Reader Question – What Cell Phone and Internet Provider?

A Crozetian asks:

I would like to know what Internet provider and also what cell phone service folks in the Emerald Ridge/Saddle Hollow area use, especially those with smart phones.

This is a timely email, as this comment was just posted on a post from January of last year:

So I guess I can deduce from what everyone has written above is that go with Direct TV? We are moving to the area and are reviewing our options. Does anyone have any recommendations for phone/internet bundles? Embarq seemed a little steep. Does anyone know if the cell phone reception for Sprint works well in the area?

Thank you! Very soon to be Crozet resident!

So … Crozetians – what are the best internet and cell phone providers?

I use Verizon (they have the best coverage in the Crozet/Charlottesville/Central Virginia area) and Comcast (who are mostly reliable but insanely, unnecessarily and unfortunately expensive).

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

6 Replies to “Reader Question – What Cell Phone and Internet Provider?”

  1. We are in Laurel Hills across from Crozet Elementary:
    We use Sprint and Comcast. I don’t love either, but they work great. You must stay on top of Comcast to keep your prices down. If you call and ask, you can always get on a promotional rate, and never should need to pay full price. Also watch their “trip charges”.

  2. Verizon, which used to be Alltel has some serious holes in coverage in Crozet. Comcast is not available everywhere either. If your coming from
    a developed area you might be sadly disappointed on the level of service
    that is available here. I suggest that you do not commit to any plan before you get a chance to try it out…

  3. We have Verizon for our cells and have been very pleased with the coverage.

    We use CenturyLink (formally Embarq) for our home phone and internet. I feel we pay too much, so I am exploring options.

    We have Dish Network and are also very pleased with that! We wanted to be able to get local channels and Direct TV does not offer the locals. Even in insanely heavy snow, we still get a signal with little/no problem. We did have to clean the dish off after the December snowstorm,but it worked great after that!

  4. We have experience with nTelos and ATT. NTelos coverage was better, ATT coverage has holes, one hole is -surprisingly- right in the Brownsville-Henley school area, where we cannot get a signal, and it is very weak around the Harris Teeter place. This could be our phones (no smart ones). I remember that route 810 towards Whitehall is very bad too (especially the lower areas, reception improves uphill -facing the distant cell towers). No cable available unless you move into a “denser” neighborhood.

  5. I have had Verizon and US Cellular. If you want just W Albemarle coverage, US Cellular is the best from my experience. But if you travel, especially in cities, you will get much better performance from Verizon. US Cellular national plans roam on virtually all other networks, but messages sometimes come a few hours later if you miss the call. If you are looking to have an IPhone, wait till fall

    I have had similar experiences with Dish and DirecTV (no option for Comcast in Midway or White Hall). I chose Dish for the local channels.

  6. From an offline commenter:

    Please take my advice and avoid DirectTV like the plague. I dealt with them for a brief period and it was nothing but trouble. They promised the world and delivered very little. Then when I had to get rid of them basically for breach of contract they stuck me with steep termination fees. The minimum contract period is 2 YEARS. There shouldn’t be a contract and with cable there is none. Comcast is a pretty decent deal and after the introductory offers expire, new offers are made every month to keep your costs down. You have to call and ask about them though. In my area they don’t offer phone service so I went with Vonage for that, but you may want to investigate MagicJack.com. It plugs into your computer and your regular phone plugs into it. Your calls go through the internet. You may find Comcast offers phone service there. Going back to DirectTV, I’ve heard that all the satellite type TV service providers are the same sort of thing so there’s no advantage going with Dish Network or whatever. In addition, you get FAR more channels with cable than any satellite service.

Something to say?