which company to pick

[swjart1]

Hello new to this form :

I am asking options on which cellular company to pick. We have had Sprint for last 5 years which numervous problems, overbilling, and poor customer service. We will finally have the contracts expire in June so I am looking for a new company. Was thinking of ATT or T Mobile.
Any suggestions, comments,etc

[Gamer03]

Welcome to WA swjart1. I would suggest AT&T over T-Mobile since their coverage area is bigger and in my experience has more interior coverage in the rural parts of Florida (at least by me). T-Mobile will be cheaper, but from what I have seen (and people I know that have T-Mobile) T-Mobile's coverage area for the most part is really limited once you get too far away from a city and travel inland to rural areas. If you don't plan on traveling to rural areas in the US and stick to major cities, then they might not be a bad choice. I would check the carrier's coverage maps online and compare them. This will give you a rough idea how each of their coverage areas are. I currently have Verizon and at least in my area they have degraded and the call quality is poor. Sprint is not too bad, but when comparing Verizon and Sprint to my AT&T phone, I get a better signal (most of the time I get full bars unless I am deep inland in my county) in all the areas I travel to with my prepaid AT&T phone. Remember to use the carrier's trial periods to make your decision. Good luck.

[AnthroMatt]

I agree with Gamer. I would go for AT&T over T-Mobile in most of Florida as well.

[djjim]

If I were in Florida, I would choose either At&t or Alltel. I am not crazy about GSM (At&t) voice quality, so I would probably lean toward Alltel, but that is just me. You can only sign up with Alltel if you live on the western half of the state or Jax.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by djjim

If I were in Florida, I would choose either At&t or Alltel. I am not crazy about GSM (At&t) voice quality, so I would probably lean toward Alltel, but that is just me. You can only sign up with Alltel if you live on the western half of the state or Jax.

Personally my experience in Florida with AT&T GSM service is pretty good. I think the only place I ever had problems was in the old TDMA days on rt 40 in the middle of the wilderness preserve. This may have been fixed by now. I haven't been down rt 40 in like 5 or 6 years. I've had very good experience with GSM and UMTS service though. As far as the call quality goes, I never really had any issues with call quality. I have been known to disable AMR half rate on my phones though for the best possible voice quality, although I have not experienced anything bad on my phones that I have not played with the compression.

-Jay

[Quint101]

I agree with the other posters... In Tallahassee, most of the carriers work well. When you go away from the city, away from I -10, AT&T and AllTel really shine. T-Mobile doesn't work well at all, sprint is so so, Verizon has been building more but they have a ways to go in the sticks.

If your travels take you into rural areas, then I'd say go with AT&T over T-Mobile as T-Mobile has almost no roaming agreements with AT&T in this state.

[Quint101]

Originally Posted by djjim

If I were in Florida, I would choose either At&t or Alltel. I am not crazy about GSM (At&t) voice quality, so I would probably lean toward Alltel, but that is just me. You can only sign up with Alltel if you live on the western half of the state or Jax.

if the op is in Vero Beach, Stuart, or Port ST Lucie or close to these areas, he/she can get AllTel there

[swjart1]

thanks for your suggestions. i looked alltel because i hadn't thought of them but according to their site they don't provide service to broward or dade county. I am leaning towards att but only considered tmovile because they had what is called flex pay where you pay up front for the phone and plan and don't have a contract.

[AnthroMatt]

My grandmother uses T-Mobile in Palm Beach Co. and she hasn't complained. FlexPay is nice...I use it for my BlackBerry. It is nice not to be locked into a contract.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by swjart1

thanks for your suggestions. i looked alltel because i hadn't thought of them but according to their site they don't provide service to broward or dade county. I am leaning towards att but only considered tmovile because they had what is called flex pay where you pay up front for the phone and plan and don't have a contract.

AT&T has a similar deal... GoPhone Pick Your Plan...

-Jay

[Quint101]

Originally Posted by swjart1

thanks for your suggestions. i looked alltel because i hadn't thought of them but according to their site they don't provide service to broward or dade county. I am leaning towards att but only considered tmovile because they had what is called flex pay where you pay up front for the phone and plan and don't have a contract
.

AT&T has GoPhone, pick your plan. The drawbacks are that the plans are different from the contracted plans (unlike T-Mobile) and the mandatory auto pay. AT&T is tops in covErage in the state and they have a great selection of phones as well. If you stick to the cities, T-Mobile should be fine. I know 2 people who tried T-Mobile and one is still happy with them... The other one ported to Verizon. Just try them out... You'd only be out your prepaid $ if you don't like it and decided to return it. The folks I know who chose AT&T are still with them.

Unfortunately, AllTel stops at the Indian River/Palm Beach county line and the closest shop is up there in Stuart, quite a distance from Broward County

[AnthroMatt]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

AT&T has a similar deal... GoPhone Pick Your Plan...

-Jay

Not that it applies to the OP, but I also don't think ATT offers data-only prepaid plans like TM does.

[Quint101]

Originally Posted by AnthroMatt

Not that it applies to the OP, but I also don't think ATT offers data-only prepaid plans like TM does.

If the the pay as you option is chosen, the unlimited data option is available for $20 per month. Although voice is included, its not required lol. Also, there are cards available just for the feature packages.

[Quint101]

Originally Posted by Quint101

Unfortunately, AllTel stops at the Indian River/Palm Beach county line and the closest shop is up there in Stuart, quite a distance from Broward County

I meant to say the Martin/Palm Beach county line.... I couldn't edit my post

[cowboytn]

i personally recommend verizon they have coverage almost everywhere

[tmobileman]

Originally Posted by swjart1

thanks for your suggestions. i looked alltel because i hadn't thought of them but according to their site they don't provide service to broward or dade county. I am leaning towards att but only considered tmovile because they had what is called flex pay where you pay up front for the phone and plan and don't have a contract.

I agree with Gamer, use the trial period to your advantage, tmobile trial even for flex pay is 14 days from the date of activation in your area. Good luck either way

[thomasz]

I would consider to contact with AT&T.thanks

[TheNasaWildman]

Choose Alltel, or Verizon. Together if permitted they will be the nations largest wireless network. If it all stays the same,. Combined Alltel, & Verizon has won more awards by J.D. Power & assoicates than any other wireless carrier to date.. If you don't believe it then see for yourself at www.jdpower.com

[Eric47]

you guys are forgeting a key fact.

ATT will allow you to buy a phone at full price and have no contract (with a regular plan). So if the OP is worried about a contract, then that is easily avoided. ATT is probably the only company that does this, but they dont advertise it heavily.

Also ATT by far has the best coverage in FL. they always have, probably always will.

Ive always had good experiences since i picked them up in 02'. i recommend them!

[RJB]

Originally Posted by swjart1

thanks for your suggestions. i looked alltel because i hadn't thought of them but according to their site they don't provide service to broward or dade county. I am leaning towards att but only considered tmovile because they had what is called flex pay where you pay up front for the phone and plan and don't have a contract.

Can you tell us where in Florida you are located to really get some good answers for you. I would say if I was on the western part of Florida Alltel. Eastern Att.