What cellular plan do you have...

[k&a&c'smom]

We are thinking about getting a cell phone, had one years ago with Southwestern Bell, but since we are in a rural area, we got terrible service and dropped it.

The only service in our area is Sprint pcs, TMobile, and Cingular, no Verizon.

What is your experience, and what kind of plan do you have?

TIA!!

 

[Lewski709]

Tmobile here...the 39.99 plan. We are satisfied and have had them for 3 or 4 yrs. Unlimited weekends and long distance on weekends.

 

[Kimickey]

I have AT&T and DH has Sprint. I hated Sprint so I dropped them four months ago. DH loves them. I so far have no complaints about AT&T so far. If I don't like them after a year I will switch again probably to Verizon.

 

[legs22]

I first had Cingular then switched to Verizon (nationwide, $40/400min, no rollover) to share 1000 mobile to mobile with my BF. I seemed to get a lot of dropped calls with Verizon. I just switched back to Cingular because I get a 20% discount through work. So I pay $32 (usually $40) for nationwide 450 min. plus the min. rollover and get 1000 m-t-m. I ported my number over to Cingular and it was very quick and easy.

 

[Dan Murphy]

It is very difficult to relate service providers, plans, and phones, region to region, what is available/good one place may not be in another.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Thank you for your help!!

Dan - I should have stated, I'm really trying to find out how satisfied people are with their company, such as customer service, etc. not how good their reception is. I realize that would be hard to compare. I asked what plan, as I haven't had a cell for about 5 years, and don't know anything about the new plans!

My main problem with SW Bell was their terrible customer service.

Lewski709 - I have been leaning toward TMobile, do you find that they have good coverage nationwide?

 

[momof3disneyholics]

I use tracfone. I pay as I go and don't have a monthly bill. I love it!

 

[geffric]

I have NEXTEL with nationwide plan.. DH and I share minutes for the cell and the push to talk.. ( walkie talkie).. so our minutes to each other are free.. we only pay $50 per month..

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

We have the T-Mobile family talk plan. DH and I share 800 anytime minutes, have unlimited weekends, and unlimited T-Mobile to T-Mobile for $69.99 per month. We've been with them for almost 2 years and have had no problems.

Prior to T-Mobile we had Sprint and left them because of their nonexistent customer service.

 

[DVC-Don]

Cingular and Verizon are the two with the best coverage here. We have Cingular Nationwide as it is $5 cheaper per month than a simular plan with Verizon.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

We have Sprint and have no complaints. I have had to call Customer Service a couple of times with questions about the bill. They were very nice and helpful. DH and I share 700 minutes and use our cells for all long distance calls (I call my Mom and Sister a lot!) All long distance is free (no additional charge) if they are in Sprints area (which they are.) We also have nights and weekends.

The other thing that was offered with our plan was PCS to PCS. Call any other Sprint phone and it does not count towards your minutes. My Brother has Sprint so I call him for "free". And my parents are going to be getting a cell soon and will get Sprint so we can all talk for "free".

 

[picantel]

Because of another thread here, we got Virgin mobile. Nice phone and cheap. $20 every 90 days. Just what we needed cause we only use it for emergencies.

 

[dzneprincess]

I have Cingular. I have a $29.99 plan that come with 350 anytime mins and 1000 N&W free long distance free roaming. If my phone works, I can use it at no additional charge. I love it. I also get a %20 discount thru work.

 

[UncleKyle]

I have a plan through Nextel with unlimited incoming calls, 900 outgoing minutes, unlimited nights and weekends and unlimited direct connect nationwide. I love my plan because Nextel doesn't roam so no matter where I am in the country when my phone rings it's free.

 

[mudnuri]

US Cellular, (only real options here are US Cellular, and Unicel....

I have 1100 anytime minutes, free nights/weekends, free incoming calls- and the 5 state regional plan , Vt, NH, MA, CT, NY...nationwide longdistance, only roam outside of my 5 states..

DH as 600 nationwide, "span america" no roaming anywhere in the US, free nights/weekends...

My phone is $44.00 month, DH's is 65.00

When we go to florida, I will swap my phone to a 400 nationwide span america just before we leave, and change back to my plan upon return. We have no contract, and can change our plans as often as we want.

DH has the nationwide as he does a lot of traveling...I will change because work will I'm sure be calling me while I'm gone, and I dont want to get hit with roaming charges.

Brandy

 

[Soccer Princess]

I use Cingular and it's been great. With my plan I have 5000 nighttime and weekend minutes and 350 anytime minutes for nationwide service. It really depends on where you live to tell which provider is right for you.

 

[orvilleair]

Cingular: $19.99 a month for 50 minutes.

A lot depends on your region, but for SW Ohio.

1. Nextel had the best clarity, but the employer dropped them for a less expensive plan (Cingular).

2. Sprint. DW had them for years but dropped them after our billing got crossed with someone in Michigan. Although I called their fraud and theft dept., I never got any followup. I ended up cancelling. And don't resolve this in their PCS stores, they told me to call the 1-800 number. I was peeved that day. The clarity on the phone was strong, but customer service was lacking.

3. Cingular. So far accurate billing, but the range is not as good as the others, for I travel to north Kentucky (1 hour south of here).

I recall that Consumer Reports had an article on Cell phone providers.

 

[crazyforgoofy]

I dropped Sprint last year because of so many dropped calls. Have had great service from T-Mobile pretty much everywhere and no problems at all with customer service. Have 1000 minutes plus T-Mobile to T-Mobile free calling and the free weekend/night stuff. It works for me!

 

[buddy&wooz]

I just switched to T-Mobile from AT&T. I wasn't getting any service in my home with AT&T, so I couldn't take advantage of the free LD and all that. I moved my number over and the CS rep from T-Mobile was great, he explained the process and made sure I understood, and was very clear about what was (and was not) included in my plan, as I'd heard conflicting information. The transfer went very smoothly.

So far so good, the phone works great. I even treated myself to a camera phone (ok, it was free with rebates ) and I'm having a blast with it.

I got the $39.99 plan (had to for the rebates) and I might just need the 600 minutes (and free weekends) now that I can use it at home. My friend got the cheapest plan, $19.99/mo for 60 minutes, but she keeps going over just from her kids calling her all the time. She loves the service, though.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Thanks, everybody!!!!

I am trying to decide which provider would be best, but it's so hard. Most of the people I know don't travel much, so they can only tell me how well they're reception is in town. My DH used to sell for Cellular One, and even though he got his phone and minutes free, their service was terrible. Is Cell One now Cingular, or are they 2 different companies?

I can't seem to decide whether it would be better to get the area-wide coverage, or the nationwide. We travel to FL. at least 2x/year, sometimes driving, but otherwise we're mostly within our own state.

And, I'm trying to decide whether to get the multi-lines or just the one line. I have 3 teenagers!! Decisions, Decisions!

Thanks for all your help!!