Regional Coverage?

[Raider]

I live in Omaha, NE and travel for my job through the states of Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Illinois and Kansas. I know that AT&T offer a regional plan but I am hesitant to lock into a new contract without being sure. I am just coming out of a 2 year contract with SPRINT PCS and am completely unsatisfied with the coverage and the service I have received from them. Is there something better out there than SPRINT or am I just expecting to much. Cost isn't much of an issue as long as I can get service when I need it...aka tons of dropped call/no service available. I cover a lot of back roads and am not always in major cities. I put about 750 minutes a month on the cell phone. PLEASE HELP!!!

[KevinJames]

Hey Raider! You must be my long-lost twin. (Finally, someone is using the same "picture" as I am!)

In my opinion anything is better than Sprint. Well, almost anything. ATT and Verizon are well-known as being the two best national-coverage carriers. However, both have areas they are still developing. I would recommend you visit each of the web-sites and take a look at the LOCAL coverage maps (regional and national just color in the whole state regardless of specific coverage). To do this, first find the zip codes for the major towns you will be visiting. Most every town has a "Main Street" and chances are there is a "100 Main" in that town. So use that as the "delivery address" on the USPS site:

http://www.usps.com/ncsc/lookups/lookup_zip+4.html

That will give you the zip codes. Next, visit the carrier sites:

http://www.attws.com/

http://www.verizonwireless.com/

Both sites have the option to change zip codes so that you can see the maps related to the cities you are interested in.

Do not be surprised to see small discrepancies in plan and phone prices for each region. This is common. Federal Regulations require that you start service using the price in your residence area. Some on-line vendors such as http://www._____________/ are permitted to sell throughout several states but if you decide to go that route, first inquire whether they are licensed to sell from you state.

Kevin

[CDMA]

Verizon and AT@T are definately good carriers. What about Cingular? They are definately just as good, in fact, unlike other carriers, their features like caller id, usually work while roaming in many areas. Exelent customer service. Digital roaming in many areas. For some reason Verizon does not program their new phones to select the digital carrier as the primary carrier while you are roaming. However, they will work on digital if anolog is not available. Sounds like you would definately benefit from an external antenna while you are on those back roads. Verizon and Cingular are the nations two largest carriers, many of which have been in developement since the mid 1980's while they had different names, being the first to provide 800MHz cellular service. The newer 1900MHz companies started building in the mid 90's. AT@T provides both 800MHz and 1900MHz coverage depending on where you are.

[KevinJames]

Hello CDMA,

I'm not sure if you were posing a question to me or just posing a question in general.

If to me, then my answer is: I did not mention Cingular because

1. they are not truly nationwide and because they are not one technology. Here in Calif., they are GSM. In the midwest they are TDMA.
   
2. Though they make every effort to put forth the image of a single company, that also has yet to solidify.
   
3. Here in Calif., their coverage is spotty at best though they have made strides in expanding their network.
   
4. I have several business associates who have Cingular GSM phones that don't work when they are in Texas. Now seeing as the SBC is the parent company of both Cingular and the subsid that I work for and Cingular is the mandatory selection, you'd expect that if nothing else, they would want their own employee's phones to work.

So it is my personal opinion that I cannot yet recommend them to someone looking for a national plan.

Kevin