Year 2006 version

I am wondering what is the best plan for getting coverage at the many
rural locations we fly into? Right now I have a Verizon plan and a
CDM8900 phone. It has analog roaming, which seems to do pretty well.
Among the rural locations I have gotten service at are Greenville Maine
and LaMalbaie (Charlevoix), Quebec (although I dont remember actually
if it was analog or digital reception at these locations)

The problem is that my current phone is getting close to needing
replacement (cracked display etc) but Verizon offers primarily
all-digital phones. What are other peoples' experience with reception
at rural airports and towns? Do you end up in lots of places that are
still only analog service, or is that rare these days?

thanks

Marc