Sprint PCS or Verizon in Orange Cty / LA

[714tmobile]

I've been w/ T-Mobile for going on 4 years now with little to no problems. I work for the local school district and we are given discounts (deep w/ Sprint, shallow w/ Verizon) on cellular service. I've been debating on switching simply because of Mobile to Mobile and possibly/hopefully better coverage, and I've been out of the loop w/ either of these two carriers for some time (cxld Sprint in '98 and cxld Airtouch/Verizon in '00).

I only mention T-mobile in the beginning because it is what I'm getting now and am used to in contrast to what I've either read or am guessing I will get on another carrier.

1) Roaming... on T-Mobile I can go anywhere I want that has GSM coverage. I've read that Verizon doesn't care either as long as you are on their coverage map. Sprint, however, I've read that if you are on a "Free/Clear" plan, you can only use 50% or less of your minutes on another carrier's (Verizon?) tower. Will this be a problem since I live in North OC (work in Fullerton, live in Westminster) and occasionally take trips to Oregon to visit family.

2) Contract... T-mobile has me for 2yrs on any handset upgrades (new, stupid policy). On either Sprint/Verizon, I'm locked in for 1-2yrs, depending on the phone subsity I take and how much of an activation fee I want to pay. Do i have the ability to purchase a phone @ full price and be able to do an ESN change without having to re-up my contract? The reason I ask is on GSM I can go buy a prepaid phone and use it if I break my current phone.

3) Plans... On T-mobile, I can change to whatever plan I want, providing that it is not a promo plan. If it is, then I have to re-up my contract for another year. Is this the same with either Sprint or Verizon? I've heard that Sprint is a little more lenient, but this is only hear/say...

4) SPRINT customer only : Do calls between Sprint PCS and Nextel count as Mobile2Mobile? Nextel doesn't sound too bad and most people I know that have it seem to like it. Push to talk isn't a big thing for me, but I'd like to know if there's any real benefit (other than PTT) of choosing Nextel over the Sprint planes.

5) Do either Verizon or Sprint have 24/7 or at least nightime/weekend hours for their customer service depts? Also, for Sprint customers, I remember hearing that Sprint at one time charged $2 a call (back in '01 I think) for customers w/ low credit ratings. I may have this out of context and I don't consider myself to have bad credit, but am curious if this is still the case.

6) Coverage Pros/Cons in the OC area for either carrier? Please comment.. thanks!

Thanks again for all your helpful answers and feedback!

[larry]

I don't have much time right now to give you as good of a reply as I'd like but here's a few quick answers.

Yes Sprint to Nextel calling and vice versa absolutely counts as mobile to mobile. Soon this will also include Nextel partners as well.

Sprint supposedly does have that 50% roaming minutes thing but they don't enforce it at all. There has never been anyone who lost their service or even had to pay extra roaming charges because they used more than 50% off network. Also I can't imagine having to use anywhere close to half your minutes off Sprint's network because they cover pretty much everywhere now. One exception is Hwy 395 between Mojave and Bishop/Mammoth. But other than that I have service everywhere.

With Sprint and Nextel you can buy a new phone any time you want, do an ESN swap and not have to re-up your contract or change plans. However some people have reported being charged a new ESN swap fee of $18 (I wasn't).

There's no charge to call customer service even if you're on a account spending limit. That was done away with a long time ago.

Customer service is 24/7 for Sprint but you have to call a certain phone number after regular hours (not *2).

You can also get one of the new sprint sero plans that are a heck of a deal. I can give you a referral if interested.

http://sprint.com/sero/

[jimwayda]

Sprint and Verizon both have excellent coverage in OC/LA. I have used both and there is not much difference. In some areas Verizon has better coverage and in other areas, Sprint has better coverage. It is all about cell site placement.

Originally Posted by 714tmobile

I've been w/ T-Mobile for going on 4 years now with little to no problems. I work for the local school district and we are given discounts (deep w/ Sprint, shallow w/ Verizon) on cellular service. I've been debating on switching simply because of Mobile to Mobile and possibly/hopefully better coverage, and I've been out of the loop w/ either of these two carriers for some time (cxld Sprint in '98 and cxld Airtouch/Verizon in '00).

I only mention T-mobile in the beginning because it is what I'm getting now and am used to in contrast to what I've either read or am guessing I will get on another carrier.

1) Roaming... on T-Mobile I can go anywhere I want that has GSM coverage. I've read that Verizon doesn't care either as long as you are on their coverage map. Sprint, however, I've read that if you are on a "Free/Clear" plan, you can only use 50% or less of your minutes on another carrier's (Verizon?) tower. Will this be a problem since I live in North OC (work in Fullerton, live in Westminster) and occasionally take trips to Oregon to visit family.

2) Contract... T-mobile has me for 2yrs on any handset upgrades (new, stupid policy). On either Sprint/Verizon, I'm locked in for 1-2yrs, depending on the phone subsity I take and how much of an activation fee I want to pay. Do i have the ability to purchase a phone @ full price and be able to do an ESN change without having to re-up my contract? The reason I ask is on GSM I can go buy a prepaid phone and use it if I break my current phone.

3) Plans... On T-mobile, I can change to whatever plan I want, providing that it is not a promo plan. If it is, then I have to re-up my contract for another year. Is this the same with either Sprint or Verizon? I've heard that Sprint is a little more lenient, but this is only hear/say...

4) SPRINT customer only : Do calls between Sprint PCS and Nextel count as Mobile2Mobile? Nextel doesn't sound too bad and most people I know that have it seem to like it. Push to talk isn't a big thing for me, but I'd like to know if there's any real benefit (other than PTT) of choosing Nextel over the Sprint planes.

5) Do either Verizon or Sprint have 24/7 or at least nightime/weekend hours for their customer service depts? Also, for Sprint customers, I remember hearing that Sprint at one time charged $2 a call (back in '01 I think) for customers w/ low credit ratings. I may have this out of context and I don't consider myself to have bad credit, but am curious if this is still the case.

6) Coverage Pros/Cons in the OC area for either carrier? Please comment.. thanks!

Thanks again for all your helpful answers and feedback!

[714tmobile]

You rock larry...thx for the info...

That's very nice of you and I'll certainly PM you if/when I'm ready to jump ship Do you forsee any reason I would be ineligible for both the "Sero" equipment discount and my district employee discount?

I have another few questions pertaining to SprintPCS if you don't mind...

1) What is the Buyer's Remorse Period? I'm confused if it is 14 or 30 days...

2) I looked over the plans and they look fairly similar on both Sprint/Nextel (unless I'm missing something completely obvious). Do you see any particular benefit to using either of the two? I really don't have a use for PTT..

3) I think I read/heard/saw something about doing ESN swaps online... if this is the case, could I still be charged $18, or is this only for over-the-phone changes?

Thanks again for your helpful info...this is certainly helpful in considering either of the two carriers. I still like T-Mobile but I don't have very good reception in/around my house whereas Sprint and Verizon almost definitely have a cell nearby and the reception is stellar on either service (even on old AT&T).

Originally Posted by larry

I don't have much time right now to give you as good of a reply as I'd like but here's a few quick answers.

Yes Sprint to Nextel calling and vice versa absolutely counts as mobile to mobile. Soon this will also include Nextel partners as well.

Sprint supposedly does have that 50% roaming minutes thing but they don't enforce it at all. There has never been anyone who lost their service or even had to pay extra roaming charges because they used more than 50% off network. Also I can't imagine having to use anywhere close to half your minutes off Sprint's network because they cover pretty much everywhere now. One exception is Hwy 395 between Mojave and Bishop/Mammoth. But other than that I have service everywhere.

With Sprint and Nextel you can buy a new phone any time you want, do an ESN swap and not have to re-up your contract or change plans. However some people have reported being charged a new ESN swap fee of $18 (I wasn't).

There's no charge to call customer service even if you're on a account spending limit. That was done away with a long time ago.

Customer service is 24/7 for Sprint but you have to call a certain phone number after regular hours (not *2).

You can also get one of the new sprint sero plans that are a heck of a deal. I can give you a referral if interested.

http://sprint.com/sero/

[larry]

Originally Posted by 714tmobile

You rock larry...thx for the info...

That's very nice of you and I'll certainly PM you if/when I'm ready to jump ship Do you forsee any reason I would be ineligible for both the "Sero" equipment discount and my district employee discount?

I have another few questions pertaining to SprintPCS if you don't mind...

1) What is the Buyer's Remorse Period? I'm confused if it is 14 or 30 days...

2) I looked over the plans and they look fairly similar on both Sprint/Nextel (unless I'm missing something completely obvious). Do you see any particular benefit to using either of the two? I really don't have a use for PTT..

3) I think I read/heard/saw something about doing ESN swaps online... if this is the case, could I still be charged $18, or is this only for over-the-phone changes?

Thanks again for your helpful info...this is certainly helpful in considering either of the two carriers. I still like T-Mobile but I don't have very good reception in/around my house whereas Sprint and Verizon almost definitely have a cell nearby and the reception is stellar on either service (even on old AT&T).

The trial period is back to 14 days now. It was 30 for a while.

Sprint and Nextel plans are pretty much the same. The company doesn't want to favor one brand over the other so they keep the prices about the same.

I would avoid Nextel for one big reason. Their text messaging system sucks. It's unreliable and many users report never receiving some of their text messages. There may be a fix for this soon but as of now it's still bad. Sprint's text messaging system is stellar although their picture mail system still requires web access to view sent pictures on most phones.

Sprint does not allow online ESN swaps anymore. They cut that about 2-3 years ago when the new Vision phones caused a lot of trouble. The only way to activate a phone is to call customer service or go to a Sprint store. I'd like to hope that online ESN swaps will come back in the near future but who knows.

Not sure about the employee discounts.

[ZaphodB]

Wow, here's a name we haven't seen on here in a month of Sundays!

Welcome back, 714tmobile!

I have Verizon and my boss has Sprint and we both have excellent coverage in North OC... I work in Anaheim and, uh, drink in Fullerton.

[714tmobile]

Haha! Hey ZaphodB! Yeah it has been a long time...

Thx for the heads-up... Yeah it may be 714verizon or 714sprint someday, but we'll see... My contract w/ tmo is up April 10th and I'm 'shopping' for the first time in almost 4 years. Don't get me wrong, TMo's coverage is generally good and I've not had many problems w/ them, but I'm sick/tired of having to miss calls simply because my phone is downstairs or not in the right spot of my house. It sounds petty, but it's really a pain...even w/ the 6600 which has the best reception out of the GSM bunch they sell.

In the past few years, I've e-mailed/called/written them about coverage issues in/around where I live and despite putting a tower up nearby (corner of Beach Blvd/Garden Grove Blvd..behind Arco Station), it hasn't helped much at all. Needless to say, I'm looking for something better, and I know for a fact that Sprint and VZW (ironically AT&T, or blue Cingular) work well near where I live because friends of mine have service from each.

Thanks everyone (especially Larry!) for the informative feedback... Sprint is sounding pretty good to me right now for the amount of minutes and the monthly cost (can't beat the discounts).

Originally Posted by ZaphodB

Wow, here's a name we haven't seen on here in a month of Sundays!

Welcome back, 714tmobile!

I have Verizon and my boss has Sprint and we both have excellent coverage in North OC... I work in Anaheim and, uh, drink in Fullerton.

[larry]

Originally Posted by 714tmobile

Haha! Hey ZaphodB! Yeah it has been a long time...

Thx for the heads-up... Yeah it may be 714verizon or 714sprint someday, but we'll see... My contract w/ tmo is up April 10th and I'm 'shopping' for the first time in almost 4 years. Don't get me wrong, TMo's coverage is generally good and I've not had many problems w/ them, but I'm sick/tired of having to miss calls simply because my phone is downstairs or not in the right spot of my house. It sounds petty, but it's really a pain...even w/ the 6600 which has the best reception out of the GSM bunch they sell.

In the past few years, I've e-mailed/called/written them about coverage issues in/around where I live and despite putting a tower up nearby (corner of Beach Blvd/Garden Grove Blvd..behind Arco Station), it hasn't helped much at all. Needless to say, I'm looking for something better, and I know for a fact that Sprint and VZW (ironically AT&T, or blue Cingular) work well near where I live because friends of mine have service from each.

Thanks everyone (especially Larry!) for the informative feedback... Sprint is sounding pretty good to me right now for the amount of minutes and the monthly cost (can't beat the discounts).

Some last advice on going CDMA. Never use a CDMA carrier (even Verizon) if you happen to live/work in an area that has an NID (network ID) split. CDMA carriers will break down an SID into several NID's (switches). If you live right in between one tower on NID 00001 and another tower on NID 00002 you will have a high rate of missed incoming calls (phone doesn't ring and call goes to VM). Sprint has an NID split for Orange County right in between Anaheim and Yorba Linda (55 & 91 frwy area) and it also splits through the city of Orange a little bit (near Tustin/Meats and in Villa Park). In LA County they have a few NID splits. Not sure where Verizon splits their system in OC or LA. So 714tmobile, you should be ok in your part of OC with Sprint. To my knowledge the Westminster area has a single NID. But if you want I can test it out to make sure next time I'm in the area.

This is huge flaw in CDMA technology and the carriers will never admit to it. There has been talk of a future CDMA software upgrade from the network vendors to fix this issue but according to my source who works in the business there's no cure on the near horizon. But hopefully in time.

[714tmobile]

That's interesting news Larry... No need to test, I'll take your word for it. However, let me ask you this... If I happen to be on a call and drive through one of these 'splits', will it drop the call?

Thx for the heads-up!

Originally Posted by larry

Some last advice on going CDMA. Never use a CDMA carrier (even Verizon) if you happen to live/work in an area that has an NID (network ID) split. CDMA carriers will break down an SID into several NID's (switches). If you live right in between one tower on NID 00001 and another tower on NID 00002 you will have a high rate of missed incoming calls (phone doesn't ring and call goes to VM). Sprint has an NID split for Orange County right in between Anaheim and Yorba Linda (55 & 91 frwy area) and it also splits through the city of Orange a little bit (near Tustin/Meats and in Villa Park). In LA County they have a few NID splits. Not sure where Verizon splits their system in OC or LA. So 714tmobile, you should be ok in your part of OC with Sprint. To my knowledge the Westminster area has a single NID. But if you want I can test it out to make sure next time I'm in the area.

This is huge flaw in CDMA technology and the carriers will never admit to it. There has been talk of a future CDMA software upgrade from the network vendors to fix this issue but according to my source who works in the business there's no cure on the near horizon. But hopefully in time.

[ZaphodB]

There's a NID split for Verizon near Vineland and Riverside in North Hollywood that goes up toward Magnolia.

[larry]

Originally Posted by 714tmobile

That's interesting news Larry... No need to test, I'll take your word for it. However, let me ask you this... If I happen to be on a call and drive through one of these 'splits', will it drop the call?

Thx for the heads-up!

No the call won't drop. inter NID handoffs are seamless and you would never even know. They only cause havoc with incoming calls not finding the phone in time because of the paging channel and slot cycle timing on CDMA technology. Nothing else.

[larry]

Originally Posted by ZaphodB

There's a NID split for Verizon near Vineland and Riverside in North Hollywood that goes up toward Magnolia.

Interesting. Sounds like a bad place to do an NID boundary. But Sprint picked and even worse location in Anaheim Hills/Orange. They chose to do it right on the 55 frwy between the 91 and Katella Ave exit. Some RF engineer should have been fired over that one. LOL

[ZaphodB]

Yeah, the NoHo NID split is right where the 101, 134 and 170 freeways intersect... it affects Universal City too.

[larry]

What the network engineers are supposed to do is pick an area that has the least impact on the customers. But they don't always do that.

[Shopaholic187]

Originally Posted by larry

You can also get one of the new sprint sero plans that are a heck of a deal. I can give you a referral if interested.

http://sprint.com/sero/

Hi, I would like to sign up a NEW Sprint SERO account with a A900. If you could send me a referral it would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Elle

[larry]

Originally Posted by Shopaholic187

Hi, I would like to sign up a NEW Sprint SERO account with a A900. If you could send me a referral it would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Elle

Just sent you a private message.

[714tmobile]

Hey Larry... I read something on another thread saying that Sprint will charge $36 if you ever have to do an ESN swap... can you confirm this?

Any idea if Verizon does this as well?

[larry]

Originally Posted by 714tmobile

Hey Larry... I read something on another thread saying that Sprint will charge $36 if you ever have to do an ESN swap... can you confirm this?

Any idea if Verizon does this as well?

I've heard the rumor as well and it might be true. However my brother just did an ESN swap on 12/21/05 and wasn't charged any fee (at least it didn't appear on our latest billing statement that ended 1/5/06 and we were not told there would be a charge). I think that if they are starting to charge this fee they will quickly get rid of it as it will most certainly result in a lot of calls to customer service asking why this surprise fee was charged when it never was in the past.

[Andy]

Verizon does not charge you for an Online ESN swap; however, they can charge you $15 to do this over the phone or in store.