GSM Mhz question. Help please.

You will be severly limited with Cingular with a 1900 Mhz only phone, you need 850Mhz as well.

T-Mobile is mainly 1900Mhz with 850Mhz roaming in parts of the country, and if you travel or they work out a roaming agreement with Cingular in CA, you will be limited with them as well.

Where in Northern CA do you live? this way people that live in your area could provide some more information on which is better.

 

If your sold on keeping that phone, then yes it sounds like your only real choice is T-Mobile for now.
I would check out their coverage maps online to make sure coverage will be good for where you go, then try them for their 15 day trial period to confirm the coverage is good where you need it.

I am sure some others here can add better input on the Bay area for T-Mobile as well as Cingular to help your decision.

 

I haven't been to Vallejo much, so I can't be sure about your particular area, but generally in the Bay Area there're plenty of holes in T-Mobile coverage. I don't think T-Mobile is allowed any 850MHz roaming in Bay Area, so it shouldn't be a factor. Yes, T-Mobile is your only reasonable bet. Check their street-level coverage map -- it's pretty conservative, so it should be a good indication of what to expect from the coverage.

 

Do not rely on coverage maps, even street level maps. They do not account for indoor coverage and sometimes they can over (or under) estimate actual coverage.

 

For the next 2 years i believe it is if you go woth cingular you will have access to both Cingular's 1900mhz towers and T-Mobile's as well.

Both Cingular's and T-mobile's network is VERY well built out in the bay area, Cingular's a little more due to the AT&T towers, but when i have been down there, i ave had no complaints. If you ask me the best networks built out in those areas are both Cingular and T-Mobile, so you really can't go wrong with either, but if you go with Cingular they do have free phones and all of the ones they sell have at least both 1900Mhz and 850Mhz. So if you were ever in an area where your Tri-Band phone didn't work you could always pop your sim in your other phone that has 850Mhz and get service....... But its up to you. Both networks are built out great! Cingular just has a little bit of an advantage due to the 850Mhz.... P.M. me and i can tell you more if you want...

 

I have used a 900/1800/1900 phone in mixed 850/1900 areas like Atlanta, GA.. with continuously dropped calls and times when I could not use my phone... Even though 1900 coverage might be good, I think the phone is supposed to hand-off from one freq to the other seamlessly.. which you can't do if you cannot tx on both.. so your call gets dropped. I would go with T-mo

 

if coverage seems to be the same then maybe you should go with T-Mobile because they seem to be the better company all around........better value.........better CSRs

 

I can agree with the value part, But for CS I would say isn't like they were when the merger 1st happened, they have gotten much better.
With that said, I can say I have never had an issue with their CS & know others with the same experience.

 

i think they have a very well trained CS.................each time i called them they were always very very pleasant asking me how my day was going while they pulled up my account info..........then when we were finished she told me to keep having a good day..........they just seem to be "with" their customers a lot more............they care