Cell phones are really more than a convenience. Having cell phone service available can also be a safety issue. When I first moved to the mountains, I had Verizon. I was assured it would work fine in my area, but in fact it never worked within 15 miles of my house! I rounded a bend in my car one day during a storm, and saw an SUV in front of me skid off the road and flip. I tried to dial 911 with my Verizon phone, and of course, no service. After telling this story to Verizon, they let me out of my contract.

Luckly someone more experienced with mountain living than me arrived at the scene and called for help. She informed me that Cingular (now AT&T Wireless) was the only network that worked in the mountains, and she was right. Whatever cell phone service you sign up for, make sure it is able to use the AT&T Wireless GSM network. Many of the prepaid and pay-as-you-go cellular services utilize the AT&T network also, such as Go Phone. If you want to sign up , just go here: Go Phone