Follow-up from Yesterday's Post: Verizon vs. AT&T

Yesterday I talked to my adventurous daughter who is a kayak guide in Valdez, Alaska. Thinking about my post yesterday, I asked the all-important question of which mobile phone service seems to be more ubiquitous, Verizon or AT&T. I knew not to ask about T-Mobile because last year she showed up to help guide with a T-Mobile phone. Unfortunately T-Mobile doesn't have a presence in Alaska and while her phone worked for 30 days, they informed her that if she didn't get her phone back to the lower 48, or continental United States, they would stop providing service. Fortunately she had to head to Anchorage  and she switched her service to AT&T. Yes it costs significantly more but she could continue to have a wireless phone and didn't have to result in turning her phone off for the remainder of the summer.

I asked my daughter if there are any other guides in Alaska that she works with who use Verizon for their wireless plans. She said there are quite a few. Next I asked if they had service when she doesn't or vice versa. Her response indicated that the two services are fairly comparable with Verizon slightly edging out AT&T. I probed a bit more and asked what she used to compare the two. She said that when they leave Valdez to head out to the Columbia glacier, she will lose service before those with Verizon. On the way back, those with Verizon will regain service earlier.

I felt that seemed like a pretty good test even though it is only anecdotal and not statistical. She elaborated that last year before she switched from T-Mobile, she lost service even earlier. I can't think of any place more remote than parts of Alaska and this corresponds with my experience in remote places throughout the United States.

Now remember I do own stock in Verizon and my intent is not to have you switch your carrier simply because their wireless phone service is available in more places. The new technology being rolled out, specifically 5G networks has all mobile phone carriers upgrading their networks. The old CDMA technology that Verizon used for 2G and 3G will eventually be replaced. Until then, they seem to have the broader coverage. I'm not sure that will continue but could be wrong. I know the moment I switch from T-Mobile to something else, the playing field will be leveled and all services will be equal to each other. So for now I am sticking with my current mobile phone carrier. 

No Internet Service for 5 Days

I just got back from a houseboat trip in Tennessee last night and spent 5 days without any Internet service. Talk about being off the grid. I have to say I really enjoyed it. Even if I wanted to check e-mail or find out what is going on the world, I couldn't.

I use T-Mobile as the carrier for my mobile phone and have found that it is pretty much on par with my previous provider, AT&T. My son has his work phone through Verizon, which is a company whose stock I own. I bought it because they have a generous quarterly dividend, not because I think their stock will appreciate. That being said, my son had Internet service on the trip and kept feeling tempted to check e-mail. When his wife would catch him on his phone, she would remind him that he was on vacation. I should have taken the chance to snap a picture of him on the phone like he did of me in Yellowstone a few years ago.

I have another buddy I travel with to the most remote places in the country and he has Verizon for his carrier as well. Most of the time I don't get service, he still does which has me questioning if I should get a cheap Verizon account too. I thought that Verzion just had better coverage in Utah but now I am discovering it is nationwide. I pass this information along not to help my stock investment but to share my anecdotal experience as I often travel to very out-of-the-way places in the country for various outdoor adventures.

Last night I arrived at the airport and decided I would check my e-mail before boarding my non-stop flight back to Salt Lake. I had an insane number of e-mails but not one needed my attention before today. This morning I checked my work e-mail and had the same results. Naturally I had an auto-responder for my work e-mail so everyone knew I took some time off. That gives the added benefit of people asking about my trip.

The only reason I would have needed to be reached on this past trip is because of a once-in-a-hundred-year storm that hit near my house. We received 2.28 inches of rain one evening and it came down so fast it caused significant flooding in the area. My house received no damage that couldn't be cleaned up with a broom (mulch needs to be pushed back into the flower beds is all). Had my basement flooded like some nearby, I would have wanted the person watching my house to give me a call. Unfortunately there wouldn't have been anything I could have done about it in Tennessee but I think that is one of the things you want to prepare for before arriving home at 11pm on a Sunday evening.

I have to say that I am fine being out of Internet service while on vacation. Hopefully you feel that way too. If you find yourself in the other basket and wishing to remain connected, think about Verizon if you are not already using them for your carrier.

Goodnight Tokyo

I am at the Haneda airport in Tokyo getting ready to catch my flight back to the United States and thought I would try to kill some time. I was only here a month ago and it is funny to see the same crew that checked me onto my flight last month is here again this evening. It is probably pretty sad that I recognize them. I don't even recognize the gate agents in Salt Lake nor Oakland and I fly there almost every week.

This has been a tough trip for me. I have been waking up at 5am each morning so I could work with people back in the States before starting a full day at the office in Tokyo. At about 8pm, I am ready to crawl into bed and have been asleep before 9pm each night. Right now it is close to 11pm and I am dying. All I want to do is get on the plane so I can fall asleep.

While here in the airport I have been talking with an older gentleman who makes an annual pilgrimage to Tokyo where he was born. He then spends 2 weeks hiking around one of the Japanese islands. This evening we have been comparing notes about mobile phone coverage. As mentioned earlier this week, I have kept my personal phone on airplane mode and so it hasn't been used. My work phone is with AT&T. My new friend has a phone with Verizon and he has remarked that coverage this year was not nearly as good as last year. As I have spent most of my time in Tokyo, coverage has been great and I can't complain.

There is always the option of renting a phone when you visit a different country. It is generally less expensive than trying to use your own phone as long as you are using it for data and local in-country phone calls. If you travel internationally frequently, you may want to consider adding an international plan to your phone. Either that or do like I do with my personal phone and turn it off for the trip. You might just enjoy the silence.

Not So Fast

Two days ago I was so happy that I could get rid of a $60/month bill because I no longer needed my broadband Internet device. Then I got back to my boat last night and discovered my free Internet connection no longer worked. I'm sure someone will come in over the weekend and figure out the problem. Then it will be working again on Monday. However, I need something a bit more reliable and so it looks like I am going to have to keep my broadband device.

When I was at the Verizon store looking at Internet solutions for my boat, I had two possible choices: a device that plugged into my USB port and worked with a single computer or their MiFi product that can connect up to 5 WiFi-enabled devices. In the commercials on TV, they show five guys sitting around a campfire playing video games on PSPs and Nintendos. My justification for getting the device was so I could simultaneously connect my laptop and a future Playstation 3 that I plan to get. After all, I do work for a video game company. As luck would have it, my new work laptop arrived this week and so I already have two devices that can use my broadband Internet connection.

The MiFi product works pretty good and is fairly easy to set up. The only reason to connect it to your computer is for setup and if you want to charge its battery. It also comes with a dedicated stand-alone charger. I like not having it tethered to my computer all the time. If I want to get better reception, I can stick it on the roof of my boat and signal strength increases. That can come in handy sometimes.

AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon all sell MiFi devices. I was originally going to go with Sprint because their 4G coverage seems to be so much faster than simple 3G. Then I did a bit of research. There are only a handful of states with 4G coverage and neither Utah nor California are on the list. Then I thought about AT&T, but I already have an iPhone. I figure that between Verizon and AT&T, I will have more data area coverage than with just AT&T alone.

I sure would have liked to give up a monthly bill but it is worth it to have reliable Internet coverage. However if you think you want a MiFi device so you can sit around a campfire playing video games with your kids, you need to get out more.