idic5

I was looking into a cell phone for my D and wondered which cell phone/carriers had the best most reliable coverage in the LU area (or are they all the same?). Excuse the naive question but we don't have a cell phone yet.

overseas

This may be helpful:

Cell Phone Service for Appleton, WI 54911 (Outagamie County) Wireless Phone Service Providers

My son uses the AT&T plan.

idic5

thanks for the reply. I assume that you and your son are satisfied with the service and the coverage from ATT - that is, it does not have , what do they call them, dead zones?

overseas

He has an iphone and got it last year therefore he must have AT&T; but I haven't heard any complaints. He pays for it, he set up the plan. All I know, he sends me emails, pics etc. from everywhere he travels. He didn't have a cell except one on my european plan for his first few years in Appleton. Said he didn't need one. Then he worked on tech for some campus theatrical program and used the european one (which is expensive when used in states) because he had to for that weekend. He got the iphone when it first came out last summer. Now he says, they don't have phones in the rooms? I am not sure on that. But it seems everyone has and uses their cells on campus. I hope this helps you.

romanigypsyeyes

I visited there yesterday and my T-Mobile worked just fine .

idic5

I'll collect these other two threads on the same subject here. I am still shopping for a phone/plan for D.

cell phone service

Cell Phones


It seems that about $50 a month (not in addition to an existing plan, but assumng a new plan for a 24 month committment) will get you about 450 minutes a month to talk and to text during weekdays til 9 pm (or 7 pm for sprint). All plans seem to offer unlimited use of the phone during nights and w/e's.

450 minutes a month wd translate to about 112 minutes a week and about 22 minutes a day - during the time from 9 am to 9 pm during the day I mentioned. I wonder if that is sufficient?

--Just thinking and calculating aloud.

Further thoughts: Technically, one wd think a cell phone would be an indirect college cost since it is discretionary, but, since LU has removed the land lines, a cell phone should properly be called a direct cost of attending LU.

musicmomic

D has US Cellular and doesn't have problems with reception/coverage in Appleton

dyserenity

AT&T and T-Mobile use the same kind of technology to connect to wireless networks, so the signal with them is about the same. That said, I prefer AT&T. Sprint's coverage isn't as good.

This year, ITS decided that not enough people were using landlines the school provides, so they're not available to students anymore.

idic5

thanks for the input. I found this informative page. It talks about something called SKYPE, Anyone have any experience with it? It looks cheap. Apparently it is tied to a computer or at least within a wireless zone.

Lawrence University Information Technology Services Students Telecommunications

I notice also that on the web page there is a student survey much like I was asking for (what cell carriers are good in your experience?), but there was not much response.

overseas

I use Skype with my son. We talk via the computers, computer to computer; but you can also buy prepaid minutes with PayPal and use Skype to call a phone. It is very inexpensive. We use Skype to avert international charges since computer to computer is free. One nice feature: you can see each other when you are talking if you want and have the proper set up.

idic5

...that work well in LU's environment? I see that there seems to be something called a skype phone, a phone that can utilize the skype method of communicating, but w/o being tethered to a computer. I started looking into the phones, and one amazon reviewer mentioned that some skype phones will not fare as well on college campuses because of certain communication protocols.

Amazon.com: W. Yeh "slowdog"'s review of Netgear SPH101 Skype Wi-Fi Phone
I am considering using skype to supplement the 'phone solution', then get an appropriately sized cell package (hopefully cheaper) to finish off the solution.

kwl718

I've travelled often from Boston to Appleton and surrounding areas. I've always used my Verizon phone out there and had no problems with coverage.

kassos

There is one particular cell phone service that has a brand new antenna built right on the Lawrence campus. It might be US Cellular, but call Lawrence's IT department to confirm. If you're concerned with getting good reception, that might be the way to go. I have an iPhone and am generally pleased with AT&T, except I can never get reception in basements or deep inside a building like Briggs.

idic5

the ITS site indicates that CellComm has a tower on campus, and confirmed that this wd have the best cov on campus. But I did not see cellcomm locations near our zip code.

Lawrence University Information Technology Services Students Telecommunications