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Verizon Sucks and not just their service. Their fees / costs are ridiculous. I've had Verizon for years, and maybe I am finally getting the picture that I'm throwing money away. What is the solution... not sure. I haven't heard good news about any carrier providing good service in our area. But buyer beware if you choose Verizon. Try a prepaid plan first, because they will suck you dry with their plan fees, costs, etc. and you won't have good service to boot.

I had Alltel and thought that when Verizon bought them, but got worse. I see they put a new antenna on the Tower on north M-18 near Wertz Rd. maybe it operates differently than the Alltel. Sell real estate and can't get calls in the Sugar Springs office about 2 miles from the tower in a straight line. Looking at AT&T plans, but I think service won't be better until more towers are installed.

Loved the phone, It has 3G Hot Spot capability. Nice when it worked, but very erratic signals. If I put the phone on top of the refrigerator, sometimes I'd get a couple of bars! Or outside on the picnic table. Anyway, I took the three day trial and had to return everything, including a booster antenna, that didn't help. The West Branch store was very helpful, too bad Verizon doesn't put another tower in the area. Maybe more people should try the phones out, then when Verizon (and others) keep getting them returned, they'll fix the situation! Just make sure you follow the return instructions to the letter, or you'll get burned! (my brother was misled by sales people at another store in Gladwin, and is being hounded for termination fees). Our Broadband choices are just as crappy up here!

Switched from Nextel to Verizon, expecting Alltel purchase to aid reception. Phone is a strong performer elsewhere, but is below average at Secord Lake. Works OK in yard, but isn't usable indoors. Reprograming doesn't help. Until someone builds a decent tower in the area, cell phones will remain marginal at best. Too bad. A 6.0 rating? Not at my cottage. Still better than Nextel's "dead zone" at 0.0!

Have had Alltel for two years, and became a Verizon customer with the purchase of Alltel last year. We are not far from town, and are not in an incredibly rural area - yet our reception is absolutely terrible. The Alltel authorized agent in town sold us on tethered internet, and we're lucky if it even goes above dial up speed. We can connect and receive phone calls and text messages, but calls will randomly drop and sometimes we will lose service all together for a few seconds. I was not expecting to be unable to get DSL (next door neighbor has it), Charter internet (they stopped down the road) or decent cell phone service. Feels like we are trapped in the 90s still.

I am looking to buy a cottage in this area. I have Verizon and was using my phone's GPS to navigate there. It failled to connect for navigation and there was no signal to make a call unless I stood at the edge of the lake. Even then it was not a signal that would support a call of more than a minute. I even reprogrammed my roaming capabilities and saw no improvement even doing that. Since then, checking coverage maps for all the major carriers showed that none of these companies has service in this area. Some company is missing a market share in that area.

One would think service would improve over the last 13 yrs... .not so much. Still stinks just as it did then. In Gladwin City is OK and West Branch is OK, but anything in between... .don't bet your life on it. Better to send smoke signals.

I have to walk outside into the street to get poor reception. Many important calls go directly to voice mail without the phone ringinging inside the house.

Verizon and other major carriers refuse to pay for cell towers that could cover this area. Only Alltel covers this area. That is why I am dropping my Verizon coverage and getting Alltel. I can use Alltel at Secord Lake and at home!