cell phone provider

[huggytree]

best cell phone service?

ive been w/ us cellular for 5 years now....i pay $120 a month for 2 phones....i forget how many minutes, but id guess 1,500-2000 range(i never go over)

they discontinued my old phone and no longer have a 'heavy duty contractor' phone...+ the local store screwed w/ me and im irritated....enough so that ill switch even if it costs me a bit more.....

who do you recommend and why?

[Steve B]

I just switched to AT&T. I think they are expensive, but have the best coverage in my area. I think the answer is going to depend on where you live and travel.

Have you looked into the Otterbox option that is safe even for underwater?

[MyITGuy]

Verizon Wireless - My bill is about $195/mo for 2 phones and two tablets on the Family Share Plan. I get unlimited minutes, unlimited text messaging and 6GB of data to share across all devices. Take away the tablets and my bill would be ~20-30 cheaper.

They've had the best coverage everywhere I go.
They invest in new technology quicker than any other company that I've seen lately.
I despise AT&T and will do whatever I can to avoid working with that company.

As Steve mentioned, take a look at Otterbox if your looking for good Protection for your phone. Had this for my previous phone and it was just like new when I sold it.

[huggytree]

otterbox is for smart phones...i have just a normal phone

finding a phone that is loud enough and can handle drops is difficult...i finally found a great one....then they discontinue it....it was 2x louder, the earphone didnt plug up with sweat in the summer, it handled drops(my new one breaks into 2 pieces everytime i drop it and i cant hear the ringer most of the time + the volume is very hard to hear when on a jobsite)

i should have bought 3-4 of them before they were discontinued...my phones typically last 1 year or less before they are too damaged to work...i work very hard and they are always getting banged around or dropped

i dont think a smart phone would last in my pocket for a week...even with an otter box

[Harold Mansfield]

It's really going to depend on where you are, what you needs are and what kind of phone you have or plan to have.

I've been with Sprint for about 10 years. At the moment I pay $157 a month for 2 Android phones, one in MI and one in NV, with unlimited text and data and around 1500 minutes a month which we split. I barely use 300 minutes a month since after 7 p.m., weekends, and cell to cell are free calls. It also runs on wifi when I'm at home. So I'm not even sure if I use the 300.

Coverage is just fine. Never had any problems traveling to CA or AZ. Almost constant coverage between Vegas and LA, San Diego, or Phoenix. No dropped calls. No problems.

My only compalint these days is that they don't get the "cool" phones fast enough.

[Freelancier]

I was with AT&T for 10 years and then switched 2 years ago to Verizon and much happier now. Fewer dropped calls, far fewer "dead spots" where I can't get service. Consumer Reports gives a big edge to Verizon for service (both customer service and fewer dropped calls in nearly every metro region they surveyed). Paying about $160/mo for 2 smartphones, unlimited calls and text + 2 GB data.

But you do need to look at your local area -- which is where you'll use it most -- and your expected travel usage to figure out which provider will be best for you.

[Steve B]

I'll bet you can find your old phone on ebay.

[ozetel]

Interesting. Vodafone has a strong presence here in Australia and seems to present a large presence in the US but it doesnt look like that is the case ?

Do you guys have a lot of "tier 1" or major players that keeps competition in the market for you?

We kinda do now but not Australian based/owned carriers, it is the international ones coming into our market that encourages the competition. A bit like airlines really as well.

[Steve B]

I've never heard of Vodafone. Maybe they operate under a diffeent name in the U.S.

[Harold Mansfield]

I've never heard of Vodafone. Maybe they operate under a different name in the U.S.
Verizon is the largest telecommunications company in the United States after their merger with Alltell. Vodaphone now owns 45% of Verizon.
Verizon operates independently of Vodaphone and each keeps offering to buy the other out.

Vodaphone (out of the U.K) is the second largest telecommunications company in the world operating in over 30 countries with partner networks in 40 more. Some Chinese company is #1.

At one point they tried to buy AT&T Wireless (which is a merger between Bell South, SBC Communications and Cingular).

Funny thing about Verizon. Remember the phone company break up of the 80's? We all know AT&T is Bell. But so is Verizon. Verizon started as an east coast Bell Telephone Company (Bell Atlantic). After the break up they purchased smaller Bell phone operators up and down the east coast and eventually acquired GTE and changed their name to Verizon.

So even after all of that anti trust garbage about breaking up monopolies, both AT&T and Verizon, the #1, and #2 services in America, are both still off spring of Bell Telephone and they are both quickly sucking up cable companies (TV and Internet) too.

[billbenson]

I dumped Verizon when they told me I had coverage in my area and didn't. My apartment at the time was to close to a cell tower and the signal was shooting right over me. They just said screw you, it works! I said come here and test it. Put a really bad taste in my mouth.

[Business Attorney]

I'll bet you can find your old phone on ebay.

As Steve B says, you should be able to buy the phone separately from the service, though you need to make sure that you have one that is not locked to another company (unless you want to take the time and trouble to figure out how to unlock the phone). Companies add new phones and drop old ones all the time. That doesn't mean that you can't find the old phone somewhere and still use it on the U.S. Cellular service.

[GreaterVisibility]

I vote for Verizon. I've had everything from Cricket to T-Mobile to AT&T, and I finally went with Verizon. AT&T was good, but I had issues with dropping calls every now and then, and the internet signal was always screwing up. Switched to Verizon, and it has been smooth sailing for a couple of years. Stronger signal than I've ever had, blazing fast 4G speeds online, and the only drawback is that you get what you pay for, so this costs me a bit more.

Oh, and I have purchased my last couple of phones (and subsequent contracts) through Wirefly.com . Saved me some money and got nice phones (currently the Motorola Droid Razr).