BigBendFishing.Net

I know nobody wants to get a phone call during a fishing trip but I was wondering what services you guys use and how it works along the coast. Already got a on Alltel. Any other services that work out there? We're switching services at the end of the year 'cause I don't pick up anywhere on the coast. With a wife and little one at home, I would like to at least be available in case of emergency. We have T-mobile which has been good in town but vanishes below Crawfordville. Can't even get reception at Jerry's

TRAC FONE works well for me. I've made & received calls 10 miles off shore around St. Marks, Panacea, Aucillia, St, Teresa.... No contracts pay as you go..

Yea I had really bad luck with T-mobile, basically anytime we went outside of capital circle we lost service.

Alltel by comparison has been great but it also depends on your phone. I used to have a motorola with alltel and got reception out to around the birdrack. Like you said I don't want anyone calling me when I'm on the water but it gave me a little piece of mind, just in case. I now have an Audiovox phone with Alltel and only get service to around Jerry's or south of Woodville. So while the company's towers are important the quality and power of the phone is as well. I've seen antennae amplifiers for cell phones but don't know if they are for real and have never tried one.

I can recommend Alltel though, I have never lost a call due to my network its always the other person. And when you do have reception its always clear.

I have made calls from the o tower with my cingular phone.

I have also made calls from the O-tower with my Alltel service.

Tom Keels wrote:I have made calls from the o tower with my cingular phone.

Yeah he called me out from Panama City as well....Last time I went out I couldn't make a call on my Alltel phone until I was almost to the pass....That was almost a year ago though, probably better now.

I've got a nextel and an alltel and they both seem to work well on the water. I think the reception is a little better with the alltel. I am dropping the nextel due to too many dropped calls elsewhere.

I went with Trac Phone. From what I have been able to tell talking to different folks, the service seems less spotty in this area.

But, that is not to say I always aswer it when it rings, especially if I'm fishing, as my wife can attest.

DON'T get verizon.............can't even get reception in my house(within a mile of the verizon store)
can you hear me now? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Thanks beerfish,
It's good to know the bad with the good.

I've had the best luck with Cingular

As others said,I think it depends mostly on the phone itself. My brother and I both have Nextel. Mine works miles past where his stops. Go figure.

All in all, I've had best coverage with Altell through out Georgia and Florida. When in Maine last week, my cell phone was the only one that worked reliably. Represented was cingular, verizon, and a couple of others I've never heard of.