We have had Nextel service for almost the past 10 years, but Nextel is going away in June. In addition we have been becoming more dissatisfied with our coverage (I swear they are taking down towers to move us along!) So we need to think about switching.
I've heard horror stories about Sprint (even though they own Nextel and I have had some dealings with their customer service etc) so they are not even on my radar. Unless of course someone on here can really sell them...
Verizon's coverage maps seem to be better if we ever head west, but my mom has their service and says there are a lot of dead spots locally. A Verizon rep once told me to stay on Nextel until they kick me off because they are analog and a lower frequency so when you have a connection it is a better connection. (I assume than digital?)
AT&T would probably be my next choice. Their coverage maps seem good on the East coast and not as good in the west. Can't say we travel out of our area too much so I don't know if this should even be a consideration.
It appears that the standard fee for two regular (non-smart phones) with talk and text regardless of the carrier is about $100 a month. If I upgraded to a smartphone it would be an additional $30. (I've toyed with the idea but am too cheap to pay an additional $30 a month.)
My husband's employer does have a deal with Verizon and AT&T which the sales rep basically said would cover the taxes (whoopty doo although it is better than nothing!)
Now I come to you for your input because I swear some people have talked about prepaid plans on here that might be a better deal? Did someone say they had internet/e-mail access for $50 a month? If that's the case a prepaid plan might be the way to go.
So I'd love to hear your feedback as to which carrier you would recommend. Why do you like them? What don't you like? Which way should I go?
I've had Verizon for probably 10 years and love it. Never have problems with dead spots, and I've lived here in PIT for 3 years, in Omaha Nebraska and Chicago, and lots of travel in between and no trouble.
My big issue, and I think it applies to all carries, is the ridiculous costs, and every year they go up!
Talk to your friends and neighbors because you need to go with the company that has the best coverage in your area, that is what 's most important!
Where we live Verizon is better, I've never had any customer service issues with them. My bill is $130 a month for an iphone with unlimited data and a small texting plan and another phone(non-smartphone) with unlimited texting.
It really depends on where you are.
Sprint doesn't work where we live, and neither does AT&T. A friend of mine left Verizon and went to AT&T, but she has so many dropped calls that she wants back with Verizon, though she can't until her contract is up.
We are LIVID with Verizon. We have unlimited data and other usage and pay $213 a month for 3 phones. My husband needs a new phone, but we can't keep unlimited if we buy it from them...so we'll have to pay full-price for a phone elsewhere to keep unlimited data. Otherwise we pay more for less, and that's stupid. So the SHARE plans are horrible. And our local store is staffed with fools.
I have US Cellular and I wouldn't change for anything. I love the service and the coverage.
At&t all the way. They have great customer service, great coverage, and if you do go through your hubby's business At&t gives much better prices it doesn't just cover the tax, I only pay $25 per month extra for my smartphone due to that instead of $30 they give a $5 discount for the business plan and on my plan I pay $9.99 a month for the service making my bill about $37 dollars a month with tax. Now I am on the family plan, so the first iphone was much more but the 2nd and 3rd were cheap. I have never had a problem getting in touch with customer service and having them help me with any issues. HTH
We have had Sprint, just doesn't get the best coverage were we are and I was never impressed with their customer service.
Right now I have AT&T, great service where I live and great customer care. I've been with them for over 7 years and have no complaints. I also have an iphone. Mine is $115.00, unlimted talk and text, 2 gb data
My husband is with Verizon, again no real complaints other then the phone we got him was crappy so we are waiting to upgrade him. My husband is on a friends plan, it was cheaper that way and there are 4 phones. 2 smartphones and 2 traditional phones. There is unlimited text and talk, and 2 gb data and the total is $180.00
My kids all have Boost Mobile, they don't get the best service were we live since it's a co-company of Sprint, but every where they go it is great. They pay 50.00 but they have raised their smartphones to 60.00. They also have it to were if you pay on time for six months they knock off $5. If you're good about it your bill can get as low as $35 a month.
They are all great, i have no complaints and none of us have every gone over our data plan because just about every where has wifi. It's really just a matter of picking one and going with it.
ETA..................................
My DD works at a Verizon call center, and yes unlimited is gone or going away. We already gave it up cause there is no real need for unlimited. As I said, just about everywhere has wifi. That is also Verizon's thinking also. Another thing with Verizon is they are phasing out 'traditional' phones, will most carriers are, and pushing smartphones. My DD also says that have the store personal don't know what they are talking about, and that leaves her in the unfortunate position of dealing with all of the angry and pissed customers.
Really, your best bet is to hit up your friends/family in your immediate are and start asking them about their coverage/dropped calls. In general I think that the companies are pretty competitive (monopoly?) on a cost comparison. We had Verizon and the coverage was outstanding in our area. As you can see from some of the other responses, it wasn't so good in other parts of the country.
My husband and I have AT&T. We both have iPhones, and our bill is about $110/month.
We have tried Verizon, and we really wanted Verizon to work for us, because we liked their android phones, but their coverage absolutely sucks. I cannot tell you how many dropped calls we had. We actually ended up returning our phones and cancelling our service, and switching to AT&T.
I haven't had a single problem with AT&T. My only complaint about them is that calling them is a nightmare. Their customer service is OK, but their phone system is positively annoying. Their recordings and endless call transferring.... and half the time I get disconnected anyway... I'd rather get beat up then have to call them. But I'll take that over dropped calls any day.
We use U S Cellular and have been totally happy with them for years. We do have smart phones and will never go back to the other kind. For instance on a day like today where we were traveling I could keep looking up Intellicast and checking radar for tornado warnings in our driving route. We did pull over for a while to make sure one storm was out of the high way area too.
I think smart phones are the only way to be nowadays. I can instantly connect to FB and let someone know we have had car trouble and to come get us, I can go online and check my messages while the kids are in dance class or gymnastics, I can play a game or read a downloaded book. I enjoy my smart phone all the time.
We have the highest option on U S Cellular. We earn Believe points each month and after a few months we can get phones for free, discounts on other stuff, all kinds of perks.
I got my Samsung Mesmerize for $99, it was buy one get one free. So we got 2 Samsung Mesmerize's for that price and there was also a $100 rebate on the phone. So they basically paid me a dollar to take their 2 smart phones. They have deals like this all the time and especially at Valentines Day and Christmas.
I just posted to your other question about pay as you go carriers. I said I don't use my phone for web but I forgot to say that you totally CAN with Tracfone - I just don't. I know I can on the phone I have and Tracfone does have Smartphones too. Anyway - I love Tracfone and won't ever go back:) Good luck on your search!!
I have AT&T and I just paid my bill today for the two of us....$119. I have a Droid with a data plan, my daughter has an iPhone with whatever she needs, 700 minutes (plus mobile to mobile and whatever that is) and unlimited texting. I have my personal e-mails dumped into mine. I don't remember the last time I dropped a call and I cover some pretty rural areas in CA. I also have a BlackBerry with Verizon for work and the service seems the same (I don't even receive that bill).
