Who offers the best cellular service? | FerrariChat

Who offers the best cellular service?

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by Johnny Bravo, Feb 25, 2004.

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  1. Johnny Bravo

    Johnny Bravo Formula Junior

    Jul 22, 2003
    532
    DC Metro/MD
    Full Name:
    Ben
    Currently I'm using Sprint as my cellular provider, but I'm not all that pleased with their service, prices, and sub par web access (which I use to make payments, check my invoice, change plan details, et cetera...it's very slow & several times I've had payments not go through and made changes to my plan which never took effect). I've had Cellular One in the past, but I didn't care much for them either. I'm just trying to gauge which provider you folks think gives the best overall service as I'm thinking about biting the bullet & pay the cancellation fee and move to another provider other than Sprint. Thanks in advance...
     
  2. Ekasilicon

    Ekasilicon Formula Junior

    Jan 21, 2003
    507
    A lot depends on where you live. I am not familiar with the DC area, but in Salt Lake AT&T is probably the best one. T-mobile is getting to be pretty good too.
     
  3. 4sfed4

    4sfed4 Karting

    Dec 22, 2003
    231
    Verizon is the best far and away.

    And no...I am not biased ;)
     
  4. mbmike

    mbmike Formula Junior

    Oct 31, 2003
    752
    Sprint seemed fine to me when I was in DC a few weeks ago...

    Anyway, Verizon supposedly has the best coverage in pretty much every metro area, so you may want to check them out.

    I actually moved away from Verizon to Sprint here in LA, but they all suck here.

    While we're at it, I'll be moving to Philly in the fall. Any recommendations for cell phone providers there?
     
  5. LAfun2

    LAfun2 Three Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
    39,248
    California
    Full Name:
    Ryan
    Well I have had 3 lines on Cingular for the last 5 years. I have used it extensively in Los Angeles, currently in San Francisco, and extensively in Seattle.

    Service has been great, but there upgrade phones are horrible.

    My contract is up in June, and I am thinking of switching to Verizon or Sprint for better phones in the the Los Angeles area.
     
  6. Jerrari

    Jerrari F1 Veteran

    Jul 24, 2001
    5,463
    Michigan
    Full Name:
    Jerry Wiersma
    Very happy w/ Verison in Michigan.
     
  7. BWS550

    BWS550 Wants to be a mod

    Apr 1, 2002
    8,933
    NEW JERSEY
    Full Name:
    BRUCE WELLINGTON
    VERIZON..............

    SPRINT IS THE WORSE

    FOLLOWED BY ATT.........
     
  8. WJHMH

    WJHMH Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 5, 2001
    25,364
    Panther City, Texas
    Full Name:
    WJHMH
    I've been with Sprint PCS for 4 years. Given, I've had some billing issues but they were later resolved. No big deal. The service has not been that bad until I moved back to Ft. Worth. I live within the city but my block has very weak coverage if any. I've been going outside to make many of my calls. I've contacted Sprint about this & they say its a coverage issue. The area needs more towers. This issue is not just Sprint, but other cell providers are having the same problem. My friends say its due the "Bass Triangle", or some home owners that don't want cell towers too close to their homes. I don't understand what the problem is, the towers are smaller now & a great way to earn extra income by placing one the property. Maybe its a zoning issue? Still waiting for the issue to be resolved.
     
  9. Agent Smith

    Agent Smith Formula 3

    Apr 20, 2002
    1,569
    I've been with Verizon for seven years and have been extremely happy with them. Almost never a hiccup with them, and when there was the problem was solved promoptly. I would recommend them to anyone.
     
  10. thecarreaper

    thecarreaper F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Sep 30, 2003
    17,564
    Savannah
    T-mobile has been good for the last 3 name changes ( powertel, voicestream). when i have had problems , they seemed to really care about fixing them. i cane be VERY persuasive on the phone with out using bad words. i also love machine guns, go figure.
     
  11. LAfun2

    LAfun2 Three Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
    39,248
    California
    Full Name:
    Ryan
    BTW now that Cingular and AT&T merged to become the #1 cell provider, it will be interesting to see if they improve and give Verizon a run for its money.
     
  12. TCM

    TCM Formula Junior

    Nov 10, 2003
    552
    Tyngsborough, MA
    As previosuly stated, I think it depends on where you are and the coverage area for each company in that region. I have used 4 different brands over the past couple of years in the Boston region...

    Sprint= decent rates, good coverage, bulky phones, AWFUL customer service
    Verizon= high rates, great coverage, bulky phones, ok customer service
    ATT= low rates, inconsistent coverage, good phones, good customer service

    After the recent experience I have had with ATT, I am going to try T Mobile. The GSM feature is great if you travel or switch phones often but the spotty coverage is very annoying. It is steadily improving though.
     
  13. darth550

    darth550 Six Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jul 14, 2003
    60,788
    In front of you
    Full Name:
    BCHC
    I have had them all. Now, I have AT&T GSM. It was horrible at first... but now I must admit it has been much better.

    DL
     
  14. LAfun2

    LAfun2 Three Time F1 World Champ

    Oct 31, 2003
    39,248
    California
    Full Name:
    Ryan
    TCM, I would disagree. SPrint and Verizon has the best/most feature laden phones out there.
     
  15. Prugna 328

    Prugna 328 Formula 3

    Sep 10, 2003
    1,233
    L.I.N.Y.
    Full Name:
    Gregory
    I have my service with Verizon for about 10 years. Here on Long Islang it works great but my wifes ATT# stinks. When we were out in Vegas last summer her phone worked great but I think for the whole week we were there my phone was just about unusable.
     
  16. Ike

    Ike F1 Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    3,543
    I have had just about all of them. For where I go my AT&T GSM service is the best I have had. I have had all of the CDMA providers(sprint, verizon, alltel) and they never worked in my home or most of the buildings I frequent. The GSM system with AT&T and Cingular isn't built up as well as the TDMA system so on the outskirts of civilization I lose service but I don't venture out that far very often. I have only gone into one building where my phone will not work.

    I think it varies greatly in other markets, best to talk to people that are in your area to see what will work best for you.
     
  17. C. Losito

    C. Losito Formula Junior

    Dec 12, 2003
    922
    Metro St. Louis
    Full Name:
    Chris Losito
    I had a Cingular work phone for a time and hated it. Terrible coverage, and the phone wasn't far behind. Of course, I didn't pay for it...

    Right now, I like T-Mobile. I can't offer a real price comparison, but I can tell you that when it's all worked out, I get a lot more for a lot less than some of my friends (who generally use either Sprint or Verizon). T-Mobile customer service is great (only had to use it once), the phones are good (Sony-Ericsson for me) and the coverage is more than adequate.

    Don't even get me started on Nextel...
     
  18. Ike

    Ike F1 Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    3,543
    One thing I forgot to add. I had T-Mobile for a couple of weeks. But all calls from Sprint phones would not show up on the caller ID. T-Mobile could not get it to work. To me it is important to screen my calls so I cancelled their service. I don't know if this was a problem in my market or just a fluke.
     
  19. stokpro

    stokpro F1 Rookie
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Jun 25, 2003
    4,383
    Himalayas
    Verizon is pretty good, but I heard T-Mobile is the best. AT&T is just horrible... cell service AND customer service.
     
  20. Tyler

    Tyler F1 Rookie

    Dec 19, 2001
    4,274
    dusty old farm town
    Full Name:
    Tyler
    I've been with T-mobile for a long time(back when they were Voicestream). I've never had any problems. Over the years I've tried them all and settled with T-Mobile. I'm a good customer(5000+ minutes a month) and they have always treated me accordingly.
     
  21. Ric

    Ric Karting

    Dec 25, 2003
    240
    On the road..Conn
    Full Name:
    Ric N
    att offers the best tdma service but the worst gsm service. they have some cool gsm phones available but those phones are not available for tdma users. i will see how cingular does before switching to verizon..sprint is the worse. the reason people use them, i think, is for the cheap rates.
     
  22. beast

    beast F1 World Champ

    May 31, 2003
    11,479
    Lewisville, TX
    Full Name:
    Rob Guess
    I have been using Sprint for about 4 years now. about the only problem i have with coverage is at work but for myself this is not a problem since we can not use cell phones at work on company time.

    I have been looking at switching to Verizon but am wondering what happens to the service if Vodaphone decides to dump there ownership in them.
     
  23. dan360

    dan360 F1 Rookie

    Feb 18, 2003
    2,669
    Boston
    Here's a European now in US viewpoint. Cellphone reception in the US is shockingly patchy compared with that in Europe.

    I think this is largely a facet of sheer geographic scale compared to Europe, but for example: I can drive out along I90 from Boston and get regular barren patches. Its only the most major northern cross country interstate - I mean what excuse is there for not having perfect reception along the whole 3000 miles of the thing???

    Same thing on the Acela from Boston to NY - I mean if I'm in a tunnel fine, but apart from that the reception is horrible along the route.
     
  24. TCM

    TCM Formula Junior

    Nov 10, 2003
    552
    Tyngsborough, MA
    Dan:

    I hear your complaint completely. I think the cell service providers like to make their users feel like idiots as my phone only seems to work after about 3 other tries and then standing on one leg pointing in a northern direction! It is not only Europe, when you cross into Canada GSM service goes to full bar with no problems. It is isteadily mproving in the US though.
     
  25. Ike

    Ike F1 Rookie

    Nov 4, 2003
    3,543

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