Trying to pick a provider for GSM network access

[jaymer]

Since I want a PDA-type phone and will want to use web browsing/messaging functions, I'm told that I will have to pick a carrier that has a GSM network.

Alltel, my current provider does not have this - and as I'm out of contract with them, I'm open to change and take my # with me.

I was told today that AT&T has sold (just not merged yet) with Cingular... and the only other GSM network provider was TMobile.
This guy suggested that if I got in on the AT&T contract, then I'd be grandfathered in with my plan when Cingular took over AND have access to the extra towers that Cingular owns now in their network. He said that AT&T plans were superior to all the others.

All this made sense, but I've never really known anyone with AT&T service. The only thing I've read on the internet is that AT&T customer support is terrible - and since I was getting a high-end phone (with a PDA & operating system) I want to be able to count on their tech support if there are issues... and many others who had tried to go with AT&T had cancelled their contract because of the poor support and dodgy reliability of the network.

SO, this brings up a few points...

1) anyone know about this merger and do you think the newly formed AT&T/Cingular network will be better to be with than TMobile?

2) Anyone have any issues (network/reception or customer service) with AT&T?

3) I want to have 2 phones (maybe 3) and a bunch of minutes - possibly in the 1600/month range - so anyone thing AT&Ts rates are not good? As of today, they just started the "after 7pm" promotion to make free calls, instead of the usual 9pm. 1600 prime time minutes is $99, nationwide, free mobile to mobile, free after 7, free weekends.

[bdraw]

Jaymer

I was in the same boat a you a few weeks ago.

I was leaning towards AT&T and then I was told(not confirmed) that in the Tampabay area that AT&T doesn't even own their own GSM network that they actually have a deal with T-Mobile to use their network. So if you are an AT&T GSM customer in this area you have the same service as T-Mobile.

Now I have never heard anything good about T-Mobile in my life. I assumed they were the worst of the barrel. But then I started to ask around, and I found that all the people who say T-Mobile sucks, dosen't even have their service. I also found that people with T-Mobile say good things about it. Well I am not one to take their word on it, so I went on to jdpower.com which is the site for a company that does customer satisfaction surveys. I am sure you have heard of them. Not only do they rank T-mobile above AT&T but T-Mobile is in a 3 way tie for the best wireless provider in the SE of the US.

Now if that was not enought to convince me, the fact that T-Mobile data rates are much lower than AT&T. I was set to pay $8/mo to AT&T for 1mb of data per month and .01 per additional KB. With T-Mobile I pay $5.00 /mo unlimited data service. The only thing I can't do is use my phone as a modem, T-Mobile charges $20/mo for that. Plus if you are a T-Mobile customer you can get unlimited T-Mobile Hot spot access for an additional $20.00/mo.

I have had my new Nokia 6610 for two weeks, and am very happy with it. It is very early to really tell, but I feel confortable because I only had to sign a 1 year contract.

http://www.jdpower.com/cc/telecom/jdpa_ratings/wireless/Find.jsp?s=2&v1=4

[jaymer]

very interesting.
several things you mention are REALLY important.

1) the guy i was talking to was an AT&T reseller.
of course, its his job to recommend to go AT&T now - duh!
but i'll ask him about the ownership thing.

2) data rates are important. Hadn't thought about that.
the PDA phone will probably have to have the $20/mo plan for browsing.
I'll check AT&T on this as well.

3) 1 yr contract is awesome - vs. 2 year.
i'd almost just go ahead and grab a Sony 610/616 for 1 yr - the P900 is for Cyndi cause she needs a new PDA

I had never heard anything bad about TMobile - only internet reports about how bad the AT&T call centers are - esp. if I was getting the complex phone and needed support.
If I was only getting a regular phone, I doubt I'd care cause I'll never talk with cust. svc anyway.

Another thing that I forgot to mention was that I'm dropping 2 of our 3 home/office lines and using that money for cell... local phones and all the taxes are just a big waste. With unlimited After7 and family calls, the only thing I'll need minutes for is business calls... and if I'm at my desk, I can use our remaining land line.
I'll save $80/month just dropping the 2 lines, plus I spend over $100/month on Alltel now, so any move I make will be cheaper than what we have now... but I need the reliability.

thx
jaymer...

[FTBoomerIII]

I am with ATT and have the Sony\Ericsson T616. I have been with ATT for 10 years and rarely have problems. As for the T-Mobil owning the towers thing. I doubt that's true. I travel a lot and when I go into a city that isn't 100% ATT, my screen switches over to show me the network I'm on, most of the time it's ATT, but I have on occassion seen it come up with Cingular or some local mom-n-pop provider.

Which brings me too my next point, with ATT and Cingular merging, you are going to have one helluva great network coverage.

As too MB data usage, I use my T616 as a bluetooth moden for my iPAQ 2215. I'm on the 4MB plan ($8.99\month, I think) and I have never even used over 2 MB. Unless you are on the thing constantly (which isn't likely due to the size and speed of the device) you aren't going to use much in the way of data.

BTW, Bluetooth is AWESOME! I use it as a modem and for the bluetooth wireless Uhura type earpiece.


If I missed anything, ask again and I'll answer as best I can.

[Leth]

Okay lemme see if I can clear a few things up for you guys since I actually work in a store that carreied cellular equipment from AT&T, T-Mobile and Cingular.

AT&T does not share towers with anyone for there GSM service. In fact AT&T was largly CDMA as is cingular. Both companies have started to build up their GSM networks because GSM is a more effective RF system. I have a co-worker who had AT&T GSM service which was absolutley terrible but this all changed when he got a brand new device and has absolutley no problems now with the service but the customer support to get to this point was a long slow tedious process.

I will say that I am on T-mobile GSM's service and since T-mobile is solely GSM there network coverage is far superior to the other two providers. That, and I have never had a problem with T-Mobile Customer Support.

I do know in other areas that AT&T has deals with T-Mobile and Cingular to use their towers as they don't have sufficent coverage area but I do not think this is the case in this area, unless they have made a deal recently.

The only other thing I would look at is www.howardforums.com which is a cellular phone web forum that has forums for the different providers and forums for manfucaturers so you can get feedback for particular devices.

[bdraw]

Jaymer
If you are looking to save on your home phone, you may also consider www.vonage.com I have a few friends with it and they love it. Basicly Vonage gives you a box that looks like a hub, and you plug it in between your cable modem and you Router. All your calls get routed over the internet. The plans start at $15/mo and go to $40 for unlimited everything(including long distance). There are no taxes or any other fees, and it includes VM, Call waiting caller ID etc. Plus you can take your number with you. If you do decide to go that way let me know, because if you put my brother down for a referal you both get 1 month free. Personally I haven't had a home phone for a couple of years, and I don't miss it.

[jaymer]

FTBoomer - the current TMobile coverage document states that they don't share networks - and if you are not in a TMobile coverage area, "your phone will not work".

[jaymer]

Leth, thanks for contributing.
FTBoomer has a point about the combined ATT/Cingular network, but I had also heard before what you said about the quality of the TMobile network.
I'll check out that forum.
thx
jaymer...

[jaymer]

bdraw, I have heard about them and only actually seen one person's Vonage hookup.
this would work well in our house as we are on the internet all day long.
but i think with a 2000 minute plan, I'd be in good shape with just a cell phone. But I'll keep this in mind. We have 3 phone lines and have decided to leave only our business # connected

interesting how the big phone companies are trying to make Vonage fall under Federal phone regulatory plans because their prices are cheaper than what the phone companies can offer.

[BlackCatt]

I have T-mobile. I like them. I had sprint before but couldn't get service in my own house. My parents have Cingular and they have problems getting service in my house as well. Friends with AT&T or Verizon have service and of course T-Mobile. I have always thought Verizon has been expensive though. There are areas though that T-mobile's service is lacking. The publix across the street for instance is like an anti T-mobile zone, you walk in the front door and poof service goes to crap. Some places where you drive around have dead spots as well. I guess what I am trying to say is that no service is perfect. T-mobile has its coverage problems as do all of the providers. So shop around, and see if any of the providers offer a money back guarantee so you can try out your service at home and the office etc.

I have the T610 and love the bluetooth capabilities. I will say though that along with the service provider the phone itself will make a difference in your reception.

Good luck in your selection.

[FTBoomerIII]

FTBoomer - the current TMobile coverage document states that they don't share networks - and if you are not in a TMobile coverage area, "your phone will not work".

Hey Jaymer, I went to ellenton this weekend and the screen on my ATT phone switched over to T-Mobile. Worked fine, but it was on T's network.

[jaymer]

HEY FT,
one of the booth vendors in brandon mall told me that you will be charged for roaming.
for us here in brandon, the vendors all know about some bad coverage areas south of us (and the coverage maps show it) - so they use it against each other to say "if you are in sarasota, either 1) your phone will not work, or 2) you'll pay roaming.

i looked at the ATT rate guide/map and the fineprint clearly states that you'll pay roaming charges when not on their network.

i told the vendor "well, i wouldn't stand for that... i'd just not use a vendor where that would happen"... so please check your bill or contact a rep and let us know if in fact they are charging you extra for those call.

thx
jaymer...

[FTBoomerIII]

Actually I'm on the ONE-Rate plan. Since I travel a lot, I am always switching networks and it's been this way for years. I do NOT pay for any roaming. There are other plans within ATT where this is true though.

[dvdao]

I'm a Tmobile to ATT convert and think that they are both about equal in terms of service and quality. Both pretty sucky. ATT does charge roaming in when going over to Bradenton and Sarasota. I called ATT up and they told me that they do not cover those areas and indeed it is a roaming area. I went crazy and told the guy I'm switching when my year is up(april). Unfortunately I don't think most of the major carriers are that great for what they charge and the service/reception that you get.

[jaymer]

thx, and here is an article on the possible upcoming AT&T problems with the merger

view this coverage map (http://www.engadget.com/entry/5326780577844212/)

i think i would have gone crazy also... but because i travel a bit, i would also have had a plan for nationwide coverage, so perhaps it wouldn't have affected me.

i'm surprised at the small amount of money that you get nowadays for going to another provider. am off contract on 2 phones, yet SPRINT only gives me a $150 "REBATE" on one of these phones for 2 yrs... and $100 for only one year. not a lot, IMHO.

i'm sure a lot of people are in various types of flux like you - thats why I hope there's some value to this forum - the poll has received more responses than any prior poll.
people in other cities or on nationwide forums just cannot speak to these specific issues like this sarasota thing, or more general reception problems that may happen in/around Tampa proper.

jaymer...

[JBtampa]

been shopping lately for a replacement phone from Cingular. the company store in Brandon told me to hold off till June, as they are switching to GSM and will have 14 new phones. in the meantime i looked at their website and found that the same phones they sell, albeit some with rebates, are actually free, no rebates needed, on-line. I'm hoping for a blackberry. My boss just got one from Nextel for 200 bucks after rebate, of course.