Travel Technology - Advice: AT&T Phone Upgrade Options (Northern VA)

This older thread may have already answered my question, but, I'd like to broaden the topic a little. (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/1373995-t-discontinue-gsm-edge-2g-networks-2017-a.html)

Techno-FTers: I've been receiving offers from AT&T for upgrading our present cellphones. I've done a bunch of trade studies and would be grateful for some independent advice before I make a purchase.

Background: Mrs Flies and I have had a family plan on AT&T for probably ten years. We use cell phones simply for making calls -- no texting and no internet surfing. (She was the first female cartographer hired at Rand McNally back in the early 70s, so we use actual maps and not a GPS receiver.) In short, we are a couple of dinosaurs and proud of it!

Our present phones are Motorola V551s, circa 2003. They are GSM phones we had unlocked, so we do use them overseas with a prepaid SIM. GSM is the reason we went with AT&T in the first place.

If you live in the Metro DC area, and especially if you live in Northern VA, you know that AT&T coverage is pretty lousy. For example, we can't make or receive a call at our house, partly because we live in rural Loudoun County and partly because Loudoun is affluent enough (not us!) to impose strict NIMBY rules.

Questions and Options: As I've evaluated my options, here is where I've arrived:

1. Considering that we have no desire to use smartphones, has receiver technology in cell phones improved enough where I would notice a difference in reliability of the AT&T service if I upgraded our phones?

2. AT&T is offering me the choice of three flip phones:
Pantech Breeze III -- not quad frequency, so not in my trade space
LG A340
Samsung Rugby II

Does anyone have any experience with any of these phones? Are any of these brands historically better or worse concerning reliability, etc? When I looked at reviews on Amazon, CNET, and the AT&T site, there were nearly as many strongly positive reviews as there were strongly negative reviews for each of these phones. Perhaps this is because people tend to have strong opinions about wireless technology?

3. Should I switch to T-Mobile? They have a family plan nearly identical to AT&T's which is $10 per month cheaper. When I compared coverage maps (assuming they are accurate), it looks as if T-Mobile's coverage in my area is better. But, they have a choice of only two phones: Samsung t259 (out of stock) and a Samsung t159, which they claim is new and is unreviewed. I did some research on the T159 and it would appear to meet my needs.

4. Should I consider buying an unlocked version of any of these phones and simply dropping in my current AT&T SIMs? AT&T is offering Rugby IIs for $99.99 with a two-year contract. If I assume that they will not waive the activation charge ($35 per phone) and if I assume about $40/ phone to unlock it, I'm approaching the cost of an unlocked phone from Amazon. Or, are there any brands of GSM phones clearly superior to the others?

5. Would I have a better selection of phones if I went to a store rather than buying on-line?

6. How willing are companies to waive the activation fee? I would think that I could lay the 10-year customer guilt trip on AT&T. T-Mobile might want AT&T customers badly enough to consider waiving their fee as well. Obviously, it doesn't hurt to ask, and I intend to do that. I didn't see a provision on-line for requesting a waiver, so, this means going to a retail store.

Thanks, everyone, for any advice you're willing and able to throw in my direction.

I can't say much about the rest, but if you're out of contract, casually mention checking out phones at Verizon a couple of times and they'll waive the activation fee.

One thing worth mentioning about network coverage and quality that could be a factor if you change phones. AT&T is putting almost all of its investment into 3G / 4G infrastructure at the moment (HSPA+ and LTE specifically). They recently announced that their 2G (regular GSM / GPRS / EDGE) infrastructure will be decommissioned in 5-6 years time.

Some of the basic feature phones on the market now do have basic 3G support but the real innovation in this area in terms of antenna design and radio technology is coming from the smartphone manufacturers. LTE support is non-existent at the moment on basic phones, and it is highly likely that this network will start to be used for voice in the next few years; the underlying technology supports it but it has not yet been adopted by providers such as AT&T. If you stick with AT&T this is worth considering - even if you choose not to have a data package or use a smartphone as a "real" smartphone.

You don't mention this by the way but any of the recent smartphones will also take photographs as well as a regular point and shoot camera. This also could be a consideration even if you don't use your phones for this at the moment - which would be understandable given how poor the previous generations of phone cameras were.

One thing worth mentioning about network coverage and quality that could be a factor if you change phones. AT&T is putting almost all of its investment into 3G / 4G infrastructure at the moment (HSPA+ and LTE specifically). They recently announced that their 2G (regular GSM / GPRS / EDGE) infrastructure will be decommissioned in 5-6 years time.

Some of the basic feature phones on the market now do have basic 3G support but the real innovation in this area in terms of antenna design and radio technology is coming from the smartphone manufacturers. LTE support is non-existent at the moment on basic phones, and it is highly likely that this network will start to be used for voice in the next few years; the underlying technology supports it but it has not yet been adopted by providers such as AT&T. If you stick with AT&T this is worth considering - even if you choose not to have a data package or use a smartphone as a "real" smartphone.

You don't mention this by the way but any of the recent smartphones will also take photographs as well as a regular point and shoot camera. This also could be a consideration even if you don't use your phones for this at the moment - which would be understandable given how poor the previous generations of phone cameras were.

In my not so humble opinion, if you don't want a smartphone, I absolutely would not sign a new 2 year contract. The ETF just doesn't justify the saving off the subsidized price of the phone. Instead, I'd be inclined to look at buying a lightly used phone somewhere, and continue to without the contract. Since it is AT&T, it's sim based, and so all you would need to do is swap the sim, which you can easily do yourself.

In my not so humble opinion, if you don't want a smartphone, I absolutely would not sign a new 2 year contract.lf.

^^^

In my not so humble opinion, if you don't want a smartphone, I absolutely would not sign a new 2 year contract. The ETF just doesn't justify the saving off the subsidized price of the phone.

Not necessarily true. Remember that the ETF for "basic phones" is significantly lower -- $150 less $4 every month used. The $99 Rugby II appears to sell for $229 off contract, so it'd only take 5 months to break even with the ETF. And I suspect they'd be a lot more likely to grant a statement credit or activation fee waiver with a contract extension.

For the OP: I'd probably ask why you're upgrading. If your current phone does everything you need just fine today, you may be better off buying an unlocked but similar phone at a steep discount. I can't vouch for specific models, but there are plenty of 3G-capable flip phones available new and unlocked for under $100. With unlocked phones you do have a much wider selection available, though carrier support may be spotty unless they've at least carried the phone at some point in the past.

It may also be worth considering whether using an unlocked phone with a prepaid MVNO would be worthwhile. With AT&T or T-Mobile, you're basically paying to subsidize a new smartphone every two years -- whether or not you actually get one, or have a data plan. You don't mention what you're paying now, but if it's more than about $100 for both lines, prepaid is worth checking out.

For the OP: I'd probably ask why you're upgrading. If your current phone does everything you need just fine today, you may be better off buying an unlocked but similar phone at a steep discount. I can't vouch for specific models, but there are plenty of 3G-capable flip phones available new and unlocked for under $100. With unlocked phones you do have a much wider selection available, though carrier support may be spotty unless they've at least carried the phone at some point in the past.

It may also be worth considering whether using an unlocked phone with a prepaid MVNO would be worthwhile. With AT&T or T-Mobile, you're basically paying to subsidize a new smartphone every two years -- whether or not you actually get one, or have a data plan. You don't mention what you're paying now, but if it's more than about $100 for both lines, prepaid is worth checking out.

Thanks very much. In answer to your questions:

Our Motorola phones are quad frequency GSM only. They drop calls frequently. As the companies go to more 3g and beyond, our present phones will become less and less capable. Having said this, I never have a dropped call in Europe unless I forgot to recharge the SIM. I figure, after 9 years or so, the phones don't owe us anything.

As I did more research today during lunch, I figured out from the specs how to tell which phones had 3G capability. Interestingly, the Rugby II did not.

I started looking for unlocked phones on Amazon and other sites. Now that I know what to look for to see if a phone is 3G capable, I can narrow my search. I do like the idea of simply dropping my SIM into a new phone -- no new contract to worry about.

With AT&T, I'm paying about $70/month for 550 shared minutes that roll over. Nights & weekends are free as well as minutes calling each other. I went back two years and we have never used more than about 700 minutes in any one month. We had plenty of rollover minutes to cover it.

The T-Mobile family plan has 1000 shared minutes with no rollover and similar free minutes. It's $10/month cheaper -- $60/month.

Both family plans are the cheapest offered. Two individual plans cost almost exactly the same without the flexibility of shared minutes.

The decision-making continues!

Having said this, I never have a dropped call in Europe unless I forgot to recharge the SIM.

That is pretty typical - the concept of "dropped calls" (and the fact that phone companies would even consider advertising based on their relative performance vs. others on this metric) was a complete shock to me when I first started coming to the US. In Europe, China, most of the rest of Asia, Africa, S. America - GSM phones just work. It's amazing to see how my US mobile utterly transformed as soon as I register it on a network outside the US - crystal clear calls, rock solid connection, etc. *All* US phone networks are horrible compared with those in almost any other developed country.

Well, I have taken all of this great advice and have spent more time researching T-Mobile vs AT&T. The three AT&T phones and the one T-Mobile phone are all quad frequency GSM. The difference appears to be in the UMTS bands, which, if I understand correctly, is the "new GSM."

The AT&T UMTS bands are 850/1900, while the T-Mobile phone is 1700/2100. I searched on UMTS and found a couple of web pages about UMTS. Apparently, AT&T and T-Mobile used different bands for reasons unknown to me. But, it appears as if Band IV is pretty much used everywhere, at least where I'm likely to travel.

I also can't find any unlocked versions of these phones for sale, so, I may be stuck with a new contract until I can buy the unlocking codes. (Any ideas for a good on-line seller(s)???)

Will the T-Mobile Samsung t159 ultimately be more useful to me because of the UMTS band? Or, since I want a phone for just voice, does it matter?

Thanks once again!

The AT&T UMTS bands are 850/1900, while the T-Mobile phone is 1700/2100. I searched on UMTS and found a couple of web pages about UMTS. Apparently, AT&T and T-Mobile used different bands for reasons unknown to me. But, it appears as if Band IV is pretty much used everywhere, at least where I'm likely to travel.

T-Mobile uses a different band to nearly everyone else. Band IV is extremely uncommon on a global basis.

I would advise a quad band phone that operates on 850/900/1800/1900MHz. This will work on AT&T in the US and the majority of other providers globally.

I'm not too familiar with good locations in the US to buy unlocked phones these days - sorry!

I like the Samsung Rugby II, as it's quite a rugged phone. But as you said, it doesn't support 3G.

One thing you may want to consider if you are experiencing poor reception is to get the AT&T Microcell 3G (http://www.att.com/standalone/3gmicrocell/).

It's basically an in-home cell tower that is small (<1 sqft footprint) and can give up to max signal strength. It uses broadband internet connections to send and receive phone calls. They offer microcell-only plans that allow for unlimited cell phone calls when using a microcell unit. Also, it enables seamless coverage and handoff between the microcell and any outside cell towers without a break in conversation.

My supervisor uses the microcell in his house as he also lives in a dead spot in Loudon County. He has had the service since it was in beta testing two years ago and is generally pleased with it.

(note and disclaimer: My boss and I work for AT&T in Fairfax County. My views and opinions are solely mine and does not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of AT&T and it's subsidiaries.)