AT&T vs. T-Mobile Hi. I live north of Pittsburgh. I'm debating on whether I should get AT&T GSM or T-Mobile. I'm curious as to what I'd be better off with. I was looking at the T-Mobile $29.99 plan with 300 whenever and unlimited weekends only and either the AT&T GoPhone with 150 whenever and unlimited nights AND weekends. Obviously, the T-Mobile has more minutes, but GoPhone hasn't got a contract and it has unlimited nights. I know that both will be somewhat lacking in coverage compared to Verizon but I'm willing to sacrifice that for price because I'm 16. How does AT&T stack up to T-Mobile in Pittsburgh in all? I'd prefer using AT&T, but I suppose I can't if it's a lot worse. Thanks!
being that your 16 id go with at&t's go phone, because you obviously dont have credit to get tmobile, unless your parents are gonna used theirs.
Yeah, thanks for the heads up. I figured that much; my dad really doesn't have a problem with using his name to get it. I'm wondering how their networks stack up to each other. I know that AT&T GSM is worse than their TDMA just from reading stuff on here, but is it worse than T-Mobile? If so, a lot worse? I know that they're both worse compared to other companies, but those other companies are too expensive.
I'd go with T-Mobile. I don't know of anything worse than AT&T. Maybe Nextel. The 16 months I spent with AT&T were the WORST.
ATT TDMA to me is much better than T-Mobile GSM, just comparing my service to my friends in the area we live
Well, T-Mobile is the top GSM provider. If you go GSM, you go with T-Mobile, or you go with someone else, and be disappointed. You can't compare TDMA to GSM yet, but eventually you will. For Pittsburg, I would say go with T-Mobile.
in central jersey i have found AT&T GSM to be better than T-Mobile and Cingular. I know people that want to ditch Cingular and go to AT&T tomorrow when WNP goes into effect. In my area AT&T has only GSM which is its own. It does not own TDMA towers.
I have to admit At&T has excellent coverage in Jersey, now if they could only work on their customer service.
much larger is the issue that their network is a mess. they completely botched their gsm overlay in 800 areas, and in many 1900 areas as well. it is impossible to get any customer service becasue everythign is so darn separated and there are 50 departements to handle everything. the onerate plan used to be their huge advantage. now its not even a good deal and its way more expensive than single rate, cingular nation plans or free and clear america. their launch of edge does give them a boost, but their data plans are still too expensive and their network is still too much of a mess in most of the country to make them worth a darn.
I feel like this forum has become the bash ATT forum. I use ATT GSM all over the NY-NJ-Phila area and have had minimal problems. Everytime I head toward Southern Monmouth county and Ocean county I find new spots with ATT GSM service. There have odd times where the phone has read TMo or Cingular and I still can make and receive calls, but rarely the phone shows Emergency calls only(i dont quite understand why that happens). Anybody bashing ATT TDMA in NJ has to see the same problems with Cingular(north NJ cingular roaming off ATT, south NJ ATT roaming off Cingular). Once they fill in Route 34 between 18 and the GSP I think Monmouth county will be pretty complete. This year I have traveled to Miami, Atlanta and Charlotte. All three areas are covered beautifully by ATT GSM. I dont think I dropped any calls in those areas. TMo also isnt as bad as I'm reading here either. I use them as a back up(and great data plan) and find their service to be pretty complete also.
I agree that AT&T has been good with there coverage in NJ, I am finding better and better coverage on the GSM side from Tom's River on North in the past couple of months. and a friend of mine has Verizon and has been complaining about the coverage getting worst and he will be switching after today now that LPN has begun.
ATT GSM is improving and eventually, once their GSM network is up to where their TDMA network was, they will be among tops in the nation. I am only bashing how ATT has handled their migration to GSM, and no one can possibly argue that they did a good job. They did nothing with coverage problems in 800mhz markets for around two years. They have fifty departments for everything having to do with customer service. They just did a bad job. They will sort themselves out, and return to becoming one of the nations top carriers, but they certainly have some thigns to work on .
