?? Next Tuesday will probably be dubbed "Merger Tuesday" by the end of next week.

If you are going to switch, go to Verizon. You will see a marginal improvement. Some areas that Verizon doesnt cover AT&T does, ..and vice versa.

Silver Hilton just switched, what are your comments?

the only way to go is verizon it has the best coverage by far!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have talked to A Cingular rep and he told me that they are working on a Hwy 101 loop coverage area but it is not in effect yet. If they do get it up and going they will be the first I believe to offer good coverage on the majority of the OP. As far as areas like the Methow are concerned I have no idea. I like that area though and have fished the Methow and Twisp river many times. I am reminded of a fishing trip that a friend of mine and I took. His dad has a cabin on the Twisp and we went up to the end of the Twisp river road and hiked into a lake named Lewis lake. It was about a 4 or 5 mile hike but well worth it. Between us we caught 86 trout in 5 hrs. I caught all of mine on my fly rod. No real size (10-14 inches) to them but unreal numbers of fish in that crystal clear lake. I would toss my fly out there and watch the fish come in hoards toward it. If I didn't like the size of the lead fish I would just rip my fly off the water and cast behind the group to let a bigger one pick it up. Unreal. I guess I should edit this post because I got off subject and I actually do know something about cell phones being that I was a rep for At&t, Verizon and Sprint. At&t has the largest coverage or what they call a "footprint" nationwide followed by Verizon. For Washington though Verizon has them beat in most areas especially the farther west you go. Although Verizon uses cdma technology (soft handoff), as opposed to At@t's tdma (hard handoff) or GSM in some areas, their coverage for the most part in western washington is still analogue. Your digital phone will still work in these analogue areas because they are duel format designed to choose digital service over analogue when available or analogue service when digital is not available. Other services such as Cingular, Sprint, Nex-tell and the likes whom are a totally digital network are pretty much bound to the I-5 corridor and other major road systems, not in outlying areas. Sprints advertising is very misleading. They claim to have the only digital "nation wide coverage" but this in reality means that they have digital coverage in every major city in the US but not necessarily in outlying or rural areas. I would go with Verizon for now and see if Cingular lives up to their expectations in the future. Just my 2 cents.

My wife is forced to study cell phone coverage for a living. Verizon was the only carrier she even let us consider. Her employees mostly have Verizon too.

I think someone on this board just asked about the same question regarding cell phones. Might be worth a search in the archives.

I have heard some bad things about Cingular from a few friends that have jumped on the banwagon and signed up for there service now they regret and wish they would have stayed with verizon. One of my friends was 3 days late on his monthly bill and his service was stopped until it was paid. I heard thety have no leeway for late payments at all.

Verizon

Sprint all the way!!!!!!!

I have Verizon and the coverage is poor up on the Kalama and the North Fork of the Lewis.

Wow!! Thanks for the response, keep them coming

Form what i'm hearing Verison sounds like the ticket

brad,
I had at&t and swithched to verizon because both my family and my wifes family switched to verizon... I'm glad I did. Being able to call them anytime and not have the minutes go toward the anytime minutes is nice... Now we both have cell phones for the same price as one cell and one home phone.

Let me tell you, after getting rid of the land line, It is soooo nice not being bombarded with all the sales/no-one there calls, not to mention the counter space the phone and answering machine took up.

Verizon.
There may be a few holes but much than others. Very often I am the only one with a signal, particularly in Forks and out towards the Humptulips.

Virizon gives me "four bars" (full signal) on the Hoh. In Forks proper it's not quite as good but it does better than other carriers.

As for coverage on the Sauk (Darrington-Rockport), forget it.

swore I'd never own one but mama's payin the tab. VeriZon got me connected fron the banks of the Lyre to olympia with no static.

That's it, Verison it is Thanks guys!!!!

I heard on the upper Hoh. verison was clear even when it said no service.


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