Cell Phone Plans

[Color Me Badd Fan]

One of the lines on my Verizon plan finished up two years last Friday and therefore we're out of contract. Quite a lot changed with the cell phone biz over the course of those two years with the wireless carriers switching to a "pay off your phone over two years" type thing. Of course, the cost is the same as before -- though I'm not sure how much more they add to your bill if you want to upgrade within the 24 months. I called up Verizon telling them I'm going to leave and inquiring what the buyout was if I cancelled the other line. They got the picture and promptly cut $40 off my bill.

These carrier seem to cost pretty much the same if you acquire a phone from them, with T-Mobile sometimes being the outsider.

The other thing I've learned is you can save a crapload of money by being willing to buy a model of phone that's been out for a year and buying that phone outright up front. The carriers use the leverage they have over you with the cost of the phone to charge you more on the service itself. When you can switch at will, they'll all of a sudden unearth some "promo" to keep you around.

What I haven't completely explored is going fully prepaid. There's a new law where the carriers must unlock your phone on demand as long as you've fulfilled your end of the contract, by either getting to the end of the two years or paying the early termination. On top of that, most phones will work on each other's networks now as long as you have a sim card. The one exception I've heard of are Sprint phones and Sprint's prepaid knockoffs (i.e. Boost mobile). The one thing I can say about Verizon is apparently they give you the least amount of crap about unlocking your phone. You don't have to make a special request and they work on ATT and T-Mobile as long you've fulfilled the contract. If you're buying a phone, avoid a phone that has ever had or must have something to do with one of Sprint's networks.

[beefytee]

You don't have to make a special request and they work on ATT and T-Mobile as long you've fulfilled the contract. If you're buying a phone, avoid a phone that has ever had or must have something to do with one of Sprint's networks.

I've had no problem unlocking a couple of brand new at&t go phones and flashing them with the T-Mobile rom.

You simply go to the at&t website and request the unlock. They send you a code within a few days.

Also, ATT and T-Mobile phones usually have the hardware to work on each others network since they use similar technology and the frequencies overlap, but Verizon not so much. So I wouldn't say they all work together. You need to check the phone's hardware and what carrier uses what.

[Uncle Ted]

I've had no problem unlocking a couple of brand new at&t go phones and flashing them with the T-Mobile rom.

You simple go to the at&t website and request the unlock. They send you a code within a few days.

Also, ATT and T-Mobile phones usually have the hardware to work on each others network since they use similar technology and the frequencies overlap, but Verizon not so much. So I wouldn't say they all work together. You need to check the phone's hardware and what carrier uses what.

If you buy a new iPhone go with a Verizon one... unlocked for GSM at birth:

http://www.cnet.com/news/switching-c...e-5s-with-you/

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I've had no problem unlocking a couple of brand new at&t go phones and flashing them with the T-Mobile rom.

You simple go to the at&t website and request the unlock. They send you a code within a few days.

Also, ATT and T-Mobile phones usually have the hardware to work on each others network since they use similar technology and the frequencies overlap, but Verizon not so much. So I wouldn't say they all work together. You need to check the phone's hardware and what carrier uses what.

From what I can gather the newer phones have all the bands/radios to work on the various networks. Sprint might have something put on their phones that makes them inoperable on the different networks.

[Uncle Ted]

From what I can gather the newer phones have all the bands/radios to work on the various networks.
Sprint might have something put on their phones that makes them inoperable on the different networks.

That might depend on the model... iPhone, for example: http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

[Color Me Badd Fan]

That might depend on the model... iPhone, for example: http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

My Verizon phone will work on T-Mobile's 2G and 4G bands, but not on 3G. Unless you're out in BFE, having 3G doesn't matter much. You still at least have 2G to make calls and text when you're driving down the highway.

My wife's Verizon phone will work on all of T- Mobile's bands.

I'm not sure about AT&T and I'm pretty sure it's incompatible with Sprint.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I have a friend who has three lines with 10GBs of 4G data and it costs $90 a month. It's through the Wal-Mart family plan which uses T-Mobile. He swears the service is as good or better than anything he's ever had.

My thought about Verizon in Utah is that it dominates the market and the service is excellent along I15 around places like Scipio and Beaver. But I've encountered some noticeable dead spots in areas where you should expect it to be good. For instance, the Riverbottom in Provo around the Riverwoods shopping center is horrible with Verizon. There are also many multi-million dollar homes not very far away and lots of professional office space around.

I think the Verizon network gets clogged up because it was so much better than everyone else years ago. T-Mobile, from what I heard, was terrible up until a year or two ago. Now they have their 4G equipment up, but they don't have nearly as many customers as Verizon dragging down the data speeds.

[creekster]

I have a friend who has three lines with 10GBs of 4G data and it costs $90 a month. It's through the Wal-Mart family plan which uses T-Mobile. He swears the service is as good or better than anything he's ever had.

My thought about Verizon in Utah is that it dominates the market and the service is excellent along I15 around places like Scipio and Beaver. But I've encountered some noticeable dead spots in areas where you should expect it to be good. For instance, the Riverbottom in Provo around the Riverwoods shopping center is horrible with Verizon. There are also many multi-million dollar homes not very far away and lots of professional office space around.

I think the Verizon network gets clogged up because it was so much better than everyone else years ago. T-Mobile, from what I heard, was terrible up until a year or two ago. Now they have their 4G equipment up, but they don't have nearly as many customers as Verizon dragging down the data speeds.

T-Mobile still sucks in the Bay Area. Verizon is still the best here.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

T-Mobile still sucks in the Bay Area. Verizon is still the best here.

Verizon is the most consistent, but it appears as if the gsm carriers are catching up. Sprint sucks.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2485870,00.asp

[creekster]

Verizon is the most consistent, but it appears as if the gsm carriers are catching up. Sprint sucks.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2485870,00.asp

Perhaps, but that article does not address the sort of issues you were impliedly complaining about in your prior post. It does show that in urban areas and along heavily traveled corridors they all perform well, but within my experience and within the experience of many people I know, Verizon has the best overall coverage (the equivalent of a provo river bottom) in the Bay Area and beyond (suburban and rural areas) and it isn't even close.

[Uncle Ted]

T-Mobile still sucks in the Bay Area. Verizon is still the best here.

Yeah, I use Verizon because it sucks less in all the places I go, the Bay area included. AT&T works well in Texas but sucks in the more rural areas of Utah (Heber, for example). There are some rural places I can only get a signal with Verizon.

Opensignal.com gives an idea of what the network looks like in different areas using crowdsourced data. It does look like T-Mobile has lots of towers in Utah Valley, for example, but opensignal still ranks Verizon better. Maybe there are not enough data points yet.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Yeah, I use Verizon because it sucks less in all the places I go, the Bay area included. AT&T works well in Texas but sucks in the more rural areas of Utah (Heber, for example). There are some rural places I can only get a signal with Verizon.

Opensignal.com gives an idea of what the network looks like in different areas using crowdsourced data. It does look like T-Mobile has lots of towers in Utah Valley, for example, but opensignal still ranks Verizon better. Maybe there are not enough data points yet.

Someone should call up T-Mobile and tell them their service is terrible in Silicon Valley of all places.

I fully understand that Verizon is great in Scipio and Delta, Utah. I've seen that first hand. Since I'm almost never around in towns with 200 people for an extended period of time, then it's more important to go to a network that doesn't have 75% of the local market and 2G speeds in populated upscale areas.

It's hard to overstate how much ahead of the curve Verizon was in Utah compared to the other carriers as far as 3G and 4G proliferation. They gained a huge market share as a result. But it's not 2012 anymore and the GSM carriers have caught up to a certain extent in places not including Blanding, Utah.

[creekster]

Someone should call up T-Mobile and tell them their service is terrible in Silicon Valley of all places.

I fully understand that Verizon is great in Scipio and Delta, Utah. I've seen that first hand. Since I'm almost never around in towns with 200 people for an extended period of time, then it's more important to go to a network that doesn't have 75% of the local market and 2G speeds in populated upscale areas.

It's hard to overstate how much ahead of the curve Verizon was in Utah compared to the other carriers as far as 3G and 4G proliferation. They gained a huge market share as a result. But it's not 2012 anymore and the GSM carriers have caught up to a certain extent in places not including Blanding, Utah.

This doesn't seem to make much sense to me. All of the carriers are usually pretty good in urban and heavily traveled corridors. The difference is always on the geographical margin. I recall not too long ago being at a deposition in a rural area north of SF with a guy who was too sick to travel so we had it at his house. During a break we all go outside to check email and make calls. Of the five attorneys there I was the only one using Verizon and I was the only one who could get a signal. All of us had signals once we got back to the City.

Btw, I will tell you that even in developed areas T-mobile is less than ideal in the Bay Area. No idea what its like in Provo or Blanding, however, so YMMV.

[Shaka]

Sprint works well for me almost everywhere I go. One place I wish I had Verizon was out in the Padre Bay area of Lake Powell. My friends with Verizon could get data and I couldn't. It helped that the houseboat I was on has a Verizon repeater on it.

[beefytee]

This doesn't seem to make much sense to me. All of the carriers are usually pretty good in urban and heavily traveled corridors. The difference is always on the geographical margin. I recall not too long ago being at a deposition in a rural area north of SF with a guy who was too sick to travel so we had it at his house. During a break we all go outside to check email and make calls. Of the five attorneys there I was the only one using Verizon and I was the only one who could get a signal. All of us had signals once we got back to the City.

Btw, I will tell you that even in developed areas T-mobile is less than ideal in the Bay Area. No idea what its like in Provo or Blanding, however, so YMMV.

I have T-Mobile in Utah County and don't have any problem with signal in the county. The one dead spot that we've found is in my wife's classroom.

I will be in Blanding in the near future and will return and report.

Generally my experience is that T-Mobile sucks in rural areas, but since it is that much cheaper than Verizon or AT&T it just isn't worth upgrading. The service generally provides what I need.