Cell phone providers

[L8 APEX]

Well my NexTel is about gone. It has had major problems since Sprint bought them in Sept. I have filed numerous trouble tickets with them and all I get is the run around and the great excuse "future network upgrades will fix issue". With no date set in stone. I am looking to Cingular now I guess though I am a little worried about their recent merge with AT&T. Verizon seems to have smaller coverage areas and you end up with roaming charges out of nowhere.. So are you guys happy with Cingular?

[PoorSvtman]

i stay with sprint, just dont get a nextel phone. Nextel sucks period. Ive had sprint since about 8th grade, ive never had problems with them...

The other companies my friends have had nothing but bad luck.

[Silver_2000]

The Cingular ATT thing is weird because ATT was the red headed step child when bought by Cingular - BUt NOW the company is going BACK TO being ATT - So who knows- They have GOOD coverage and GSM technology is likley the way all phones will be going soon
http://news.com.com/Will+U.S.+carriers+switch+mobile+standards/2100-1039_3-5996361.html

My phone is ATT/Cingular BUT the company pays for it so I dont have to deal with billing issues - as a new customer you should get decent service

[my2002lightning]

We've had good luck with both Sprint and Cingular/AT&T providers - currently with Cingular and very happy. But, with both providers, we've been happy with unlimited coverage/no roaming nation-wide with 2,500 anytime-minutes split between two phones.

Very good coverage/reception by both providers in most major cities coast-to-coast. Sometimes, rural reception gets flakey, and goes analog.

Ronald

[PoorSvtman]

All i know is i always have service where my friends with out sprint dont.

[QDRHRSE]

For some reason I get a swinging deal through cingular. I have thousands and thousands of roll-over minutes. The service is so-so but I get a 20% corporate discount.

[hoponspot]

That's good to know about Sprint/NexTel.
I was just thinking about switching to them.
I have the free mobile to mobile thing w/ the wife and family
w/ T-Mobile but service is so-so.
I've heard bad things about all of them though.

[PoorSvtman]

everyone has there ups and downs with cell phone providors.. Its like debating if ford or chevy is better.

[LivinEZ]

everyone has there ups and downs with cell phone providors.. Its like debating if ford or chevy is better.

This is true...

I've been with ATT/Cingular for two years and besides Cellular South (MS, AL, LA, FL) it is the only provider that gives me a signal in remote areas.

Very happy with them, but did like ATT better because with their 60.00 month plan, nights/weekends started at 7pm rather than 9pm. With cingular you have to pay 7.00 extra to get that. Buy you do get the Roll-over minutes with cingular which has helped me out a lot in some months.

[dboat]

We had ATT in Dallas and loved it.. very few drops and the coverage seemed pretty good.. dont know about it after the merger.. I have cellular one here and it sux. Kim picked up T mobile and its pretty good up here..

For what its worth..
Dana

[Lyfisin]

The Cingular ATT thing is weird because ATT was the red headed step child when bought by Cingular - BUt NOW the company is going BACK TO being ATT -

This came out about 2 weeks ago in RCR.

"Cingular spokesman Clay Owen said they “are continuing with the strong Cingular brand that we have spent the past five years building and promoting.” In other words, it looks like USA Today’s report was predicated on some miscommunicated information — SBC is changing its name to AT&T, yes, and they plan on resurrecting AT&T branded wireless service, yes, but apparently as something more akin to an MVNO leasing Cingular’s network capacity."

I voted for Verizon Wireless, but then again, I work for them. As an engineer, I know what goes into our network and I know how solid it is.

That being said, the most important thing about a cell phone is does it work where you need it when it doesn't how important is the customer service to you in helping to get it resolved.

[Nuhklz]

I had Cingular for many years but couldn't get a good signal at my house or in some of the weird places my work sends me.

I changed to Verizon and have been extremely happy with them. I can now use the phone at my house and all of the out of the way places where I end up :evil

[gagspa]

I have Sprint and have been mostly happy with them since 1998. Now I couldn't switch if I wanted to. All of my family and friends use Sprint and those calls are free. Stacy and I only use about 500 minutes per month that are NOT Sprint-to-Sprint. We use 2000+ that are.

[SILVER2000SVT]

I've had Cingular for the past 4 years but I just changed to T-Mobile. Cingular used to have the best coverage and were the only one that worked in backwoods Mississippi at the time because they piggy-backed on every one elses network. That has changed since then and if you aren't in their system it doesn't work, but with that being said they still have at least one of the better coverages, just not 100%.

I was happy with Cingular until I actually had to call them with problems, and if you want to upgrade they will pretty much crap down your throat. I was begging them to let me continue my service because I had combined billing with SBC and to let me sign a new 2 year agreement in exchange for a new phone package to replace my old one. They wouldn't do it, I was even willing to pay extra, but if you are already a customer you can't get the new phone deals and keep your old number at the same time or you will have to pay several hundred $$$ out of your pocket. But if you want to cancel your account and get a new number you can get the new activation deals. So basically the only way you can keep your old number and not get screwed is to change carriers.

T-Mobile is pretty cool because they only make you sign a 1 year agreement, the same phones are cheaper and you get more minutes for the same money. I think their weakness is coverage, They work as good or better than some of the other carriers in cities and towns and along interstate routes, but outside of that you probably will have a hard time getting service.

I chose the new 1500 min anytime rate they offer for 39.99 that doesn't include free nights and weekends. Its nice because I don't have to worry about waiting until 9pm to make a call. For $0 I got the new Nokia flip phone that is getting great reviews. If you go to amazon.com you will find the same package to where you will make $75 after you spend $75 up front and wait for a $150 rebate. I just decided to avoid the rebate stuff myself.

[L8 APEX]

Nextel sucked in the mid 90's but became a reliable network. I first went to Sprint after leaving the company. I missed 10 calls a day at work and dropped several down the highway. Well after the merger my NexTel is doing the same thing. I CANNOT talk on the phone in the shop and I miss a lot of calls. I get the constant error or 481, 22, call failed, system busy, try again. I loved NexTel for their free incoming plan since 80% of my calls are incoming. I swore off Sprint when they did me wrong three years ago. They had the gall to call me last week saying come over to Sprint we have better service. I said I am with Sprint and you suck! She knew very well that NexTel service suffered in the merger. I said according to my bill I am with Sprint! She said Sprint service works a lot better than NexTel iDen. I have a buddy that does remote serivce work around the country and he uses Verizon stating they have a good digital/cellular network in the cracks of the country. Most of these new super phones are GSM or such and have no cellular backup. I cannot keep dropping calls and not even getting them in the first place it is taking my sanity!

[tiffo60]

i wish i still had my bag phone from back in highschool, it was analog instead of digital but that thing would get reception no matter where you were at, i never had it not get reception and i think it was AT&T

[Silver_2000]

This came out about 2 weeks ago in RCR.

"Cingular spokesman Clay Owen said they “are continuing with the strong Cingular brand that we have spent the past five years building and promoting.” In other words, it looks like USA Today’s report was predicated on some miscommunicated information — SBC is changing its name to AT&T, yes, and they plan on resurrecting AT&T branded wireless service, yes, but apparently as something more akin to an MVNO leasing Cingular’s network capacity."

I voted for Verizon Wireless, but then again, I work for them. As an engineer, I know what goes into our network and I know how solid it is.

That being said, the most important thing about a cell phone is does it work where you need it when it doesn't how important is the customer service to you in helping to get it resolved.

Its a bit unclear whats going to happen


Will the names of my SBC products and services, like SBC Yahoo! DSL, transition to the new AT&T name?
Not immediately, but we do plan to transition the new AT&T name into the SBC residential product and services portfolio. These changes will happen in 2006, but an exact date has not been determined.

[SILVER2000SVT]

I have never heard a single person being happy with Nextel. Most of what I hear is the same thing you are saying about not getting calls, or getting a voice message a week later or not at all.

I bashed cingular because that's fresh on my mind from last week, but if you are a new customer you will be fine. The phone choice makes a difference too. Read the reviews. I chose a Nokia over the Razor because of the reviews. Nokias have always had better reception than most and they are faily durable against dropping and abuse. Youll be fine with either Cingular or Verizon, maybe even T-mobile if you don't go out in the country too much. Go to any of their sites and look at their detailed coverage map if you have specific places you go and want to check. Most have it broken down into signal strength down to 100 yard areas or smaller.

[Silver_2000]

the new customer vs existing customer issue is the same with ANY phone provider and with satellite tv and other businesses that sponsor the cost of hardware- As an existing customer you are worth LESS to the company in regards to upgrades than a NEW customer..

Facts of life ... not specific to any company

[SILVER2000SVT]

the new customer vs existing customer issue is the same with ANY phone provider and with satellite tv and other businesses that sponsor the cost of hardware- As an existing customer you are worth LESS to the company in regards to upgrades than a NEW customer..

Facts of life ... not specific to any company

You're right. That will eventually change in a free market society, but it may take many many years and maybe not in our lifetimes.

It was a cingular specific thing though that I was experiencing. I wasn't under contract. So I was free to open or activate a new account and get the package deal and they would let me do that. If I were coming from a competitor doing this I could transfer my old number, but for some stupid reason they can't transfer the number if they were the previous provider?:confused:

The best thing to do is pick a couple of favorites and just go back and forward every year or two (depending on your contract). This is where the shorter contract has it benefits, and gives a lot more freedom to make changes when you need to.

[QDRHRSE]

Terry,

When people [friends etc.- not customers....unless they are Talon types]come to the shop ask if you can make a call from their cell phones...or call their phones from a land line. You are sure to find the one that works best at the shop.

[tliss]

I had Sprint for a periond of about a year for work and absolutely hated it. Service sucked, customer service sucked and the phone I had was a total POS. I was so glad I dropped those bastages when I changed jobs.

T-mobile, from my experience also blows chunks. My wife's family has T-mobile and some of her friends do as well and all I have heard is them b!tch about it. Coverage and service blows and their advertising just pisses me off anyway.

Don't have any experience with Verizon.

I've had Southwestern Bell Wireless/Cingular for ages (nearly 10 years) and have not had too many serious issues. Very few dropped calls and it has worked everywhere I have gone (including overseas). They've been pretty good and if you get the correct plan you can get a buttload of minutes and free calls with other Cingular/ATT customers. My vote...Cingular.

Tom

[L8 APEX]

AGH!
Today was horrible! I went to Car Toys since they retail for the major three providers. I looked at Cingular and Verizons coverage maps. It looked like Verizon had the best coverage in rural areas. Cingular is primarily GSM with little or no analog? So anyway I chose Verizon since I do a lot of rural trips in the woods. So next to choose a phone. Looky looky Verizon has the razor by Motorola! I asked several times if it worked in the entire Verizon area they said sure does. They said that is why it has taken an extra year to release for Verizon. I also make sure they can PORT my number over, sure.
The Car Toys sales guy took two hours to program my phone and finish my contract.
About 5 o clock I check on the Porting of the number still not done. Verizon says it has not been requested so I go back to Car Toys and he does it right this time. They say it will take 3-5 days. So I go the the Verizon store to find a certain accy. I see there are digital only and Tri-Mode phones on display.
I see the Razor is digital only as I suspected at first and it will not work in all areas only the large metro routes. So I look at my contract and Verizon give 15 days to return or cancel, good to go right? Almost, I see when you buy through Car Toys you sign a sheet saying if you cancel or cause them to lose their commission you owe them $300 bucks! Son of a bitch! These folks mis represent what they are selling and I am liable to them for 300 bucks! The other issue is they only carry 5-6 verizon phones not the full line. Odds are the phone I want is at a Verizon retailer not Car Toys since the Razor is not going to work. I have spent almost 600 bucks today buying out my old NexTel contract and into this new Verizon system and am still screwed.
I took the Verizon phone back into the shop and it had 1 bar but did make calls. It has shown the same weak signal in the same driving areas as my old NexTel. I am ubber frustrated at this point. Does no amount of money buy good signal strength and service?

[SILVER2000SVT]

you might be in too deep now, but the reception was one of the reason I decided against the razor. The reviews are very helpful. The razor is cool looking and does a lot of cool stuff, but is completely non ergonomic and is not a top performer when it comes to just being a phone.

When you order a phone online you usually get it in two days.

www.wirefly.com (http://www.wirefly.com)

www.amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com)

or just go directly to the Verizon site:
You don't get the absolute best deals that way but it's usually a little less BS to deal with. I wouldn't trust the retail stores...but you know that now.

Good luck

[Lyfisin]

Terry,

I'm sorry you had such a horrible experience. There's no way a company should be able to misrepresent what they offer, charge you for the product and then charge again when it doesn't work. They aren't really losing a commission because it's not something they've earned. I'd definately be talking to a manager and then a manager's manager etc... until I got the problem fixed.

I'm not sure on the time frame to port a number. I'm know it's complicated.

I don't know if it will help, but if you want me to go down to Car-Toys with you and talk to with them. Maybe they'll feel a little more helpful with a Verizon Wireless Employee listening to their story. :)

The reason Verizon didn't have a RAZR before is because there was no CDMA version. Only GSM.

As far as coverage goes, I'm not sure how much, if anything, I can do about that. I can probably offer some advice of which models might be better as far as reception.

[L8 APEX]

Well today was better but had its own set of follies. I went back to CrapToys and they agreed to get me in a TriMode phone. He also checked into my porting call for the old number. We found out the reason they said 3-5 days was because they were trying to port it as my home number not wireless:hammer: . Anyway, I figure the guy is finally getting it straight. Nope, 7 o'clock tonight I call Verizon porting dept and ask for an update. He says he sees the request but I have not completed the customer call-in port approval process yet. Another DOH! on the CrapToys guy. So he helps me out and conferences me into the port approval process and my number is ported while I wait in less than 2 minutes:bows . I am now an operational Verizon customer. Now I only have 1350 peak minutes, no longer free incoming so be sparing of my peak time minutes. Verizon customers are free according to the IN network:tu: .

[Lyfisin]

I just had to switch my plan and lost my incoming free first minute as well.

Hopefully you'll make up those lost minutes with IN.

[Tex Arcana]

We had AT&T/Cingular/SBC for about 11 years now, starting way back in '94 when the wife got a Motorola flip phone (yeah, the big one). We were with AT&T then, and we had absolutely no problems with them. THen the merger, and when the old Nokia's started to break down, we decided to upgrade to the new Motorola phones (just like ROnald's), and had to swithc to Cingular. Since then, we've had pretty much no trouble with them, they're helpful when they scerw up billing, and make things right quickly.

Minor correction, Doug: AT&T was the big dog, and the red-headed stepchild (Cingular) got rich and bought the big dog to legitimize and expand their business--remember that Cingular was previously SBC wireless, and both were mostly major failures due to poor coverage and service.

Terry, as for your trouble with CarToys: I would've demanded a full refund, and if they insisted on their $300 "commision reimbursement", I'd've told them to kiss my ass, filed a credit denial with my credit card, and turned them into both the FCC and the state PUC. At least you got it mostly straightened out; tho, I would strongly suggest you sit down and read ALL of the fine print.

[Silver_2000]

Minor correction, Doug: AT&T was the big dog, and the red-headed stepchild (Cingular) got rich and bought the big dog to legitimize and expand their business--remember that Cingular was previously SBC wireless, and both were mostly major failures due to poor coverage and service.

My mistake - I was believing CNN
February 17, 2004: 1:41 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Cingular Wireless said Tuesday it would buy AT&T Wireless Services Inc. for about $41 billion, topping a rival bid from Vodafone of Britain in a deal that would create the nation's biggest mobile phone company.
Cingular, currently the nation's No. 2 cellular service provider, is paying about a 27 percent premium to shareholders of AT&T Wireless, the nation's No. 3 wireless phone provider. Vodafone, which had recently raised its offer to $38 billion, dropped out of the bidding Tuesday.

[Lyfisin]

I think you guys are talking about what happened from two different time periods.

AT&T was the largest carrier once, but they didn't do a good job of putting the money back into the business and growing it. A good story on what happened to them is here.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/191742_attw21.html

At the time of the buyout, AT&T was number 3 and Cingular was number 2.

Tex, Cingular actually had pretty good coverage (although that is just opinion). AT&T didn't and when the opportunity came to take your number with you, more customers left AT&T than any other carrier.

[Tex Arcana]

My mistake - I was believing CNN
Yer forgiven, since yer from the frozen tundra and unable to understand the intricacies of Texas history... :d

[Tex Arcana]

I think you guys are talking about what happened from two different time periods.

AT&T was the largest carrier once, but they didn't do a good job of putting the money back into the business and growing it. A good story on what happened to them is here.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/191742_attw21.html

At the time of the buyout, AT&T was number 3 and Cingular was number 2.

Tex, Cingular actually had pretty good coverage (although that is just opinion). AT&T didn't and when the opportunity came to take your number with you, more customers left AT&T than any other carrier.

My experiences with AT&T never bore that out... most times, people with Incgular experienced worse coverage, worse quality, and worse customer service than I did. Now, of course, I have to disclaim that with a "YMMV".

[03LightningRocks]

This may be a dead topic by now, but I'll throw in. My company uses Cingular and we have had great service so far. I seem to always have coverage, no matter where I am traveling around the States. Everytime I have called them with issues, they are all about making it right. I even got credited back 400 bucks in charges one month from a situation that could have been interpreted as my fault.

I like having the roll over minutes.

Rocks:postwhore