Verizon service in Crede / Lake City Colorado?

[trek83]

Wondering if anyone with Verizon service has traveled thru Crede or Lake City, CO along Hwy 149 - the Silver Thread

scenic byway. This would include post-paid, pre paid, or mvno Verizon service.

Definitely did not have service, except roaming, a few years ago. But now the map shows 4G LTE service along much of

the Hwy 149 from South Fork thru Crede, Lake City, and to Blue Mesa reservoir on to Gunnison & beyond.

[CellularCowboy]

Wondering if anyone with Verizon service has traveled thru Crede or Lake City, CO along Hwy 149 - the Silver Thread

scenic byway. This would include post-paid, pre paid, or mvno Verizon service.

Definitely did not have service, except roaming, a few years ago. But now the map shows 4G LTE service along much of

the Hwy 149 from South Fork thru Crede, Lake City, and to Blue Mesa reservoir on to Gunnison & beyond.

Lake City, CO only has a population of about 400 people so its to be expected. To have a cellular tower, the location has to have enough residents paying taxes in order to support building and mantaining the infrastructure.

[jfr3021]

I believe the only carriers in Lake City are AT&T and CommNet. I think all carriers have a site in Creede including Viaero Wireless.


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[mwdewey]

Lake City, CO only has a population of about 400 people so its to be expected. To have a cellular tower, the location has to have enough residents paying taxes in order to support building and mantaining the infrastructure.

There are lots of little towns with much less population across the country who have a full selection of carriers to choose from, including one near here in Oklahoma with a population of 86 that has sites from Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T right there in town. The nearest "big" city of 12,000 people is 30 miles away in any direction but there are other small towns in the area, each with their own set of sites from the major providers, providing continuous service even for rural areas.

The day is long past when the carriers totally ignore spots of low population, as their networks have been built out over many years now. Their customers demand continuous coverage and they are providing it. There are still some unserved places and gaps, to be sure, but there are far less of them nowadays. An example of this change is the amount of coverage that Commnet now has, which is far less than a few years ago. AT&T used to rely on Commnet for coverage in a lot of mountain communities in Colorado and New Mexico but they have built a lot of their own sites in places such as Red River to replace Commnet.

[bmtvaquero]

Lake City, CO only has a population of about 400 people so its to be expected. To have a cellular tower, the location has to have enough residents paying taxes in order to support building and mantaining the infrastructure.

First, the Lake City area is a tourist magnet. There are generally a lot more people there than 400.

Second, there are literally millions of locations in the USA which have zero population and still have great cellular coverage from all the major providers.

Third, what does taxes have to do with building and maintaining cellular infrastructure?

[trek83]

Thanks for all the helpful replies - sorry I’ve not returned here sooner as first reply was about 2 weeks out.

Well…….time will tell if there is cell service via my mnvo US Mobile - I’ll be out there in July & will report back.

[Skuzz]

Thanks for all the helpful replies - sorry I’ve not returned here sooner as first reply was about 2 weeks out.

Well…….time will tell if there is cell service via my mnvo US Mobile - I’ll be out there in July & will report back.

US Mobile doesn't include domestic roaming IIRC, so you will likely not be able to roam on CommNet or AT&T like Verizon post-paid would. You'll still be able to dial 911, however. (It will likely attach to a network but then no services will work, at least that is what I've seen in the past.)

Looking at the maps, there are big gaps between the towns, so probably not much to expect even if you could though. Download your maps before you navigate and then you can enjoy being off-grid!

[dfriz]

An Amateur Radio license is easy to get now. Don't need to know morse code.
Hams like to install repeaters on mountain tops. A 2 meter handi talkie can be had under $100. (make sure it has PL tone). You will be able to talk to other people for information, but no selfies sent back home, etc.
Search "Colorado ham repeater map".

[trek83]

An Amateur Radio license is easy to get now. Don't need to know morse code.
Hams like to install repeaters on mountain tops. A 2 meter handi talkie can be had under $100. (make sure it has PL tone). You will be able to talk to other people for information, but no selfies sent back home, etc.
Search "Colorado ham repeater map".

Good idea, thanks.

[trek83]

US Mobile doesn't include domestic roaming IIRC, so you will likely not be able to roam on CommNet or AT&T like Verizon post-paid would. You'll still be able to dial 911, however. (It will likely attach to a network but then no services will work, at least that is what I've seen in the past.)

Looking at the maps, there are big gaps between the towns, so probably not much to expect even if you could though. Download your maps before you navigate and then you can enjoy being off-grid!

True, no doubt. Thanks