Which US cellphone provider?
 

Well, I'm back from England and without cellphone service for the first time in a long time. I need a new provider...but which one? I used to have Cingular (and PacBell before them), mostly because way back then it was PacBell or AT&T and that was it. I'm intrigued by Verizon, mostly because of their stance against releasing their customers' phone numbers for the telemarketer directory that's coming out, but their phones and plans are so much more expensive than everyone else's, and they're CDMA rather than GSM.

Everyone I know seems to hate their cellphone provider, so I thought I'd open it up to this forum - who would you choose? I'm in the Pasadena area of Los Angeles, and do some travel, but mostly the phone would be used in the greater Southern California area, with a bit of Northern California use.

Thanks!

I have had Tmobile for 2 years now and not 1 single complaint on my part. If u are going to activate a new plan and want a good phone go to Amazon. They offer Tmobile, Sprint, ATT, Nextel plans; they give you back most of the commision they get on new activations and apply it to ur mobile purchase. The phones cost a lot lees through them than by going direct to the dealer.

I have to agree on TMobile - have had it for over 3 years (after trial with SPrint), and on the few occasions I have had issues they were resolved quickly and to my satisfaction.

I have always been happy with AT&T Wireless, some complain about their customer service but, I find it to be fine.

One note, AT&T Wireless is in the process of being aquired by Cingular which may change my outlook of them if too many things change.

Dan

Just switched Sprint PCS to TMobile
 

I just switched over to T-Mobile from Sprint and couldn't be happier. I have only taken a few trips since I got the new phone but calls seem clearer and service has been more consistent.

I second and third the comments above about using Amazon to buy your phone - I got mine there thanks to comments on FT along with a $250 rebate that was $75 over the cost of the phone. A very good deal that covers much more than just the activation fee. ^

You mentioned that you used PacBell in SoCal before you left for the UK. You may be aware that the PacBell network was purchased by Cingular. The Cingular network in CA is now what T-Mobile uses. Therefore, if you were happy with your coverage a few years ago you'll find it even better now if you go with T-Mobile. I've been very happy with them and had great service for 1.5 years now.

It depends on what you want to use the phone for such as voice or data, whether you will travel much outside of the US and what you are comfortable paying. I currently have TMobile and Verizon and in the past have had Nextel and ATT. I currently have a good friend who I travel with a fair bit for business as well as try to call who has ATT. With that experience base I can say I am quite happy with TMobile in comparison with ATT as far as service. I have had virtually no trouble using TMobile anywhere I travel. I dont, however, travel much outside of big cities or the Northeast corridor. He has huge problems with ATT. Most of the other people in our company who try to call him have Verizon or TMobile and we are always bugging him to get a new phone because we cant reach him and when he is with us he is borrowing our phones. He is too disorganized to do a number change though.

TMobile is cheaper than Verizon, especially in terms of data plans and has nicer phones with better features. On the other hand, when it comes to coverage, in my experience Verizon is clearly the benchmark. No one has coverage better than Verizon in the US. Tmobile is good, but it isnt Verizon. Thats why they cost more. How Cingular will impact this, I certainly dont know. If you are only interested in great voice coverage and a phone with good battery life for instance I would get a V60i for Verizon on Ebay or a new V60s through Verizon. Cant beat it for basic calling in the US. If you want more complex stuff look to TMobile.

It depends completely on where you are going to use the phone. Indoors is usually the problem. If possible, ask people who are where you are going to be.

QL

What number change? Why doesn't he just switch providers and keep his current phone number?

Sorry Doppy, I meant change the number to a new provider. I didnt say it very clearly. He said he would wait for number portability but he just hasnt gotten around to doing it. Of course he is only in town about 50 days per year which doesnt help.

Thanks for the input everyone. ^ Sounds like it's between T-Mobile and Verizon...

I've had three lines with Verizon for quite some time. I live in LA also, which suffers from canyons and other impediments to good coverage, but Verizon, as noted above, is the gold standard. Friends in the LA area with other proviers, particularly AT&T and T-Mobile, are not happy.

Additionally, Verizon has the best customer service of the cell phone providers, and is again a benchmark for what large company customer service should be.

Their rates, however, are another issue...
:mad:

With my three lines, and my downloading daughter, my bill last month was over $300. I stormed into the local Verizon store and switched to a plan with lots of minutes, and will now be in the $100 range. But what got me the high bill last month was the overages. Keep a sharp eye on minutes and don't go over for the month.

Just to add, I have been very happy with TMobile customer service as well. One of their data tech people even helped me configure some wireless stuff on my phone which was not a model that they support (I bought it unlocked). He just paused and said he thought he could help figure it out since they had other phones which were probably similar (it was a Nokia). I was pretty impressed by that, they really didnt need to do that since it wasnt an authorized phone.

As long as you won't be traveling to rural areas, T-Mobile is by far the best choice in California and elsewhere. Pricing is one of the big advantages---in most markets they're now offering 1000 nationwide anytime minutes plus unlimited nights and weekends for $39.99 + tax per month. Plus as others have mentioned, you can use any GSM phone as long as it's unlocked. Phone and plan prices are all good with only a one-year contract (Verizon, Sprint, and others now ask for two years to get the best deals). I've used AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon in the past and T-Mo easily beats all three in terms of value, customer service, and handset selection.

Just be sure to check coverage on the T-Mo web site if you'll be going somewhere off the beaten path. Most areas off the Interstate highway system and outside metropolitan areas are not covered, so I carry around a used Nokia TDMA/analog phone with prepaid service from CallPlus when I'm out in the middle of nowhere. CallPlus is a small price to pay for the security of having a phone that works *anywhere* there's cell coverage...only $10 for three months of service with a small amount of airtime included.

Can I ask the T-mobile folks in the crowd to weigh in on something? Do you get a lot of spam text messages? Someone told me that T-mobile seems exceptionally prone to that. I'm also still a bit concerned about T-mobile selling my phone number to telemarketers...any input on that? I'd really hate to get as much spam on my phone as I get to my email! :mad: