VoiceStream in New York

It all really depends on where you live. I know in NY area Verizon is good and so is Sprint. I am not too familier with ATT or Cingular up there though.

 

I just did

Verizon Is great

 

Hey None1, you might want to give Nextel a try.......They have excellent service in New York. Here is a link to their web site(Nextel online) if you have any questions please let me know..!!!! I could help you pick the best plan and phone to meet your needs.

The funny thing is... I don't even work for Nextel, I'm just an everyday "joe" who knows alot about Nextel and others......

 

Give Voicestream a try. Maybe your friend is just having a bad experience.

 

No, I too have heard of many bad experiences with Voicestream in the NYC area.

I just came across a very recent epinions experience from a NYC user:

Pros: Less-expensive plans/more minutes.
Cons: Almost everything else.
The Bottom Line: Cheap rates, the occasional cute phone -- but if you have important calls to make, sign up elsewhere.
Recommended: No

I've been with VoiceStream for a year and a half. At first, service was truly horrific, no matter where/when in metro NY one was. Every friend with VoiceStream had the same problem. We couldn't even call from one VoiceStream phone to another without being cut off repeatedly, even at the most off-peak times. (We came to call this the "Boop of Death," for the boop-boop-boop noise that occurs just before a cutoff.)
We used VoiceStream to arrange times at which we could call each other on a "real" phone.

One year later: Not much has changed.

-- There are odd dropoff areas. One friend can barely get/receive calls from her workplace in central Brooklyn. She holds onto her Sprint service, with its old, breadbox-sized phone, for use in case of emergencies.
-- An acquaintance told of a business lunch in which every other person present could call his/her office to check details -- except this guy, whose VoiceStream phone screen read, "No Service." He had to borrow someone's phone instead.
-- I hesitate to make important calls via my cell phone, since bad reception and cutoffs are the norm, even if I'm just down the block.
-- The only time I've had flawless service was when roaming 800 miles from NYC -- i.e., using OTHER mobile companies' networks.
-- For one week, I was suddenly unable to get any reception (just shrieking/interference noises) in a specific area around my workplace, for reasons that even VoiceStream couldn't explain, despite numerous calls back and forth and tech analyses. Nor did they explain why it cleared up.
-- Re: upgrades: Be aware that your "preferred status" as a customer gets you very little. When you try to upgrade, the phones on which they'll give you a discount are lower-range or second-rank. If you want anything else, you'll pay full retail price -- with none of the rebates offered to new customers.
If you pursue it, customer-rep supervisors might give you a discount, so you'll pay only as much as a new customer. (Gee, thanks!) However, if your contract period is up and you thus face no penalty for quitting, it's worth your while to check out other companies.
-- Their phones, in general, are not the best. The 8290 attracted interest, but VoiceStream's phones are generally so-what, with no convenient clamshells and with features that seem meant for a non-business/adult market. (How often do YOU need to send a "winged heart" cartoon to another phone user?)

Their Nokia 3390 is a case in point. This chunky phone is the successor to the ultra-small 8290. Its only additional feature is AOL Messaging -- which is dopey, since the phone's text-messaging feature makes AOL Messaging unnecessary.

-- Their customer-service reps are often odd. Some are well-meaning, if fuzzy; the tech people can be great; and I empathize with anyone who has to deal with the public -- but too many reps are just strange.

My favorite was a guy who was perfectly OK until he heard that I had a phone problem. He suddenly began chanting (in a monotone, exactly as if he were a recording) that there was a bad connection, so "please hang up, dial 800-(etc) and try your call again." This was despite the fact that I was calling from a good, solid landline and had no problem with any prior or subsequent calls . . . or even with THAT call, until he learned of the problem.

In 18 months, I've chatted with reps who said they knew zero about VoiceStream phones; two who answered calls with something undecipherable, followed by, "uh?"; and one who laughed hysterically (for no discernible reason) during an entire 5-minute call.

With VoiceStream's customer service, personalities definitely predominate over business. It's as if there are no grownups in the house. On the plus side: They'll definitely tell you when they don't know anything.

-- SPECIAL NOTE: Those who rely on mobile phones in case of emergency -- which is all of us -- should take heed:

(1) Friends who had VoiceStream throughout metro NY agree: After 9/11, VoiceStream was the last mobile service to resume functioning.
We were very, very understanding at first. We became much less understanding after six days, when we could get no signal at all, while Sprint, Verizon and AT&T customers conducted nonstop conversations around us. And this wasn't in the Adirondacks -- it was in midtown Manhattan and anywhere beyond, in any direction.

(2) A recent (April 2002) news story stated that, as a reaction to 9/11, VoiceStream has announced a policy: In emergencies, it will give emergency services priority in placing calls, and civilians can expect more calling difficulty during such times. (The implication is that VoiceStream will become almost a NY State emergency medium.)

In short, VoiceStream customers now know in advance that in a significant local emergency, they should head for a pay phone (or borrow a non-VoiceStream cell phone). This negates the very reason that many of us have cell phones -- for emergencies.

I question whether this policy is an acknowledgement that VoiceStream's network simply can't handle the traffic that others can, so must plan to "shed" service when a crisis hits. I'm grateful that I had no desperate contact/emergency calls to make in the days after 9/11. I shudder to think of those who did, and who -- due to VoiceStream -- couldn't make calls, or even receive a voice message or a page.

In short: After a fun 18 months with VoiceStream, I'm ready to go anywhere else.

 

I wasn't aware of such terrible service that this person that you know speaks about. Why is this person like the only person who had so so much trouble with his/her phone in the NYC area?

I disagree with the talk about Voicestream's phones being non-adult/business. They have the Handspring Treo, which noone, I mean noone has (Handspring Treo 180) They have the Motorola P280 (Motorola P280). They have the Samsung Q105 (Samsung Q105) They will be getting the within the next monthSony Ericsson T68
They are also getting the Motorola v60.

 

Actually Verizon and Sprint have had PDA phones for the longest time. This Spring Verizon is releasing a Pocket PC phone that is full color which is called the Audiovox Thera. You will be able to watch streaming video, download music, play mp3, etc........ Can a Hanspring do that??? No, they cant. Just because a company comes out with a Palm phone does not make them a good business provider. I would not be raising to much toward a Hanspring.....they are a Palm. Pocket PC is what you should be looking forward to, they can do alot more than a Hanspring could ever do.
Not that I am ditching Hanspring, even though it sounds like it. Many people use Palms for applications.........but me being the gadget freak...........i would perfer having something that will do alot more than what a Palm platform could do. I own the Kyocera 6035.......while it is a cool phone..........I also own a pocket pc...........and though I cannot make a call with it, it still does more than this phone.

Providers with the most advanced phones for company's are: (not in order)

Verizon Wireless
Sprint
Nextell

 

I have to agree with Wayne on this one...........

 

I live about 50 miles out on LI.I had nextel for about 6 months and had to break contract because it was horrible.No signal on Southern State Pkwy between Wantaugh and Meadowbrook.No signal on Northern(GCP) between Little Neck Pkwy and Jackie Robinson Pkwy(Formerly Interboro Pkwy).I worked in Brooklyn and most of the time the service was poor.Half time direct connect would not work.I currently have AT&T with Motorola V60 and service is flawless everywhere I go.Even in all the areas I have been in Manhattan the phone had full strenght.I will admit that Nextel did work very well in Manhattan.But once you leave service gets worse and worse farther you go out. Even travelling on GCP at those dead spots I mentioned I couldn't even dial 911 because I had no service.That's scary.I would go with AT&T or Verizon.I had them both and they worked great.

 

Thank you wayne, for the comments regarding aiwapro , who thinks that the (Handspring Treo 180) is the world's best phone , and like I said before I hate to burst his bubble, but that one ugly phone, it look like a big black type writer. If you want to see some nice phones look at the Samsung I330 new phone, now that a phone.

 

Well, guys I hate to say this..but, I think we've officially confused None1..!!! So on that note the best peace off advice I can offer you is...Try it for yourself..!!! Nextel has worked great for me in New Jersey, Philly and New York, my family owns a construction company in South Jersey and most of our business is in those places.

You need to ask yourself....do you have any friends or relatives with Nextel phone's..and if so the "Direct Connect" feature would be great for you... Are most of your calls incoming....?and if so.. The "Free Incoming" calling plan would be a great feature to have, along with one-second rounding. Do you talk a lot a night...? And if so...the Unlimited nights&Weekends(That starts at 8pm) would be a great option to have for a addtional $10 a month.


But I would avoid At&t in those areas....I just seems to me that everyone else has better coverage in those 3 states..than AT&t, Why do you think they've been dumping all that money into those areas...?? To fix their so called coverage problems..!!!

 

Tourman, yes lately I have heard good things about AT&T Wireless in NYC. In another thread not long ago, I posted the press release from Oct of last year regarding AT&T Wireless' massive network upgrade in NYC. Verizon, formerly Bell Atlantic Mobile in NYC, of course had a strong presence and coverage there. Sprint is quite decent too as I had good coverage in Manhatten, including the upper floors of the WTC-Mariott Hotel about a year ago...but I barely got any coverage out in the Hicksville, LI region.

 

I have Sprint in North Jersey (10 miles from city) and my gf has voicestream (as well as several ex coworkers)

she and they have issues with voicestream though they have gotten better in their opinion but my gf is still switchin to sprint when her contract is up.

personally i think sprint is great in this area; i have great coverage wherever i go. if you go out into the more rural areas you may roam however sprint is expanding its coverage very quickly in this area and I havent had a need to roam yet. i have talked to many people who consider sprint the top carrier in NYC.

i personally havent had any billing issues yet. of course any carrier will have some problems regardless. good luck with whomever u pick

 

Hey Wayne, have you not looked at the hompage of the Voicestream website? It has a Pocket PC on it.

The other thing that Kenny said about Voicestream being the last carrier to restore service after September 11th; that came up in a forum about 3 months ago, and the person said that their Voicestream phone worked, and their Nextel didn't.

 

OK, so I can see that were going to go...on..on and on about this so, I'll end it right now. First I was in the vicinity when the attack happened..!!! Where was I you ask...? Jersey City, bidding a job..and yes my Nextel phone work, I didn't lose service or get any dropped calls during or after the attack, in fact...the Direct Connect feature worked great..!!!!! So please get your facts straight before making a comment. Below is Nextel's statement witch confirmed that their network didn't go down.

Anyway why would Nextel give 12,000 phones to Government agencies......HHmmm let me think..??

Nextel Statement on the National Emergency

SUPPORTING EMERGENCY SERVICES

Since yesterday, Nextel has loaned more than 2,000 wireless phones with unlimited cell phone and Direct Connect (digital two-way radio service) capabilities to federal, state and local government agencies as well as emergency service provider organizations such as the American Red Cross in the New York City, Washington, D.C. and Boston areas.

Additionally, in cooperation with Motorola, Nextel plans to loan another 10,000 phones, for a total of 12,000 phones, to assist the relief efforts. Government and relief agencies needing to request Nextel phones should make a request via email at wecare@nextel.com.


SERVICE - The Network

Yesterday, the Nextel digital cellular network experienced extraordinary caller volume along the East Coast and sharp activity increase nationwide. Call volumes were up dramatically, resulting in call congestion on our network and the landline network. The Nextel wireless network is and has been stable and all fixed network components are fully operational. During the event, Nextel's coverage in the World Trade Center area and in Washington, D.C. were maintained. Today, the network engineering teams have added call capacity to areas of New York City and Washington, D.C. to assist call demand.

Additionally, many Nextel users in NY and DC have reported that for most of Tuesday, their primary means of communication was Direct Connect, the digital two-way radio service that provides instant communication with other Nextel phone users. They also reported using two-way text messaging to communicate when cell phone and landline networks were not available. Neither Direct Connect nor two-way text messaging services are dependent on the public switched network, which greatly aided their reliability and availability in enabling people to communicate with other Nextel customers.

 

I remember reading somewhere that Nextel phone's were the only ones that worked after the September 11th attack so I would have to agree with Rich and that statement that he copied and pasted.

 

I'm sorry but is there something wrong with coping and pasting Nextel's statement...??? Somehow I get that impression, I'm sure as hell not going to type it...!!

 

Relax! I think the guy was not referring to the fact that YOU copied and pasted the article but the fact that he agrees with your comments regarding Nextel and of those comments made in your (copied & pasted) article. I think you're reading too much into the fact that he included the phrase "copied & pasted."

 

LOL chill Rich I was just making a statemeant and agreeing with those facts.

 

Rich, quick question...Nextel has changed their night start time to 9pm (I checked the Free-incoming nationwide plan). Now how does one get the 8pm N/W plan? If I walked into a Nextel dealer shop right now and signed up with this plan with the N/W package, then my N/W on my account would begin at 9pm, correct?

 

Hello Everyone, well.....first I owe TNDan an apology, sorry...I didn't' mean to overreact like that. Unfortunately I've been stuck in the house for a few days, what happened you ask..??? Well, I decided to play "crash test dummy" with my dirt bike, and shattered my collar bone, sprained my ankle and I have cuts and burns everywhere I feel like a 90 year old man, and I think I'm getting alittle cabin fever too. But don't worry.... I get to go out today....!!!!


In reponsce to Kenny's question....heres how it works.
Nextel only applied the new 9pm start time to two plan's..."National Connect" & the "Get Right Through" plans, both now include more minutes and one has free long distance. If you want the 8pm start time you have to either have the "National Shared" or "Free Incoming" calling plans and add Unlimited Night & Weekends for $10 bucks more a month.

 

Kenny,

Regarding your post about VS in NYC from epinions.com. I used to think that epinions.com was a good way to get an idea about a carrier in a particular region. This is no longer the case. For the most part it seems like the people who make the write ups are mostly people looking to vent and complain about a carrier. Or make their carrier look perfect. As always I'm sure there are some exceptions. I have noticed some recent negative ones in California that I know were greatly exaggerated.

 

END OF THREAD

We have turned a honest question into HELL.

My advice go with Verizon, Sprint or Nextell..............and ATT. Those should be the company's to look for buying a phone.

Verizon=Coverage
Sprint=Price
Nextell= 2 way DC (only good if you know others with DC and with Nextell)
ATT=Just feel sorry for them ROFL J/K Price

Let us bring this Business discussion to the bottom of the Topics list.........CDMA, TDMA, etc................General Discussion and let this thread end. We have all said our part and i am sure he has plenty of info on us...............now it is time for him to go shop around to the different company's for the best deal and rate plan to suit his needs.


Thank you and goodby...................................and good luck on picking a provider..........remember this is always a 15 to 30 day test trial on service.............except for Voice Stream. Like 72 hours or something.

 

One last comment...Nextel does not necessarily give you a trial period. May depend on where you go to but the couple of Nextel dealers/shops I've spoken to here in Chicago said that there is no trial period.

 

Just a couple comments

On 9/11 in northern VA (my office is about 7 miles as the crow flies from the Pentagon) VS was the only service, of those colleagues of mine I work with, that worked. It wasn't 100%, and at times I had to rely on SMS. But I could communicate. Of course, YMMV.

re:epinions - agreed w/previous comment. It's mostly ranters. The person also does not know that the 3390 is not a follow on to the 8290 (that would be the 8390 which VS has decided they will not carry), that the various Nokia series target different groups, etc.

" I question whether this policy is an acknowledgement that VoiceStream's network simply can't handle the traffic that others can, so must plan to "shed" service when a crisis hits."

This person obviously does not have an understanding of the reason behind priority calling. The agreement that VS signed for priority access calling is for gov't officials that need this service. No one said that it would necessarily be harder to call in an emergency. Yes, personnel with those phones will get first priority to acquire a free channel, but the numbers of these phones alone should not clog the system.

Handset upgrade - wrong again. Every three months you can use the handset upgrade program (you have to renew your contract when you do). You get $25-100 off the retail price, depending on how long you've been a customer. For example, I can get a 3390 for 19.99 if I want - the new subscriber price is $79 I think. I can get a P280 for about $125 which is the same as a new sub. I believe. Also, you can upgrade to any phone currently being offered, although when new phones are first released, for the first few weeks they are limited to new subscribers only.

Wayne - just b/c a company releases an mp3 phone doesn't mean that anyone will actually buy/use it (hey just a joke I'm not getting in that debate)

Rich - BTW I was at Liberty State Park last week to see the Tower of Light - Nextel still has a COW there. The antenna was about 20 feet above ground level, but with a clear view over the water into Manhattan.

 

Nextel does not give you a trial period per say. THey give you 30 days no questions ask return

Jack

 

Mp3?? Pocket PC........lol I wish we would carry a mp3 phone!!!!!!!!!! That would rock! I think Sprint is the only one that carries a MP3 phone........am I right on that????

 

I agree with you fully Matt.