My wife has had it. :hallo1: She's tore up like a can worms that she can't reach me on my Nextel when I go out one of my excursions. Snowmobiling in the UP, Hunting in South Eastern Indiana, Fishing in North Georgia. No matter where I go, Nextel is never there. I might as well be on the moon. :huh: Can anybody recomend a wireless company that I might be able to be reached in the Keweenaw in the UP? Is there any service up there at all? I'll be in Copper Harbor for the most part. I need to keep my Nextel because of work. But I need to purchase a cell phone and plan where she can reach me incase of emergencies. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks,
Snow_Bone

I use Centennial Wireless and have had good luck with coverage any where I go. My bills from when I am on a sledding trip are usually high due to the number of other guys wanting to use my phone.

Some buddies have Alltel and are very happy with them. In fact one of them switched from Centennial to Alltel and said that it was better.

There's my 2 cents.

I've heard that centennial actually installed/owned most of the towers in the U.P. and northern lower. I think alltel bought centennial, (or they have some kind of partnership?) so I think both of them should be about the same, or if anything altell has access to all the centennial towers plus some.
I have verizon, and it works fairly well in remote areas, although sometimes there are dead spots, you usually don't have to go that far to get a signal. I was supprised when we stayed north of marquette last year I had 5 bars of digital. I also found a 'trick' on my phone you can change the settings for how it searches for towers. Technically any 'tri-mode' (or whatever they call it these days) phone can talk to any tower, but if you have a verizon phone, they program it to have preference for verizon towers to avoid chargeback fees from the competition. If you go into the system settings and change the mode you can sometimes get it to find towers that it wouldn't find under the default settings. I haven't found that any one mode works in all cases, but lots of times if I have no signal and I change the mode, then all of a sudden I get signal.

Verizon seems to work well up there. ALthough Cingular used to be good, when it was analog, now it's bad. I have also had decent luck with Sprint up there too. Your SOL in the UP with NEXTEL

Aren't Sprint & Nextel one and the same now?

I do agree with Verizon, and the little tip from Rampage works well too.

I just went through my cell, and under network options, I have -Home Only, -Automatic A, -Automatic B. It's set for Auto B. Is this what I need to switch to pick up different towers?

Verizon works pretty well in the UP. There are a few deadzones but not to bad. I also have heard centennial works well though.

Another vote for Verizon..... :thumbsup:

I just went through my cell, and under network options, I have -Home Only, -Automatic A, -Automatic B. It's set for Auto B. Is this what I need to switch to pick up different towers?
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yes

JT, I have been told to set it to Auto A if you have no signal, and it can help. No promises though. Every area has different providers. This has worked well for me in Clark county WI which has almost no Auto B reception, but about half power on Auto A. Go figure.

Verizon works well just if your phone accepts both digital and analog signals. My wifes Verizon searches for digital signal first and if it not available searches for the old style analog. Have had good luck except for some very spotty areas around the Watersmeet area.

Alltel bought Centenial Wireless, so anything with them or anything that will roam with them (I have Verizon) works rather well in most of the UP.

NO nextel in the up at all.

Cool. Thanks for the tip, guys. I get pretty good reception with Verizon in the UP, but there are dead spots around Fort Wayne. Hope this helps the problem.

BONE-I WAS IN THE KEY LAST WINTER-DID THE WHOLE TOUR (MET JOHN DEE!) AND NOTHING WORKS UP THERE.GIVE MAMA YOUR MOTEL ROOM NUMBER AND IF YOU HAVE VOICE MAIL IN YOUR ROOM=YOU'LL BE LUCKY :lmao: :lmao: .
BUT REMEMBER-THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT-OUT THERE-REMOTE IN THE WILDERNESS-BY THE WAY-I'M NOT A SUPER RELIGIOUS GUY-BUT THAT IS WHERE GOD LIVES.
DON'T FORGET TO HAVE THE SOUP AT THE EAGLE HARBOR INN-ASK FOR DICK PROBST.
BEST SOUP IN THE NORTH.
TRUST THE BOSS ON THIS ONE.
ALSO-DON'T FORGET TO GO TO THE BAR AT GAY-AND HAVE YOUR PIC TAKEN AT THE SIGN OUTSIDE.
WHAT WOULD THE NAME OF THAT BAR BE??
HMM......
YOU WILL LOVE THE KEY.
TELL MAMA THAT SHE'LL BE LUCKY IF YOU COME HOME AT ALL.
IF YOU WANT TO MOVE-CALL ME.
THAT'S WHAT I DO. :wink:

Verizon!!!!

I've been out in the sticks an had very few problems sending or receiving calls.

BONE-I WAS IN THE KEY LAST WINTER-DID THE WHOLE TOUR (MET JOHN DEE!) AND NOTHING WORKS UP THERE.GIVE MAMA YOUR MOTEL ROOM NUMBER AND IF YOU HAVE VOICE MAIL IN YOUR ROOM=YOU'LL BE LUCKY :lmao: :lmao: .
BUT REMEMBER-THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT-OUT THERE-REMOTE IN THE WILDERNESS-BY THE WAY-I'M NOT A SUPER RELIGIOUS GUY-BUT THAT IS WHERE GOD LIVES.
DON'T FORGET TO HAVE THE SOUP AT THE EAGLE HARBOR INN-ASK FOR DICK PROBST.
BEST SOUP IN THE NORTH.
TRUST THE BOSS ON THIS ONE.
ALSO-DON'T FORGET TO GO TO THE BAR AT GAY-AND HAVE YOUR PIC TAKEN AT THE SIGN OUTSIDE.
WHAT WOULD THE NAME OF THAT BAR BE??
HMM......
YOU WILL LOVE THE KEY.
TELL MAMA THAT SHE'LL BE LUCKY IF YOU COME HOME AT ALL.
IF YOU WANT TO MOVE-CALL ME.
THAT'S WHAT I DO.
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Your right there, the best part about going to the U.P is not hearing that darn cell phone ringing :thumbsup: Complete freedom and no attachments to the real world, now thats a vacation w00t

Dobson, the owners of Cellular One own all of the cell towers north of Stevens Point, WI. I believe they even own some in the UP. I believe Cellular One phones get good reception up there along with Cellcom, who uses the US Cellular, Dobson, and Alltel networks.

CellularOne has the best coverage in the UP, hands down. Alltel and CellularOne are the ONLY carriers in the UP. If you have one of those city carriers, they roam on CellularOne or Alltel depeding on what kind of phone you have. Nextel and most T-mobile phones will not work at all up here. Cingular(AT&T) roam on CelluarOne mostly, Sprint, if you have a dual band phone will roam on analog on either, but you'll get a lot of network busy messages. Verizon mostly roams on Alltel. Alltel is trying to catch up to CellularOne and have recently went on several of the same towers CellularOne have been on for years.
CellOne is the only one that works in Wakefield where I live.

I almost forgot, if you NEED coverage out in the boonies, you have to have a booster/amplifier kit to get recetion with any of them. Those sissy little phones they make now days suck in the boonies.

must be my phone,,,, I get horrible if any reception with verizon.

when I am out at camp the only way to get out sometimes is to go through fox hills up demondrop to the phonebooth. Remember to make a right at the big pine tree though. lol

If You don't call home they get upset and you don't want to make them upset while you are gone or their may not be a next time. Once a day to home only, no more no less.

CellularOne has the best coverage in the UP, hands down. Alltel and CellularOne are the ONLY carriers in the UP. If you have one of those city carriers, they roam on CellularOne or Alltel depeding on what kind of phone you have. Nextel and most T-mobile phones will not work at all up here. Cingular(AT&T) roam on CelluarOne mostly, Sprint, if you have a dual band phone will roam on analog on either, but you'll get a lot of network busy messages. Verizon mostly roams on Alltel. Alltel is trying to catch up to CellularOne and have recently went on several of the same towers CellularOne have been on for years.
CellOne is the only one that works in Wakefield where I live.

I almost forgot, if you NEED coverage out in the boonies, you have to have a booster/amplifier kit to get recetion with any of them. Those sissy little phones they make now days suck in the boonies.
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Just curious where you are getting your info? Are you a dealer for one of the networks? This is all pretty interesting. Alltel bought out CellularOne here in this area years ago.

My next door neighbor is a dealer and who I get my phones and service from. I talked to him about what Centennial (and others) roams on and he says that Centennial roams on Cingular towers by default at no extra charge via an agreement with Cingular. I am able to switch to ANY network by doing a network search with my phone. Even with the phone set on automatic search it will not come up with networks that are normally out of the system. However it will roam an ANY network if I do a manual search for new networks. Just have to pay the extra charge to use it. I can get service anywhere there is any service at all from any provider as far as I know. So far I have not been without service anywhere unless no one else has it there either. But then I haven't been averywhere. Yet. :D

how do you do a 'manual search for new networks'? Do you have some kind of special phone or just eleet cell phone hacking skills?

Just curious where you are getting your info? Are you a dealer for one of the networks? This is all pretty interesting. Alltel bought out CellularOne here in this area years ago.

My next door neighbor is a dealer and who I get my phones and service from. I talked to him about what Centennial (and others) roams on and he says that Centennial roams on Cingular towers by default at no extra charge via an agreement with Cingular. I am able to switch to ANY network by doing a network search with my phone. Even with the phone set on automatic search it will not come up with networks that are normally out of the system. However it will roam an ANY network if I do a manual search for new networks. Just have to pay the extra charge to use it. I can get service anywhere there is any service at all from any provider as far as I know. So far I have not been without service anywhere unless no one else has it there either. But then I haven't been averywhere. Yet. :D
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I work in engineering in the industry, that's all I'll say to avoid trouble for mysef.

It's not a matter of carriers, it's a matter more of technology. If your phone roams on Cingular it roams on CellularOne which is also a Cingular partner, you will not even see Alltel on your phone because they use CDMA, Cingular/CellularOne/Centennial use TDMA/GSM, they are not compatible. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA, but Sprint only uses 1900 Mhz so only their tri-mode phones will work up here on Alltel.

If you tell me the make/model of phone, I can tell you what network you roam on where pretty much anywhere in the UP and N. WI.

how do you do a 'manual search for new networks'? Do you have some kind of special phone or just eleet cell phone hacking skills?
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:) Nope, no elite phone hacking skills.

I think it has more to do with the phone features. My phone has a network search feature on it and I can search automatically for networks in my system, or I can do a manual search and add other networks that are not in our system. Most folks don't even know that they can do that. The only reason I know is because I had trouble getting service in a particular area and my neighbor in the know told me how to fix the problem.

From the eternal bachelor...

Leave you cell phone in the truck. She can harrass you about meaningless crap 360 days of the year.

If you want to feel free when you go up north (anywhere), leave the cell phone, take off your watch, and keep all of the digital garbage somewhere far away. You'll feel much more in touch with nature. Then again, I suspect that many folks don't want to feel that disconnected and hold onto to all of their material possessions as a security blanket..."If I have a cell phone, the big scary deer won't kill me."

My eight cents. Sorry for the rant but it felt good...on my digital garbage computer!

From the eternal bachelor...

Leave you cell phone in the truck. She can harrass you about meaningless crap 360 days of the year.

If you want to feel free when you go up north (anywhere), leave the cell phone, take off your watch, and keep all of the digital garbage somewhere far away. You'll feel much more in touch with nature. Then again, I suspect that many folks don't want to feel that disconnected and hold onto to all of their material possessions as a security blanket..."If I have a cell phone, the big scary deer won't kill me."

My eight cents. Sorry for the rant but it felt good...on my digital garbage computer!
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My wife is usually with me so I don't carry a phone for that reason anyway. I carry for safety and help reasons. You just never know what might happen out there. Why not carry all the aid that you can?

BTW...I agree with the leaving the electronic gunk once you get there. I just take the phone with me just in case, but it's turned off.

Not sure about all the tech stuff and changing networks but I had some very good luck with reception on a trip to Waterhen Canada a few weeks ago. It's a 4 month old motorola phone from Verizon. Drove from Saginaw Mi through the UP, Wisconsin, Minnesota, N Dakota and then into Canada "EH". Except for a very few isolated areas we had very good luck receiving and making calls until about 150 miles north of Winnipeg....which was about 100 miles from our destination for deer hunting.... I was very impressed!!!! Havent received the phone bill yet but I was sending pictures to buddy's in Michigan of the 6yr old 20in 15 point I shot up there 22 hrs before I was home!!!!!

I'd agree that a cell phone is a kind of a 'security blanket' but on the off chance that someone does have an accident, I always carry my phone, and I encourage everyone I ride with to bring their phones too. (If I don't have reception, maybe someone else will.) Being able to call for aeromed within 5 minutes instead of after an hour or 2 could be the difference between life and death. I always leave mine turned off to save the battery. And no, I don't chat with my broker while I'm in the bar having lunch... My wife rides with me sometimes, but when she doesn't it's nice to be able to 'check in' to let her know we're OK and we'll be home soon and oh by the way could you please fire up the grill and swing by the store and grab a 12 pack :)

Does anyone know if any of the PREPAID phones work well across the UP and extreme northern lower? When I sled up in the Atlanta area, there's very little coverage from my Nextel.

Anyone have any models you recommend? Would I be OK going with something like the Net10, TracFone, or any others?

Ever see those commercials where the guys are in grave danger but won't use their cell phones because it is peak time and they won't incur the charges.... well I don't want that to be me when I am broke down in the middle of nowhere. I have my survival kit but still I am in no big hurry to use it.

For the most part I agree with letting the cell phone stay in the truck. It's not so much of checking in with the wife to let her know I'm alright as it is checking in with them to see how they are are doing. "They" meaning my wife and seven year old daughter. Last year while on a snowmobile trip to Paradise, my wife was in an automoblie accident. Nobody was hurt, but it totaled out the Explorer. She had no way of contacting me. No Cellular coverage, no phones in the rooms. She called the motel (of whom I won't mention) and told the lady there what had happened and needed to have me call home. I never got the message! I found a pay phone and called her the morning we left for home to let her know when to expect us. Thats when she gave the news. It would be nice to know if an emergency happened at home that I needed to know about.

I'm curerently looking at the Track Phones. Anybobdy used these up there?

Snow_Bone