When coming out of Gladwin, phone is stuck in Analog mode until about 8 miles from town. Problem is I live 6 miles from town and, unless I "force" the phone into digital, it will stay analog, miss calls and run-down the battery while I'm home. Wish Alltel would invest in digital tower in Gladwin - my phone is digital everywhere until I roll into Gladwin city limits then "finds" strong analog available ONLy in Gladwin and locks it.

we have had Alltel for years been happy for it but also- dont get free phone from walmart they are not good enough had to buy a phone to get the better service.We do need a tower out in this area 1 / 4 mile north there is no service till we get passed merridith. But on over all been happy with Alltel. I have a hill can put tower on would help alot of people. lots of cabin users around area. thanks

Started with Cellular One and was very happy with the service. Bought out by AT&T and service was good. I was able to get a make and receive calls even in my basement. Last few months service has been getting worse. Have to try 3 or 4 times to call out and calls frequently drop out even when I have 2 or 3 bars. Getting more and more unhappy as time goes on.

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.

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!

Tower seems to be in Gladwin. If I move to high ground, I get two bars. Low ground, no bars. Not the best coverage, but nobody's cell seems to work at my house.

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.

Att sells you saying they have coverage. In sugar springs there is very little. You might get lucky to make a call but it will most likely drop; and forget about trying to go online or text a picture it will never happen. As for AT&T marks the spot well been sending for almost 2 years my entire contract no improvement. Looking for suggestion on a carrier with good coverage on this area. Sugar springs is a great community with a golf club I know there are cell phone users. I just need to find the right carrier to connect!

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!

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.

Can usually send and recieve texts but it may take a little longer. Forget phone calls.

I have a GSM TracFone, so near as I can tell, it uses the AT&T network. Rarely do I get reception inside the house. And minimal signal if I go out to the end of my dock on Secord Lake! Lots of complaints about the signals on all the carriers up this way. I did some researching on the Internet and found the locations of the cell towers. Verizon looks like they have more towers near me, but I'm still about 13 miles between them. One near Alger and another on M-18 north of Gladwin.

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.

Secord Lake I have to get on my house to get service but got 5 miles west perfect signal go 8 miles east perfect signal go 8 miles north perfect signal we need a tower in Secord Township you might be able to put it at the Firehall and help them out also at the same time which is at Secord Dam and Lakeshore

Many calls are started -than dropped

Alltell Sucks,, Need to wrap tin foil around head and stick coat hanger in rear end to get signal in house, Have an upper deck on barn 20 feet in the air. Can use phone out there if I stand on hand rail.With said tin foil and coat hanger.. Can drive 5 miles south to M-61 and use phone.. In the town of Gladwin the reception is Iffey.. Oh and one more thing with these people stay on top of your bill.as of right now they owe me $156.00 for calls that were charged. Like moble to moble and moble to the home phone... Da these calls are suposto be FREE...

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.

I have a Nextel and there is nooo reception where I live just until I get into town... I was just wondering what companies would be the best to get??

we need Alltel to step up to the plate. If you sell phones in the area make sure they have reception when you lock your customer in for 2 years.