Cell Phone, ABQ and Santa Fe - Providers, Coverage (Rio Rancho: live in, moving to)

[Blue Belle]

To all ABQans, and especially those who also spend time in Santa Fe... which cell phone service provider do you use, and how is your coverage? I won't be moving to ABQ for a couple of months, but I'm in desperate need of a new cell phone (mine is about 5 yrs old and on its last legs) and I want to make sure whatever company I sign on with will work well in ABQ and SF. I'm out of my current contract so I'm a free agent! I greatly appreciate your opinions/experiences!

[Cade]

We have Verizon. They came with us from California and so far the coverage is very good throughout Rio Rancho and ABQ. My husband works in Santa Fe and gets a signal all the way between RR and SF. Once in SF he picks up the truck and drives to Trinidad Colorado and gets a signal MOST of the time between SF and Trinidad. Once in Trinidad the signal is full strength. He had to drive to Denver once and had a fine signal from there as well.

[nmguy]

I'm happy with Verizon, which I've had ever since moving here 5 years ago.

They practically give you a new phone when you renew your service agreement.

[Blue Belle]

Thanks Cade and nmguy, I had not had Verizon at the top of the list, so it's good to see some recommendations for it. T-Mobile is one of the other ones that I saw pop up with some positive reviews online. And AT&T seemed to have pretty bad reviews, so no iPhone for me!

[casden]

I use Verizon too. I live in Chicago, but go to ABQ and SF frequently, and I never have problems talking to friends and family in ABQ, SF, California, Chicago when I'm there.

[honu1]

I had Sprint and all my friends had Verizon. Both had good coverage, and I traveled to every corner of the state. However, because now I do love the iphones, I'm considering a switch to AT&T. Not sure of their coverage in NM though, but if you're thinking of an Iphone, its something to consider.

[Towanda]

We had AT&T when we came here to New Mexico, and so far we have kept it because we seem to have the coverage we need and no problems yet.

We can always switch later if AT&T doesn't meet our needs, but so far so good.

[finmqa1]

Verizon. Before that I used Sprint and T-Mobile, but Verizon has far better reception on the Westside.

[abqsunport]

I would absolutely recommend Verizon. When I go hiking with a few of my friends, the only phone that had coverage the entire way was verizon. Also, when I travel accross the state (which is frequently) Verizon has always had good coverage. AT&T was ok when I had it, and T Mobile sucked for along time--but I have heard it has gotten better. So there are some things to keep in mind...I think you can pull up all of their coverage maps online. I have always found it interesting how a cell company can completely dominate a market in one city and the next city over they are all wowed by a completely different cell company.

[ABQConvict]

I'll second that Verizon's signal makes it into a lot of the mountainous areas, at least in the Rio Grande Rift areas.

ABQConvict