[nate_02]

Quite a few friends and myself have sprint right now and we want to switch to another carrier because sprint sucks (in Milwaukee at least). We all of course want the same service so we can use phone to phone minutes.\

I'm looking for a good nation wide plan (like sprint has) at a good price. I also want really good customer service which is the main reason for leaving sprint.

PS. I did a search and could find anything so I'm sorry if this is redundant.

[SouthPaW1227]

Cingular, because "Nationwide means Nationwide". NO roaming or long distance charges in ALL of America, ever

[rozwado1]

I'm with T-mo now and the coverage needs improvement. I say Cingular bc of Nationwide and rollover minutes. I'm switching in November.

[rambo47]

Check out T-Mobile's coverage map and see if they sufficiently cover the area you're interested in: http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/Default.asp
I have T-Mobile service (Sony-Ericsson T610) in Northern New Jersey and New York City and they're great. My wife still uses Verizon, but I wanted to have more than one carrier in the family just in case one gets screwed up. Verizon seems to have slightly better coverage in this area but it's close. I just can't stand Verizon's customer support.

As for having diversity in carriers, the blackout in NYC last summer taught me a lesson. My Verizon phone didn't work, but folks with T-Mobile were getting their calls through. That's when I decided to switch. Another cool thing T-Mobile has over Verizon is the use of SIM cards in their phones. You can have more than one phone and switch back and forth simply by slipping your SIM card out of one and into another. Your phone book, settings, and phone number are all on the card so your info goes from phone to phone with no hassles like reprogramming your entire phone book/contact list. And for world travelers I'm told you can get a local SIM card in most major airports. It gives you a pre-paid amount of minutes and a local phone number, avoiding roaming charges while you see the sights in a foreign land.

[Link]

T-Mobile. Good contracts, nice internet services, etc.

[CheesePuff]

I hate T-Mobile with a passion.

1) NO SERVICE AT ALL in Rochester, NY and they have about 5 places to sign-up within a square mile.

2) If you are out of service (which is 90% of the time) and someone calls you it will wait 15 seconds, ring once and then go to voicemail.

3) If you have a low signal and someone calls you, it will take between 5-10 seconds and then ring.

4) Customer service does nothing to help you except give you extra minutes for the month which is useless considering you can not use them with no service.

There is much more, but thank god I no longer have them. Sprint PCS all the way - great phones, decent customer support, I can pay my bills in cash at their store with no fee, and I have a great plan (300 more minutes for the same price as T-Mobile was, and I actually have service!)

[Link]

There's 4 phone companies I hate with a passion:

1. Sprint. Every time anyone I knew has gone with them it ends up in some crazy sum of money being demanded from sprint.

2. AT&T. They have the most outrageous monthly fees JUST to have them.

3. SBC. Their customer service people are a bunch of liars. It can take as many as 5 attempts to get something taken off your service before it actually happens and it isn't bumped up to something more expensive.

4. MCI. The people can hardly speak English, though they do try.. but then you get the same damn thing every time you call. They take up to TWO MONTHS to switch your phone service over and won't even begin unless you completely stop all services on the line.

Honorary mentions:
Cellular One: For selling out to AT&T. Their sales people were shady as hell and we once got a used phone from them when the plan stipulated nothing of the sort.

Verizon: For not having service out here...

Did I mention sprint? Oh man. You should see the mess in places where SPRINT OWNS THE @#$*(&@ING PHONE LINES.

[CheesePuff]

What I was thinking while writing my post Link is that everybody hates every cell phone provider except usually their own (only if they have been with it for a short period of time).

[rozwado1]

I'd say go GSM if you're into new technology. Verizon and Sprint have OK phones - nothing like you can get with the GSM carriers. Plus, you can get GSM phones that sync with your mac.

[necromactastic]

T-mobile has the hiptop2, but their network isn't great if you get away from metro areas. I have a phone with Verizon and have never had a problem getting a signal when I travel. I get unlimited mobile to mobile minutes with my plan too.

[Link]

aw hell I hate tmobile too. I've had them about a year and a half now and know the worst aspect is that they charge too much for overages. -.-

That and my cheap $29 a month plan has no nighttime unlimited stuff.

[G4ME]

i personally don't have a cell phone but my rents have Verizon and up at school coverage sucks, all my friends have US Cellular and they have complete coverage even in the boonies of Maine (which covers about 70%) I am thinking off doing some research and plunking down some cash, and verizon won't be a company that will be looking at.

[C.J. Moof]

Nobody's coverage is more consistent in southern Wisconsin than U. S. Cellular. Around here, my Verizon phone spends a good amount of time on Extended Network, which is USCC, espicially indoors. When its not on USCC, I'm usually wishing it was, cuz Verizon's coverage is so spotty.

For nationwide plans, they're not so hot tho.

[nate_02]

Originally posted by C.J. Moof:
Nobody's coverage is more consistent in southern Wisconsin than U. S. Cellular. Around here, my Verizon phone spends a good amount of time on Extended Network, which is USCC, espicially indoors. When its not on USCC, I'm usually wishing it was, cuz Verizon's coverage is so spotty.

For nationwide plans, they're not so hot tho.

I started out with USCC but got rid of them cuz I hated their customer serivce and reception. That was 5 years ago. I haven't heard any major complaints from them lately. I went to sprint and was very happy for a couple of years, but now their customer service is worse than its ever been. I'll check out USCC again although I've been leaning toward Verizon or Cingular.

[nate_02]

Looks like everyone has something bad to say about every provider.

Why don't we all start our own company??

[Link]

Thing about tmobile is in places where they get good coverage, they have the cheapest internet (well GPRS at least) -- most options, etc...

But then they started charging for picture messages.. wtf?

[turtle777]

Originally posted by Link:
Verizon: For not having service out here...

Gosh, you must live Am Arsch der Welt if there is no Verizon...

-t

[Link]

They don't have landline service up in north california.. it's true I tells ya!

As for cellphones.. yeah they do. I guess.

I'm just waiting for the tmobile v600 to get listed on amazon (hopefully with a FAT rebate) so I can get it o_O

Edit: It's listed!!!! w00000t!!!!

[maxintosh]

If T-Mobile is in your area, get it. They have the best rates, no nationwide roaming charges, unlimited internet use for $4/month, IMO the best customer service, and the ability to use any world phone/smartphone your geeky heart desires.

As for their network: they were one of the first GSM providers in the states and still the biggest. While it is true that GSM is still behind CDMA here, it is catching up and should be caught up completely within the next 2-3 years. T-Mobile has announced they are pouring billions of dollars into expanding their network this fiscal year. They're adding 17,000 new mini-cells to New York City alone -- their coverage will by far the best in NYC soon. Also they will be roaming nationwide with Cingular as soon as the Cingular/AT&T deal goes through. In other words: things are about to get really good for T-Mobile customers.

If coverage is the absolute must, go with Verizon. Companies there is no reason in hell to go with: AT&T and Sprint.

[Kenneth]

Been a T-Mobile sub since 1999. No complaint.

[Luca Rescigno]

I hate all cell phone plans and providers. They all suck. Instead I have a land line phone from Qwest. Unlimited local calling anytime, $15/month. I never really call anyone or get calls anyway, and I use email and AIM far more often than the phone.

Yeesh... $30/month for the most basic of basic cell phone plans? Requiring you to sign up for a TWO YEAR contract to avoid ridiculous activation fees, as if one year isn't enough of a ball and chain? Making it so no matter what, you never get your money's worth (either go under, or go over and pay extra)? Total BS I say. And what's with all these new phones with text messages and cameras and internet and all that other junk? I don't need that crap. It's a phone, you use it to talk to people.



Oh, and I've heard more people recommend Cingulair than any of the other providers, but despite their widespread TV ads here, they don't offer service in Minnesota. I have no idea why they've been running ads here for the past two or three years.