# Which Cell Phone Carrier?



## stroker79 (Dec 2, 2006)

I have used just about all of them. Currently im with AT&T and have no issues, the only problem is my blackberry is having issues and im told it is not fixable. My contract is up mid next year and I have really been impressed with the new Blackberry Storm. I like the blackberry phones since they are desinged for exactly what I use them for and they arent as blingy and loaded with crap features I dont need. 

The problem is, The Storm is on the Verizon network. This is the only carrier I havent used, I hear many great things but also equally bad things. 

What carrier do you all use? I know the areas are different but around here they all work fine so service area is not an issue.

Also, please let me know of any bad experiances you have had or things to look out for.


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## Clapper&Company (Jan 4, 2005)

I use Verizon, never had a problem they all know me by name.

There Push-to-Talk is great.


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## erkoehler (Sep 25, 2008)

I use Verizon for my service provider, and have had good luck. I don't really drop any calls and I have good coverage even in N. Wi and UP of MI.

I also utilize a data package so I can review emails on my phone which has worked well.


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## erkoehler (Sep 25, 2008)

Also, the one thing I would like to try is the push-to-talk w/ verizon but I haven't found many people that have switched to use this feature.


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## Woodland (Sep 17, 2005)

I use US Cellular because it is the only game in town. Fortunately, it's not a bad service. There are definitely dead spots, but hey, its Maine, what do you expect.


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## Gicon (Oct 1, 2005)

Stroker, there was another long thread about this. Verizon takes the cake here, by a long shot. Make sure they are just as good in your area. They will give you a 30 or a 60 day "test drive" to try them out. I only have nextels in all of my trucks because of their radio, but have put some serious thought into going with Verizon. It is so much cheaper, its not even funny.


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## carl b (Dec 28, 2006)

Clapper&Company;654683 said:


> I use Verizon, never had a problem they all know me by name.
> 
> There Push-to-Talk is great.


dude I've talked to you . 2 times today and 2 times your phone droped the call .


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## ColliganLands (Sep 4, 2008)

i have sprint/nextel and i find the service and phone to be great. customer service is another story but the phone doesnt break ever so thats not really an issue


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## chcav1218 (Jul 31, 2008)

I have verizon. Its the best carrier around my area.


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## Steve 455 (Oct 23, 2008)

Verizon sucks here where I live It worked OK everywhere but at my house. Nothing worse than trying to talk on the phone in your house and having the call get dropped every time:realmad:

US Cellular was great, no problems

Im with T-Mobile now and they are good too


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## stroker79 (Dec 2, 2006)

ColliganLands;654835 said:


> i have sprint/nextel and i find the service and phone to be great. customer service is another story but the phone doesnt break ever so thats not really an issue


#1 reason why I left them. I had nextel for 4 years or so and the day the merger happened the customer service went to the floor.



Gicon;654816 said:


> Stroker, there was another long thread about this. Verizon takes the cake here, by a long shot. Make sure they are just as good in your area. They will give you a 30 or a 60 day "test drive" to try them out. I only have nextels in all of my trucks because of their radio, but have put some serious thought into going with Verizon. It is so much cheaper, its not even funny.


Also another big reason why I went away from Nextel. When we went back to cingular(AT&T) we reduced our monthly payment by half for just mine and my wifes phones. Plus, out here Sprint is NOTORIOUS for call dropping. I had a sprint phone when I was working for someone else and that phone would drop calls CONSTANTLY. One thing that was really nice about the nexels was the phone durability and thier insurance was awesome. They replaced stuff all the time for my wife cause she can manage to break anything, LOL

It seems strang to me to switch providers for a cell phone but AT&T doent have anything that great other then the iphone which looks like a delicate little toy. The Blackberry can at least take a hit or 2.


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## DCSpecial (Nov 16, 2008)

We use Sprint/Nextel.

I have a hybrid phone....works on Sprint's Voice and Data network, but uses Nextel's network for the push to talk.
Works great, never had any issues with Sprint. 
Have 3 phones on their Simply Everything plan for $99 (only $99 for the first, save $5 on the secone, $10 on the third, etc..). The other 6 are on shared plans for cell phone minutes, unlimited push to talk.


Now there are Sprint phones that work entirely on the Sprint Network that can communicate with Nextel phones. The only one that works well for PTT is the Motorola. 

I'm waiting for Sprint to release a smart phone that has PTT capability.

Now through one of my dist. I qualify for a partners program and save money on my bill so that's a plus 



I have a Verizon phone as well. No problems with it, works great. No longer have a need for it, canceling in a couple months when my contract expires. 

Always had two phones before Sprint bought Nextel since Nextel's voice/data network sucked (not sure if it still does or not).

AT&T/Cingular works well, had that as well.

T-Mobile sucks in my area in terms of my house and our shop. In an unincorporated area and apparently they don't have many towers near by. I had that previously as well.
Nice feature on their website is you can type in an address and see what the coverage is like there.


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## lilweeds (Aug 3, 2007)

I have found Sprint C/S has gotten much better in recent months. Great agents who really seem to know their stuff. The new Motorola V950 is an excellent phone if you have the EVDO coverage in your area for the PTT. Also if you're going to have a PTT plan Sprint is by far the cheapest. Some of the new "Everything" plans are great for the owner, and I believe you can still get a PTT only plan for your employee phones. The new phones also roam very well and I rarely drop calls with the V950. Now if you had asked me about my ic502 or i560 I would have said run away, but I'm very happy I gave them one last chance.


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## Clapper&Company (Jan 4, 2005)

crb 2500;654829 said:


> dude I've talked to you . 2 times today and 2 times your phone droped the call .


Ok not a problem but droping calls lol

I know of about 5 areas that my phone dosnet work.

But its about 40% better then alltell down here


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## RamPainting LLC (Nov 9, 2008)

Sprint, Nextel here. 

I just pay my bill and never call customer service  I do have their $99 unlimited everything plan and it works great for me. I also use sprints wireless broadband card for the laptop on the road if needed, Since my blackberry has GPS I hardly use the laptop or mapquest.com anymore for driving directions. Man is it awesome to punch in a address and get voice activated directions to bids


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## ABES (Jun 10, 2007)

I have sprint/nextel. The only reason I am with them is because of the 2-way. The customer service is the worst ive dealt with so far.


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## DCSpecial (Nov 16, 2008)

Just called Sprint earlier tonight to put some of the phones on seasonal stand-by......and asked a couple other random questions while I had the rep on the phone. Very helpful and very good service.


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## ColliganLands (Sep 4, 2008)

DCSpecial;657904 said:


> Just called Sprint earlier tonight to put some of the phones on seasonal stand-by......and asked a couple other random questions while I had the rep on the phone. Very helpful and very good service.


things must have changed since i last dealt with them


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## JDT (Nov 16, 2008)

I have verizon. I have had no problems with them so far. Had US Cellular before and hated them. I can't get service at my house. But the neighbor with cingular/at&t can. Drives me nuts.


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## PLOWMAN45 (Jul 2, 2003)

i had verizson when it was bell alantic then i had cingular its was good then i had nextel it was ok but everyone has ptt so im going back to att in mid January


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## BigLou80 (Feb 25, 2008)

stroker79;654681 said:


> I have used just about all of them. Currently im with AT&T and have no issues, the only problem is my blackberry is having issues and im told it is not fixable.


Whats wrong with your blackberry ? mine has a blown speaker which sucks other then that it works great


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## PLOWMAN45 (Jul 2, 2003)

i just want a razor phone dont need a blackberry !


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## yard5864 (Nov 8, 2007)

I am currently with AT&T- Have the Samsung Blackjack, and love it. It is a tough little phone very similar to the blackberry.


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## 01lariat (Feb 29, 2008)

US Cellular and Verizon have the best coverage nation wide. I have had US Cellular for ever and I'm happy enough. The phone I wish I had is only available threw Verizon. The GZone is the bomb. mil-spec, water proof, dust proof, shock proof. Simply the most rugged phone for guys that beat their phones this side of the pond. I wish I had one


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## jadyejr (Nov 29, 2008)

OK, heres my 2 cents on this... I worked in the cell phone industry, I have had virtually every carrier and heres how the big guys really pan out: 

AT&T - I currently have them on one of my phones, not because I'm crazy about GSM (I'll explain what that means in a minute) but because they have the iPhone. I have apple everything (TV Laptop) so the iPhone is all I really wanted from them. If you live in the boonies stay away from ATT, they are not as big as other providers. I don't rely on my iPhone to make calls, it's just because I like the phone and have always had a smart phone and a backup phone. Customer service is decent, I'm just not a big fan of the technology.... BTW the more bars in more places is referring to the fact that you can use a ATT phone worldwide since it's GSM, not that they have more bars in the US than anyone else... 

Verizon - I have had them and they are CDMA so that is very good. They pick up great have a true nationwide network, and they have good customer service. I moved to an area that they were not though and so I canceled with them. They are a good company with good phones and overall a good experience. 

Sprint - I think that sprint is a great company for the value. Before my iPhone I had sprint blackberries, because of the fact that they are losing customers left and right they are basically giving away service at this point. You can get the simply everything plan for 99 bucks a month and thats a good deal! Unlimited everything! DATA TALK TEXT everything for 99 bucks! Thats a good deal. Service wise they are not bad, and since you can roam for free than you can get on any other carrier for free and so you have service basically anywhere there is CDMA cell signal.... 

T- Mobile - Good company customer service, just bad coverage. I'd just stay away if you value coverage... But they have a good business but the GSM for the time being is still a few years away from being truly everywhere. 

Alltel - Used to work for them,,, Good company good services, but just got bought out by verizon.... Basically look at Verizon from now on... 

US Cellular - I worked for them as well and my wife still works for them. They are a good company. I have no complains, other than they are not a "true" nationwide. If you live in an area that they have towers than you will be fine. I always have great service with them.... But if you travel alot, heres what will happen. Say your on a call and you are roaming, now true if you are on a nationwide plan you won't get charged for roaming, but heres the problem... Say your roaming on a Verizon tower, hypothetically that tower can only handle 50 callers at one time (just an example) and than lets say that verizon has 49 callers that are verizon subscribers on there. Basically if a verizon customer trys to make a call, your call will be the one that is dropped... Not a Verizon caller.. Which happens everywhere but if you were a Verizon customer you will have a better network overall than USC. But USC is the best when it comes to customer service and overall coverage in MOST of the markets they are in.... ( I said MOST) 

GSM vs CDMA

GSM - The world standard for cell phone technologies. The good is that yes it is in almost all the world... bad, is new to the US.... Less towers = less coverage which means more dropped calls. Also it takes more towers to build a GSM network than a CDMA network because the signal does not go as far. Also the DATA speeds are slow. ATT and T Mobile are the major GSM carriers in the US. 

CDMA - Used in far less places worldwide, but in the US it is KING. Been around for a long time, sends out a stronger signal than GSM, so less towers are required. Most companies use this technology, which means more coverage overall since you can roam on different companies. EVDO DATA speeds are faster as well. Overall a better deal. Verizon, Alltel, US Cellular, and Sprint have all built good networks, so there is a lot of CDMA coverage in the US. Especially if you live in the boonies. 

I hope this helps!


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