General

[Z50]

I don't have a land line; I've been using a phone card at what is essentially a pay phone on the college campus. I find my self in Wisconsin, Maine, and everywhere in-between so US Cellular is out due to their coverage. Sprint/Nextel seems to have spotty coverage and it ends at my town in Maine and I doubt that the coverage map is accurate, they are out too. Cingular charges more for the phone and limits the nights/weekends The pay as you go phones seem to cost about the same in the end due to the way the price structure is set up, the advantage is that you can ditch the company is a lot less time.

My choices are Verizon with 450mins a month at $40 or T-Mobil with 5 free people and 300mins or 600mins without for the same price. The only advantage of Verizon seems to be a slightly better coverage area.

I had a 460 minute phone card and it has lasted me for a year and a half so I don't think I am going to be using a ton of minutes. The reason I am leaning towards T-Mobil is their 5 person plan, I don't call 3 people let alone 5, I could put the Chinese delivery guy on one of them and save money.

I guess what I am looking for is experience with the service of T-Mobil/Verizon. I have heard stories of questionable service from Verizon but I have not heard anything at all about T-Mobil.

[Chappy]

Originally Posted by Z50

I guess what I am looking for is experience with the service of T-Mobil/Verizon. I have heard stories of questionable service from Verizon but I have not heard anything at all about T-Mobil.

I've been using verizon for about 4 years without any real issues. Coverage is good, and gets better all the time. Rarely lose calls or get clarity issues. The few times I've had to deal with customer service havn't been problematic.

I've never used t-mobile, I do know there coverage in my area isn't as good. In fact I'd say based on anecdotal evidence(fwiw) that verizon's coverage is the best in my area.

I'm in NW New Jersey, btw. Hope this helps, good luck.

[Azzy]

Ive had nothing but good coverage with verizon, and crappy experiances with friends and family who have had sprint, t mobile and cingular. Verizon has the largest amount of towers, and the others rent space from them in areas where they cant put up more towers.

Biggest issue with verizon is their want to toss out any menus and options in the phone, give it an *** ugly verizon setup.

[Jaan]

I've had Verizon for a little over 2 years and I've been very happy with them. Good coverage and no problems with customer service.

They can give you some good deals too if you do a little research. I'm on a family plan with my parents and they gave me a deal because of where my Father works. Sometimes you get deals for having AAA etc. They do have in-calling, so calls to Verizon customers are free. Of course, calls during nights and weekends are also free, and depending on the plan long distance calls are free too.

As long as you're a bit disciplined you shouldn't have any problems going over your minutes. As a guy, all my calls to guy friends usually take no more than 2 minutes lol.

[Schmitti]

Year 3+ with Verizon and no problems... coverage pretty much takes me all the way up into Canada... I've only gone as far as Lake Placid and Burlington with it.... only losses were the valleys/sides of mountains in the Adirondaks and a few other places.... oh and areas with no view of the horizon and lots of pine trees... figure that one out.

Otherwise I like my verizon phone and plan.

E

[Goat]

I travel nationwide and dont have much negative to say about Alltell, Not only do I get the Alltell network but they piggyback all the Verizon networks for free.
My phone has worked in some pretty desolate places, from Keywest to Niagra Falls and lots of places in between....Cant remember the last time I roamed.

[melkson]

i've been with t-mobile for a while now, and am REALLY happy with them. Pretty much the lowest rates, coverage maps that are down to a street address, great customer support. And i've heard of alot of other carriers doing some pretty shady things like adding fees without telling the customer first, or requiring the customer buy a new handset and renew contract or cancel service and pay ternination penalty.

also, there is NO roaming fees with t-mobile. Anywhere i've gone it's worked, and when I was roaming, I wasn't charged a cent extra.

[Titus]

I use T-Mobile. I dislike them. Plus I got no bars on the top of Mt.Washington

But I dislike how you can't block text messages and no matter what they cost you money. I've had them for over 3 years now and I'm tired of the bill and the lack of service they give me.

[paintslinger16]

Verizon is my family plan, 4 on my plan and both parents and most of the relation are on Verizon which is my point. Who ever you talk to most (cell to cell) are free calls on the in plan.
Most of the major cell carriers have some sort of plan like that, I would check with who you talk to most and unless they are switching plans go with what they have.

[Hobbes]

I've been using Cingular for a few months and it works really well here in RI and seems to work well in Mass as well. Also I think it has the most flexible payment options and all the plans have rollover minutes.