Road Trip Report: Salt Lake City to Moab, Utah

[Andy]

Hey everyone,
I just went on a camping and ATV trip over the weekend in Moab and figured I'd give you guys a coverage report in case anyone wants to know. I took I-15 from Salt Lake City to Provo, then Highway 6 through Soldiers Summit and Price to I-70, then took I-70 to Highway 191 down to Moab.
Everyone that went along had a digital only Verizon phone, so we couldn't test analog(only two people had a Nextel, and one had a T-Mobile).
Coverage on I-15 was of course fine with all carriers down to Provo, but things changed quickly after leaving I-15 and entering Soldiers Summit on Highway 6. Every carrier died a while after entering Soldiers Summit. The only carrier that worked for a few miles sometime in the middle of Soldiers Summit was Verizon, because they have one site right next to the highway(it's an omni-directional antenna if anyone cares). Then there's on coverage on any carrier until you get close to Price, where Verizon picks up before you leave the canyon. Verizon was very strong everywhere I went in Price; Nextel also had coverage in town. Neither T-Mobile nor Sprint had any service at all. Then after leaving Price, Nextel died out quite quick, but my Verizon phone amazed me by holding a very reliable signal all along Highway 6 down to I-70(keep in mind, this is one of the most rural areas of the state). No other carrier had digital service. Once on I-70, my Verizon phone had service(in the low -90s most of my time on I-70). Going through Green River, Nextel picked up for a while; Sprint stayed dead. Leaving I-70, the only phone that received digital service was once again only Verizon. Service on Highway 191 down to Moab was in general reliable, although there are two or so areas where service gets very weak. I stayed at Archview campground, which is north of Moab, but went into Moab a few times. Verizon provided me with good digital service, neither Nextel nor T-Mobile, nor Sprint worked at the campsite. T-Mobile had very limited service in town only.
While going out into the backcountry, we stayed in tough using Verizon. Their service was mostly reliable even on very remote backcountry trails. Even while hiking along the Colorado River, I received a weak signal from time to time and was able to make calls(some breaking up and stuff of course).
Driving into Moab, there's one little spot where Verizon coverage gets a little weak, and this is just before you get to the Arches NP Visitors Center(the visitors Center is covered fine though).
Hope this helps anyone on here, feel free to add any experiences you might have.

Short Summary:

NEXTEL:
-worked fine along I-15 down to Provo
-lost service going into Soldiers Summit on Highway 6.
-Service came back in Price, but died out quickly after leaving town
-The town of Green River is covered

SPRINT:
-worked fine along I-15 down to Provo
-service died entering Soldiers Summit and never saw it again on my whole trip until I returned to Provo on my way home

VERIZON:
-worked fine along I-15 down to Provo
-died out a while after entering Soldiers Summit, but service comes back for a while inside the Summit(thanks to a site right next to the highway), but then dies out too
-service returns before leaving the canyon outside of Price, and worked great all over Price
-VERY strong and reliable service along Highway 6 from Price down to I-70 all the way
-I-70 was covered okay from Highway 6 to Highway 191 where I left I-70
-mostly reliable service on 191 into Moab(didn't go further south than that)
-very reliable service on most backcountry trails I went on

<Edit>
T-MOBILE
-worked fine along I-15 down to Provo
-died out quickly entering Soldiers Summit
-only time service returned was inside the town of Moab(but that service is limited to just the town itself)

~Andy

[Gamer03]

Thanks Andy84094 for the service description in those areas.

It always interesting to see how the main carriers fair in the area(s) you travel to.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Gamer03

Thanks Andy84094 for the service description in those areas.

It always interesting to see how the main carriers fair in the area(s) you travel to.

No problem...
I always find it interesting myself so I figured I might as well post a report myself. Anyways, now that summer is coming and people go outdoors a lot, this could help some people know where(or where not)they'll get service.
~Andy

[agentHibby]

My old roomate who lives right now in Moab (Just got married) almost got talked in to haveing T-mobile I talked him out becuase they just started a network down in that area and being PCS probably not that good of a network yet. He went with Verizon my new roomate does not want to have a wireless phone and wants Qwest back in the apartment. Told him "I will not give 1 dollar to those crooks until they straighten up their act and be honest!" Other roomate that uses AT&T wireless agrees NO QWEST!

[Andy]

Originally Posted by agentHibby

My old roomate who lives right now in Moab (Just got married) almost got talked in to haveing T-mobile I talked him out becuase they just started a network down in that area and being PCS probably not that good of a network yet. He went with Verizon my new roomate does not want to have a wireless phone and wants Qwest back in the apartment. Told him "I will not give 1 dollar to those crooks until they straighten up their act and be honest!" Other roomate that uses AT&T wireless agrees NO QWEST!

So hold on...
Your roomate that nearly got talked into T-Mobile now has Verizon, but wants to cancel it for a home phone w/Qwest?
Does your other roomate w/AT&T Wireless live in Moab also?
By the way, I don't like Qwest myself; I have local phone service through US Tel, which is also a lot cheaper than Qwest.

[RH]

Andy84094,


Very informative post thank you, I find this type of post the best and interesting since not everybody can hit all locations to test there phone. OT My dad and I go Skiing every year in Deer Valley and stay in Salt Lake City awesome skiing.


RH

[budney]

Thanks for the report Andy.

[agentHibby]

Originally Posted by Andy84094

So hold on...
Your roomate that nearly got talked into T-Mobile now has Verizon, but wants to cancel it for a home phone w/Qwest?
Does your other roomate w/AT&T Wireless live in Moab also?
By the way, I don't like Qwest myself; I have local phone service through US Tel, which is also a lot cheaper than Qwest.

Old roomate was nearly talked into T-Mobile now has Verizon becuase he lives part time in Moab(full time now for 2 months)
New roomate wants Qwest Wireline thinks Wireless phones are expensive
other roomate is with AT&T wireless since 98. in from Pottsville, PA
does that help

[agentHibby]

budney, how come your avatar shows Mohave Wireless area with a Cingular Logo??

[budney]

Originally Posted by agentHibby

budney, how come your avatar shows Mohave Wireless area with a Cingular Logo??

Because Cingular has coverage in Mohave Co., which most people & Cingular reps don't know about.

[BillRadio]

And I will add some of the missing pieces. AT&T/GSM also covers parts of the area, including I-70 from Green River to the Colorado line, but not into Moab (last year).

A local CDMA carrier, Cleartalk, also provides local service along i-70 and into Moab. Why Sprint doesn't have a roaming agreement with them is odd, as Cleartalk has one w/them.

The king of coverage in the Moab area is Cellular One/Western Wireless. They have a hideous set of antennas in downtown Moab at a radio repair shop, and they also have better service along I-70 and areas to the north. But when I was there last year, they were still analog along I-70. AT&T/TDMA customers would roam on C-1.

Oddly, Verizon, which works almost as good as C-1, has no licenses for the area between Moab and Green River. Their sites are high enough in altitude that they reach into this area and serve it well, but that explains the weak area in the canyon north of Arches, and along the Colorado River.

Moab itself is outside Verizon territory, but their tower just SE of town, and in the next county, covers it quite well.

Canyonlands has excellent Verizon coverage, but the south entrance is a challenge. There, I can only access Verizon or C-1 in analog. But there's a way-cool outpost there with a house in a cave and a nice landing strip. Their only contact to the real world is through their cell service which is shared with their phone and computer, and needs a yagi antenna back to Moab.

I won't say anything about the biking and 4-wheeling. It's too good a secret to share.

-Bill

[Andy]

Originally Posted by BillRadio

And I will add some of the missing pieces. AT&T/GSM also covers parts of the area, including I-70 from Green River to the Colorado line, but not into Moab (last year).

A local CDMA carrier, Cleartalk, also provides local service along i-70 and into Moab. Why Sprint doesn't have a roaming agreement with them is odd, as Cleartalk has one w/them.

The king of coverage in the Moab area is Cellular One/Western Wireless. They have a hideous set of antennas in downtown Moab at a radio repair shop, and they also have better service along I-70 and areas to the north. But when I was there last year, they were still analog along I-70. AT&T/TDMA customers would roam on C-1.

Oddly, Verizon, which works almost as good as C-1, has no licenses for the area between Moab and Green River. Their sites are high enough in altitude that they reach into this area and serve it well, but that explains the weak area in the canyon north of Arches, and along the Colorado River.

Moab itself is outside Verizon territory, but their tower just SE of town, and in the next county, covers it quite well.

Canyonlands has excellent Verizon coverage, but the south entrance is a challenge. There, I can only access Verizon or C-1 in analog. But there's a way-cool outpost there with a house in a cave and a nice landing strip. Their only contact to the real world is through their cell service which is shared with their phone and computer, and needs a yagi antenna back to Moab.

I won't say anything about the biking and 4-wheeling. It's too good a secret to share.

-Bill

Bill, what exactly do you mean by saying you won't say anything about hiking and 4-wheeling?
So, Verizon does not have a license to have sites from Green River to Moab??? Well how the heck do they still cover that area so well then(considering they can't build sites). So VZW does not actually have sites in Green River or anywhere in between Green River and Moab on Highway 191?
Does VZW have a site in Moab itself or is Moab only covered by a site outside of town? I believe I might have even seen that VZW site SE of town that you were talking about when I was 4-wheeling sometimes(I'd get full signal and an RF Power of low 70's...the tower was far away so that could be right). Most of my time 4-wheeling etc. north of Moab, 228 was my Active Pilot, so this site covers a huge amount of area, even going north of Moab on Highway 191!
I think I even got that local Cleartalk carrier(SID 4565)...it was weaker than VZW on the campsite and also didn't work on many of my 4-wheeling trips while VZW worked well.(it was roam on the America's Choice). But I think that Clear Talk Carrier has a site right on top of a mountain across from Arches Visitors Center(that's the area VZW would cut out for a few seconds while driving). What does this carrier offer anyways? I've never heard of it, nor of anyone using them.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by BillRadio

Why Sprint doesn't have a roaming agreement with them is odd, as Cleartalk has one w/them.

So does Sprint roam on VZW down there?

[larry]

It's very unusual to find an area where Sprint doesn't have a roaming agreement with Verizon.

[BillRadio]

Originally Posted by Andy84094

Bill, what exactly do you mean by saying you won't say anything about hiking and 4-wheeling?

Because every time I rave about a fabulous place, it gets 'discovered', and the crowds move in. Not you...it's all the readers out there.

So, Verizon does not have a license to have sites from Green River to Moab??? Well how the heck do they still cover that area so well then

Yep, it's a nice tower on a real high spot, just over the county line. C-1 is there, too.

So VZW does not actually have sites in Green River or anywhere in between Green River and Moab on Highway 191?

Verizon does not have a license for Grand County. IIRC, but they do have 2 sites in Green River, both on 200' towers, SE and SW of town along I-70. You then cross into Grand County and stay in touch with that SW tower until you near Rt. 191 and begin to see the tower SE of Moab. That area is high and in the clear until you get to the canyon near Arches where their signal gets weak.

Does VZW have a site in Moab itself or is Moab only covered by a site outside of town?

Yes, it's a site just across the county line. It's their only site in the area and it's at the top of a high mountain SE of town. You can literally see the site from I-70 to the north. But as you approach Colorado, and get behind the LaSalle Mountains, you can't use that site any longer and roam on C-1.

If they wanted, Verizon could build towers along I-70 there under Phase II (unserved areas), as the license holder, UBET, doesn't have any towers nearby. It could be we roam there on C-1, but so few people do, it's not a big deal. It is included in AC.

But I think that Clear Talk Carrier has a site right on top of a mountain across from Arches Visitors Center

I think it's theirs. you can see the tower from the park entrance, but you need to be looking for it.

What does this carrier offer anyways? I've never heard of it, nor of anyone using them.

They are pretty much an "unlimited" carrier and local folks. I have talked to them. They seem to be getting along well. Their sites are close to Sprint's in Junction, but Cleartalk's are much higher. They're at ClearTalk use Zip Code 81501.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by BillRadio

Because every time I rave about a fabulous place, it gets 'discovered', and the crowds move in. Not you...it's all the readers out there.
Yep, it's a nice tower on a real high spot, just over the county line. C-1 is there, too. Verizon does not have a license for Grand County. IIRC, but they do have 2 sites in Green River, both on 200' towers, SE and SW of town along I-70. You then cross into Grand County and stay in touch with that SW tower until you near Rt. 191 and begin to see the tower SE of Moab. That area is high and in the clear until you get to the canyon near Arches where their signal gets weak.
Yes, it's a site just across the county line. It's their only site in the area and it's at the top of a high mountain SE of town. You can literally see the site from I-70 to the north. But as you approach Colorado, and get behind the LaSalle Mountains, you can't use that site any longer and roam on C-1.

If they wanted, Verizon could build towers along I-70 there under Phase II (unserved areas), as the license holder, UBET, doesn't have any towers nearby. It could be we roam there on C-1, but so few people do, it's not a big deal. It is included in AC.
I think it's theirs. you can see the tower from the park entrance, but you need to be looking for it.
They are pretty much an "unlimited" carrier and local folks. I have talked to them. They seem to be getting along well. Their sites are close to Sprint's in Junction, but Cleartalk's are much higher. They're at ClearTalk use Zip Code 81501.

Hey Bill,
thanks for the info...but where do you mean that we roam on C-1??
And how would it work for VZW to build towers along I-70(I mean what does Phase II mean)???
~Andy
P.S. Maybe I can PM you and you can tell me some of the "undiscovered" areas

[agentHibby]

hey bill,
Who runs the B block Cellular in the green river area??

[BillRadio]

Originally Posted by agentHibby

hey bill,
Who runs the B block Cellular in the green river area??

The pink on that map refers to UBET Wireless who has the B license for Grand County, but Green River is just west of Grand County, and Moab is close enough to the south edge that VZW can serve parts of Grand County from sites along the edge, just outside the county.

but where do you mean that we roam on C-1??

If you were to travel a little farther east along I-70, you would lose the VZW signal and would roam on C-1/WW almsot to the Colorado line. It was analog last time I was there.

People like Andy get to come from the west and never leave VZW coverage. Unfortunates like me go east and into what AC users know as 'light pink' coverage. We need our analog.

And how would it work for VZW to build towers along I-70(I mean what does Phase II mean)???

after all the original cell towers got built, the FCC allowed applications for "Phase II" where any company could apply for areas with no service on a given channel. Verizon could apply for a couple towers to serve this stretch of I-70 as UBET does not serve it.

Before Commnet Wireless jumps on this, there isn't a soul living in the area...there isn't even enough life for road kill. Although on Sunday afternoon, especially after a slickrock competition in Moab, the road is jammed with a huge collection of odd 4x4's, most of which are on trailers and towed by large SUV's. Really roughing it.

P.S. Maybe I can PM you and you can tell me some of the "undiscovered" areas

Well, maybe. I can't tell you how many times I got blanked out of a cool B&B because i told all my buds about it. There are two areas near Moab that are worthy of a visit: Monument Valley and the Gooseneck canyon. I cannot believe how many movies and commercials are filmed there, but it is one of the most visually stimulating place on earth. Take lots of film, or flash memory, and go ahead and pay the Native Americans to park to the overlook. This place can handle the crowds.

-Bill

[Andy]

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