Posted: 10/31/2005 12:37:11 AM EDT
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I've had Verizon for several years. Good coverage, except for a small area where I live. Techs checked it out and confirmed it's the area and no plans for any new towers. I tired AT&T about two years ago and they sucked big time. I know Cingular bought AT&T and they have gone to a newer GSM/GPRS network, but are they any good? Sprint? T-Mobile? |
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I think you need to get someone with the different carriers to come to your house and check out the signals. They are all weird. I have a friend who had Verizon, which does seem to have a lot of coverage, who didn't have much of a signal at his house out in Gig Harbor. My AT&T had a better signal there but most places it seemed like Verizon was better. I do have much more coverage now on AT&T/Cingular than I did 5 years ago, but it still seems to lack in some areas. The actual phone itself seems to have more of an impact than you would think, also. When your friends come out to check out the signal take note of the phone models too. Just my suggestion. |
+ a big one! Verizon is the biggest and the best. Your phone can mean a lot. My cousin back east had nothing in her house, but when she got her newest phone- voila! She now has 4 bars. Try the rest, just dont sign long term papers you will be miserable with.
I think all phones suck in Vega$. Can you imagine the electromagnetic field around that city??? BTW- My Sister works for T-mobile. She has to use my phone at our parents, as their coverage is near zero in the area. 
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I have T-mobile. Never had a problem with coverage and I get 1000 minutes for $39 +tax, etc... You can change your plan up or down whenever, but you have to contract for another year starting from when you change plans. I started out with a $29 plan for 300min and waited till they put out a promo for 1K minutes then pounced on it. |
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Cingular. I work for them...so I"m somewhat biased. They have good phones, best coverage (despite whatever Verizon touts). We (ATT) were the first ones to launch one rate flat calling across the US. We also have a bunch of very committed employees. Coverage is truly dependant upon phones. I've found, among the 20 or so phones I've used, that Nokia has the best reception of any phones (Motorola, Ericsson, Sony). |
| I work for a cell phone company too. I have terrible coverage at my house. All of the companies have issues with coverage. Towers are built along major traffic corridors. It isn't about replacing the phone in your house so much as it is making sure people in cars can talk. |
Love my nextel, I can even get service up at the LCR. Plus, once you get the walkie talkie function, you'll never want to go back to regular phone service. |
They especially suck when you get drunk and leave one in a cab... Verizon has been pretty decent around here, at the beach, all around Northern California, and I didn't really have any reception problems in Vegas either... |
Great point about providing for people in cars as opposed to people within their homes... |
| A couple companies, T-Mobile is, and probably Cingular/ATT are working on a VOIP type thing. You buy a WiFi phone from them and a reciever that you plug into your boradband connection at home. When you walk in your front door it is supposed to seamlessly transfer to your connection. Hasn't been implemented yet though. |
Another +1 try the phones and networks. They are different and have their own black spots. I have T-Mobile and it works very well here in metro Seattle. Actually, I can even make and receive call in the ferries. I also haved a Cingular phone provided by my company that also works fine and do not have complaints. I've got a T-610 and T-616 by Sony-Ericsson. Phones are great and I usually only have to recharge them every other week. Of course, I'm not a "phone whore".
I notice similar problems in Vegas. Where one phone/network worked other does not. However, I have several firneds in Texas who mentioned that the only network working during and after the hurricane was Verizon's. All other were knocked down either by lost service or overwelmed by calls. |
Come to the dark side...1500min for $39.99 Cant beat that with a stick. |
That's a heck of a deal! I stopped by there today. It looks like they have the best deals, if your paying full retail. I had a bonus discount at Verizon, but it doesn't mean squat if I don't get a signal. I had a couple guys over today that had Cingular and they had good signal inside the house even. |
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Here is my experience: 4 years ago: ATT Running 48 states great coverage but you paid for it. 3 years ago:NexTel was great for running 48 states trucking. But only had half the coverage ATT had and 1/3 of the price. But when I went local 3 years ago they F**ked me left and right. Make sure you read all the fine print!!! Year ago: T-Mobile was OK but when we moved to our new house in Puyallup it did not work. We now have Verizon and it works OK at the house  . But we get coverage @ the LCR pit.
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US Cellular..... extremely LCR approved.  Rates are compareable..... customer service has come a long way, though not perfect by any means..... reception is best for where I travel throughout SW WA. Last two phones have offered much better reception than the last 4 before it. |
| Sprint has lousy customer service and they are always screwing me on my phone bill. Sometimes I have to stand in line for a half hour at the Sprint store and then it takes another 20 -30 minutes for the morons to straighten out what they screwed up. This same thing happens month after month. I finally just gave up and paid their fraudulent charges because it was too much of a hassle for me to stand in line month after month and they would never permenantly fix their billing errors. My contract is up with them next September and then it's Hasta La Vista Baby! |
Screw that I'd pay their $200 cancel early penalty (or what ever it is) and more on. Sounds like you would save that in the next year. If not you would at least save your sanity. |