GDMBR cell phone company ?

[Noosa_nomad]

Hi, I’ve decided on a start date of June 30th from Whitefish and looking for a recommendation on cell phone companies. Is there one standout, or is it six of one, half a dozen of the other? I was intending to purchase an E-sim prior to leaving Australia. Thank you.

[aggie]

Verizon has ok coverage.  Keep in mind that for large stretches of the divide there is no coverage from any provider.

[Noosa_nomad]

Thank you. As long as i can get a signal near towns I’ll be fine. For everywhere else I’ll rely on the in-reach.

[Westinghouse]

My input is probably known to just about everybody, except me.  Only from reading about the GDMBR I think there are areas where phone connections are  unavailable.  I bicycle toured the wide world without a cell phone.  It should not be a problem, but one never knows what emergency might arise.

[BikeliciousBabe]

Thank you. As long as i can get a signal near towns I’ll be fine. For everywhere else I’ll rely on the in-reach.

That might not always be the case.  For example, I remember being in Wise River, MT, which is on the GDMBR and has a couple of restaurants, a small country store, a school and even a post office.  Verizon did not have coverage there.  Maybe things have changed.  Also, you may get a weak signal in places that will allow text messages (sans photos) to (eventually) get though, but not calls.

BTW...Stop into the Wise River Club before heading up the climb.  Good food.  Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top fame recently became a co-owner along with Tim Montana.  Don't know if Gibbons spends much time there.

[Noosa_nomad]

Thank you for the advice. I will be stopping at every opportunity. My entry permit is for 90 days and I intend to make full use of it. At 71 I won’t be knocking out centuries every day😂

[froze]

Wise River MT is still the same, with zero Verizon coverage. Last I knew most of the Salmon-Challis National Forest is a dead zone as well, but AT&T has spotty 4G coverage through there but has better coverage over a much larger area than Verizon including Whitefish, if you're going into that area you could buy an AT&T prepaid.

Walmart sells an AT&T Vista Smartphone for $33, or save $3 if you don't need a smartphone and get an AT&T Cingular Flex 2 flip job.

Then you would have 3 sources of comms, but Verizon will be virtually useless in that area, but take it anyway.

[Noosa_nomad]

Thank you for the info. I’m bringing my iphone since it has the route information on it. I’ll have a couple of days in Whitefish to sus out the best way to go. Cheers.

[kd_ca]

As far as I'm aware, US providers do not offer roaming on their prepaid plans.  If you have a post-paid plan, then you get roaming.  In rural US areas, the main providers are Verizon and AT&T.  Look at coverage maps of each provider and see what works for you.

[Noosa_nomad]

Thanks. I bit the bullet and purchased an AT&T e-sim from an Australian company that will be activated the day I arrive. I don’t fully understand what goes on behind the scenes,but I’ll find out when I arrive in Montana. Only 9 weeks 2 days to go. Scary stuff.