The best service provider

[Ronnie-]

Ok, my contract with our regional carrier (Cellular South) is almost up, and I am looking at moving us to a new carrier. But I am not sold.

What do you (the poster) think is the best company out there and why?

I want to look at customer service, plans, phone offerings, and coverage.

Give it to me.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

LOL - they don't do spellun good down thar in Mississippi. Fixed.

 

[Ronnie-]

Haha, its too hot for all this spelling stuff.

thanks.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Yeah, staying inside today. With the AC cranked.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

How do you compare service providers, what are the variables?

scope of coverage geographically
quality of signal
customer service
pricing
combined features

more?

 

[Ronnie-]

How do you compare service providers, what are the variables?

scope of coverage geographically
quality of signal
customer service
pricing
combined features

more?

All of the above are important. Obviously I want good coverage and price. I want a good phone, but absolute best on the planet is not important. (although I am curious which you consider the best)
I dont want to be treated like a number, so customer service is important.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I think for a lot of people, we get a provider, and stick with them, unless they suck bad, or just become too pricey. My first cell phone was on AT&T, when I had a very good state plan in Colorado. I kept it a long time. I don't even remember when I switched to Verizon, but I think it was when the Moto Razr came out. I needed a phone that was truly a Star Trek Communicator. With the New Every 2 deals, I have stayed locked into contracts ever since.

Verizon, like everyone else, has become pricey, but its network is rock solid, it has worked everywhere I have been -- even remote Mississippi (once I made sure I had roaming settings correct); and I can truly say I have had maybe 5 or 10 dropped calls in 5 years. And it gave me the Motorola Droid, and helped me escape from my poorly-thought out venture into Windows Mobile (the Samsung Omnia) when my beloved Treo seemed to no longer be up to snuff.

But do I have customer loyalty to Verizon? No. No love for, or hate for, Big Red. And thinking about it, Verizon provides a LOT of options. I have the ability to run on ANY OF THE operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackbery, Win Mobile. The downside: my phone is a brick outside of North America. The reliance on CDMA is a shortcoming, but ONLY if you are going to be outside of North America. For a week next year, it will be an issue, but up to this point, it has NEVER been an issue for me.

But if Verizon better than AT&T? I don't know. I haven't used AT&T in a long time. Is it better than Sprint? No idea.

 

[Ronnie-]

Ive had both verizon and ATT in the past two or three years (along with CS), and Alltell before that. Plus several companies that dont exist anymore. We had the first cell phones in the area with our company. I remember that we used to have to call ahead and have them actually turn the tower on for the area you were going to as they didnt leave them active all the time.

In my experience, Verizon was superior to ATT in most ways in this area. ATT had good coverage along the major highways, but get off of those and you suffered. Verizon picked up better in many more rural areas.

As far as phones go, they were comparable at the time I had them. ATT might have been slightly ahead then.

 

[JAG72]

Here is my listing for best providers in my neck of the woods. Know that every area is different.

1) AT&T
2) Verizon
3) Sprint (distant 3rd)
4) T-Mobile (almost on par with Sprint)

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Ive had both verizon and ATT in the past two or three years (along with CS), and Alltell before that. Plus several companies that dont exist anymore. We had the first cell phones in the area with our company. I remember that we used to have to call ahead and have them actually turn the tower on for the area you were going to as they didnt leave them active all the time.

In my experience, Verizon was superior to ATT in most ways in this area. ATT had good coverage along the major highways, but get off of those and you suffered. Verizon picked up better in many more rural areas.

As far as phones go, they were comparable at the time I had them. ATT might have been slightly ahead then.

One of my best friends in upstate NY is a true-blood Apple fan, and really wanted an iPhone, but he drives 80 miles to work each way, and AT&T's coverage -- even on an interstate highway - is horrible. He got a Droid X, and loves it. (His wife, who does not have that commute, got a VZW iPhone the second it came out).

 

[JAG72]

It looks like Verizon might just be your best bet for your area because of coverage. I am happy because both AT&T and Verizon are very close here. It gives a few more options when looking at phones and plans.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

It looks like Verizon might just be your best bet for your area because of coverage. I am happy because both AT&T and Verizon are very close here. It gives a few more options when looking at phones and plans.

I actually don't know how good the AT&T or Spring coverage is here in Central Illinois. Haven't had a reason to find out. I do know that Sprint has a 4G network in Bloomington-Normal, but Verizon is still just on 3G here. I do know there are a ton of iPhones around here, so I suspect that AT&T is not terrible. And we are on the I-55 Chicago to St. Louis corridor, so its likely their coverage is decent here.

 

[stogie5150]

In South Louisiana I have had all four: Verizon from 1999-2010, Sprint From April 2010-April 2011, and AT&T From April 2011 to now. Now not counting Data, just because i didnt have it with verizon, my order is as follows:

Voice: Tied Verizon/Sprint. Both worked anywhere I went in South LA/Southern MS. From the woods of Amite to the woods of Wiggins, I was never without coverage.
AT&T, not really having it long enough to make a real accurate report, but the three months I have had it I have dropped more calls than all the time I was with Verizon AND Sprint COMBINED.

Data: Having never had Verizon Data, all I can speak of is Sprint and AT&T. And my experience is, there's a reason why Sprint's data is unlimited: You'll be gray waiting on it. Its impossible to USE more than a gig or so a month unless you stream 24/7. Best speed I ever got on my Evo was just over 1mbps. AT&T, OTOH, smokes. 3mbps/second is common, ANY time of the day.

T-mobile...well...I use them for prepaid for my Mom. Enough said about that. Nothing to write home about. It does work. Most of the time.

And your comment about CS, well, I haven't had any decent CS since the early 2000's when ONE person took care of me at the Verizon store. ANY time I needed to call ANY of the providers, including AT&T, they suck. I currently am developing a pretty good relationship with a person in the AT&T store, she has been most helpful, so far. Its been three months since I applied for my corporate FAN discount and I still don't have it, though. And she has promised me every time I will on the next bill. She did make sure I got a credit for the missed months so far, but she has been unable to get it applied to my account as of yet.

Good luck.

 

[Ramy]

Where I live Verizon is tops for coverage by far. Then At&t comes in second with Sprint a distant 3rd.

 

[Ramy]

The downside: my phone is a brick outside of North America. The reliance on CDMA is a shortcoming, but ONLY if you are going to be outside of North America. For a week next year, it will be an issue, but up to this point, it has NEVER been an issue for me.

Even on their 4G network? Won't LTE be everywhere in the world?

 

[mdram]

verizon in my area
although i have never had an issue when traveling
even up in maine when no other carrier got a signal, the vzw phones still worked

but since they no longer have unlimited data for new smartphones thats a downside

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Even on their 4G network? Won't LTE be everywhere in the world?

No idea.

 

[diogen]

Won't LTE be everywhere in the world?

As a technology - most likely.
But just like GSM, can use different freq bands in different countries

The LTE standard can be used with many different frequency bands. There are planned 700 and 1700 MHz in North America;
900, 1800, 2600 MHz in Europe; 1800 and 2600 MHz in Asia; 1700 MHz in Australia...

3GPP Long Term Evolution - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Building a world LTE phone will be the same as building a GSM world phone (no CDMA)...

Diogen.