If you use Cingular and have not been screwed yet, you will be soon

[cd34]

last September or so, Cingular started shutting down the AT&T TMDA towers that overlapped their Cingular towers. The problem around here was that there were too many people for the number of towers they had left. Switching to Cingular's GSM service immediately fixed the problem.

It wasn't without its costs -- my monthly bill went up, I lost the unlimited SMS that I had, but, through some searching around, I was able to get a plan that costs me about $14/month more for the two phones that replicates what I had.

However, cellular networks in every area are different. I've had verizon and sprint in south florida and both were incredibly bad. In the three weeks that I tried those other two networks, I had more calls end up on voicemail than I had missed in a number of years due to the call never making it to my phone. TMobile down here also runs a GSM network that is fairly robust.

In Maryland, I had Bell Atlantic Mobile (later Verizon) and AT&T, and the call quality was about the same -- AT&T at the time had a plan that fit my needs.

Figure out what plan works, go down there and get a GSM phone. You have 30 days to return it if it doesn't work for you. You can do this with each network. Run around town, go about your normal business, make calls from it to make sure you get the best coverage you can. And make sure you get back a few days before that 30 day limit.

Verizon used to put their towers where demand dictated which gave them a less robust network. Cell One/McCaw Cellular used a company in DC that took the topographical maps, building height maps from the FAA, and determined what would be the optimal placement for cell antennas so that they could put the fewest towers up. Additionally, they added 80' to their antenna height which gave them a larger footprint. Coverage on Cell One versus Bell Atlantic Mobile was like night and day with BAMS having incredible call clarity.... until Cell One went digital.

Its all very environmental and depends on the strategy used by the local carrier when they put up the towers. Best advice, find local people in your area and find out what they are happiest with. Asking for data from people not in your calling area (short of plans and customer service experience) probably won't answer the questions you have.

[docholly]

Originally Posted by cd34

Best advice, find local people in your area and find out what they are happiest with. Asking for data from people not in your calling area (short of plans and customer service experience) probably won't answer the questions you have.

The main problem I have is that I'll be traveling about 2.5 weeks out of the month. When traveling internationally, I'll have a world phone that can beam off the satellilte but domestically i need something that everyone can use and still talk to each other whether in NYC, Vegas, Seattle, Atlanta or South Florida. Since most plans are bascially the same give or take a few features, what i'm really looking for is if ONE in particular stands out in service.

Sprint is terrible both in-store and on the phone. Going to the Sprint store is like 1 step up from the Drive-thru. And the CSRs on the phone are even less helpful as every other line out of their mouth is "but if you renew your contract for 2 more years" instead of answering the questions.

T-Mobile and Cingular were my at the top of my list until I read this thread, now I'm back to square 1 in trying to do this. I was with AT&T since the days of mobile phones were in a carry box but when I moved back to Vegas they really had very spotty service being pushed out by Sprint.

Thanks for the back story, Sparky, it really helps in knowing what i'm going into with this. If it was just me I would just go with anyone but I have like 2 other people on my service and about 8 to think of when considering who to go with. Right now with everyone on sprint, there are no extra charges.