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hey everybody:

just curious as to what cell phone providers people are using, and how many company's are in you area/country. I have Verizon Wireless, which uses the CDMA technology, the frequencies are 900/1800, and I use a Samsung SCH A930 phone.

Wireless Providers in my area:

Verizon Wireless: US Nationwide
Cingular Wireless: US Nationwide
T-Mobile: US Nationwide only in metropolitan areas
CincinnatiBell: Cincinnati Only
cricket wireless: Dayton Only
AT&T: really Cingulars Network
Sprint/Nextell: US Nationwide
Helio: Low cost division on Sprint/Nextell Inc.
Amp'D: division of some company, cant remember which one

...AMD

Nextel is what my business uses; I use my business phone for personal calls. About the only cool thing about Nextel, though, is their free Direct Connect. But their service sucks.

Cingular, works alright here. Rural enough there aren't dropped calls unless I drive into a valley. It used to be rural enough noplace had signal, but they've put up a few more towers.

yeah, i was considering Cingular myself, but Verizons V Cast service is what won me over. Plus I've been using them since 1997, when they were previously GreenLake Airtouch Communications. I get great service everywhere I go. I even flew to Orlando Florida last year, and we had to make a detour from some reason, and the pilot said we were only a short distance from the carribean islands, and i looked at my phone, and still had 2/3 reception bars! plus, i dont know for positive, but ive heard others complain about Cingulars poor customer service and constantly droppping calls.

...AMD

I know that all networks have their strengths and their weaknesses, heck, even verizon doesn't have coverage in a few areas, not many, but ive only ran out of service once, and that was in Colorado for about 30 minutes, then it reconnected, im saying this because im reading a review on mobiledia, where they are comparing networks, and some ppl are getting very nasty about the whole thing. what do you prefer, CDMA or GSM, i personally prefer CDMA, b/c its seems more reliable, b/c a friend has Cingular, with GSM, and he never has service, and when i say never, i mean 3/4 times, he cant make or receive calls, but maybe its just my area, and just Cingulars sucky service.

...AMD

Cricket is also here in Utah and ID
If you live on the west coast besides CA and Nevada you can get Qwest wireless
I have T-Mobile

ahh, i only thought Cricket was in Dayton/Springfield area, my mistake.

...AMD

I currently use a provider called Rogers for cell phone because they had a great deal on when I signed up for the 3 year contract.

I use t-mobile...but wouldn't recommend them.

sheesh! three years? I can barely stand being in a Verizon Contract for two, just for the simple reason that new phones come out just about every year, and they are all more advanced. what network does Rogers work on, GSM or CDMA?

...AMD

why wouldnt you reccomemnd T-Mobile, year after year, they're right up there in the running with Verizon with service, reliability, etc, based on JD Powers data.

...AMD

I love my T-mobile services never had any real problems. But I will be changing my services soon to Qwest because employees get a 20% discount on all all plans and phones.

Steven

Bad coverage. Only get coverage in about 50% of places i go. I also get alot of dropped calls. Also they charge ridiculous amounts for me to use internet on my blackberry (about $25 a month) compared to the $5 a month the charge for almost any other phones.

ohh, i guess they never really discussed coverage in thier reviews. Maybe its b/c of the GSM network, b/c ive heard others with a GSM network dont have the best coverage or service.

...AMD

Yeh..I went with gsm so i could have a wider option of phones...Because with gsm you can unlock phones and use them with other gsm companies.

I live a little NW of Atlanta. I have been using Cingular for years. Have very few dropped calls. And I can go just about anywhere and still have a good signal.

I also have a Nextel phone that is provided from work to me. It sucks, the coverage is really horrible in this area. Drops calls all the time.

as you can see from all the comments, cell phone provider service and coverage
varies greatly. I've had three and they all have pros/cons.

I highly recommend you prioritize your needs, research the technologies,
and then get the phone/provider that meet those needs.

Roaming can be a big issue just crossing county boundaries (USA / domestic).
Having just returned from a European visit, I can tell you that all domestic providers
are monopolistic! Roaming is trival in Europe.

With roaming, the coverage area is another issue. Not all technologies have
the save coverage even under the same provider. My TDMA phone/provider
was a real winner -- worked everywhere I went (AT&T). My new GSM was
forced upon me by new fees to continue using the TDMA -- gee thanks Cingular

Don't get suckered by a cheap plan that works only in your backyard!
Cheap plans are like the low interest rate home mortgage -- You'll be sorry later with a contract and poor service.

Rogers uses GSM

I currently have Verizon Wireless...

• PROS:
  
  • service area/coverage is good
  • nice phones
  • calling plans are priced fair (when new contract is signed)
  • most add-on services are priced fair (depending on phone model)
• CONS:
  
  • limited selection of phones
  • different rates charged based on phone model
    • PDA phone users have to pay higher add-on service rates/fees
  • originally full-featured phones are crippled by Verizon
    • certain phones are made with the ability to choose your internet server, pix/flix server, USB file transfer, bluetooth file transfer (OBEX), non-Verizon ring tones, etc.
    • they disable these features to force customers to pay for their "get-it-now" services to perform simple tasks that would otherwise be free
    • fortunately, many Verizon phones can be "hacked" to re-enable most of the features that Verizon disabled from it.

Verizon seems great when you first sign up for it, then once you're locked in a contract you find all the hidden fees and alternate charges that they "nickel-and-dime" you to death with once you want to something other than make a phone call.

I recently bought a XV6700 PDA phone. it really is an amazing phone. I was looking forward to being able to browse the [i]real[/] internet with windows pocket IE (as opposed to regular phone web browsers). when I called to activate it, the saleswoman asks if I want unlimited internet on it, I asked how much it cost... her reply shocked me, PDA-phone users get charged not by the minute, but by the KB (which is $.015/KB). to avoid paying the expensive per/KB rate, they charge $45/month for unlimited data usage :eek: I wanted the internet anywhere I go, but not for an additional $45/month (Sprint charges only $15/month for the same unlimited data).

They charge you for data for messaging too. even if you pay for unlimited pix/flix messaging, they will still charge you $.015/KB for the size of the file itself (which adds up very fast). needless to say I am unhappy with the extreme greediness of verizon Wireless, once my contract runs out, I'll be switching to sprint for now I just use wi-fi internet wherever I can get it.

-PREVIOUS PHONES / CARRIERS:

I had Nextel about 1½ years ago. I loved the direct connect and they had really nice phones, but the service was awful. endless dropped calls.

before Nextel I had Cellular One (about 5-6 years ago?) (CellOne later became Cingular wireless). They were good from what I can remember, but at the time I wanted Nextel's direct connect.

what is Nextel Direct Connect? I've read other reviews where ppl were commenting on it, but i never actually knew what it was. Im happy with VZWs service, although they are a tad on the expensive side.

...AMD

direct connect is the walking talkie feeture on there phones

Steven