Atlanta best coverage? MetroPcs reviews?

[KimMcD]

I live in Brookhaven area and am cancelling my T-Mobile service as I dont have service coverage in my home. I want to find a new provider and am considering MetroPCS since its unlimited...Any suggestions for carriers???

[MTS2000]

Metro PCS is only good if you DONT PLAN TO USE IT OUTSIDE ATLANTA, and I mean outside Atlanta. Does NOT work in Canton or even West Cobb past Mableton. Where it works, it does so well. ALWAYS TRY before you buy. Metro PCS company owned stores (like the one on Roswell Rd. near I-285) have a return policy if you aren't satisfied within 3 days. Also, Metro PCS does not offer roaming unless you use a credit card, so if you travel and want to use your phone, they are not a good choice.

Keep in mind PCS providers have more challenges with coverage around Atlanta because of the higher frequency and the fact that NO ONE especially in "ritzy" areas wants those unsightly cell towers (but everyone wants their phone to work in the basement of their homes- gofigure) in their "backyards".

Verizon, Cingular and Nextel have an edge in coverage around here, but always try them where you need them to work. I suggest borrowing a phone from a friend and checking signal stregnth at your home (and anywhere else where it is critical to use it) before signing up with anyone.

[tompug]

Since t-mobile doesn;t provide the coverage you need, why don;t you give Verizon a try.

[ATLguy]

I've had excellent coverage from Cingular in Atlanta for the past 18 months... Of course, it depends on how you use your phone, but I would highly recommend them. Not sure how Verizon is in the area ... don't know anyone with their service here.

ATLguy

[Why]

KimMcD, what type of T-Mobile handset are you using? I'm not going to play the SPCS card and say that all your problems will be solved if you buy a new phone [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img], but I'm just curious if yours has an internal antenna. I have friends who have less-than-best reception with the Nokia 3390 and the Samsung N105.

[gtrogue]

I live in Marietta and use Cingular and T-Mobile and have used SprintPCS and none of them work at my house. A buddy with Verizon has the same problems. I live in some sort of cellular Bermuda Triangle. Its possible that no one will have good service at your house.

[Slingblade]

Kim,
Metro is good up to "about" 5-10 miles outside of 285. God help you if you need customer service.

I was with BellSouth (Cingular) a few years ago and dropped too many calls, even in Atl on an interstate. I was told it was because 3 different tower networks where being used???

I had great service with powertel (T-Mobile) until the transition to Voicestream/T-mobile. I starting dropping calls (3-10 /day) and dropped their service. I was told there was a software change.

I was also on ATT for a while and my wife still is. It is fair.

It only took me 3 months to realize that aprint was worthless.

I am now with Verizon. Good not great service. But, they are the best of the bunch.

I am a heavy user 3000 AC peak/unlimited N&W and i travel around the SE quite a bit.


GoodLuck,
David

[aiwapro]

I had great service with powertel (T-Mobile) until the transition to Voicestream/T-mobile. I starting
dropping calls (3-10 /day) and dropped their service. I was told there was a software change.

Sorry, but nothing changed but the name, as a merger took place. There was no such software change. Software in what? It is possible and most likely that is was your handset, if your problems happened all of a sudden.

[Slingblade]

It is possible and most likely that is was your handset

You might be right. It could be that both phones that I used, randomly refused to accept tower hand-offs. One of my friends is now trying his third phone. It might be the phones.

What I do know is that I only dropped 2 calls in 14 months with powertel. Several weeks after the name change to voicestream, dropped calls became a service standard (for me). Several colleagues confirmed this problem and also switched services.

Don't get me wrong. I am a huge fan of Nokia and GSM. And I would gladly go back. But I am a bigger fan of my customer's calls and their money.

David

[aiwapro]

Noone else seems to have these problems in Atlanta for some reason.

[Slingblade]

Noone else seems to have these problems in Atlanta for some reason.

Quoted from MSNBC:

The company has a history worth hiding. T-Mobile, a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, is known for having a weak national network, and the FCC received 1,466 complaints about the company in the past year, giving it one of the worst complaint rates in the industry. T-Mobile says their complaint rate has tapered off and that they have made substantial network improvements.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/816517.asp

Yep, your right again. First, it's my phone and now it's just me.


David