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Cell phones: What would make you want to switch cellular carriers?
- 8/15/07 1:57 PM
What reason would there be to stay??
by GrumpyRiam - 8/15/07 6:38 PM In reply to: What would make you want to switch cellular carriers? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Why did I stay with my current carrier? I know how good their coverage is across the USA. Others can't match it. I may not like everything about the carrier but it sure beats others. If another carrier actually DID have more bars or coverage as I now get with Verizon and then I would have started to consider it. I think coverage should be the main reason. Then consider the cost of the plan. None of us want to spend anymore money on a phone than is needed. So more minutes for less or roll overs would be really nice.
Over the past year, we have been over in minutes way too many times. Sometimes more than twice what it should be. Getting charged .40/ min over can really be expensive. So how about coming up with a way to get additional blocks of minutes without the high cost, but without giving up the better than others coverage area. Lastly, if you could use the same phone with any carrier it would be a more even playing field, but we know that is part of the reason that there are so many different carriers, it is a business. As far as contracts, I would like to see all carriers do a 6 month, or 1 year at the most contract. It would keep their Customer Service on the ball, if they really want to keep you.
Other reason (What is it?)
by l5n25 - 8/15/07 6:39 PM In reply to: What would make you want to switch cellular carriers? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Really it's a combination of coverage area, rates, plans, and customer centered service. I switched from Sprint to Cingular (which became AT&T) because when my contract with Sprint came to and end they wanted to hike my rates by a substantial amount even though I had been a loyal customer and always paid my bill on time. Cingular had better coverage (which I would have been willing to overlook Sprint's shortcomings in this regard) Sprint's phone was superior at the time.
What it finally came down to was Sprint was unwilling to talk & listen to me. A couple of phone calls to no avail. Sprint's (and really the industries) assumption that it's all about enticing new customers (not retaining their present customers) creates a self-fulfilling dynamic... when contracts expire, people look around and usually switch because they can get a better deal as a "new" customer than as a loyal customer.
Horrible way to conduct business.
me personally
by wliang - 8/15/07 6:44 PM In reply to: What would make you want to switch cellular carriers? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I would switch if they had a phone exclusively on that carrier that i wanted. but i would also change carriers if i didnt like their customer service or recpetion was terrible or if they screwed me over on something.
I've seen the other side of the mountain!
by ATexasTiger - 8/15/07 6:47 PM In reply to: What would make you want to switch cellular carriers? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Since I have been working in the middle east for the last three years I have an unlocked motorola quad band and purchased sim cards from different carriers in the areas that I travel. I just by $10, $20, or $30 phone cards to get air time. This is what needs to happen in the U.S., get out of pit of contract and service agreements. Buy the phone you want, then buy a sim card from a provider.
My only drawback is the lack of an intergrated system, to many dead spots. This would not be a problem in the states.
If one of the cellular companies would break away and push this as there basic service, they would grab the market.
I would give a carrier serious consideration if they offered service like this.
um, yeah...... those exist already.......
by kdude90 - 8/16/07 8:40 AM In reply to: I've seen the other side of the mountain! by ATexasTigerThey're called prepaid phones. You can get them pretty much anywhere. However, I would recommend going with AT&T GoPhone since they have the largest coverage area. The only downside is that you have to buy a phone in order to get the SIM card, although you can go to any RadioShack and buy a cheap one for about $20.
1 more thing
by kdude90 - 8/16/07 8:42 AM In reply to: um, yeah...... those exist already....... by kdude90And of course, you can buy airtime cards for those phones ranging anywhere from $15-$100.
My Recommendation
by aaarish - 2/25/08 4:23 AM In reply to: um, yeah...... those exist already....... by kdude90I will also recommend AT&T.
http://www.allbestmessages.com
I don't think soo!!
by Lizperg - 2/12/08 2:45 AM In reply to: I've seen the other side of the mountain! by ATexasTigerI had also worked in the middle east and run the same kind of business, but I've kinda different opinions in this regard. Though, I don’t ompletely disagree with you; but still I think that there are a few companies involved in this sort of businesses. i.e. http://allsmsmessages.com/
IT'S THE NETWORK...
by MoreyBund - 8/15/07 6:47 PM In reply to: What would make you want to switch cellular carriers? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
... and in my area (central Idaho) Verizon's sucks. There are more dead spots than live spots, and for the time being Verizon is the only game in town. When I lived near a large city, I used my cell phone heavily and productively for many years, but once my contract is up, I will learn to do without. The present coverage is simply not good enough to be useful. Verizon should be ashamed to even show Valley County as a coverage area.
No one is better than Verizon or Sprint in the US
by ESUNintel - 8/15/07 6:59 PM In reply to: What would make you want to switch cellular carriers? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
In my opinion no one is better than Verizon or even Sprint. I will admit that AT&T and T-Mobile have the nicest phones out there. I also miss AT&T (I used to be a Cingular customer) cause I was able to purchase any European or Japanese phone and be able to use them in the US, which was pretty cool. Then I started going into Smart Phones and later on had to get a PC card. After dealing with Cingulars EDGE and later on 3G network in places like New York, I was forced to switch to either Sprint or Verizon. I chose Verizon cause they had nicer phones than Sprint; however, I do miss the nicer AT&T phones. Like most Verizon customers, I have been spoiled by their national coverage and amazing Internet and download speeds, so I do not plan on going back to the horrible 3G (or EDGE, something that Cingular should feel ashamed of), ever again. If AT&T were to ever compare to Verizon than I might go back. As of now I am happy with my Blackberry 8830 (which also works outside the US) and my super fast Verizon Wireless PC Card.
My opinion on the iPhone is that it is a complete piece of useless technology from Apple. It does have nice features like the ability to use iTunes and a really nice mobile Operating System. ...but who in their right mind would buy a smart phone that isn't even 3G capable and only works on the EDGE network. I guess one would buy it to look like the Ultimate geek at school or simply to make a fashion statement with it (specially if it's in a Vaja case).
Why ask this question now?
by QueMike - 8/15/07 7:10 PM In reply to: What would make you want to switch cellular carriers? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
For me, the next phone will be my next iPhone with the carrier providing the best broadband cellular coverage and wifi hot-spots.
Any topic on cell phones becomes a referendum on the iPhone. What's the point?
How on Earth do you expect to gather useful poll data or representative posts on the topic of cell phones?
For weeks and months prior, and surely for months after, the launch of the iPhone blurs any picture of the cell phone and PDA market. For that matter, the iPhone blurs the mp3 player market and will impact portable GPS and car navigation systems while people tinker with Google Maps and wait for the inevitable update to allow cell tower triangulation. I'll resist the temptation to digress further with thoughts on proximity marketing (surely that's the sweetest of cherries that Google is eyeing when they work on the iPhone.) Sure, it will be nice to bring up the grocery list (or one day receive a message from the fridge or the pantry checking RFID tags, spoilage dates etc.) but will it be okay to also get a message about discounts on Vodka or domestic beer because "the system" has noticed you sure do buy a lot of booze ... 
Anyway, again, what's the sense in polling for cell phone trivia questions when the iPhone dominates every discussion on the topic?
So my next step won't be to drop my iPhone 1.0 on eBay and get the coolest features in the larger, thinner iPhone 1.5 or 2.0, it will be to go to the carrier with the best coverage of then-current broadband data including Wifi. I'd like to think Apple has this up their sleeve. Sure, they'll sell an "iPhone for teenagers" to take the thumb-typing cell phone segment by storm. Minutes will be cheap, messages will be cheaper still, but data and cool iPhone 1.0 features will be reserve for the $500 iPhones, not the demographic-tested $185.00 price target for capturing the "status" proposition for teenagers.
ps. All that said, I do hope Steve has a "Newton" edition of the iPhone with the large 5x8 format and options for memory cards, video capture etc. as well as UI features I expect to see updated in the iPhone such as gestures, voice recognition, etc. and surely we'll see updates to bring in technology such as Flash, streaming etc.
Lots of reasons to buy the next iPhone.
And for me, the next few weeks will be absorbed with iMovie (now that it handles AVCHD and SD-based 1920x1080 video instead of this old-school tape-based nonsense) and I'm enjoying putting videos on the iPhone for traveling, although I've declined to pay for Quicktime Pro just for this convenience.
Coverage Area is the most important
by SavageJL - 8/15/07 7:18 PM In reply to: What would make you want to switch cellular carriers? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
A cheaper price with no coverage is worthless no matter what the price.
Price value is what I want. The more places that I can use my phone the better the value.
All the choices except special features are good reasons.
I want Government regulation of the Cell Phone Companies. They get away with murder now and make all the rules in their favor, and we the one paying for the service can take it or forget it.
SPRINT
by Bearster1 - 8/15/07 7:20 PM In reply to: What would make you want to switch cellular carriers? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have SPRINT and In Northwest Indiana they suck! putting it mildly..
They blow Millions on ad campaigns and gimmicks and very little on equipment to extend range!!!!!!! Tons of lost calls! I coulda won free concert tix twice and got dropped! I barely get reception at my house or kids schools or at Walmart but works some times at work at best! tHey sucked me in and jammed me! 3 phones I cant use you do the math!
Bearster1
by taliesinjones - 8/16/07 5:04 PM In reply to: SPRINT by Bearster1I live in east Indiana and had the same problem with Sprint - no coverage in my area. Couldn't call home from work (thirty miles). I called Sprint and explained my problem and they let me out of my contract (free) and I returned their phone. It was useless to me. I now have Verizon Wireless and the coverage is adequate - you can reach most places, but 'keeping' the call is another matter. A MAJOR problem with VW in our area is delayed voice mail - nothing like getting a call 6 days later from a friend with a flat tire or a son in the emergency room. The phone never rings - just goes straight to voice mail and the alerts don't let you know it's there for days! It seems to me that the more people that join the service, the poorer the service becomes, although VW assured me that they bring in portable towers for heavy service periods like the 500 Race.
Service Where I Need It
by cgarofalo1 - 8/15/07 7:20 PM In reply to: What would make you want to switch cellular carriers? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
When I became engaged, my fiancé and I decided to get a family shared cell phone plan with my existing provider, Nextel, with which I had been extremely satisfied for quite a few years. However, he lives in the upper peninsula of Michigan out in a remote area where there are no landline phone lines and where he knew of Nextel customers not getting a signal. We specifically asked if our phones would work up north and were assured they would. We insisted they put a note in our file indicating we had asked and been promised service where our phones would be used.
Needless to say, our first trip up north from my home in the Chicago area left us with no service as we hit northern Wisconsin. We continued without service for one month until we drove back down through Wisconsin. We had to buy a TracFone and pay for minutes to have phone service while in the U.P. Being that we would be splitting our time between the two locations throughout the year, we had no choice but to switch to Verizon which does have coverage in Northern Michigan as well as the Chicago area. Though the call quality is poor compared to Nextel, at least in the areas where we use the phones, we have a working phone. Coverage so that one actually has service is the most important consideration no matter where one lives. No fancy phone or cheap rate matters if one can't use the phone.
As an aside, we worked hard with Nextel to not be charged an early cancellation fee. We were finally released from our contract because of their lack of coverage where we would be living part of the year after they had assured us we would indeed have service there. Don't just assume you'll have to pay for an early cancellation. If you have a legitimate reason you need to cancel, call the corporate office if need be but don't just swallow the fee. They CAN be moved.
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