Any recommendations on a Prepaid Cell Phone?

[bman]

My Dad wants a cell phone to take down to the coast.
He Fishes inshore Ochlocknee to St Marks.

I had one on my plan for them but the most he ever used was 10 min one month.
So we are thinking about getting him a "Wally World" prepaid cell phone.
They have:
Alltel, AT&T, Net10, T-Mobile, TracFone, Verizon, and Virgin Mobile Phones

Any recommendations for the best service at the coast?
My gut says Alltel.....

[jsuber]

Alltel gets better receptiion down our way. Jason has one and he always gets reception. Chappy has Verizon and he got great reception also. I think Verizon bought Alltel. Tehy sell the alltel at Walmart and i think the pre-paid has free incoming and free text.

[MudDucker]

I have looked at the prepaid for my kids and it all comes back to the adding them on my Alltel for $9.95 a month is the cheapest way to go. Minutes on prepaid go away unless you keep buying them. Some must be bought each month and some last three months.

[lordsfisher]

You can narrow your list by striking verizon off. I was NOT happy with the limited reception in the refuge and a mile or so east of the lighthouse recently. That's a good idea for a gift, and more practical than the nasal hair trimmer I got last year.

[Reel Cowboy]

I would go Alltel.

[RHTFISH]

Morning Barry!

My verizon only works quite infrequently at Anky although I can text anytime and even inside the camper....go figure.
I purchased a Tracfone since several of neighbors raved about them. I could never get it to work except under cell tower on 98. I'm still trying to
resolve the bill and Tracfone agrees it won't work where I bought it to use but the "foreigns" that constitute their customer service are impossible to deal with.
A neighbor gave me one of his extra Tracfones and I put some minutes on it and it works like a champ...no bells and whistles but can even call home
inside the camper without a problem.
You might consider getting him a real satellite phone...they are neat! Rather pricey...but neat!

[procraftwes]

I have Att and i get GOOD service anywhere out there and I always have at least 2 bars. The signal isnt just based on the service it depends alot on the phone you buy if you buy a prepaid get a Nokia.

[Sir reel]

We've had a TracFone for 3 or 4 years and we've been very happy with it. I've had it with me out of Saint Marks and never failed to have a signal. I've had it with me at Keaton and had a signal when others didn't. Took it with us the past two years to Oklahoma City and back and never was without a signal. The process of adding minutes is about as easy as it can get. The minutes don't go away but the time/date for service will catch you before the minutes run out. We solved that by getting the yearly service and then you can run out of minutes with out losing the account/number then just add some when ever you want. We like it.

[dolphinatic]

I have Att and i get GOOD service anywhere out there and I always have at least 2 bars. The signal isnt just based on the service it depends alot on the phone you buy if you buy a prepaid get a Nokia.

I've had a pre-paid AT&T phone for 2 years now and love it!!!! NO RIP-OFF CONTRACT!!!! Definately, recommend the Nokia phone also. I get fairly good reception at the coast even out on the water at Carrabelle. You can get $100 put on the phone and it's good for 1 year from the date of purchase....that's less than $9 a month and you can even get free mobile to mobile.

[Tom Keels]

At&t here. I have been known to get reception all the way to O-Tower.

[Flint River Pirate]

Since I work for AT&T I am a little bias but I can tell you we have pretty good reception down there. We have recently added several towers in the area that have made it even better. We have even added 4 towers in Bainbridge (barhopr). I have been out 6 or 7 miles at Econfina and still could use my Blackberry. I think in the near future we will have superior coverage to everyone because of our added towers.

The way cell phones work is they use a tower. Each company has a node on the tower that boosts their service. Alltel has always been good because they were allowed to hop on everyone else's towers and no one else could do that. Things have changed. Verizon bought Alltel annd they now use all of Verizon's towers. Some companies like Sprint/Nextel put all of their towers close to major cities and interstates, so they won't work in the areas we all go to fish. AT&T boasts the largest wireless data network in the nation and I in the past 6 months we have really turned up a bunch of new towers. That is my .02 cents, but again I have a very bias opinion.

[Carlabear]

Ive got AT and T and have good reception at Econfina and got coverage few weeks ago out 9 miles. The problem is AT&T doesn't do well in Tville and west toward Barwick. I live in Palm Coast and only couple dead zones on I 10 . My daughter lives close to Barwick and my phone won't work there. I'm hoping the service will improve soon. I love AT&T. My sisters in Ga all have this and we can talk for free. I have razor phone and the phone does make a difference. Im not getting another razor though because they are too fragile for me. I also had great reception last weekend out of St Marks at sea bouy .

[Flint River Pirate]

The problem is AT&T doesn't do well in Tville and west toward Barwick.

Give it a little while and you should be good there too. Hopefully soon.

[procraftwes]

The problem is AT&T doesn't do well in Tville and west toward Barwick.

Give it a little while and you should be good there too. Hopefully soon.

Where do you work for ATT? I manage a store in tallahassee (franchise store)

[Flint River Pirate]

I sent you a pm.