Wisconsin - Madison to Minneapolis, MN

[Jack#1]

How is AT&T coverage between Madison to Minneapolis?

Especially from Wisconsin Dells to Minneapolis - St. Paul?

I appreciate everyone's input, not just coverage on the highway.

[hwertz]

How is AT&T coverage between Madison to Minneapolis?

Especially from Wisconsin Dells to Minneapolis - St. Paul?

I appreciate everyone's input, not just coverage on the highway.

What coverage? You have 3G in Madison, they didn't even bother to run 3G between there and the Dells (so it's EDGE). A blob of 3G at the Dells. Almost the *only* GSM coverage between Wisconsin Dells and the Minnesota or Iowa borders is this miniscule corridor of EDGE roaming along I90, and (thanks to IWireless) a corridor along part of 151. This is CDMA country. (edit: this is for the SW 1/4 of the state, other 3/4ths looks better.)


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[Doolie]

There is better EDGE coverage on I-94 past Wisconsin Dells up through Eau Claire, which has AT&T HSPA 3G now.and good coverage from there on across the state line and into the Twin Cities. The Coverage Map App from Root Metrics for Android and iOS is a good app to have if you have either OS. It is great for getting a good read on what AT&T's, Verizon's, T-Mobile's and Sprint's coverage really is. There are pockets where CDMA and EDGE drops out too in the middle of the dairy state farm land, but It's getting better for cell users.

[Joe12304]

Very weak. I made a trip from to the Dells and at&t was weak on my friend's phone. Heck I was even roaming and I have Verizon. Oddly Sprint is OK as long as you stick to 94.

[hwertz]

Very weak. I made a trip from to the Dells and at&t was weak on my friend's phone. Heck I was even roaming and I have Verizon. Oddly Sprint is OK as long as you stick to 94.

Oh yes. There was some arrangement in central Wisconsin, the Alltel markets there became Element Mobile instead of going to Verizon Wireless., and just past the Dells the highways would clip through the corner of that.

Where my grandparents live in SW Wisconsin, I roam a lot too though -- the area around Governor Dodge State Park, Arena, etc., has lots of valleys and crazy terrain. Between VZW (ex-Alltel) and US Cellular roaming I probably have ~90% coverage, but 75% at best with each one. Phone batteries drop fast in a moving vehicle, and so do calls, to the point that when I'm around there (as a passenger), I won't even try to make a voice call, only text.

[llkoola1]

Talking to somebody on the phone in St. Paul and he was going from the Dells to St. Paul and it was horrible. We just have dropped at least 6 times. Not impressed with the coverage along this stretch and I'm also not impressed with the data speeds around here in St. Paul.

[Doolie]

In the past couple of months, AT&T has been rolling out and improving coverage in West Central Wisconsin. Eau Claire now has 3G and La Crosse is close behind getting it.

AT&T may be playing catch up in that part of the state, but it wasn't that long ago that Verizon coverage was almost non-existent. I grew up in the area and am very interested in how AT&T service is there.

I recall a few years ago when I would have to be right out by the interstate in the Walmart parking lot to get either AT&T or Verizon. I can now stand downtown in my hometown and have cell coverage with AT&T. The town is right off I-94 about an hour north of The Dells and an hour south of Eau Claire. Of course, Alltel is now Verizon in that part. Plenty of relatives talk about Verizon now and their new cell plans.

The AT&T "Mark My Spot" app for iOS and Android lets you report bad areas directly to AT&T and get coverage updates on zip-codes as well as national roll-outs. The app works great on the iPhone. I am glad to see better AT&T signal. It's happening.

[mosho93]

Yup, 3G has been live here in Eau Claire for a couple weeks now. A little spotty speeds in areas, but I hope that will get better with some fine tuning .