The [H] Carrier Thread

Which carrier do you use?

  • Verizon

    Votes: 49 36.0%

  • AT&T

    Votes: 28 20.6%

  • T-Mobile

    Votes: 20 14.7%

  • Sprint

    Votes: 26 19.1%

  • US Cellular

    Votes: 1 0.7%

  • Straight Talk

    Votes: 2 1.5%

  • Ting

    Votes: 3 2.2%

  • Other

    Votes: 7 5.1%
  • Total voters
    136
K

kidstechno

Gawd
Joined
Dec 14, 2005
Messages
580
I'm currently on Sprint but tired of waiting on network upgrades, constant slow 3G speeds, and lack of coverage in rural areas. Obviously if I lived in LTE coverage I'd be a lot happier. Thinking of switching to Big Red (Verizon) or AT&T. Quite a bit more expensive, even with a company discount, but having confidence or coverage and speeds would be better for me at the present time.

In researching switching, which carrier do you guys/gals use? What area do you primarily use your service? Is the service good?
 
Yeah, Sprint's coverage sucks for me. But the savings are worth the pain because I'm using Ting, an MVNO. Two phones, 500 mins, 1000 texts = $33 per month (incl. taxes).

When I'm home I just use GrooveIP for unlimited minutes/data. Use work's wifi for data if I want. Eh, who am I kidding; I use the computer at work and have no desire to surf the web on my phone.
 
I have done the big 4 in the US. so far been happiest with Verizon. really liked sprint about 4 years ago, but they have been quite horrible for the last two. T-Mobile was ok except for the coverage. at&t tried to screw me over, so they can eat a bag of dicks.
 
T-Mobile, because it's cheap and the service is good enough where I live.
 
The general rule is if T Mobile or Sprint coverage is good enough where you live and you don't travel much they are a viable option but if they don't have good coverage where you live you're looking at AT&T or Verizon.
 
Currently on Verizon, thinking of moving to T-Mobile in September because Verizon's political stance and handset selection is pissing me off too much.
 
I have Sprint, and their coverage has gotten worse. I have thought about switching, but the other carriers are costly and their CS sucks. None of them are good choices.

Sprint is supposed to be repurposing all those Nextel towers and equipment to increase their 3g/4g coverage, but I have yet to see the results. Luckily in my home area, the coverage is decent, so I live with it for now.

While I had excellent coverage before with Verizon, their business practices and Customer Service were so unbelievably horrible that I vowed to never use them ever again. I mean charging me for calling my own voice mail, yet I can call anybody else in network for free? What kind of corrupted BS is that? Not to mention they had hidden fees all over the place and everything they say to you when you switch from one service to another, even their own services is a lie. They charge out the ass for any change.
 
I was on Verizon for the past year and enjoyed the good coverage. I just couldn't stomach $160 for 2 lines anymore. I ended up doing a corporate discount switch to T-Mobile with their cheap plans. The coverage is pretty good and I'm in a location with LTE and the speeds destroy Verizon's LTE. I just can't get it in my apartment due to some thick trees, couldn't with Verizon either. With T-Mobile I like the idea that you can pay the phone off and have a significantly lower bill after it's paid off after the 2 years, or you can pay it off early. I'm currently paying $130 for a Nexus 4 for her, and my HTC One, and when the phones are paid off the plan will go to like $80 a month. I'm hoping to have these phones for a while...
 
Been on Verizon since 2005.

I couldn't imagine a better carrier for (LTE) coverage and customer service (the few times I've had to deal with them). But their policy/plan changes over the past year or two have been pretty bad and tempted be to jump based on principal alone. But I really don't think I would save enough money to be worth the coverage/service loss. I pay $140/month for two smart phones with unlimited everything besides 1400 mins/month and pull around 20 Mb/s everywhere in my area still since it's a pretty rural area. LTE just deployed in my little town last week and I get almost 30 Mb/s consistantly. I'm thinking of dropping my home ISP for a month or so, just so I can get my introductory rates back (I called and threatened to leave, but they didn't lower it much). I have a third line on my account that my mom uses and pays for and she's happy with her iPhone as long as it doesn't die, so I keep using her line to upgrade so I can keep unlimited data too. As long as that loophole exists so I can keep unlimited data on Verizon, I'll stay with them. Otherwise LTE is useless, IMO.
 
I have verizon right now but as soon as my contract is up in a few months i'm going to switch to Stright talk.. So tiered of paying almost 200 a month for 2 smart phones with only 700 mintues..
 
Virgin Mobile is pretty good but your gonna be buying your phone straight up.
 
After only using at&t for years, I've been using t-mobile for the past 3 months. Coverage and price has been excellent.
 
Been on StraightTalk for 3 months now, not a problem at all. Much cheaper ($130 vs $45) than my previous AT&T service
 
T-Mobile
As long as I still live in the Los Angeles area there is literally no reason for me to pick anyone else.
 
Stuck with ATT for the past 8 years. Had great experiences, some bad, over all cant complain.
 
I've moved constantly because of well moving a lot over the past 9 year. Did all big 4 carriers AT&T for 4, verizon for 2, tmobile for 2, sprint for a year. Currently with AT&T when verizon wanted to raise prices last year for family plan with the share only plan.
 
Sprint, even though their service isn't the best, its the cheapest and works fine for my needs.
 
The only network that works well where I live is Verizon, I've been on a cheap grandfathered family plan but I couldn't get a decent phone on that plan so I'm in the process of switching over to Page Plus(a Verizon MVNO). Page Plus is limited to 3g speeds and I had to jump through some hoops to even get a 4g phone to work on it but for $30/month I get 1200 minutes, 2000 texts, and 500mb of data(I'm usually around wifi). Another drawback is that roaming isn't free but but it's been a few years since I've seen my phone go into roaming so I'm not too concerned about that.
 
Verizon since 2009, though it feels like a lot longer. I've tried all of the big 4. Main reason I've stuck with Verizon is the grandfathered unlimited data plan. I'm not opposed to switching if a good deal were to come around.
 
Just tacking one thing onto this:

Went to ATT because my moto atrix battery wont charge past 80%, mind you this phone is about five months off contract but still tied to a number. Anyways, they already emailed me my shipping notification for a new battery, paid nothing and was out of the store in 10 to 15 minutes.
 
Wow, 1/3rd so far are on Verizon :eek:

Curious if you guys on Verizon, are you paying for your service yourself, or does your job / work cover it ?

I left running from Verizon a year ago, they were CRAZY super uber expensive, by a long shot. My wife and I had a shared family plan, unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, 4GB Data shared, and it was insanely high w/tax $235/Month :mad: Now we are on Straight Talk - ATT, total monthly bill is $90 :D I don't notice much difference in service, sure ST is a slower, but I am around WiFi in the Office or Home, so it doesn't matter that much.
 
I keep hearing how great T-Mobile's new plans are, no contract thing ? Whats the best deal there for a shared plan for two ? And how does that compete with what ATT might offer for a shared ?
 
I only stick with Verizon due to my grandfathered, unlimited data which is truly unlimited with no throttling, overages, etc.

Once that's gone, so am I.
 
We're on AT&T and I can't stand them. Expensive, terrible support, horrible speeds. I'm looking forward to switching back to T-mobile.
 
I think I might look at T-Mobile see what they have to offer when the Note 3 comes out next month. What kind of shared plan can I get my Wife and I on ?

I'd be willing pay full price for 2 new N3's, to help get us the best monthly deal, with unlimited minutes + texts, and like 4GB data.
 
lol, I'm still apparently the only one bringing up the rear with US Cellular. They are a terrible provider imho..

Their prices are high and coverage sucks in my area compared to AT&T and Verizon. I was 30min or so outside of Milwaukee WI this past weekend and I was with no service period (calls/txt/data) and my buddy next to me had full bars LTE on his verizon phone.

I was looking at moving to t-mobile but decided that the only way they would be worth it is to pay upfront for my phones to get the cheaper monthly rate. But then it would only make sense if I kept that phone for more than 2 years which won't happen. I'm also a little concerned about their coverage. Around the city I'm sure I would have no issue at all. but I do take some road trips out of the area and on their coverage map unless your in a major city it's mainly all covered by a "service partner" and from what I've read on the howardforums is that map isn't very accurate, it may say "service partner" but you'll actually get nothing. I don't expect to get 2g/3g/4g everywhere I go, but unless i'm really in the back country I sure better be able to atleast make a simple call.

I'm not a heavy phone user but I still like my new/current devices. for the extra $30-40 a month I would spend going to verizon/at&t I would get better coverage and can just pay the pro-rated fee and upgrade my phones every 2 years. And most phones still have enough value after 2 years to pay for your next upgrade (or close enough).
 
I'm surprised there aren't more Straight Talk folks here. Or are there people who mistakenly voted for AT&T rather than Straight Talk?
 
Zorachus said:
Wow, 1/3rd so far are on Verizon :eek:

Curious if you guys on Verizon, are you paying for your service yourself, or does your job / work cover it ?

I left running from Verizon a year ago, they were CRAZY super uber expensive, by a long shot. My wife and I had a shared family plan, unlimited minutes, unlimited texts, 4GB Data shared, and it was insanely high w/tax $235/Month :mad: Now we are on Straight Talk - ATT, total monthly bill is $90 :D I don't notice much difference in service, sure ST is a slower, but I am around WiFi in the Office or Home, so it doesn't matter that much.
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True unlimited data is the main reason I'm still with Verizon. I'll bet most users would say the same, at least those who were customers long enough to get grandfathered. I'm on WiFi 90% of the time, so the only time I get any real use for unlimited data is when Comcast goes down and I tether my iPhone to the computer.

My bill is about $95/month: 900 minutes, unlimited text and data. Not bad, not great. It works for me.
 
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Tyler-Durden said:
True unlimited data is the main reason I'm still with Verizon. I'll bet most users would say the same, at least those who were customers long enough to get grandfathered. My bill is about $95/month: 900 minutes, unlimited text and data. Not bad, not great. It works for me.
Click to expand...

Yup. My wife and I are still clinging to unlimited data w/ 1400 mins for almost $140/month. I think that's a fair price for the excellent coverage and service we get everywhere. Verizon just deployed LTE in our little farm town a few weeks ago and I'm sure they will be the only carrier that has it here for the foreseeable future. As long as I can keep this plan on Verizon, I will stay with them. When/if I'm forced off of it, I will probably jump to T-Mobile even though they only have Edge in my town. I think they have HSPA+ where I work at least. I would be kicked off of ST within a month or two I'm sure for the amount of data I normally use.
 
I used to have Straight Talk (AT&T Sim) the coverage was like having AT&T but the data was slow. Also had Simple Mobile great data speeds but not as good coverage (Tmobile Sim). I now have Verizon, amazing coverage, amazing speed but comes at a cost.
 
I ditched Straight Talk about 2 years back, data speeds in my area were horrendous, and it wasn't economically viable in my particular situation. Went to AT&T, and get around 25-50mb/s down on LTE but the price is killing me. I'll be looking to swap to T-Mo as soon as we possibly can.
 
When my parents finally broke down and got cell's they got on my sisters plan (back in the Alltel days) and just payed for their lines so I'm still on there's too with Verizon. We just switched my wife from her dad's Verizon plan to Net10 (since apparently ST doesn't do AT&T sims any more). So far the service seems to be ok. Verizon's speeds never seem to be anything to write home about and there's usually wifi around anyway. I just can't see spending $100+ a month for phones.

My iPhone says I've sent 322MB and received 1.5GB, last reset never. Had the phone for a year and a half.
 
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