Best Cellular networks?

Submitted by wholeWheatButterfly t3_z4vijk in vermont

I'm in the market for a new cell phone plan. As someone who has lived here off and on for 15 years, my understanding is that Verizon is generally the best in the area and at&t is a close second (and of course it varies by area). However, it's been a while since I've looked into other phone plans. Is t mobile or sprint at all usable in VT now? Or any other plans?

Edit: I am in Rutland.

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ARealVermontar t1_ixsye1r wrote

What part of VT? It can vary a lot. T-Mobile might be okay in the Burlington area but otherwise I think it might struggle.

https://publicservice.vermont.gov/content/mobile-wireless-drive-test is a good reference

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wholeWheatButterfly OP t1_ixsygfo wrote

I'm in Rutland

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ARealVermontar t1_ixsz6ql wrote

I don't know much about that area, but if I were you I'd check the "2020 Interactive map" link on the page I posted. You can toggle the layers of different cell providers to compare coverage, at least along the roads they drove to do the tests.

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Unique-Public-8594 t1_ixszem4 wrote

Guy who did the drive test is a friend of ours.

Nice article about it here, if anyone is interested:

https://www.vermontpublic.org/vpr-news/2019-01-16/state-official-went-roaming-around-vermont-to-test-cell-coverage-claims

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thisoneisnotasbad t1_ixudi5p wrote

This project was amazing and the PSD deserves huge props for doing it. Before this was provider maps that were blatantly false and internet voices that say either this sucks where I am or this is great where I am. Real data from a real person is so useful to have.

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Abbot_of_Cucany t1_iy0epiv wrote

For the benefit of others reading this post, T-Mobile also has pretty good coverage on the east side of the state, not not so much west of the mountains. But looking up specific carriers on a coverage map is really the only way to tell.

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Terminator1175 t1_ixt6rqk wrote

Xfinity if you have their broadband service

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wholeWheatButterfly OP t1_ixubmfg wrote

I do have them for Internet. I think I might go this route. I'm looking for a new plan because I use Verizon prepaid and it doesn't support my smartwatch. Since Xfinity uses Verizon and it doesn't seem wildly more expensive than my current plan, I'll probably do this.

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Terminator1175 t1_ixuugsu wrote

XFinity uses the same cell towers as Verizon. So you can predict the coverage you’ll get . And I saved $19 a month over Verizon and got unlimited as opposed to 5 gig with Verizon wireless

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wholeWheatButterfly OP t1_ixuumzu wrote

Yeah, currently I use Verizon prepaid which is cheaper, but I really want LTE in my smartwatch lol so I will probably switch over.

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cjrecordvt t1_ixx9ptz wrote

I'm in Rutland, and between AT&T and Verizon, it's "do you like blue or red better"? They're pretty much the same. When I checked a few years ago, T-Mo wasn't great, and Sprint was unreliable and getting worse.

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HardTacoKit t1_ixugy00 wrote

T-Mobile has improved greatly over the last 2 years as they have put up more and more 5G towers. Works great for me.

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wholeWheatButterfly OP t1_ixuh1l5 wrote

Good to know! Whereabouts do you usually spend your time? I was always under the impression that t mobile was great in cities but poor everywhere else, but I'd love to learn that that information is out of date.

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HardTacoKit t1_ixuh694 wrote

I’m an Uber driver. Throughout Chittenden county. Also seems to work well on major roads throughout VT.

Can’t vouch for rural out of the way areas.

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Competitive_Wing_614 t1_ixuj2cy wrote

I’m in Orange County and would concur. It also seems that where there is a weakness from one carrier, there is a strength from the other.

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varadins t1_ixuw6ki wrote

Mint uses T-Mobile towers

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Twombls t1_ixxs4sg wrote

I rely on my phone for work and at&t seems to have slightly better coverage in the northern half of the state.

I find that I have better service out in rural areas than my girlfriend with Verizon. The total area of coverage probably isnt actually that different between the two though.

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WantDastardlyBack t1_ixub1b0 wrote

It's been a while since I was down Rutland way, but Verizon was better than my husband's AT&T at the time. That said, depending on where you go, Verizon has gotten pretty bad in other areas. I'm in Milton and we had an Xfinity outage on Thanksgiving night and I couldn't get anything to check if it was just us or not. My husband's phone (Cricket) had service the entire time. My daughter's phone (Mint) also had better service than mine. I asked Verizon about it and they told me that I'm too close to the lake and that water interferes with the signal.

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