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US Cellular really is a regional carrier, though they use roaming for nationwide coverage. They specialize in blanketing areas that have little or no coverage f

US Cellular really is a regional carrier, though they use roaming for nationwide coverage. They specialize in blanketing areas that have little or no coverage from the majors (SW Wisconsin being a good example). On the other hand, one irony is that even though they still have naming rights for the White Sox' ballpark, they pulled out of the Chicago market and sold what spectrum they had in the area to Sprint.

surge 10y ago
Yep, US Cellular seems to be the only cell phone towers I can get on roaming when an area is "middle of nowhere" and I'll see a small dealer/shop in small towns. Like you said, they seem to specialize in markets that other carriers wouldn't bother with, like remote parts of Alaska, or small mountain towns.
- narrowrail 10y ago
  As far as the Rockies are concerned, Verizon seems to have the best coverage by far. I've had a cell phone since '96, and ~99% of the resort towns have the big 4, but VZ is in the most remote places I've seen. Edit: Here is an interesting chart of wireless providers in the US [0]; lots more providers w/ 10K-1M subcribers than I realized. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_wireless_communications_service_providers#Facilities-based_service_providers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_wireless...
  - nathancahill 10y ago
    Which part of the Rockies? AT&T has hands-down the best coverage at the ski resorts in Colorado. They even have coverage in A-Basin, which is a dead zone to everyone else.
    - narrowrail 10y ago
      I am talking about CO, but mostly more off the beaten path resorts such as T-Ride, Butte, and the Boat. I started with Voicestream (now T-Mobile) back in '96 and it was quite bad. Back-country has always been best with VZ, and that is the same today.
feld 10y ago
I'm from SW wisconsin and it's terrible down there. Verizon is now decent, but ATT still sucks. They both cost about the same so you have to gamble. Now that I only visit there a couple times a year I use Tmobile which can roam for voice/text in case of an emergency. It's not worth my money to have coverage when I'm never there anymore.

surge 10y ago

Yep, US Cellular seems to be the only cell phone towers I can get on roaming when an area is "middle of nowhere" and I'll see a small dealer/shop in small towns. Like you said, they seem to specialize in markets that other carriers wouldn't bother with, like remote parts of Alaska, or small mountain towns.

narrowrail 10y ago
As far as the Rockies are concerned, Verizon seems to have the best coverage by far. I've had a cell phone since '96, and ~99% of the resort towns have the big 4, but VZ is in the most remote places I've seen. Edit: Here is an interesting chart of wireless providers in the US [0]; lots more providers w/ 10K-1M subcribers than I realized. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_wireless_communications_service_providers#Facilities-based_service_providers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_wireless...
- nathancahill 10y ago
  Which part of the Rockies? AT&T has hands-down the best coverage at the ski resorts in Colorado. They even have coverage in A-Basin, which is a dead zone to everyone else.
  - narrowrail 10y ago
    I am talking about CO, but mostly more off the beaten path resorts such as T-Ride, Butte, and the Boat. I started with Voicestream (now T-Mobile) back in '96 and it was quite bad. Back-country has always been best with VZ, and that is the same today.

feld 10y ago

I'm from SW wisconsin and it's terrible down there. Verizon is now decent, but ATT still sucks. They both cost about the same so you have to gamble. Now that I only visit there a couple times a year I use Tmobile which can roam for voice/text in case of an emergency. It's not worth my money to have coverage when I'm never there anymore.