Chicago Mobile Phone Providers

February 5, 2007 2:39 PM

Please help me find a wireless phone provider in Chicago that doesnt suck.

Over the past 6 years ive just about had every mobile phone provider ( besides tmobile and the tiny ones like USCC) I've had verizon wireless the longest and if it werent for their lack of nice phones and how they forced me to a consumer plan when i was no longer in contract, id be completely happy sticking with them. I have 15 days to decided whether i want to continue business with these schmucks.

I'm interested in Sprint but i cant get unbiased opinions anywhere or opinions from people that have had other providers in the past.

Up for the running is Cingular, Sprint and i guess, Verizon.

posted by AMP583 to technology (10 comments total)

Why not T-Mobile?
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 3:07 PM on February 5, 2007

I have been very happy with Spring in Chicago. Best provider I've had out here. Also, their roaming agreement means that if you're ever in a spot that they don't serve, you hop on VZ or USCC for free. My email's in my profile.

I have the SERO deal (email me for a hookup if you don't know what I'm talking about) and pay $50 for 1250 Anytime, 7pm nights, and unlimited EVDO data (I can connect my phone to my laptop and get highspeed data for free).
posted by rbs at 3:26 PM on February 5, 2007

er, by "Spring" I meant "Sprint".
posted by rbs at 3:26 PM on February 5, 2007

They all suck, in their own special ways. Your question is too general. If you say what you intend on using your phone for maybe people can help you better. FWIW, I use t-mobile because it's the cheapest, and it is GSM so I can use whatever damn phone I want. I don't care about mobile broadband, so the lack of 3G on T-mobile doesn't bother me. Oh, and ask at Howard Forums next time.
posted by lovejones at 3:28 PM on February 5, 2007

I switched from T-mobile to Verizon a year ago and have been very, very happy. I live in Lincoln Square but travel throughout the city, including north and south sides, regularly, and am continually pleased.

I've had dropped calls every now and then, but not frequently enough to be bothersome or detect any patterns.
posted by asuprenant at 3:30 PM on February 5, 2007

Verizon.

I was peeved with them and sent their regional VP of customer service (or some such) an email. It took a while to figure out their email address schema, but I did. I stated my case, summarized what I wanted and got a call from corporate support within 18 hours of hitting the send button. Try it.

Verizon is the best in most of the country. I just got the LG 8600 and have been very satisfied with it. FYI.
posted by FlamingBore at 4:43 PM on February 5, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

I had Sprint for years, and thought I hated the call quality on cell phones. Well, it turns out I just hated the call quality on Sprint. I switched to T-Mobile when my gadget lust required me to go GSM, and I was amazed at the relative call quality. I also haven't had any problems with their customer service although, to be fair, I've only been with them for about six months. But so far, the quality is great on the north side, where I live, on the south side, where I work, and in each of the 6-7 cities I've visited since switching.
posted by j-dawg at 4:48 PM on February 5, 2007

Oh, and for what it's worth, all my friends who have US Cellular have very high opinions of the service. I was planning to switch to them before I got my GSM phone, which sent me choosing between T-Mo and Cingular. But truth be told, I don't think I'll be going back to CDMA carriers again. I like the flexibility of buying unlocked phones too much.
posted by j-dawg at 4:51 PM on February 5, 2007

We switched from AT&T to Verizon and were verrry happy with the service.
posted by orangemiles at 7:28 AM on February 6, 2007

As a follow up...
I wrote an email like FlamingBore suggested and within 18 hours - or the next business day, i got a phone call from the VP of customer service. She was very eager and very happy to solve my issues.
posted by AMP583 at 4:13 PM on February 6, 2007