Cingular vs. Sprint

[j41driver]

I currently have SprintPCS and am considering switching to Cingular Wireless. I live in the Cincinnati area but I fly imostly in the northeast. Does anyone have experience with Cingular in these areas? Coverage problems? How does customer service treat problems? Etc, etc. Any and all comments welcome. Thanks.

 

[Full of LUV]

I have used over 4 carriers in the past 5 yrs and no one has comared even close to Nextel for lack of dropped calls and clear phone calls. Never roaming charges and no long distance fees. I've used them successfully from Maui to Anchorage to Brunswick (maine) and Key West. Live in San Diego. A tad more expensive than the 3billion minute for 29.99 POS companies that only work from certain reststops along the NJ turnpike. No not just sprint. Anyway, I am no way connected to Nextel and have no stake or stock in the company, have just been very impressed with their service compared to the other 3 "national" carriers i have tried.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

dont ever consider Nextel if you live in the Northeast, or at least anywhere outside of 20miles from NYC...
Verizon seems the best to me.
SOmeone I know uses Cingular and has good luck, I think he can even use it in Bermuda.
In my opinion Nextel is the worst..
but hey thats just my opinion...!!

 

[PTWOB]

Verizon

I have to agree. Here in the northeast, Verizon is great!

 

[Chunk]

I've been happy with AT&T Wireless....which suprises me. I expected not to be happy with their service, but they've been great! Now, if I can talk them into rolling over my minutes like cingular....

 

[JetPilot500]

For every argument against a company you will find one for that company.

My experiences:

AT&T: I had them for 1 month and dropped them. The calls were very unclear. Some cites had good coverage, others were terrible. Sounded a lot like you were underwater. I later found out that the underwater sound is due to an older technology digital system called TDMA which is what AT&T uses throughout their network.

Sprint: Sprint has its good points and bad points too. Their pricing is reasonable, and their call quality is very good. They have packages that can suite anyone. They use the newer technology digital system called CDMA. I have the most dropped calls with sprint and that can be frustrating. But I'd almost rather have my call dropped, than it cutting in and out and saying for 5 minutes, "Can you hear me now?" I probally would've stuck with Sprint if my company didn't give me a phone with a different service for Free.

Verizon: My company gave me a Verizon phone so I now have a Verizon phone! Overall, pretty impressed. Since my company gave me the phone, I have no idea what the pricing is like, but if it is close to Sprint, I'd probally go with Verizon. They use the better CDMA technology like Sprint. Still get dropped calls occasionally, but not terrible. Call quality is good. Better coverage in rural areas, since they allow you to roam on other networks.

Overall: No system is perfect so far. I would stay away from providers that use TDMA and find companies that use CDMA...you'll be much happier with the clarity of your calls and get a lot less underwater sounds. Then, find a company that the best coverage for the places you go. Most cities served by the airlines have Sprints network. But if you go to some real rural areas on occasion, Verizon may be better since you can use any other network for no additional fees. Also, get a MOTOROLA phone...much better quality than any of the others...the V60 is real nice.

JetPilot500

 

[chperplt]

I've had no problems with AT&T. I fly into some remote places in ME, VT, and NH, plus many big cities. Never have a problem with losing calls or clarity.

 

[jetdriven]

sprint has good call quality when you're not redialing. THey also charge you airtime to check your minute balance and charge you 2.00 to speak to a customer service rep (after working through the automated fake girl voice menu for 20 mins). most minutes for the money but the coverage areas out west and in the mountains is pretty sparse. The biggest gripe is they dont sell motorola phones anymore (but you can get them off ebay). All you can get in the stores is the LG and Samsung crap.

verizon has about 3X the coverage area, comparable minutes for the same money, and they sell motorola phones. Go with them IMHO. Im case you're wondering why I havent switched...I have a 2 yr old plan which the night minutes start at 8PM, its not available anywhere.

BOL

 

[00Dog]

Stay away from Cingular! I'm ready to pay the $150 to get out of my contract so I can sign on with Verizon. My phone hardly works anywhere.

 

[boscenter]

cingular...

I'll second staying away from Cingular. Service is spotty, particularly in the DC area.

Sprint is great... as long as you don't need customer service (there isn't any), you'll be fine...

 

[exeagle]

Sprint is ridiculous! It is normal for me to get voicemails a day later or not at all. I usually have to dial 2 or 3 times to connect and half the time it is scratchy. Maybe its my location but there is no way ill renew that contract.

 

[surfnole]

I had absolutely horrible experience with Cingular Customer Service. I finally ended up writing the VP of customer service to complain, and I eventually received some credit.

Trying to get my phone repaired took 5 trips to Radio Shack and 4 trips to the Cingular customer service center. Although the phone was under warranty, they both refused to repair it claiming it was the other's responsibility.

At times, the service center had an hour wait to see a technician. I can drop my car off at the garage in five minutes, but it takes an hour to see someone about my cell phone.

In the end, I bought a surplus phone from a friend and had that one programmed. There are tons of them for sale on EBAY. Cingular never fixed the problem. It was only after many conversations and emails with their customer service and a letter to their VP that I received some credit for the months of unused airtime.

 

[MoneyShot]

T-Mobile

I just switched from Sprint to T-mobile (formerly Voicestream). Why? Sprint had lousy calling plans and I was tired of being charged huge fees for roaming. I think I scored with T- mobile: 600 anytime minutes, unlimited weekend, a free phone, no charge to start the service. It was easy and I've got a boatload more minutes now. 39.99/month. I've used them all over Missouri, Illinois, Hawaii, California, Montana, Washingtion. Coverage has been as adevertised by their brochure. Glad I made the move.

One note if you are contemplating leaving sprint because you don't like their plans. Call them up and tell them you are terminating. When they ask you why, tell them it's because you don't like the plans. This lady made a huge offer that I would have taken had I known they would hook me up like. Good luck...

 

[TAFJonathan]

I use AT&T.

 

[desert pilot]

Have sprint with some small problems,the startac motorola seemed to be bad,once i got that tiny samsung-it works better.

 

[treetop flyer]

For what it's worth...

I currently use AT&T although I used to be with Verizon...


AT&T- I like my phone and I seem to have good coverage (unless I'm really out in the middle of nowhere). Customer support is decent (I'd say 6-7 out of 10). I've had some issues recently about mis-crediting my night/weekend minutes but aside from that I've been happy. Also, I just noticed that AT&T is now offering UNLIMITED anytime minutes on their new GSM network for $99/month. That's expensive, but if you talk a lot it may be worthwhile to investigate.



VERIZON- I had a LG phone which was OK at best. The sound quality was (in my opinion) weak and tinny and it had to be turned up all the way to hear anything (that's probably my ears though). Anyway, my biggest gripe was that my voice messages would arrive up to TWO days AFTER they were sent! That's a tough thing to live with and I ended up opting out of my plan for their phenomenal...uhhh...I mean NOMINAL fee

 

[TurboS7]

I have used Sprint the last few years, it is o.k. in the major cites but once you get outside the us you are sol.One of my crewmembers has t-mobile, the other day we were taxing out and the weather went below takeoff minimums at kef, he just called our dispatch from the airplane and we filed our takeoff alternate. Worked pretty good. He says that it works great all over the world.

 

[BoDEAN]

Nextel

I've had sprint, and a family member worked for Sprint, and let me tell you: Terrible!
I live in the MidWest, have Nextel, and love it. May be a little more than sprint, price wise, but you get what you pay for. Sprint, 1 in every 3 calls were dropped calls. Haven't had one in the last year with Nextel.