Speak Out: Cell phones and service

Replies (23)

• I use Verizon for an aircard which gives me internet service. Selected this because of better coverage in the areas I need it than AT&T was when I had it.

  Also use AT&T for cell phone service. Have had it for years and am satisfied. Furnished to me so that I am available for questions wherever I am, so is easy to be pleased with. ☺ ☺

  Verizon's billings are consistent to the penny month after month. AT&T manages to be a few pennies more or less each month but never totally consistent.

  Am Ok with both of these and know little to nothing of the others out there.

  -- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 10:44 AM

• Wheels,

  I am suprised. I was expecting the jitterbug :)

  -- Posted by lumbrgfktr on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 10:54 AM

• No one in my immediate or extended family got good coverage with Verizon in this area, so over the last few years everyone has hanged to AT&T. On the east coast Verizon seemed to have better coverage for some reason.

  -- Posted by Acronym on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 11:07 AM

• Wheels,

  I am suprised. I was expecting the jitterbug :)

  -- Posted by lumbrgfktr on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 10:54 AM

  Huh??

  I am running a little slow this morning. And I don't dance nearly as well as a blind mule.

  -- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 11:14 AM

• What about "Sprint"?

  -- Posted by Airborne 95B on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 12:28 PM

• "Verizon" has been very good to me but, It is a money thing. If I go with "Sprint" I can almost get double the coverage for the same price. Almost all of the people I work with have ATT and they seem happy with it. I'm just in shopping mode.

  -- Posted by Airborne 95B on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 1:36 PM

• My sister from out of State has Sprint and cannot use it in Advance.

  -- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 1:40 PM

• Spank,

  Curl up in a fetal position while doing all of the above. It will work every time.

  Airborne,

  They are most likely going to require a 2 year contract. If switching from a known to an unknown, why not require them to give you a 30 day trial, during which you can return the 'undamaged phone' and cancel the service if you are not happy. They most often are flexible if they want your business.

  -- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 1:54 PM

• With Sprint you can get out of the contract within 30 days with no fees. I just switched to Sprint from AT&T. I have had no problems with service. I couldnt use AT&T in my own home without calls being dropped. I now get texting, unlimited internet and unlimited mobile to mobile ( any mobile on top of that) for the same price I was paying for with AT&T for texting and calls. Also with Sprint you can downgrade at anytime. You get 2 phones for the price of one also on the plan. I have been to Advance, Marble Hill, St Gen and all over and not had a problem yet. Just my 2 cents.

  -- Posted by mightymo on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 2:09 PM

• Mightymo-thanks much, Everything you listed is why I'm looking at "Sprint" also.

  -- Posted by Airborne 95B on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 2:30 PM

• I was happy with my Verizon until I answered a wrong number call in Alabama and got hit with a roaming charge. When I returned, I called them and they pointed out that I hadn't used but about 5 minutes of air time per month since I closed my business. They switched me to a $24 plan saving me $6 per month. Right after than, she who must be obeyed handed me a track phone. I've had it 2 months and used 4 minutes.

  I liked the days of the old bag phones. I could hold that baby out the window at 60mph and say "What...you say...hear you...hello... hello are you ..ere

  -- Posted by Old John on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 3:02 PM

• CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW??

  -- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 3:23 PM

• I have AT&T. I use to get drop calls all the time. But I had an LG phone which turned out to be a lemon. I haven't had a drop call since changing to a Samsung smartphone. I travel a lot and get reception around major areas without a problem. But some rural areas in MO I receive no signal at all.

  I was wondering- do any of you have extra services with your carriers and how much does it cost?

  With At&T we pay $30 for the whole family to be able to have unlimited text. But if you want to send a photo with the text you have to buy data service and that data service is an additional $10 per month per line. And if wanted to be on the internet that would also be another $10 per month per line.

  -- Posted by Skeptic1 on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 5:21 PM

• Eh, if you're into no-frills, and don't use a lot of minutes - suggest a pay-as-you-go set-up. I've had a TracFone for about 3 years now with absolutely no issues on coverage - around this area, or while travelling all the way up to Vermont. Unfortunately, service was lost faster than the road signs turned to French when crossing over into Quebec.

  Picked up the phone for $25 at Dollar General. They offered $15 phones, but I prefer the Nokia brand over the Motorola offerings. Also, at the time, bought the double minutes plan card for another $50.

  So, if I plan ahead far enough, usually can pick up 1000 - 1200 minutes (400 minutes good for a year, doubled, with some bonus minutes thrown in as part of their promotional packages) for about $105. Comes out to about a dime a minute - again, not the best if one wears out a phone, but I'm getting all the mobile communications that I need or want for around $100 per year.

  I think TracFone offers a deal where if you pre-dial a certain code, international calls are charged at the same rate as regular calls.

  It's a basic phone plan - it makes and takes calls, no roaming charges, and one can text for a charge of 0.3 minutes for each message.

  Not sure if it's still around - but there used to be a sister company called Net10, with essentially the same services. The difference I saw was that the minutes were cheaper, but had less time to use them before expiration.

  -- Posted by fxpwt on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 5:43 PM

• fxpwt, Do you know anything about Vonage and Magic Jack? I have Charter bundle at home. Internet and phone work ok but TV does not.

  I'm wondering if there might be a way to reduce the phone part of the bill to afford better TV.

  -- Posted by Old John on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 6:06 PM

• Old John,

  Never had Vonage but a friend did and dropped it, not sure why. But Magic Jack I did have and it did not work well. I had hoped to use it with my air card and found the service too slow. Works ok on DSL though and I have been told on Charter.

  -- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 6:24 PM

• Old John - don't know anything beyond what has been advertised. I would suspect there might be some transmission delays involved, depending on network traffic, making for some challenging conversations.

  Always had this aversion towards putting all the eggs in one basket. Thus, I still choose to pay a premium for a traditional land-line (at&t). This has its regular payoff moments out here in the 'wild west' proposed peripheral zone, whenever the cable or local cell tower dies. At least I can still call out, or use dial-up for Internet. Ah, for the early days of the Internet, when most sites had a 'text-only' option for their pages - for the broadband-impaired. Picked up a couple of the digital converter boxes, so still have some form of TV accompanied with a nostalgic moment looking at the rabbit ears.

  Getting rather tired of Charter's weekly 'IMPORTANT INFORMATION ENCLOSED' mailing, containing the regular introductory offer for their bundle. You can trust me, cuz I'm not a Cape city councilperson, when I say it's not that doggone important and has done crossed the border into annoying.

  I read somewhere about the high percentage of the younger generation opting not to have a land-line of any kind, relying solely on the mobile/cellular phone. Interesting, but I'm not yet confident enough to make that leap even though the savings are quite attractive.

  -- Posted by fxpwt on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 6:51 PM

• What channels do you get with the digital converter box?

  -- Posted by Skeptic1 on Thu, Dec 2, 2010, at 8:51 PM

• adidas - what I called the digital converter box was the unit one needed to purchase for an older TV when the broadcast stations were required to go digital over the airwaves awhiles back.

  Been some time since I hooked it up - but remember getting the Cape, Paducah, and Harrisburg stations without a problem - actually much clearer than the analog signal once the rabbit ears got twirled just right. Just had to get used to the freeze-frame pixeling, instead of snow for a weak reception on the fringe stations..

  -- Posted by fxpwt on Fri, Dec 3, 2010, at 3:23 AM

• I just got agravated enough to call the Charter tech line. The TV reception problems that started when they changed the channel line-up in the summer are still not fixed after 3 visits by technicians.

  The first time I called to complain I was told my box was outdated and I should tell the tech I need a new box. I did and he rolled his eyes and looked at me like I was stupider than I am. After all this time, I'm told a tech will be out to replace the box. Go figure!

  -- Posted by Old John on Thu, Dec 9, 2010, at 5:00 PM

• Dish network. I've had it over 14 years.

  -- Posted by We Regret To Inform U on Thu, Dec 9, 2010, at 5:17 PM

• Regrets,

  I have had Dish and I now have DirectTV. I like

  Direct better. I have had less trouble with traveling.

  And it does not matter if I do not use the 2nd receiver for a long time it still works. With Dish when I did not use a receiver for an extended period of time I always had to call them and get them to do something to get it working. Never mind the fact that I was paying for it the whole time. Don't do nearly as many resets with Direct either.

  -- Posted by Have_Wheels_Will_Travel on Thu, Dec 9, 2010, at 6:08 PM

• Sprint is good around the Interstates and towns, but when I had it, you couldn't get any reception if you strayed from those areas.

  -- Posted by mynameismud on Thu, Dec 9, 2010, at 7:42 PM