Connectivity questions


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Posted by Ballpark Frank (69.178.8.75) on 10:01:57 04/18/16

In Reply to: Horizon MiFi Reception in Yellowstone posted by Nola

Nola,

My first suspicion was that perhaps you meant "Verizon", which is one of the dominant wireless carriers in the U.S. Seeing the "MiFi" associated with the name, and thinking it looked a lot like a branding name, I did a bit of quick web research. This appears to be a vehicle for extending Horizon's (appears to be a British carrier) wireless network in areas that don't have embedded cell signal from robust facilities.

I can give you a quick synopsis of what cellular coverage there is in the geography between West Yellowstone and Cooke City, but even in areas with coverage, you may have service issues having to do with the underlying technology of the Horizon MiFi service, which is quite likely GSM. In the U.S. only two primary carriers use GSM technology (as opposed to the more common [in the U.S.] CDMA): AT&Ta and T-Mobile. The two primary carriers in Yellowstone National Park are AT&T and Verizon Wireless. You are not likely going to be able to use Verizon's network, which tends to have broader coverage in the park. Hopefully, you will be able to roam on AT&T's network, although it could be expensive (international roaming).

Now, for wireless coverage between the two towns, here's what is typical:

West Yellowstone has cellular towers, so you normally have coverage for the first approximate 7 or 8 miles as you drive toward Madison Junction. Once you are in the Madison Canyon, cell signal tends to disappear. Going up the Gibbon Canyon to Norris Junction, you typically have no coverage. At Norris, you have to go east toward Canyon or north toward Mammoth. If you go east, you will not likely have service until you get within a few miles of Canyon. If you go north, you have a similar situation. You typically pick up cell signal after descending from Swan Lake Flat toward Mammoth. If you go via Canyon and Dunraven Pass, you will have intermittent service between Canyon and the top of the pass. Once you get on the north side of Dunraven Pass, up above Antelope Creek, you have line of sight to the antennas on the summit of Mt. Washburn. That provides cell service most of the way down to Tower. From Mammoth heading east to Tower, you lose cell signal out around Blacktail Lakes, and have a wee bit of spotty service between there and Tower Junction. Once you get on the Northeast Entrance Road, you only have cell service in a few specific locales, typically out where you have line of sight to Mt. Washburn, like near the entrance road to Slough Creek Campground. There is a "window" of signal near the Trout Lake trailhead, but beyond that, all the way to Cooke City, there is no cell service.

As far as the rest of Yellowstone goes, figure on having service in close proximity to the developed areas, like Canyon, Lake/Fishing Bridge, Grant Village, and Old Faithful. I'm not current on cell signal availability in the Tetons, but I would expect to have signal down toward Jackson.

Ballpark



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