WLNP: will YOU be switching? To which Provider and Why?

We will be switching to Verizon after/on November 24.

We don't live in the top 100 metropolitan areas, so we don't want to keep our number.

We only have 8 to 10 people that know it anyway. They are all family members/relatives.

WHY?

1. We will be switching, because the service with Cingular tdma down here in SW Florida has been getting worse and worse since the beginning of this year.

2. The Cingular roaming affliate, which down here and in other places is AT&T wireless. When we don't have a good signal, which is VERY frequently down here, the phone automatically switches over to Cingular Extend (AT&T).

3. Lately, our Cingular phones have been taking longer to switch to AT&T in the places we frequently visit.

4. When the phone doesn't switch over to extend where we use the phones the most, we cannot make a call, or receive a call, since the phone's reception is extremely low (1-2 bars).

5. The Cingular commercials are <u>extremely</u> misleading. IMO, Cingular doesn't have the truest sound due to a sound chip that they promote in one of their commercials.

6. The service was EXTREMELY DISSATISFACTORY when we were on vacation this past summer in the lower half of Michigan.

7. It is embarrassing when you are on the phone to one of your family members or business associates, and the phone all of a sudden starts to cut in and out, and you can hardly hear the person.

8. A year ago, we got better service with Cingular in a RURAL part of northern Wisconsin, than we did down here in a much bigger size town.

9. IMO, the customer service department sometimes doesn't even have the faintest clue of what they are talking about.

10. They didn't even give us a straight answer when we asked them when they estimate that we (SW FL and the sorrounding areas) were to become GSM? The representative we talked to didn't even know what GSM was.

11. The representative also told us that if we get a TDMA/GSM phone, that it would fix our reception problem. I don't necessarily agree with them, since our area is covered "GSM-wise" by T-Mobile, AT&T GSM, and the tdma providers are AT&T, etc. etc.

12. Some of the fees they charge for are ridiculous, such as NP fees, when we aren't going to be able to port our number until May 24, 2004.

13. </u>For 3 WHOLE DAYS</u>, our phone didn't work when we were visiting family members in Michigan (it was analog with 3 bars the whole time we were there)

14. Verizon Wireless has good deals on their plans, such as unlimited n&w's, mobile to mobile, and our relatives/family's friends use it down here in Florida, and up in the midwest, and they say the reception is wonderful.

15. IMO, Cingular's phone seem old and not up to date technology wise.

These pro/con's I have metioned above are my opinion <u>only.</u>

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Gamer03
XBOX and PS2 will rock forever....
until they come out with XBOX 2 and PS3!

 

I switched from AT&T TDMA to VZW on 11/01/2003, & have had no regrets whatsoever. I have in-house covg, &clear reception on calls from inside a car to receiving calls on my cell in a call-center type environment. I never had those results w/ AT&T. I had to get 2 new #s but I like those #s better anyways.

That is why I switched...

 

It doesn't sound like your particular scenario applies to WNP, you shouldn't have to wait for Nov 24 if you're not taking your number with you ...

 

We are waiting until Verizon comes out with their holiday deals on phone and plans, if they have any, and then we will switch.

-------------------------------
Gamer03
XBOX and PS2 will rock forever....
until they come out with XBOX 2 and PS3!

 

Originally I was not going to move. But AT&T's billing snafu has left me without a phone for over 2 weeks. I lost my phone one day before their upgrade. They only got the system up a couple of days ago but there's a backlog of orders. I've been dealing with a very unhelpful sales reps. I had to politely threaten a rep to write down my info and put my order in the queue so that I don't have to kepp bugging him everyday. I don't feel very confident that the rep placed my order correctly and in a timely manner. Thus I am now seriously considering switching if my order is not processed by next week. Just in time for LNP.

BTW, for those of you who don't know, AT&T upgraded their GSM billing & CRM system. The upgrade was supposed to run the weekend of Nov 1. No warning about the upgrade. Then when the upgrade was having problems, everyone was told "maybe tomorrow", then it was the next day, then the next. Finally, this week they got the system mostly up but more reps are trying to login than the system can handle. So even if I got a phone, I would have to pray that whoever I talked to could login. The problem I've been having is that the local sales reps were not trying to help me "get into the queue." They just kept telling me "try again later."

So I've been extrememly patient but no phone for 15 days now. Bad timing for me to lose my phone just before this fiasco but if I wasn't "addicted" to my phone, I wouldn't be reading these forums!

 

I want VZW but darned their phone prices on the small color flip phones..

 

Simple really, AT&T GSM has gotten worse and worse here (Monmouth County, NJ). When I start up my phone it shows me a Network with 5 bars, but won't let me select it. That Network is Cingular (Who just turned on GSM 850 Mhz here). I could put up with the service (once the phone finally lets me pick AT&T- it has taken up to 6 GSM Network searches for the phone to give up on Cingular - I get 1-2 bars inside my house) but without a MOU/reasonably priced WAP plan I am gone. AT&T does not have license for 850Mhz here (Cingular and Verizon have it) so I do not expect service to improve greatly anytime soon. Yeah I know Verizon is the the shizznit here but it is more expensive and I love my T616.

 

I'll stay

Jack

 

I don't plan to switch, since I'm already with Verizon, but if I ever did, I'd definitely port my number with me. The last 4 digits spell "EVIL". I have to keep it forever, just for novelty purposes.

 

I wish WNP had been in place when I switched from Cingular... completely by coincidence (honest!) my phone number was 38-38-SEX.

 

My current phone number is just one digit away from EAT-PETS. sooo close.

And no, I will not be switching. I must say I am shocked to hear that Ceno isn't switching though!

 

If you go to phonespell.org, they can give you neat ways to spell out your phone number. I tried it with my phone number, and I got a few results (which I obviously won't tell you about because that would give out my number )

Also, once WLNP comes out and my contract finishes, I may have to go to Nextel because they are the only carrier that now covers my town adequately. NIMBYs infest my town, and I guess that's something I'll just have to deal with. Oh well

 

That's a cool site. Unfortuantely there are some not so positive ones there LOL.

 

Hey XprtCop,

Keep dreaming. No more moderators.

 

I live in NYC and have been an unwilling customer of AT&T for the last six years (at the time I was 18 and had no credit, and they offered the lowest security deposit). I've been stuck with their miserable service because my cell is my only phone and my career depends completely on recommendations from others and I couldn't risk losing work because someone I haven't spoken to in two years doesn't have my new number.

My phone has always been almost unusable indoors, especially in my apartment, which is really annoying. I had TDMA for about five years and this year switched to GSM, which didn't really seem to make a difference one way or the other in terms of reception. I now have the craptacular T68i, and lately every time I use it, I remind myself how many days we have left before Nov. 24.

I've been waiting for WLNP for years so I could switch to Verizon, and I've firmly decided I'm going to do it, and the LG VX4400 is going to be my new phone. I've been stopping into Radio Shacks just to gaze at it and play with it. It was something of a difficult decision only because I've gotten spoiled by being able to check my e-mail wirelessly via Bluetooth on my PowerBook, but I decided that a phone should first of all be able to make phone calls, and that's something my three AT&T phones have never reliably done. I hope someday Verizon gets some bluetooth phones, but until then I'll enjoy having my phone ring when someone calls, and telling me in a timely manner when I have voicemail, and not having to ask people to repeat things five times.

 

That phonespell website was pretty cool, Ive never seen that before.

 

I'm making the big leap from Verizon to T-Mobile. Verizon's service is great, to be sure, but T-Mo offers a lot more for the money and the Bluetooth phones they offer (specifically the T610) allow me to sync my contact and calendar with mt PC desktop and Mac laptop and carry all the data with me w/o having to spend an arm and a leg on a PDA phone. I got the T610 for free (after rebates) from Amazon, and it looks like I can sell my VX6000 on eBay for more than the price of my Verizon termination fee, allowing me to make a modest profit on the whole switch (well, I guess I should say I'm breaking even because of the cost of the two Bluetooth dongles I bought). I got my T-Mo phone on Friday and call them tomorrow to switch the number over from Verizon. Wish me luck...

 

well i'm staying, lucky for me work pays for my Verizon, and i pay for my Sprint, can someone pay for my Att, that's the only carrier i will be flushing down the toilet when my contract is up.

 

That is a cool site! D@mn the fact that I have 2 zero's in my last 4, which totally negates any spelling. Figures Ceno's would spell EVIL.

 

Mot only am i going to stay with VZW, but i will probably get a 2 year extension to get the LG VX 6000 for $99 after rebate. I have done the math, new every 2 is actualy worth it. Plus i will keep my vx10 for Analog baclkup anyway.

 

How can you use your vx10 as backup? Will VZW let your phone number be programmed into two phones?

 

Not at the same time, but if he is going on a trip or to an area that he knows he needs analog service, he can swap phones and re-activate the VX-10. He could also just be sure to keep it charged and travel with it...all phones will dial 911, active or not if he finds himself in an emergency situation without digital coverage.