Sprint in the Triangle (NC)

There's a thread just a few spots below this one that's entitled 'Raleigh, NC and Sprint w/ Nextel' that might be worth a read. Since Durham is so close, you're probably not likely to get much more information specifically on Durham because most people that know probably posted there and the Durham coverage is very similar. As far as I can remember, I've not heard many complaints about Sprint in Durham either. But for the reason you are dissatisfied with Cingular, Sprint has just done the same thing and raised their SMS rates to 15 cents.

Sprint does have very good data rates but I can't comment on the call quality or dropped calls other than to say that I've not heard bad things about them either because I don't actually use Sprint. I use to be on Verizon but currently on Alltel. Alltel would also probably be much more cost-efficient depending on what you need. They might be worth considering too and I've never had any coverage, quality, or dropped calls problem with them in the area, I can't think of a single poorly connected or dropped call and I'll use 3-4K minutes/month. I've actually been very impressed with how much native coverage Alltel has in Virginia and the Carolinas while actually providing coverage to some of the very rural places I go. But when I compared the two, I thought Sprint had the better data rates and might be better for someone who used EVDO and data a lot (depending on what specific type of data you're talking about) and Alltel had the much better voice rates and gave more minutes, especially when you got up to the My Circle price range or a family plan just because you could get so many minutes out of it and not have to pay more for a higher minute plan. It really just depends on what you need in a plan but I think you'd be happy with either.

 

Try Sprint. Their native network covers somewhere close to 265 Million People I think, and with roaming, Sprint gives you the largest free home calling area in the nation. Also, Sprint phones have a force roam setting so in case you are ever in an area that has a weak Sprint signal you can just force roam and make a call free of charge. No other carrier offers a force roam option.

Depending on whether or not ALLTEL has service in your area, they may also be worth taking a look at. They generally have excellent coverage in their native licensed areas, and outside of that they allow to to voice and data roam for free.

Both carriers have a trial period. Hope this helps.

 

You can go Month to Month with any carrier, from the other thread Cingular is good in this area & I agree with their current plans & packages I can see not wanting to go to a new one.

You can buy unlocked phones on Ebay if you decide you want a new phone & don't want to extend your contract as well.

 

torifile; you can go month to month with any carrier if you want. They (Cingular) can't make you take another contract.:browani:

 

That's an odd tactic if I understand it right that I don't think I've ever heard of before. Using the SMS price increase to get out of the contract ... but wanting to stay with the company on a month-by-month basis. Good luck with it. I've heard many stories of people trying to get out of the contract, from all companies, and not being able to, and several of whom were successful. But this is a new one on me ... I'm behind you 100%, I just think most people wouldn't go through the hassle unless they wanted a change. Please let us know how it turns out if you don't care.

If you prefer GSM, I would stay to stick with Cingular in Durham, you don't want to get stuck on SunCom. SIM cards are a big advantage that GSM does have over CDMA technology but instead of adapting to the change and coming out with some type of SIM cards, CDMA companies are satisfied keeping the phones locked down. Sprint is very bad about crippling phones also.

And Alltel isn't without its downfalls. But as is the case for me and I think several others that do visit, they're a good way to get national CDMA coverage without paying the prices of Verizon or having the phone crippled. The Carolina/Virginia area is very well covered by Alltel with EVDO in Durham as I travel all through it from Harrisonburg to Spartanburg. With MyCircle, most family plans can drastically reduce minutes. I would rate the customer service a notch behind T-Mobile but they don't have the restrictive practices of Verizon or Sprint on the phones or the high prices of a Verizon or Cingular. They're also not the best when it comes to billing errors, as I've had two, but the CS has been good enough to correct it for me in about a minute both times. All in all, they seem to be a good option for a lot of people but don't get considered by many because they're not a huge corporation but seem to have the positives of one and have a competetive effect on the industry. I just don't see T-Mobile offering MyFaves without Alltel offering MyCircle.

With that said, I also think the SERO plans of Sprint are even better pricewise and love their ability to roam at will while not charging extra. There was a post on here yesterday about them perhaps not offering the SERO plans any longer, but hopefully that was a glitch and you won't have any trouble getting one if you go that route. Long story short, if you're thinking about Sprint, I think you'll be very happy with Sprint if your battle with Cingular turns you negative on them.

 

People haven't been able to get out of their contracts due to the SMS PPU increase, well some claim to have on HoFo, but the majority have not. It's one of those "Sprint let people out, why not Cingular" attitudes. The biggest thing to remember is Sprint, Cingular & Now Verizon have all raised their PPU SMS rates to 15 cents each way, so leaving the 3 big carriers for another one doesn't mean a cheaper PPU SMS usage & not really worth the hassle as you said.

The main thing is that Sprint & Verizon have better SMS plans to sign up for over Cingular, which I do hope they will do something about soon.

 

I work in Durham and I have a co-worker with Sprint. I've casually asked her what she thought of Sprint and how well it works in the area, her response was all positive. Take it for what it's worth.