Cingular / SunCom Buyout in Virginia

[hollise]

Has anyone heard that once Cingular buys SunCom's Virginia assets, will they phase out the UnPlan? I've heard they will allow anyone out of their contract or force them onto one of there current plans. Can anyone verify this?

[hylton]

i think it's still too early for anyone to have any solid information...whatever you heard is just rumor and even if it came from a Suncom person, i'd still say it's just a rumor...all that has happened so far is the 'letter of intent' that was an official news release back in July. Nobody on either side is going to give you any more info or commit to anything, the whole mess isn't official and could (not likely) fall apart when the rubber meets the road, so anything more than speculation is all you've probably seen or heard at this point.

...that being said...

i'd say YES, in Virginia, all of us will have to pick a Cingular plan in place of whatever we currently have...I've got the old Suncom States plan, much better deal for me than the UNPLAN...but when the switch does occur it's hard to say, the earliest is sometime next year...but Cingular may still have Suncom run the operations on customers (for awhile) that want to stay in their old plan, in order to run contracts out...unlikely, but possible I guess. But, Suncom can do whatever they want w/ the contract in the meantime, they have switched people even 'mid-contract' from what I've read on the net...you can't force them to keep you in any rate plan, yes, that voids (IMO) your contract and you could leave, but that doesn't seem to have stopped them in the past when they wanted to cut people over to new plans and discontinue other plans.

But, Cingular isn't going to overhaul their rate system to add things like UNPLAN for a few people in one state...very very very doubtful at least.

...better question...WHY would you want to stay on the UNPLAN...whatever price you are paying (and I'm a loyal Suncom customer) for the Suncom plan is WAY WAY higher and less featured than a Cingular National plan...you can easily get an equivalent (or better) plan from Cingular for the same price, w/ much better roaming.

I guess if you are using thousands of minutes in your current rate area w/ the UNPLAN, then it might be worth it, otherwise the Cingular plans smoke the Suncom plans currently offered.

Even though I've liked Suncom (not the common opinion you'll read from Suncom customers seems), I for one am going to be extactic w/ a new Cinugular shared minutes national plan...

Chris

[ecks76]

Agreed... It's too soon to tell, and that's what I've been told my my local SunCom rep. They didn't even have an idea of what kind of time frame we're looking at for the changeover. My question is (after looking at cingular's website), will I have to get a new phone? I recently switched to SunCom's GSM and upgraded to a Motorola T725 after owning MANY Nokia phones (and have had few or no problems if you can believe it), but noticed that Cingular doesn't seem to carry my phone. the only thing close was the much older T720. I'm assuming that because it's GSM, it'll be fine, but I could be wrong... any info on this?

[jwclements1]

Does anyone know if Cingular will expand the coverage area especially in Southern Virginia? I am fine most of the time, but if I go 5 miles into the country I don't get any GSM signal.

[jones]

Originally Posted by jwclements1

Does anyone know if Cingular will expand the coverage area especially in Southern Virginia? I am fine most of the time, but if I go 5 miles into the country I don't get any GSM signal.

First they have to get their Hands on Suncom assets.
Then that's a sure Yes.
Why? Because they have to.
The real question here is When.
Figure at least a 9 months to a Year just in time when you're contract ends.

[vger]

You shouldn't have to get a new phone... it's very likely that they will just send you a new SIM card. If you have recently upgraded your phone (last few months) they've been handing out new SIM cards that they can update without having to replace it, from what I heard from a SunCom rep. Most SunCom phones are unlocked anyway.