Road Trip to Yellowstone

[BillRadio]

I see road trips are popular here. Our travels took us through parts of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. The ultimate destination was Yellowstone National Park.

The Verizon phone with America's Choice II was disappointing. The only time the phone would work off-network was roaming on Western Wireless (Cellular One) and only in northern Utah. In the good old days with our Single Rate West plan we could roam on all sorts of carriers, usually analog. No longer. In Yellowstone Park itself, there is only one active Verizon site, near the Canyon area, but they do have good coverage at each entrance to the park. They do not allow AC II roaming on any other carrier there, and oddly, they no longer support their own licensed cell site at the south entrance to the park. In the cities around the park service is very good. Verizon otherwise has relatively poor coverage in Wyoming, but being number 3 overall isn't too bad.

Old Faithful, our AT&T TDMA phone, not the geyser, had much better coverage. Most of the time it was roaming on TDMA with a couple stretches of analog, some from Verizon. Our plan is similar to Free2Go and spent most of its time on Western Wireless, and when that failed, UBET Cellular. The bad news, since it's always roaming, the rate quadruples. That's not too bad if you have a Beyond Wireless phone.

The big, and I do mean BIG surprise was our Cingular GSM phone. Since it's a prepaid phone, the Cingular prepaid map shows no coverage in areas where there is no native Cingular coverage..the phone just doesn't roam. Ah, but it does! Service is supplied by many different roaming carriers who must be using the Cingular network code because the phone would always display "Cingular". Off the beaten path in Utah and Colorado, Cingular just wasn't there. But then we discovered Cingular service where we didn't expect it.

First, in the wonderfully typical small town of Vernal, UT, there was what appeared to be a single site of Cingular service. But when we crossed the Green River dam in the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, the only signal was from UBET Cellular...and Cingular! Crossing the line into Wyoming, the Cingular signal centered on Rock Springs and a handful of islands of coverage north of that, including Jackson Hole. But in Yellowstone Park, there was excellent Cingular coverage in twice as many areas as Verizon. That's two sites: Old Faithful and Grant Village.

A sidelight in Vernal was the comparison of cellular stores. Cellular One is housed in a converted gas station. UBET is in a huge building that could easily be mistaken for a substantial bank, and possibly was one in a previous life. The Nextel "store" was one of those chain saw sharpening shop-looking buildings, and it probably is one.

Then there's the rock solid Cingular coverage across Wyoming on I-80. Once again the phone always said "Cingular", and there weren't those big annoying holes like Verizon's. None of this shows on Cingular's prepaid map, and some of it is not even shown as current coverage on their regular map. It was touch and go for some time since we didn't expect to use the Cingular phone at all, so we didn't pack the Nokia charger.

The coverage king in that region of WY is Union Cellular who just recently converted to GSM, and I suspect supplies some of that new Cingular coverage. Otherwise, we rarely roamed on them. The old Verizon plans would roam on Union's analog signal, alas, no longer. The Verizon phone also roamed on Commnet Wireless, digital and analog, along I-80, through a long gap in Verizon coverage.

Sprint PCS and T-Mobile only appeared in Jackson and Cheyenne, WY, and all along I-70 from Denver to Grand Junction. I thought I heard the Sprint phone beep in Yellowstone, but didn't look to check. We just didn't expect coverage there, but if it indeed is there, it could be supplied by Western Wireless. Otherwise there was no other useable signal in WY. Laramie showed some Sprint signal, but it constantly dropped out.

Western Wireless also has a few areas of coverage in Yellowstone which we accessed with our AT&T phone...some digital and some analog. Western Wireless also owns that infamous Old Faithful cell tower. You wouldn't see it at all except for the fact that it is clearly visible as you drive up the entrance to the Old Faithful parking area.

Nextel did a good job with sites in all the towns and along major corridors, but we couldn't check them in Yellowstone Park. Don't laugh, I forgot to turn on the Nextel phone there...oops.

With the dozen or so cell sites in Yellowstone, you'd think coverage would be great. But since no one phone can access all sites, it's not. For a time, Verizon phones would, although with the old America's Choice plans some roaming charges may have been seen. Although I am being a bit critical, coverage in these areas has improved significantly over the past year.

BTW, Western Wireless in NE UT transmits SID 1741 on CDMA and 1739 on TDMA and analog. This gives a clue as to what should be happening in the Moab area.

[budney]

Thanks for the report Bill!

I hope to get to Yellowstone someday, I really want to see it.

[Airb330]

Thanks for the great report Bill! Someday I'll get out that way. Good to know GSM is still getting better everyday even in rural areas where CDMA should rule. Verizon really needs to improve some areas of their rural networks, apparently in these areas, PA, and nothern Arizona...they are falling behind.

[azcellphonejunkie]

Thanks Bill!~

Of course I like to read reports about coverage, even if I don't know if I will be up there anytime soon

Good to hear that Cingular worked well for you. It's nice to read something positive about Cingular after all the criticism recently...

[Andy]

Bill,
Thanks for the report!
I was there about a year ago with an AC1 Plan. GSM must have improved tremendously within the past year in the area.
You said that Verizon is not servicing their site at the southern entrance of the park anymore..what exactly do you mean? Did they just kill it or what?
WW only transmits SID 1741 digitally in two counties in NE Utah, that's it, everywhere else, even the digital signal is on 1739.
You are saying that Verizon only has one site in the park? Where exactly is that? I got Verizon coverage in spots all across the park, where, at least a year ago, GSM phones were SOL.
Great report!

[BillRadio]

Bill,
GSM must have improved tremendously within the past year in the area.

Rumor is Western Wireless supplies Cingular GSM service, but I also got it in areas where WW has no coverage on TDMA or CDMA.

You said that Verizon is not servicing their site at the southern entrance of the park anymore..what exactly do you mean?

FCC shows they have a licensed site within a mile of the Snake River Ranger station. I was at that Lat/Long and there was NO Verizon signal, either this year or the last time we were there in 2000.

WW only transmits SID 1741 digitally in two counties in NE Utah, that's it, everywhere else, even the digital signal is on 1739.

When I was told they were transmitting 1741 at all those other sites, they did not specify whether it was CDMA or TDMA. It turns out it is TDMA and analog.

You are saying that Verizon only has one site in the park? Where exactly is that?

FCC says it's "23 miles SE of Gardner", which is a silly way to describe that site. It's on a hill north of the "Canyon" area of the park, near the Falls.

I got Verizon coverage in spots all across the park

Yes, with a Non-AC II PRL you'll 'see' ALL the sites in the park, some roaming & digital, some not. Also, there is service coming from outside the park from Mammoth Springs, W. Yellowstone, Cody and Grand Teton. With the AC II PRL, you only get that ONE site within the park. It's a place where I really miss my old SRW plan. After watching Old Faithful, I gave my Cingular GSM phone to my son who wanted to descibe it all to his uncle, since it was the next least expensive service available. That call has yet to be charged.

I hope much will change in these areas when Alltel takes over Western Wireless.

[agentHibby]

I would hope one day Verizon would spend $200 million and fix Wyoming up. Get PCS towers in Yellowstone and get rid of all these holes they have in RSA #4 where they show solid coverage and there is nothing there.

[NAHokie]

I see road trips are popular here. Our travels took us through parts of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. The ultimate destination was Yellowstone National Park.

The Verizon phone with America's Choice II was disappointing. The only time the phone would work off-network was roaming on Western Wireless (Cellular One) and only in northern Utah. In the good old days with our Single Rate West plan we could roam on all sorts of carriers, usually analog. No longer. <<snip>>

I was in the Idaho Falls, ID & Jackson, WY area about three months ago. I had car trouble on the Idaho side of the Teton Pass and was fortunately able to call out for help with my Verizon AC1 plan. I was roaming, and I paid a few dollars in roaming fees for the calls I had to make, but I got the help I needed when I needed it. (I remember that being my original reason for getting a cell phone several years ago!) My intention right now is to stick with AC1 for as long as they'll let me.

[Andy]

Rumor is Western Wireless supplies Cingular GSM service, but I also got it in areas where WW has no coverage on TDMA or CDMA.

FCC shows they have a licensed site within a mile of the Snake River Ranger station. I was at that Lat/Long and there was NO Verizon signal, either this year or the last time we were there in 2000.

When I was told they were transmitting 1741 at all those other sites, they did not specify whether it was CDMA or TDMA. It turns out it is TDMA and analog.

FCC says it's "23 miles SE of Gardner", which is a silly way to describe that site. It's on a hill north of the "Canyon" area of the park, near the Falls.

Yes, with a Non-AC II PRL you'll 'see' ALL the sites in the park, some roaming & digital, some not. Also, there is service coming from outside the park from Mammoth Springs, W. Yellowstone, Cody and Grand Teton. With the AC II PRL, you only get that ONE site within the park. It's a place where I really miss my old SRW plan. After watching Old Faithful, I gave my Cingular GSM phone to my son who wanted to descibe it all to his uncle, since it was the next least expensive service available. That call has yet to be charged.

I hope much will change in these areas when Alltel takes over Western Wireless.

When I was there with my AC1 plan, my all digital phone only worked on the Verizon network, because there was no other digital service available. My Nokia tri-mode phone sometimes picked up a roam AMPS signal from Union Telephone in some parts of the park, but AMPS doesn't even cover all roadways inside the park, or at least didn't when I was there.
I got Verizon service around the Falls, but it wasn't strong enough to make me believe the site was right there.

Here's my report from a year ago:

First of all, my trip from Salt Lake City, UT to West Yellowstone:

Good Verizon Wireless digital all the way(I talked nearly 3 hours on my way up there) and had one dropped call and one area of low signal strength that I can remember(I’m sure I might have not caught some areas of low signal strenth). West Yellowstone itself has perfect Verizon digital service(most people’s phones I saw while there were Verizon phones....there were tons of Verizon phones there). I might be wrong, but while Field Testing I did not find any other CDMA carrier in West Yellowstone. BTW, if anyone cares, I took I-15 from S.L.C. and then drove through Rexbourg on my way to West Yellowstone.

Yellowstone National Park itself:

Verizon’s digital reaches in about 10 miles from the West Entrance I believe, after that it becomes unusable and then completely dies. I stayed at Bridge Bay campground where there was no digital or analog service at all, not even Analog Roam. Old Faithful, West Thumb and other areas had Analog Roam on SID 1828(when I called 611 a lady picked up and said: “Thank you for calling Union Telephone, how may I direct your call” or something like that). When I visited Geyser Basin at West Thumb I received a very weak Verizon digital signal on my VX 6000( -104 and -17.5 ) but have no clue at all where it came from; areas around West Thumb were all dead. Driving from Bridge Bay to Canyon Village there is Verizon digital Service from about Mud Volcano to Canyon Village(Active Pilot 264....I have no idea where the signal came from as it was in the low -80's at it’s best). I actually held a call in Fishing Bridge with an Rx Power of -105 and an Ec/Io of -21.0 The call eventually dropped though. That was on Pilot 264 as well if anyone cares. Canyon Village campground has spots with a usable digital signal from Pilot 264 and the signal actually stretches a little north of Canyon Village as well if I’m not mistaken. The Upper and Lower Falls also have service from Pilot 264; it does die though if you go down into the River Valley. Driving up to Mammoth via Norris Verizon digital comes back a few miles outside of Mammoth(Active Pilot 256). There’s perfect service at the Mammoth Hot Springs (-60's) as well; some parts of the Hot Springs where you drive on that one way road go down to -high 90's. Mammoth itself has full service everywhere, the only digital CDMA carrier I could find was Verizon....I might be wrong though. I even believe I found the site that covers this area, it’s northwest of Mammoth on a mountain behind the Lodge, etc. but I’m not sure. Driving out of the park via the North Entrance, good service through the canyon areas to Gardiner, and Gardiner is covered well by the same Active Pilot, 256. In Gardiner I also saw tons and tons of Verizon phones being used; a lot of locals also seem to use them.

On my way back home, we took the South Entrance through Grand Teton, Jackson, then took Teton Pass(I believe that’s what it was called) to Idaho Falls, then I-15 to Pocatello, stopped there for dinner and then went down to S.L.C. Leaving the South Entrance there is No coverage whatsoever, no digital, no analog, nothing I could find at all. A few miles after leaving Yellowstone, though, Verizon native picks up. I talked on the phone from there until right before Jackson without problems at all. Jackson itself had great service. Leaving Jackson we took Highway 22 I believe it was over the Teton Pass which got interesting. Going up I got a good Verizon signal until we went back down on the other side of the Pass, where my phone would switch between a weak Verizon and weak Sprint (Extended Network) signal. Then there were times where I would only pick up a weak Verizon signal, but then I lost everything through Idaho’s backcountry...not even analog worked until about 30 minutes or so(can't really remember specifics, I was way tired since I onle got a few hours of sleep and was in the car all day) outside of Idaho Falls where I picked up a strong digital Veizon signal again. Idaho Falls itself seems covered very well, same with Pocatello. I dropped one call on I-15 between Idaho Falls and Pocatello, but talked on my phone nearly all the way from Idaho Falls to Pocatello, and then for about 2 hours from Pocatello driving towards Salt Lake. Calls hand off fine between the Idaho and Utah networks. Going down I-15 in Utah it seemed I always had great(nearly full) service, no dropped calls, nothing....

In General I was very pleased with Verizon coverage on my trip, there were a lot of areas where Verizon was the only CDMA carrier available. Inside the park there are some areas where Verizon service works, but analog doesn’t seem to reach any further than digital; there are quite a few Analog Roam areas though.

I’m sure I left a lot out, but I hope this was interesting and fun to read. I had a great time up there, even though I heard tons of U.S. Cellular ads on the radio.... they seem to be worse than Verizon with advertising I also went river rafting in Gardiner and had a great time there as well.

~Andy

So..where's the site that covers that stretch of road, including the falls?

[RH]

Bill,

Great report! I am going to post my trip results shortly from Phoenix to Durango to Pikes peak, Santa Fe then back to Phoenix. I was very impressed with Cingular and Verizon has lost some of its luster. I just go back last night nothing like 2500 miles of driving with a 21 month old (actually she was very good)

RH

[RH]

Bill,

Great report! I am going to post my trip results shortly from Phoenix to Durango to Pikes peak, Santa Fe then back to Phoenix. I was very impressed with Cingular and Verizon has lost some of its luster. I just go back last night nothing like 2500 miles of driving with a 21 month old (actually she was very good)

RH

Correction 2,000 miles.

[sid pearlman]

Great reality check for the new VZW AC2 PRL.
I guess the moral of the story is to keep at least one backup alternative network phone handy in cross country travels.

Beyond the fun of mapping VZW and other carriers coverage, it could be just as likely a situation to have to call the autautoclubr a tow or to report an accident.

I'm seriuseriouslyking about getting a GSM prepaid phone, but expect out here in Northern California/Sierras, the best bet is still an old ATT multinetwork phone along with VZW. Even with the Callplus/Locus 4X roaming rate, the ability to make any call in an emergency/breakdown is cheap insurance.

I keep a backup VZW phone and discovered a 611 call from an unactivated VZW phone would only go through when the phone got a digital connection, while roaming on US Cellular. The message from Darth Vader, aka James Earl Jones, told me to dial #7626 to make a call on American Roaming Network. So much for an easy ESN change from VZW CS, if my primary phone failed while on the road.

That's another good reason to keep a backup phone and charger. Lots of unexpected calamities can befall a handset while camping/road tripping.

I'm recommending all my Cingular GSM using friends keep an old analog or preferably an A/D handset while traveling in remote regions. It seems plain silly to give up the potential ability to make an emergency call! Isn't that the bottom line of getting a cell phone in the first place?

I wonder if say, VZW CS can even activate a non GPS capable handset remotley, if remotelyy phone should fail on the road? Probably should keep a fairly current VZW GPS capable model as backup, to avoid an unpleasant surprise when trying to activate, given what appears to be new rules.

I suspect a 911 call would go through on analog, but since I found an unactivated VZW phone won't even connect to the network, that may mean an unactivated VZW phone in an analog only area, may not be the best for connecting to the ARN, for those urgent, but not emergency type calls.
-
Sid

[BKKloppenborg]

thanks for report! wow it was also suprising to me that Cingular was the good! I agree Verizon's new AC 2 is not as good as the first one was..

[ZaphodB]

T-Mobile have coverage in Laramie... good downtown, OK at the university, non-existent as soon as you head out of town.

And nobody -- nobody nobody nobody -- has coverage in Centennial.

[agentHibby]

When you head out of town T-Mobile does have a roaming agreement with Commnet??

[BillRadio]

When you head out of town T-Mobile does have a roaming agreement with Commnet??

I think Commnet supplies all T-Mobile coverage in Laramie. The Commnet GSM map shows Laramie coverage. T-M has asked Commnet to supply coverage in several places and this looks like one of them. Commnet also supplies analog, TDMA and IIRC CDMA service there.