Founder’s Message + Wireless Offer

[Derek K]

What did you do so bad they reported you to the State?

I had to report them... LOL!

First time we switched because they lied to us and said they would pay off our devices from Verizon. They where supposed to send us a check for like $4000, to pay off all our devices on our family play and never did.

Caused a bigger problem because when we left Verizon, they immediately charged us for all the devices on the account. When we finally had enough of going around in circles with T-Mobile and switched back to Verizon after 4 months, Verizon would not reinstate the payment program and we had to just pay off all our devices.

Then T-Mobile wanted a cancellation fee because we left them, which point I had to write the attorney general.

Then got them again for some hot spots, on a month to month plan. After a year we went to cancel and they wouldn't do it over the phone and said we had to go to a store. That was when I had the physical bill in my hand, was able to verify the SSN on the account, Sim card and credit card. I called a few times, they wouldn't budge, and I warned them I would rather write the attorney general then go to one of their stores. That is exactly what I did!

Then I had to report them to the attorney general for a 3rd time. I had my work cell phone number with Verizon, and someone ported a number to T-Mobile that was one digit off of mine. They accidently ported my number, realized their mistake and then ported the correct number, leaving my number in limbo.

Verizon couldn't help me since I didn't have a port pin from T-Mobile to port it back. I had to go through their office of the president, yet it still took 3 days to get my number back. I was so irritated that I wasted 3 days of my time, I reported them again to the attorney general.

 

[Derek K]

Boost uses their own Dish Wireless network where they have coverage. They primarily have n71, n66 & n70 deployed and are sitting on a lot of mid band and mmWave. If there is no native Dish coverage, it will connect to T-Mobile or AT&T depending on what kind of SIM you have. If you have a rainbow SIM it can connect to either T-Mobile or AT&T.

Does anyone actually have a coverage map for Dish wireless? Sounds interesting, but I don't know if I would be willing to risk switching when their network barely covers 70% of the country.

 

[Yespage]

Curious if I can transfer my existing Boost account. I figured Dish would have done this years ago.

 

[HipKat]

Does anyone actually have a coverage map for Dish wireless? Sounds interesting, but I don't know if I would be willing to risk switching when their network barely covers 70% of the country.

I found this, but it's 2 yrs old

Dish has erected over 15,000 5G sites as of June 14, 2023, according to Dish. This milestone was part of their commitment to the FCC to provide 5G broadband service to over 70% of the US population. They have also signed agreements with various tower companies like Crown Castle, SBA Communications, and Vertical Bridge, giving them access to tens of thousands of towers.

 

[EarDemon]

Not to change the subject but my GF and I are seriously talking about moving back (after 20 years) after I retire in the next year or 2. I've been looking in the Farmington to Canandaigua area at house prices. They're not bad, No way we could afford to move right back into Buffalo or the suburbs.

When we were home in May, I noticed how often we switched to Canadian towers even though we were on the NY side still

Wow, first time I ever heard of someone moving back to NY, most people leave and never look back. Soon as the rest of my family croaks, I'm packing up for West Virginia, Kentucky or Tennessee. The Finger Lakes region is pretty nice, I'll give you that, but some areas are too snooty and elitist for me and not rural enough.

Where I used to work, the company was cheap and went with a combo of Sprint and T-Mobile for company phones, on bare basic business plans. The witch (with a b) in HR had a T-Mobile phone and would rack up up international roaming charges because she was roaming on Canadian towers when at home and she lived in Kaisertown. I have no idea how that would even be possible but after many complaints, when the contract was up we switched to VZ. This is going back to the 2015/16/17 time frame but still. I roam on to Telus along the Lake Ontario shore as well. To my knowledge I have yet to have AT&T roam onto the Canadian towers, but it it might have something to do with FirstNet. FirstNet can roam on to Canadian towers but with the priority of band 14, it may attach to a weak B14 signal before roaming on to a stronger Canadian signal. I'm not sure though. Oddly enough I was on Gilligan's Island back in April and I did not roam to the Canadian towers at all, but service wasn't strong on the Island.

 

[EarDemon]

Does anyone actually have a coverage map for Dish wireless? Sounds interesting, but I don't know if I would be willing to risk switching when their network barely covers 70% of the country.

Been looking for a while and there's nothing definitive out there, that I have found at least.

Instead of color coded BS coverage maps that are overinflated, the FCC should force to the providers to identify their sites on a map. And also provide details for each site on what technology is being used, what bands are active, any carrier aggregation, and how many MHz of bandwidth per band. This would be the most accurate way to determine coverage. Maybe even make them include details on the backhaul and any type of backup power in the event of a power outage.

If I could get a T-Mobile signal at home, I'd dump HughesNet in a heartbeat as my secondary internet provider and get T-Mobile Home Internet, but I would need 100% assurance that the tower site can last at least a week without utility power otherwise there would be no point.

When Sprint did their Network Vision upgrades back in 2012, they listed their sites on a map and when you hovered over the site, it gave you some of the details I mentioned. If Sprint was able to do it nearly a decade and a half ago, the others should be able to do it.

If you know what you are looking for and get good enough at it, you should be able to identify what providers are on a tower or rooftop by the antennas and panels and identify what bands are being used. I haven't gotten there yet though.

 

[HipKat]

Wow, first time I ever heard of someone moving back to NY, most people leave and never look back. Soon as the rest of my family croaks, I'm packing up for West Virginia, Kentucky or Tennessee. The Finger Lakes region is pretty nice, I'll give you that, but some areas are too snooty and elitist for me and not rural enough.

Where I used to work, the company was cheap and went with a combo of Sprint and T-Mobile for company phones, on bare basic business plans. The witch (with a b) in HR had a T-Mobile phone and would rack up up international roaming charges because she was roaming on Canadian towers when at home and she lived in Kaisertown. I have no idea how that would even be possible but after many complaints, when the contract was up we switched to VZ. This is going back to the 2015/16/17 time frame but still. I roam on to Telus along the Lake Ontario shore as well. To my knowledge I have yet to have AT&T roam onto the Canadian towers, but it it might have something to do with FirstNet. FirstNet can roam on to Canadian towers but with the priority of band 14, it may attach to a weak B14 signal before roaming on to a stronger Canadian signal. I'm not sure though. Oddly enough I was on Gilligan's Island back in April and I did not roam to the Canadian towers at all, but service wasn't strong on the Island.

I have a lake house at Black Lake and after 20 years in Central IL, believe me, NY looks like heaven

 

[Almighty1]

Derek K - Did the AG ever get back to you and actually took action? I thought AG's at least here in California doesn't do anything other than take complaints so they can take action in the future against some business if enough people complained. Complaining to the FCC is what was supposed to be done but all that does is make the carriers start communications with the customer. If you want action, FCC requires one to file a formal complaint which is $750 filing fee + costs of hiring your own lawyer. Verizon used to have the best customer service, T-Mobile was known as good too but just a bad network and AT&T was the one who had poor customer service but this was talking about the mid-2000s and many things have changed probably because Verizon Wireless no longer has Vodafone's ownership.

 

[Derek K]

Derek K - Did the AG ever get back to you and actually took action? I thought AG's at least here in California doesn't do anything other than take complaints so they can take action in the future against some business if enough people complained. Complaining to the FCC is what was supposed to be done but all that does is make the carriers start communications with the customer. If you want action, FCC requires one to file a formal complaint which is $750 filing fee + costs of hiring your own lawyer. Verizon used to have the best customer service, T-Mobile was known as good too but just a bad network and AT&T was the one who had poor customer service but this was talking about the mid-2000s and many things have changed probably because Verizon Wireless no longer has Vodafone's ownership.

Yes and No. T-Mobile actually reached out as soon as they got the complaint and resolved it immedicably.. The AG sent me a letter a month later saying T-Mobile reported the complaint as resolved and to contact them if it was not true.

I write a lot of AG complaints, and the only one I have had an issue with was UPS. Wrote the AG about a lost package and UPS never responded to the AG. The AG basically said sorry, they didn't respond. Nothing we can do.

 

[Derek K]

Been looking for a while and there's nothing definitive out there, that I have found at least.

Instead of color coded BS coverage maps that are overinflated, the FCC should force to the providers to identify their sites on a map. And also provide details for each site on what technology is being used, what bands are active, any carrier aggregation, and how many MHz of bandwidth per band. This would be the most accurate way to determine coverage. Maybe even make them include details on the backhaul and any type of backup power in the event of a power outage.

If I could get a T-Mobile signal at home, I'd dump HughesNet in a heartbeat as my secondary internet provider and get T-Mobile Home Internet, but I would need 100% assurance that the tower site can last at least a week without utility power otherwise there would be no point.

When Sprint did their Network Vision upgrades back in 2012, they listed their sites on a map and when you hovered over the site, it gave you some of the details I mentioned. If Sprint was able to do it nearly a decade and a half ago, the others should be able to do it.

If you know what you are looking for and get good enough at it, you should be able to identify what providers are on a tower or rooftop by the antennas and panels and identify what bands are being used. I haven't gotten there yet though.

I agree

 

[Almighty1]

Yes and No. T-Mobile actually reached out as soon as they got the complaint and resolved it immedicably.. The AG sent me a letter a month later saying T-Mobile reported the complaint as resolved and to contact them if it was not true.

I write a lot of AG complaints, and the only one I have had an issue with was UPS. Wrote the AG about a lost package and UPS never responded to the AG. The AG basically said sorry, they didn't respond. Nothing we can do.

At least your AG actually sends inquiries. The California one does not do anything except keep the complaints should it be needed if a massive amount of people complained. The San Francisco DA's office does have a consumer protection unit which does actually send inquiries but that's only when the bad guy is within their jurisdiction. If UPS lost a package, that's covered under insurance and usually one has to file a claim with UPS for it.

 

[Yespage]

Wow, first time I ever heard of someone moving back to NY, most people leave and never look back. Soon as the rest of my family croaks, I'm packing up for West Virginia, Kentucky or Tennessee. The Finger Lakes region is pretty nice, I'll give you that, but some areas are too snooty and elitist for me and not rural enough.

Finger Lakes region is "pretty nice"? In spring it is nearly unbeatable!

I roam on to Telus along the Lake Ontario shore as well. To my knowledge I have yet to have AT&T roam onto the Canadian towers, but it it might have something to do with FirstNet.

I had that issue around Cape Vincent, but that was with ATT though, not Boost. When in Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Boost's North America connect add-on was awesome! Typically the coverage was better atop the escarpment than near the bottom.

 

[HipKat]

Finger Lakes region is "pretty nice"? In spring it is nearly unbeatable!

That's part of why we're looking at the Canandaigua area. Affordable, closer to Black Lake to the north, Buffalo to the East and the FInger Lakes right out the front door. TBH, if I could afford it, I would move to Ithaca. Love it there!

 

[Yespage]

That's part of why we're looking at the Canandaigua area. Affordable, closer to Black Lake to the north, Buffalo to the East and the FInger Lakes right out the front door. TBH, if I could afford it, I would move to Ithaca. Love it there!

We were just out in Watkins Glen / Montour Falls as a brief layover on the drive back from New England.

The only issue I see with Ithaca would be snowy roads and those climbs out of the valleys. I imagine they are on top of that, but still.

 

[HipKat]

We were just out in Watkins Glen / Montour Falls as a brief layover on the drive back from New England.

The only issue I see with Ithaca would be snowy roads and those climbs out of the valleys. I imagine they are on top of that, but still.

No you're not wrong. Winter is the one big hurdle in moving back. I'm pretty spoiled by no snow and only moderately cold temps in winter

 

[Jim5506]

I'm with AT&T, five lines @ $35.99 per line monthly on the Signature Unlimited Premium plan.
I'll look at Boost Mobile but we get unlimited talk, text and data throughout North and South America except the Caribbean and French Guiana and we cruise to Mexico several times a year - it saves us quite a bit from not having to buy Starlink internet on the ship ($27/day). With special savings @ $17.99/day that's still $125.93 for a 7 day cruise.
I wonder how far Charlie's cell service reaches outside the USA? Looks like global roaming is a $20/month add on.