t-Mobile/Cingular Seattle Area Coverage

[brianjonesphoto]

My contract with sprint will be up soon and I would like to switch carriers. I'm leaning toward Cingular for the roll over minutes, but I would like to know how the coverage in an around Seattle is. I live in the Northend, but travel all over the Puget sound. T mobile would be my second choice if cingular coverage isn't very good.

Also will a GSM phone still roam on any available network be it cdma or Analog? Is there any advantage to buying an unlocked phone via the net?

Thanks

[COtech]

Originally Posted by brianjonesphoto

Also will a GSM phone still roam on any available network be it cdma or Analog? Is there any advantage to buying an unlocked phone via the net?

No, GSM phones won't roam on CDMA or analog networks (GAIT phones like the one I use [see left] have analog). GSM phones will roam on GSM networks, provided roaming agreements exist. Emergency 911 calls will go through without a roaming agreement.

Yes, unlocked is good--lets you change SIM (account and phone number and CARRIER) at will.

COtech

[TProphet]

You'll give up a lot of quality by going GSM, so be sure that you can live with that before you decide to switch.

I have Cingular, T-Mobile, and Sprint handsets. I think T-Mobile is the worst of the three. Cingular is doing a better job of catching up to Sprint and Verizon, especially now that Cingular customers can roam for free on ATTWS' network. However, they're still noticeably behind Sprint.

If you're interested in Cingular primarily for the rollover minutes, you might consider the Fair and Flexible plan from Sprint. I personally think it's better than rollover because you only pay for what you actually use.

[brianjonesphoto]

Originally Posted by TProphet

If you're interested in Cingular primarily for the rollover minutes, you might consider the Fair and Flexible plan from Sprint. I personally think it's better than rollover because you only pay for what you actually use.

I don't the the sprint plan because I'd be paying $10 more a month for the same usage. Thier plan is no doing anyone a favor unless you use a ton of minutes a month. Right now I get 500 for $45 the f&f plan uses 500 for $55 you do the math. I would be getting ripped off unless I alway use less minutes that I currently do.

[Steve B]

Originally Posted by brianjonesphoto

My contract with sprint will be up soon and I would like to switch carriers. I'm leaning toward Cingular for the roll over minutes, but I would like to know how the coverage in an around Seattle is. I live in the Northend, but travel all over the Puget sound. T mobile would be my second choice if cingular coverage isn't very good.

Also will a GSM phone still roam on any available network be it cdma or Analog? Is there any advantage to buying an unlocked phone via the net?

Thanks

I live in Seattle. In my opinion Verizon here is extremely good. I never had issues with them. Calls were excellent, good sounding calls at low signal levels and I don't have dropped calls. They only use the 800Mhz band here in Seattle which means very good building penetration, etc. However, if you have already considered Verizon and are still considering Cingular. I have used Cingular phones before and didn't have a problem. I know MANY people that use Cingular here and all of them have told me they never had problems with service. I actually used a Cingular phone while on the road and the person I was talking to thought I was at home. That is a plus. I would not recommend T-Mobile for you at all. In the Seattle area, T-Mobile is horrible. It is only "ok" if you stay in the I-5 corridor or the main metro area. Once you start heading out, coverage isn't good. Even in the main metro area and the I-5 corridor, you get numerous dropped calls, choppy/static calls with T-Mobile. I had used them for over a year with no improvements. So my best advice is stay away from T-Mobile at all costs.

A couple of other things to consider if you switch to a GSM carrier. Both T-Mobile and Cingular use the 1900Mhz band here in the Seattle metro area. I noticed with GSM that if you start getting into an area with low signal levels your calls will drop more often and calls start to sound bad. I haven't experienced that problem with CDMA (Verizon). Since you mentioned Cingular and not Verizon, I would recommend Cingular after Verizon. Cingular's network seems to be built out good here. They're also going to be merging with AT&T Wireless which means better quality for the most part for Cingular and probably more. So if you don't want Verizon, then Cingular is definitely the way to go. Good luck and let us know what you decide on and how it goes.