Keeping It Simple :D

[Jackliz]

Howdy, Y'all.
We are going to drop our landline in a couple of months. We want to be able to get our email, pay some bills on the web and access some web sites. We are looking for a KISS method to accomplish those goals. We need a cell phone and a cell phone plan.  We are favoring Verizon.  There are new plans, new equipment and it is ALL very confusing.  ???  ???
Jack and I are open to ideas, and suggestions. Please help.

Regards,
Liz

 

[BernieD]

Liz

There is an excellent Yahoo Group at: [email protected]  They have tutorials and equipment recommendations for Verizon and Sprint, and Cingular was recently added. The choice of carrier is determined by digital coverage where you will be using the equipment the most. Once that choice is made setting up the phone to feed your computer can be fairly straightforward IF you follow the tutorial instructions very carefully. None of the carriers fully support or understand the phone usage and you are best not asking them for help or suggestions.

 

[Jackliz]

Liz

There is an excellent Yahoo Group at: [email protected]  They have tutorials and equipment recommendations for Verizon and Sprint, and Cingular was recently added. The choice of carrier is determined by digital coverage where you will be using the equipment the most.

Howdy, Bernie.
Thanks for the reply. I am familiar with that group.  Whose cell service do you use? Which phone?

Regards,
Liz

 

[BernieD]

Howdy, Bernie.
Thanks for the reply. I am familiar with that group.  Whose cell service do you use? Which phone?

Regards,
Liz

Liz

I use Sprint PCS and have a Sanyo 4900 phone. Sprint has served me well over the last 7 years and I have had digital service the equal of Verizon for the last 2-3 years. I am very happy with it, but you have to make sure Sprint serves the areas that you you be in the most. I also like the Sanyo phones, they have excellent quality, good sound and features.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You are fortunate in that all the carriers have good service in southeast Florida.  Generally speaking, I think Verizon has the edge in coverage in the East, but you probaly can't go too far wrong with any of them where you are located.

Verizon also has the edge in high speed internet access everywhere in the US and it will still be a year or two before Cingular catches up.  Bernie is happy with his Sprint data service too, but Sprint has fallen behind on high speed data and is only now expanding its network for higher speeds. 

All this is just my opinion, of course.

 

[Phil]

We need a cell phone and a cell phone plan.  We are favoring Verizon.

Liz,

I use Verizon America Choice plan and I love it out here in the west.  I don't know what the coverage is in the east.  Just make sure that they have the Mobile Office connect package for whatever phone you get.  I use a Motorola cell phone. 

Phil

 

[BernieD]

Verizon also has the edge in high speed internet access everywhere in the US and it will still be a year or two before Cingular catches up.  Bernie is happy with his Sprint data service too, but Sprint has fallen behind on high speed data and is only now expanding its network for higher speeds. 

Gary

I don't understand where from you get your information that Verizon "has the edge in high speed internet access everywhere in the US." Verizon now has EVDO high speed service available in maybe 20 metro markets. The EVDO service is not usable outside those markets. It's 1XRTT service available in the rest of the US is approximately equivalent to what Sprint offers, there are areas where Verizon has better coverage and areas where Sprint has better coverage. Sprint is indicating that it will  be able to offer EVDO equivalent service nationally when it rolls out it's high speed service next year, not just limited markets.

As I have said, the carrier decision right now is still subject to coverage where the user will be most, and I think that there are still many areas in the US where Sprint is better than Verizon, just as Verizon is better in others.

 

[Jim Dick]

Hi Bernie,

In our travels this year across the US we had Verizon's express net service in over 80% of the area. The worst was the CA/OR coastline when we traveled the 101. There are other occasional pockets of non digital access but they are minimal compared to the overall area. Now if you want to travel into the hinterlands I doubt you will have good service from any carrier. ;D

 

[BernieD]

Hi Bernie,

In our travels this year across the US we had Verizon's express net service in over 80% of the area. The worst was the CA/OR coastline when we traveled the 101. There are other occasional pockets of non digital access but they are minimal compared to the overall area. Now if you want to travel into the hinterlands I doubt you will have good service from any carrier. ;D

Jim

I am in full agreement with you. I have had similar results with Sprint. Yes, you get reception where I don't, but I also get reception where you won't. I traveled with a Verizon user last summer and we each had about the same amount of time on and off our respective networks, tho I seemed to have better internet service. Because my plan doesn't cover roaming, I don't use my phone in areas where Verizon has roaming coverage so a lot of people claim Verizons's coverage is better, but I see that Sprint has just come out with a no roaming charge plan, so that may change. I do get better internet coverage because Sprint doesn't charge minutes so I have 24/7 unlimited internet access, while Verizon charges minutes per your plan, and only no minute charge on nites and weekends.

 

[Jim Dick]

Bernie,

This is another mine is as good as yours. ;D ;D Having been in the Telco business for 32 years we all feel we have the best. It all boils down to what is good for our situation. I think, now remember it's what I think, that Verizon has done a great job covering the majority of the places we visit. Sprint may have done as well in most cases but I don't have their service so I can't tell. My comments are based on my experience and without having you along side I just don't know.

Where are you headed next????? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[Alaskansnowbirds]

Howdy, Bernie.
Thanks for the reply. I am familiar with that group.? Whose cell service do you use? Which phone?

Regards,
Liz

Liz,

Verizon and Sprint are very close to being the same. But another thing to consider is what service does the people that you talk to the most have. Peg and I went with Verizon because two of the kids are on Verizon and a lot of Framily are on Verizon. All the calls we make Verizon to Verizon are free. We went with the Motorola V265 phones and have been happy with them.

 

[Pat]

Alaskansnowbirds:  GOOD point.  It's getting so the thing that distinguishes one service from another is the in-network calling plan.  We are all Verizon to avoid any minutes charges. 

Verizon has recently upgraded their packages with no roaming, because they have 90% of the area covered, so they just drop the roaming.  My brother and sister-in-law were up by Roosevelt Lake here in AZ, and friends with non-Verizon service got plenty of bars and great reception, while Verizon had spotty to nothing.  Surprising, if they're all using each other's towers.  i wonder if a network providing tower access to another network is able to distinguish between users and provide poor reception on a selective basis. 

--pat

 

[Ned]

Not all carriers have interchange agreements and not all cellular systems are compatible with one another.  You didn't say what carrier the friends use but if it were a TDMA carrier (like Cingular) then the Verizon phones wouldn't see the tower signal at all as Verizon is CDMA.  Same if the other carrier were GSM (again Cingular) or Nextel (radio, not really cellular).  Even if the systems were compatible, the phone won't connect to the tower if Verizon doesn't have an agreement with the other carrier.  There is a list in the phone that tells it what carriers in each area are usable.

 

[BernieD]

This is another mine is as good as yours. ;D ;D Having been in the Telco business for 32 years we all feel we have the best. It all boils down to what is good for our situation. ...

Where are you headed next????? ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Jim

You are right and I've been trying hard to have Liz compare coverage and other components of the plans for both Verizon and Sprint.
I haven't said mine is better, just different. Unfortunately, all the Verizon users on this site overwhelm us few Sprint users ;D ;D

We're kind of stuck around the house for another couple of months until we have a family affair near LA in mid-July. Then we are gone for the rest of the summer, heading toward Minot for the FMCA convention. Will probably circle round back NW for the rest of the summer returning home the end of September. LA and Minot are the only 2 definites.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I don't understand where from you get your information that Verizon "has the edge in high speed internet access everywhere in the US." Verizon now has EVDO high speed service available in maybe 20 metro markets. The EVDO service is not usable outside those markets. It's 1XRTT service available in the rest of the US is approximately equivalent to what Sprint offers, there are areas where Verizon has better coverage and areas where Sprint has better coverage. Sprint is indicating that it will  be able to offer EVDO equivalent service nationally when it rolls out it's high speed service next year, not just limited markets.

I'm not saying your is baby ugly, Bernie, but I think I gave a fair summary of the status quo. 

I think it is beyond question that Verizon 1XRTT high speed, available in over 270 cellular markets,  is FAR more widely available than Cingular's equivalent (GSM EDGE).  It is my opinion that Verizon's 1XRTT coverage is a bit broader than Sprint's, but I'll grant that Sprint's is also quite good.    As for EVDO broadband, Verizon has EVDO broadband now in 30 (not 20) markets whereas Sprint won't begin to roll it out until  next year. And Verizon is continuing to add to its EVDO coverage while Sprint gets going, so I think it's safe to say that Verizon will retain an advantage in this area for awhile. Cingular's equivalent of EVDO, known as UMTS, is barely on the horizon and is not yet a factor in ultra high speed internet access.  And T-Mobile data service is kind of a medium speed and won't get truly high until they change over to GSM/UMTS over the next couple years. 

I'm ignoring each company's wi-fi hot spots in all of this, since to include wi-fi would mean including dozens of non- voice competitors.

 

[Phil]

I haven't said mine is better, just different. Unfortunately, all the Verizon users on this site overwhelm us few Sprint users

Bernie,

it's only unfortunate if you are not a Verizon customer.  Verizon to Verizon calls are free. 

Phil

 

[BernieD]

it's only unfortunate if you are not a Verizon customer.  Verizon to Verizon calls are free. 

We have never gone over our minutes, we use the cell phone more for internet than anything else, so the "IN" network is irrelevant for us. On the other hand, we have free 23/7 internet access on Sprint while Verizon charges for minutes used during the day. 6 of one, half dozen of the other. You have to make your decision based on what rings your bell ;D ;D

 

[Bob Buchanan]

Hello Gary:

Any thoughts on how Nextel falls into the mix? The fellow that runs my help desk switched from Cingular recently because Nextel does not charge for incoming calls. However, he doesn't travel that much so coverage is not a concern. I looked at their coverage map and it appears theirs is only major cities plus highway corridors.

 

[Ron]

Hi Bob,

Nextel has some real advantages if you are in their market area and don't travel much.  We just got word from some friends that both their phone nbrs are now Cingular.  They have had ATT for some time then got a Verizon phone to compare services.  After Cingular took over they switched to the GSM program.  Apparently they had better luck with the Ciingular GSM service than they did with Verizon.  They did mention that internet connection was better on cingular.  Guess it really has to do with where you normally travel.  We still have the ATT/Cingular phone and don't plan to change in the near future.  Of course like you we don't depend on cell service to get on line. ;D

 

[Bob Buchanan]

Hi Ron:

? Of course like you we don't depend on cell service to get on line. ;D

Yes, using my cell for Internet is not a major concern. The only time that would enter into the mix is when the dish is down. My dilemma is that the spot I am parking in now in the Sacto (Penryn, CA - east of Roseville) has crappy Cingular reception. And what makes it worse, if a caller cannot get through to me, rather than going to voice mail, it sometimes puts out a message that my phone has been disconnected. That's not too cool if one is in business.

The reason I switched from ATT to Cingular was because of their rollover minutes. That is really a great new feature -- plus, their nights and weekends on my plan start at 7:00pm vs. 9:01 with most other carriers. I DID unfortunately, try going on the Internet one time with the phone connected to my laptop. At the end of the month, they sent a bill requesting on of my arms and one of my legs. :'(

I had this same reception problem while parked in Hemp stead, TX last year. At that time I was with ATT, but they used Cingular towers as well.

Anyway, I am in discussions with Cingular now. They have indicated that they will either put up a new tower in this area or waive the $150.00 cancellation fee on my service. BTW, Verizon has excellent coverage in this same area so that is the alternative I am leaning toward now. However, I really hate to have to give up 7:00PM nights and weekends and rollover minutes.

Oh well, I keep reminding myself that the secret of mental health is a realization that life is a matter of trade-offs. :-\