Upper Peninsula Cell Phone Coverage

[GeeEmm]

I'm looking for some input on Upper Peninsula coverage for cell phones. I'm in the U.P. a fair amount of time. I'm currently with Verizon and get HORRIBLE service due to the lack of towers. I'm considering Alltel and am being told that they are the "way to go" in the U.P. If I'm going to switch, I won't do it unless it's going to be worth my while, meaning my voicemail, text messaging, etc. will work there. Most of my U.P. time is spent in the central portion. Roughly an area from Manistique west to Escanaba north to Marquette east to Munising and back south to Manistique as well as the I-75/US-2 corridor from the Lower Peninsula. Thanks to all and anyone can share their U.P. cell phone experiences, I'd appreciate it.

[Garden Bay]

my niece lives in Rapid River and has had great results with Alltell. Her husband travels all across the U.P. and into Wisconsin with his job, he also uses Alltell. She said there are only a few areas they have had poor reception.

[GeeEmm]

I'm curious where those areas are that she and he have poor reception. I'd also be curious to know if their voicemail and text messaging works in most of the U.P. also or where it doesn't. Thanks for your help!!!!

[Garden Bay]

Check your PM.

[WALLEYEvision]

I had good luck in the Dead River Basin Area (North of Negaunee) with my old Cingular (Ameritech) service. I switched over to their GSM plan because they were running a promotion that offered better rates. With the GSM plan I have alot of dropped calls and have problems sending & recieving calls in many parts of the LP.

[Ogre]

I'm wondering if your present phone is a tri mode phone and if not, have you explored this as a option. Sometimes it's the phone and not the service. With the different transmission methods out there, you may have been in an area that has service but your phone could not handle the transmission method. This condition would appear to you as no service, or searching, or loss of signal.

[GeeEmm]

Garden Bay, ironically Garden/Cooks is one of the worst areas now with Verizon.

My phone is a tri-mode. It is one of Verizon's Cadillac's.

Thanks to all for the info.

Any additional would be great also!

[Drake]

GeeEmm,
Please let me know which service you decide on as I hope to move north soon.
Thanks Dave

[Eastern Yooper]

I've got Alltel and get good-to-excellent coverage thruout most of the central & EUP. Rarely do I venture west of Marquette or Esky so I can't comment on service west of those areas.

[Rudi's Dad]

I retired from the phone co (SBC) recently and used to be on the crew that installed t-1's to cell sites. The phone guys in Escanaba to Crystal Falls all say Cell One (oak cellular) is best. One more tip, the old analog bag phones have a way better range to a cell tower and are highly sought after up there. Digital service (any company) drops off quicker. One last thing, for some reason, the ROAM feature is on a lot because of the Wisconsin towers picking you up even though you may be physically closer to a Mi tower. Talk to your provider about this before you sign a contract. It could be an expensive venture unless ROAM is understood up there.

[GeeEmm]

Well, after much checking and lots of input (THANKS TO EVERYONE!!), I've decided to change nothing and live with Verizon. Alltel appears to be about the 2nd best option. Breaking contract is $175.00 and I'm cheap! However, I have a buddy that recently purchased a booster in Escanaba. It can be found at www.smoothtalker.com I must say that when talking to him, the reception is INCREDIBLY good!! Drawbacks are that it costs over $300.00 plus you are tethered to the booster and its related gear. However, I will likely be investing in one before the fall. Be advised that Verizon doesn't condone them and I'm told they will void my warranty. I'm sure other carriers share Verizon's sentiment. Thanks again for everyone who offered help!

[dogjaw]

We used to have AT&T, but switched to Nextel because of constant drops during calls while driving. Nextel is non existent in the U.P. so don't even bother checking it out. With the extensive traveling I've done, I've found that the phone will make or break you. The best phone I used was a plain ole' Nokia. Another trick is to turn your phone off and back on like rebooting a computer. Phones will sometimes hang on to the last tower too long, and I've gained a full signal where I had none before simply by turning it off and back on. The old analog phones are 10 times better than the digital for reception. The trouble is finding a provider that offers analog service anymore.

[hitechman]

I use AllTel and get excellent coverage. At my cabin I used a web site to locate towers (locator will give lat and long). Because of poor reception (down in a valley), I bought a Yagi directional antenna and entered the cell tower locations in my GPS to get the direction to point it. (Tower locater web site is:Cell tower locator ).

I also bought an amplifier that I use on rare occasions from my truck. It is very small and works wonders. Cell Phone 3W Booster .

Also--just adding an external antenna on your vehicle may solve your problem.

Steve

[slowpoke]

I have a bag phone that I don't need. If there is anyone that needs one, send me a PM, we will work something out.

[snakebit67]

I have singular. I travel from Livonia to Ontonagon. Both routes, 28 and 2.

The only real dead zone I have experienced is the Seney stretch. and trout lake to 28. I almost always have 2 to 3 bars everywhere else. I have been very happy with the UP coverage. I can even call from camp about 10miles from lake of the clouds although I do have to find the "Sweet spot". I have an older version nokia GATE phone, not the new GSM. I think that has alot to do with it.

Good luck.