Does anyone think Voicestream will get anywhere?

Only if they support the new multi-mode, multi-band GAIT phones soon to be released and have roaming agreements in place with other carriers.

Hman

 

Voicestream recently signed an agreement with Cingular to allow each company to market brand-name services in each other's respective markets. Since the logical starting markets would have to be GSM, they are California, Washington (state) and Florida. As Cingular converts the rest of their system to GSM this will give Voicestream a larger market saturation.

Now as to customer service, that is another story. Regardless of company size, customer service (or lack of it) is management (or mis-management) issue. Like other carriers I have criticized, selling with little to no regard for customer satisfaction can spell disaster. Unfortunately, upper management in many companies today do not demonstrate concern for customer satisfaction. They see it as a liability and not an asset.

 

The agreement between VS and Cingular was for CA, NV for VS and New York city for Cingular. Not Wash State or FL - VS already operated there, and AFAIK Cinglular is TDMA in Florida. Their GSM properties in the east are in the Carolinas.

As far as their growth, through acquisition and customer growth, they are either the fastest growing company (national) or 2nd behind Sprint. In the 4th quarter they added 668,000 subscribers, and their network (w/o the roaming agreements) covers just over half of Sprint and AT&T. So you could double that number and get a fair estimate of how their subscriber growth would compare to Sprint, Verizon and AT&T.

If you do that, you'd get this - the numbers are approximate and are in detail in a thread in the Western US board:

Sprint 1.3-1.4 million
VoiceStream 1.3 million
AT&T 900,000
Verizon 715,000

Of course, you can't do that in real life, but it's a fair comparison when talking growth rates. VS is a small company, but they cover lots more area through their roaming agreements with Cingular and other smaller GSM companies.

VS is not for everyone. All-digital, no-analog coverage works best in metro areas and along highways. IF the coverage suits your needs, the rate plans are very competitve.

VS parent company, T-Mobile, is a subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, the largest single-standard wireless company in the world (and 2nd larget overall behind Vodafone). They have the cash to build and expand their network.

 

Please... I just had a meeting with Voicestream today.... Voicestream is doing nothing but cutting back, just like everybody else !

 

I agree completely with Matt. I think you and I have the same view of Voicestream. I am a happy Voicestream customer, and they suite me well. They give you the most anytime minutes, and give you the most features free with your plan. I think everyone should check them out. You have a 72 hour grace period, where you can bring everything back for a full refund. I'm sure all the services will be great, because mine and just about everyone elses are, but just check the signal in certain buildings that you visit frequently (work, etc.). Some buildings like museums (they sometimes have copper roofs), the phones don't pick up in. There is one other place that my phone has never picked up in, and that is the Aircraft Hanger that I work in, but as soon as we open the hanger door, or any door or window, I get instant frequency (our Hanger has a cement roof). I have never been enywhere outside where I didn't have frequency.

 

By the way anonymous, do you work for Voicestream or something? How did you take part in a meeting with Voicestream?