[Novalug] (OT) new cell phone service

Richard Ertel richard.ertel@gmail.com
Thu Oct 21 08:28:54 EDT 2010


I'm also very curious what Lile's suffering with Verizon is all about,
I've been using Verizon for the past 6 years (and my partner has been
w/ them for the past decade plus) and we're both pretty happy with
coverage and service.  I have friends on the other 3 carriers and
judging from their experiences and mine, I'd (personally) rank the big
4 as such:

Verizon > Sprint > T-Mobile > AT&T

That being said, no company can please everyone.  It's guaranteed that
some people will have a bad experience with Verizon (or any other
carrier) that would sour them for good.

My advice would be to stay with Verizon or jump to Sprint. My friends
on Sprint seem satisfied with their service, more so than my friends
on AT&T and the same friends when they used to be on T-Mobile.


On Thu, Oct 21, 2010 at 07:23, greg pryzby <greg@pryzby.org> wrote:
> Weird. I have had AT&T since 1998 and overall very happy. New York is
> the only place I have had some issues, but not many. 2+ years w/
> iPhone (either wife or me). I hear lots of bad things about AT&T but
> customer service, signal, etc haven't been an issue for 12 years. No
> idea why.
>
> TMobile has the 'best prices' but no idea of the coverage.
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 21, 2010 at 12:42 AM, John Franklin <franklin@elfie.org> wrote:
>> I wish there were some way to get statistics on dropped calls and calls that fail to setup.  The only data i can find online is from surveys of people being asked "how often do you experience dropped calls?"  (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/apple/changewave-at-t-dropped-call-rate-worsens-to-58/7867)
>>
>> The carriers must measure such things, even if they never publish the results.  Which they should.
>>
>> jf
>>
>> On Oct 20, 2010, at 10:06 PM, Valdis Grinbergs wrote:
>>> My experience with AT&T is the same.  My wife and I are both on AT&T
>>> and, almost every day, one of calls between us goes straight to voice
>>> mail with "no missed calls."  We are looking to switch.  Thanks for the
>>> round up.
>>>
>>> On Wed, 2010-10-20 at 19:10 -0400, John Franklin wrote:
>>>> My understanding of the mobile market is:
>>>>
>>>> All 4 Carriers:
>>>>      Good coverage in major cities and most interstates.
>>>>      Each has holes somewhere, even in the cities. (Invite friends over for a mobile (Un)plug Fest to see if you home is in one of them.)
>>>>
>>>> Sprint:
>>>>      Good rates, 4G data (WiMax), decent customer service
>>>>      Push-To-Talk
>>>>      CDMA (can't move phones to other carriers, or use them when traveling abroad with a local PAYG* SIM).
>>>>
>>>> T-Mobile:
>>>>      GSM - UTMS AWS (1700/2100 band)
>>>>      Less rural coverage, but reasonable data speeds.
>>>>      Offer non-contract discounts.
>>>>      ISTR also offers payment plans for new phones.
>>>>      Can (with unlock code) use the phone overseas with a local PAYG SIM.
>>>>      IPhones can only use EDGE network.
>>>>              (I swear my friend's 2G iPhone is faster on T-Mobile than my 2G iPhone on AT&T.  Could be he doesn't have as much installed on his.)
>>>>      (I'm hoping the iPhone becomes available on T-Mobile soon.)
>>>>
>>>> AT&T:
>>>>      GSM - UTMS 850 & 1900 bands
>>>>      Overloaded data network from too many iPhones.
>>>>      Lousy customer service.
>>>>      Expensive rates.
>>>>      Can (with unlock code) use the phone overseas with a local PAYG SIM.
>>>>      I've got AT&T and I have calls frequently fail to connect, results in a voicemail with no "missed call".
>>>>
>>>> Verizon:
>>>>      CDMA, but transitioning to LTE (read: GSM 4G)
>>>>      Expensive & lousy customer service.
>>>>      Coverage in more cow fields and on more ski lifts than the others.
>>>>      Higher density of towers.
>>>>      Still the only one in the Metro tunnels, but other carriers are building out their networks down there.
>>>>
>>>> VirginMobile:
>>>>      Resells Sprint.
>>>>      Most reasonable PAYG data in the US.  ($10/100MB good for 10 days)
>>>>
>>>> Cricket:
>>>>      Resells Sprint.
>>>>
>>>> Clear:
>>>>      4G (WiMax) Mobile data only.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I wish there was a good Wiki to put this on.  Anyone care to add edits to this list?
>>>>
>>>> jf
>>>>
>>>> * PAYG = Pay As You Go -- an excellent solution for tourist telephony.
>>>>
>>>> On Oct 20, 2010, at 3:18 PM, Jeremy Bicha wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> What do you mean by "suffering"? Is it the cost, is it not getting enough bars, is it poor customer service?
>>>>>
>>>>> Since there are 4 major nationwide cellular providers in the US (and a handful of regional providers), you're sure to get recommendations for all 4.
>>>>>
>>>>> Personally, I use T-Mobile because they offer a discount (Even More Plus) if you already own your cell phone (unfortunately, Verizon phones are incompatible with T-Mobile) and if you have your own phone, service is on a month-to-month basis, no 2-year contract for me!
>>>>>
>>>>> Jeremy Bicha
>>>>>
>>>>> On Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 2:20 PM, Lile Murphree <elmurphree@verizon.net> wrote:
>>>>> List,
>>>>>
>>>>> I have suffered for two years with Verizon as the service provider for my cell phone and my current plan mercifully terminates on Oct. 24.
>>>>>
>>>>> Does anyone have a recommendation for a new service provider? Or any that I should stay away from? I live in Oakton, VA.
>>>>>
>>>>> TIA,
>>>>>
>>>>> Lile
>>>>>
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