Hey Everyone.... As I have stated earlier, I am a current Sprint PCS customer (very unhappy with their service - dropped calls, etc.) My final decision is approaching in the next week or two... between CINGULAR WIRELESS & VERIZON WIRELESS. I live in Orlando, Florida, and spend about 80% of my time here. I travel to the following cities occasionally... Philadelphia, New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. All of these cities are well covered by Cingular AND Verizon. So, I really don't have a problem there. (I have read some problems with Verizon's "America's Choice" plan where people in a major city will get charged roaming because a "different tower" picks up their phone....) With either company, I will be going with a 500 minute plan. With Cingular, this would be the 500 anytime / 3500 Nights & Weekends for $49.99... and with Verizon, it would be the 550 anytime / Unlimited Nights, Weekends & Wireless Web for $60 total. (Or I could get just a standard number of nights & weekends for $55 with Verizon) But, in fact, both services work out to be basically the same "price per minute". So, here's what it basically breaks down to.... 1. Service Quality - who's network works better / not as many dropped calls, etc. 2. Start Up Cost - who will give me the BEST deal on start-up. I currently have Sprint and a very current (less than 1 year old) telephone with them. I don't want to have to pay a fortune to start new service with another carrier. I would like this to be as inexpensive a transition as possible. And, I don't want to have to sign a 2 year contract either... thats way too long being stuck with a carrier. I can understand 1 year. But, nothing more than that! Thats it! So, I am just trying to find out who will be the best carrier to go with... and who is the best prospect for the years to come. People keep sending me messages to go with Voicestream. I am not interested in their company. Their network is not really large enough for me. Their regional plans (although they are EXCELLENT) are not good for me (I travel to and call outside the region).... And, they do not offer free nights... when I make a lot of my calls. It leaves me down to the two carriers.... Cingular & Verizon..... Just looking for some advise... It is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks! Robert
I can't speak for your areas, but in general I like Verizon better. You asked for opinions and this is mine. In my experience having both a Cingular and Verizon phone currently (friend has Sprint, sucks for him.. sorry Sprint guys) Verizon has worked better. They both have adequate coverage, but Verizon covers more area in my opinion. Yes, there is no roaming at all with Cingular, but if you don't get a signal at all (as I've found in some places) the whole roaming point is useless. You have to be more careful when driving in a rural area that you're not roaming off of Verizon or their partner's networks, but once you know you're not I feel the quality is better. There are going to be people who don't share my opinion and that is perfectly fine. If we all thought alike the world would be a boring place. I say Verizon is better, but in the end it's up to you. Good luck. Scott
And all the newsgroups.. maybe he still hasn't gotten enough feedback? This is the NORTHeastern forum.. last I checked Florida was SOUTHeastern Scott
I'm in Boston, and have had Cingular for many years - travel to NYC, Philadelphia, South Jersey, Virginia, California (northern). Good coverage in all locations. You may want to wait for the soon-to-be introduced Nokia 6340 GAIT phone - which will allow you to access Cingular's traditional network (TDMA) and GSM. I think they have a roaming agreement/joint use with VoiceStream (GSM). Even if you went with Verizon, you probably won't do too bad. Kind of a coin flip right now...
CINGULAR IS BEST OF COURSE. CINGULAR HAS EXCELLENT COVERAGE IN FLORIDA AND THERE NEW NATION PLANS ALLOW YOU TO USE YOUR PHONE ANYWHERE IN US WITH NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. VERIZON'S "AMERICA'S CHOICE" PLANS ARE ON-NETWORK PLANS, WHICH MEANS IF YOU ROAM OFF VERIZONS NETWORK YOU PAY ROAMING. THE NOKIA 6340 GAIT PHONE IS HAVING PROBLEMS, IT WON'T COME OUT OF ANALOG MODE. IF YOU ARE WAITING FOR THE 6340 DON'T BUY IT! WAIT FOR THE 6340I, IT WILL INCLUDE 850 MHZ GSM. IT WILL ALSO GIVE THE OTHER MODEL A CHANCE TO WORK OUT THE KINKS.
There's no need to shout in here...that's what your message in caps in saying. Depends on where you are...in California you're better off with Verizon or ATT. Cingular's GSM plan doesn't allow you to roam in analog, something vital in many rural and hard-to-reach areas. So it really depends on which part of the country one is talking about as Verizon's AC plan offers better service and coverage in many of these regions. Here's what a user in another forum had to say recently about Verizon: If anyone is interested I'm keyed into the New York New Jersey area, flew to New Orleans, drove along Interstate 10 to Pensacola with stops off the interstate along the gulf in Biloxi and Fairhope (dont ask why - thats another story). Reception was flawless on both a 2235 and a 510. Flashing R in certain areas, no echos, no missed calls. Very happy with the service. Was very surprised the phone worked in areas away from the interstate. At no time was I in a solid roam situation. Oh, my friend, on Voicestream was bragging about his reception in New Orleans. We were at the baggage claim, downstairs in the Continental area at Newark Airport. He couldnt get a signal at all. We were going to call a friend. I looked at my phone, called my other friend standing right next to us (on verizon) and his phone rang......I said, told you to get Verizon........to bad you cant hear me now. Thought I'd let you know, in case anyone is interested about verizon coverage in that area.