Cell Phone Tower Locations

Choosing Coverage

If you live in a rural area, for example, you won't want to go with a cell service with a coverage map that highlights mostly interstates and metropolitan areas. Even if that company has the perfect phone for you, you won't be happy with little to no reception at your house, even if you try boosting your cell phone signal. You'll be better off looking elsewhere -- even if it means sacrificing the phone's nifty gadgets -- for service.

Salespeople won't always tell you whether you'll get really good reception. In some cases (hopefully not many!) they're just trying to get the sale to meet their goals for the month. In others, they truly don't know. If you don’t live close by, they really have no way of knowing. So it's up to you to do some research by looking at a cell phone service area comparison. The maps they have available will be your guide, but it wouldn't hurt to ask fellow cell phone users in your own town which carrier they're with, just to make sure.

Choosing Cell Phone Tower Locations

So how does a cell phone carrier choose their cell phone tower locations? Quite a few factors go into deciding where to put the next tower. Some things cell phone companies take into consideration:

• How far away the considered location is from other towers
• How many people live in an area (or at least pass through on a daily basis)
• Zoning issues

Check Steel in the Air for more information, plus tips for contacting companies about setting up a tower on your property.

What Works Where You Live

Some companies cater to smaller town and others are meant for the big cities only. Most fall somewhere in-between. Some cellular providers may not have their own towers in an area but rent towers from other carriers to extend their services.

You can use sites like Cell Reception to get a general idea of whether a cell phone carrier is likely to work in your area. Remember, though, it's best to just use it as a guide, not the deciding factor in your cell phone purchase. Things change in the cell phone world every day. New phones with better reception come out, new towers go up, companies get bought out by others, and tower leases collapse.

The following are suggested companies to check for coverage in your area. Keep in mind, things change and you should always at least consult a cell phone carrier's coverage map and speak with a sales representative before choosing your provider.

Best Cell Services for Rural Areas

• Alltel
• Verizon
• Sprint/Nextel

For the City

• T-Mobile
• AT&T
• MetroPCS

Again, this is a very basic list and you should always check the coverage map. All cell phone companies are not listed here, so use this list as a springboard but not gospel. Please note that almost any carrier will work well in the city, but not all carriers have cell towers in the rural areas.

World Travelers

If you travel all over the world, your selection will be even more limited than those who live in rural areas. First, you'll need a special type of phone (GSM world phone). Check with the carrier you're considering to determine whether they have their own international cell phone tower locations or if they at least lease them.

Just because a cell phone carrier has towers available for you to use, that does not mean their use is included in their plan. You will often be roaming constantly overseas and you may do better just to pick up a cell phone while you're in another country.

The major benefit to keeping your own phone is the ability to keep your current phone number, according to Cellular Abroad, where you can find more pros and cons to traveling with your current cell phone. The article is from Verizon's perspective, but there are great tips for any carrier there, as well.

Dead Spots

You could work or live in a dead spot where no cell phone company has a tower. It could be because they just haven't gotten there yet, or it could be because the terrain isn't conducive to cell phone service.

It's important to know whether or not you live in a dead spot before you exhaust yourself trying to find the one phone/company combination that will let you say something other than, "Can you hear me now?" like in the Verizon commercials.

A good place to do a preliminary check for your area is Cell Reception's Dead Spots Locator.