All of you know I have an iPhone. I mean, seriously, how could I not? Well, the sole US carrier of the iPhone is AT&T, which you should know unless you have been under a rock for the year and a half. I get great service from AT&T in the Lincoln/Omaha area, where I live. I definitely see more reception bars than my previous carrier.
Now, AT&T’s motto is “More Bars in More Places.” Well, readers, I am going to put it to the test! We’re preparing to leave for our hometown, Pierre, SD, for the holiday weekend. South Dakota has very little actual AT&T coverage, however they appear to have “partner coverage” just about anywhere I would find myself going in SD. For reference, please see the diagram below.
As you can see, I will certainly find out whether or not AT&T has “More Bars in More Places.” My other question is whether or not my data plan will be available in SD. It isn’t as good as Wi-Fi, but let’s face it, free Wi-Fi is getting harder to find, and I have a twitter addiction to feed!
I will be sure to report back with my findings either during or shortly after my vacation. Ciao!
August 28th, 2008 at 8:35 am
I get great reception in Lincoln and Omaha too. When I go to my hometown of Columbus, it is horrible. When I went on trips this summer to Minneapolis and St. Louis, I got good reception in those places, but spotty outside even on the interstate. Partner coverage, in my experience, has slower data speeds than you can probably imagine. I would also argue that I am seeing free Wi-Fi more available than less. It seems that about half the time I am somewhere with iPhone that I have not been before, I find Wi-Fi. I am anxious to see how your experience goes. Have a good trip!
August 28th, 2008 at 9:43 am
I used to have AT&T (before the iPhone was invented). Service was horrible here in the Washington D.C. area.
I want an iPhone so bad! However I just can’t justify having an awesome cell phone with too many dropped calls and/or no signal.
Apple - Please branch out to new carriers in 09. I will be the first in line at the Verizon store. Pretty please with sugar on top…
August 30th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
@Sully I doubt Apple will be branching out to new carriers any time soon. Rumor has it that AT&T is exclusive with iPhone until 2010. Even then, I doubt Verizon would get the iPhone as they use CDMA technology, and AT&T (and pretty much the rest of the world) uses GSM technology. It’s easier for Apple to produce only a GSM iPhone as they can ship it globally without needing to retool the factory for different components.