I'm sad to say that I will be ending my service with Verizon in the next couple of weeks. Yesterday I signed a new contract with Helio and my new phone is expected to arrive on monday. For those not familiar with Helio, they are a new venture started by SK Telecom of South Korea. Their network is comprised of leased lines from Sprint and Verizon. The phone that I selected was the Kickflip and my plan is $65/month which includes 500 anytime minutes and unlimited data. The deal breaker for me was that the store I bought it from was offering a $100 gift card with a new activation. I've been with Verizon since 2000 and my first phone with them was the Motorola V8160. They have been good to me for the past years but what disappointed me was their decision last summer to no longer activate Korean phones on their network. Not to worry, I'll be coming on the forums to offer whatever assistance I can but will no longer be part of the Verizon family (sob).
Sorry to hear that twopiece. Good luck with Helio. Be sure to let us know how they work out for you. Also, it is good to hear from you again, twopiece.
Thanks Gamer. Been so swamped with things that I haven't been here in a while. I'll try to pop in whenever I can.
Aren't LG and Samsung Korean phones Let us know how it works out. I'm sure many would want to know (including me).
i too have also been contemplating leaving verizon. i've looked into cingular, but have not been convinced of their service in northern nj. i've come across helio, and was wondering if anyone has had any experience with them in northern nj. and also, do they offer wireless number portability? thanks.
Helio uses the Sprint Nextel network for their devices. If Sprint works well in your area in terms of coverage, so will Helio. If Sprint has EVDO coverage in your area, so will Helio. You can easily port your number online by visiting the Helio website. Just pick your device: http://helio.com/page?p=join
If they use just the Sprint Network here in North NJ, then there service will not be that good, if they use both Verizon & Sprint then you will do good with them. As for Cingular in North NJ, where in NJ are you talking about?
Just remember that the grass seems greener on the other side......but it has been my experience with cell carriers it isn't!!!!
Helio's aggrement with VZW is not done yet. I think they are estimating a time frame sometime at the end of 2007 and are trying to time it to coincide with the release of a few more phones. I was looking into Helio. Please keep us posted, twopiece! =)
That is not correct. Each company has to create there own roaming agreements even if they are a MVNO with Sprint. And if they get the same roaming agreement, that does not mean that the MNVO will charge the same roaming price as Sprint.
yes but the helio coverage map specifies that it has "roaming" coverage in the exact same areas as Sprint's roaming partners.......if helio contacted verizon, alltel, and sprint as well as all the regional carriers then it would simply be an MVNO of multiple carriers and wouldn't need to specify them as roaming
When looking at their coverage map for NJ, it does appear to be exactly like Sprint's and has the same gaps as Sprint shows. Now if they do manage to work a reasonable price deal with Verizon for additional coverage in NY/NJ, then they will be an excellent MVNO. Till then I can see problems in this part of the Country for them.
what im trying to point out to agentHibby though is that even if MVNO's need to get there own agreements with companies individually then why do they specify on their coverage map that they have roaming in the exact same places as Sprint does.......why can't they simply specify that there is coverage or no coverage.....thats how it should be for most MVNOs: Boost, Virgin, etc. they shouldn't need to specify it as roaming....they would consider it part of their home coverage area
We have struck a deal with Sprint to provide voice/data coverage to every CSA/NPA Sprint uses. This includes international roaming options in areas where CDMA service exists. To be frank, Sprint is cheaper. That is why MVNO's like us go to them. We don't have any immediate plans to use Verizon's native network in our lineup this year. Only the legacy Earthlink Wireless customers who own Earthlink branded Blackberry 7250's use Verizon's voice/data network. Helio has had to absorb them into their own support system. Cingular was another option we considered, but they did not want to share their data network and wanted to limit us to their native network only. Could you imagine? Our customers would have the most coverage holes of any national wireless provider. It was native voice or nothing at all.
Our devices can roam off of other CDMA providers, but not manually like newer Sprint phones can. Sometimes automatic roaming is not as efficient especially if native coverage is weak but just stong enough to keep your device from switching over to the local roaming partner. We have a new no contact option for people who may be interested in trying us out for a while. I posted this in another thread, but it didn't seem to get much attention. This is cool for people unsure of how reliable the Sprint network is locally for them. We also waive the ETF if they ever decide to cancel with this promo. http://promo.helio.com/myspace/index.html?dcmp=msp-all-profile-flash#signup
so explain to me again in layman's terms why Verizon and alltel and others are specified as roaming........sprint was the only company that was willing to share its data network........there isn't really roaming.......its just that alltel and verizon decided to offer voice only???
I'm not sure I understand your questions, or at least the way you are trying to convey them? But I'll do my best.. Sprint has allowed us (Helio) to use their voice and data network as our own. We sell the network as ours and use it as ours. Verizon Wireless and Alltel are considered our roaming partners because they are Sprint's roaming partners. We can use their voice networks just like Sprint customers can use their networks. In some areas where Alltel and Sprint have data roaming agreements, our customers can also use their data services while roaming. SK Telecom in South Korea who is our partial owner, uses a CDMA network just like Sprint and Verizon. That is why they were the two most logical choices for a US venture. However, we considered all options. Even a GSM one. Cingular didn't play nice with us. That doesn't mean we won't consider a GSM phone in our future.
well then make sure that you correct agentHibby cuz hes confusin me by sayin that MVNOs have to create their own agreements
dont call helio a cell phone what lame commercials..anyways, hows it working out? are you myspace all day? their white phone looks pretty nice, but its not a phone wait.
Twopiece...Just wondering if you had checked out "Amp'd" as well...even though I like the sound of Helio's phones and plans better. Anyway, just wondering if you had checked Amp'd out and considered them. Just curious!
Amp'd is an MVNO like Helio but i think that they are currently using Verizon's voice and data network.......1xRTT as well as EV-DO
Yes, Amp'd is using the Verizon network as their native one, and I believe they also have roaming agreements with Sprint & Alltel, but not as extensive as Helio by the looks of their maps. http://get.ampd.com/coverage/index.php
no helio definitely has the better coverage area although there probably is not as much of the coverage supports data
