A group of 20 Kentucky Lake sailors are going on the Schooner Timberwind out of Camden, Maine on July for 6 days. Would appreciate local knowledge of Verizon phone coverage in the area?
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We spend the
summer in Ellsworth, Maine a couple years ago, Verizon was our phone company, so would imagine their coverage would be good. Camden was/is about 100 miles or so south.
summer in Ellsworth, Maine a couple years ago, Verizon was our phone company, so would imagine their coverage would be good. Camden was/is about 100 miles or so south.
verizon
don't know about your captain, but i worked a ketch cruising maine and we would never allow a cell phone aboard.
don't know about your captain, but i worked a ketch cruising maine and we would never allow a cell phone aboard.
My Friend
...from Maine switched to Verison a couple of years ago because of their coverage. Back then, the coastline was still spotty, but was getting better along with the erection of towers along the coast. Things are better, now and the windjammers out of Camden don't go too far offshore to go out of range. It may still be spotty coverage, but your best bet is to go with what you have. Maybe some other sailors from the area can chime in here with a more definitive response. I have Cingular and they are currently strong in that area since they purchased AT&T. But pay attention to what Morty has to say. Skippers can be a strange breed. Also, call the Chamber of Commerce in the area to find out more.
...from Maine switched to Verison a couple of years ago because of their coverage. Back then, the coastline was still spotty, but was getting better along with the erection of towers along the coast. Things are better, now and the windjammers out of Camden don't go too far offshore to go out of range. It may still be spotty coverage, but your best bet is to go with what you have. Maybe some other sailors from the area can chime in here with a more definitive response. I have Cingular and they are currently strong in that area since they purchased AT&T. But pay attention to what Morty has to say. Skippers can be a strange breed. Also, call the Chamber of Commerce in the area to find out more.
Verizon is the way to go.
Went sailing in that area 2 years ago. My phone AT&T / Congular was worthless, owner had a Verizon, coverage was pretty good. Great Trip. Where will you be going? Russell
Went sailing in that area 2 years ago. My phone AT&T / Congular was worthless, owner had a Verizon, coverage was pretty good. Great Trip. Where will you be going? Russell
Schooner Timberwind
We are on the Schooner Timberwind (see link). We will race it on the 4th in the Schooner Race out of Camden, ME. For the balance of the time, we will cruise the Maine shoreline. Looking forward to the trip!
We are on the Schooner Timberwind (see link). We will race it on the 4th in the Schooner Race out of Camden, ME. For the balance of the time, we will cruise the Maine shoreline. Looking forward to the trip!
Extended Service
We cruised the Maine coast up to Bar Harbor last year with Verizon service, and, at least for voice service, everything worked well. In reality, you go beyond Verizon's primary service area as soon as you go North of Portland. After that you are on "extended service", which we assumed to mean that the calls are actually picked up by the prime local service provider (I believe that is US Cellular for most of Maine) and transferred to Verizon. Whatever the deal, the service was seamless and you never knew that a change had occurred, at least for voice transmission. We were also doing wireless cell phone hookup to internet and email through Verizon, and that worked just great up through Portland, but the instant we went over to "extended service, we lost the cellular internet. Although Verizon appeared to have worked out the deals with the local provider (US Cellular??) for voice transmission, they clearly did not have agreements for data transmission. Perhaps things have changed since last summer, but that was the situation then. If you use wireless internet/email, you will probably lose it once you go beyond Portland. Back to voice. Reception was pretty good all along the coast. There were weak areas, and we made good use of a cellular antenna and amplifier that we had picked up from Digital Antenna. There were areas where that really helped. That was the situation last summer. Perhaps it has changed; call Verizon and check it out. Carl and Jule s/v Syzygy
We cruised the Maine coast up to Bar Harbor last year with Verizon service, and, at least for voice service, everything worked well. In reality, you go beyond Verizon's primary service area as soon as you go North of Portland. After that you are on "extended service", which we assumed to mean that the calls are actually picked up by the prime local service provider (I believe that is US Cellular for most of Maine) and transferred to Verizon. Whatever the deal, the service was seamless and you never knew that a change had occurred, at least for voice transmission. We were also doing wireless cell phone hookup to internet and email through Verizon, and that worked just great up through Portland, but the instant we went over to "extended service, we lost the cellular internet. Although Verizon appeared to have worked out the deals with the local provider (US Cellular??) for voice transmission, they clearly did not have agreements for data transmission. Perhaps things have changed since last summer, but that was the situation then. If you use wireless internet/email, you will probably lose it once you go beyond Portland. Back to voice. Reception was pretty good all along the coast. There were weak areas, and we made good use of a cellular antenna and amplifier that we had picked up from Digital Antenna. There were areas where that really helped. That was the situation last summer. Perhaps it has changed; call Verizon and check it out. Carl and Jule s/v Syzygy
Carl - thats exactly what I was needing!
You have given me exactly what I was needing to know about the area. Unfortunately, it is not what I wanted to hear, but it means I will take my Globalstar phone for internet and e-mail. Extended service is always good for voice, but not for internet. Thanks to all for the comments. I am not a cell phone nut who spends time chatting all day, but need to keep in touch with my Architectural firm while on vacation. If mobility isn't available, it restricts where I go.
You have given me exactly what I was needing to know about the area. Unfortunately, it is not what I wanted to hear, but it means I will take my Globalstar phone for internet and e-mail. Extended service is always good for voice, but not for internet. Thanks to all for the comments. I am not a cell phone nut who spends time chatting all day, but need to keep in touch with my Architectural firm while on vacation. If mobility isn't available, it restricts where I go.
GPS available to user??
We have some verizon phones and the handbook noted that they have GPS that is available for 911 calls. Is there any way for a user to access that data?? We just hooked up the laptop via the phone and it works great!!! Tom
We have some verizon phones and the handbook noted that they have GPS that is available for 911 calls. Is there any way for a user to access that data?? We just hooked up the laptop via the phone and it works great!!! Tom
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