Cell service providers N. Idaho and Montana

[Olydog09]

First off I have to vent and state how much I despise cell phone companies and they way they try to sell their products with misdirection and double speak. (My apologies to any members here who may be employees of said companies). My wife and I pay about $260.00 a month for 2 phones and crappy internet service on a jet pack thru Verizon Wireless. We are looking at getting the costs down and getting decent internet speeds and availability. I like Verizon solely for the fact that their coverage in the woods of N. Idaho and Washington is pretty darn good. Are there any members here with alternative carriers that get great cell reception and 3g or 4g internet while out in the woods of N. Idaho or N.W. Mt?

[WapitiTalk1]

One of my hunting buddies gets service way, way on top of the ridges in the ID Panhandle with Verizon. I get nothing with AT&T. Kind of the same in WA wilderness areas, I get zip but the buddy with Verizon gets service at certain places. I can't recommend another carrier but I can say AT&T should not be a consideration.

Correction. It was Sprint not Verizon that my buddy in ID used last year. Thanks for the note Tim.

[ishy]

We use the walmart pay as you go phones. I think they call them smart talk. We pay about $45 a month per phone for more minutes and text than I will ever need. Not on the web much, but if you need more time I'm sure it costs less than what you are spending currently. They use verizons towers so you get as good of service as is possible up here. Like mentioned it's pretty limited to certain ridge tops, but there is service spots around where we do get service.