Help me choose the cell phone company to replace my horrible Sprint contract

March 12, 2008 6:52 AM

I'm close to ending my cell phone contract with Sprint (Thank God, I'll be rid of them at last). Now I have to make a choice on which carrier to go with and want to make sure I get the best reception in our home area and especially in the house itself.

Is there a single website out there that has good information or comparisons on the reception from different cell phone carriers in a particular area (which in my case is the Virginia hinterland between DC and Richmond)? Maybe some kind of users group or something, but not tied to a specific cell phone company?

Realistically I don't expect any sales person to tell me the truth, so other than tracking down neighbors and quizzing them on their carrier and how their cell phone sounds I don't know how I can get this kind of information.

Looking to MeFi'ers to once again come up with the right answer so I can make an intelligent decision (for a change) that I won't hate for the next two years .

posted by worker_bee to technology (14 comments total)

Signalmap?
posted by sharkfu at 6:59 AM on March 12

Do you travel internationally with your cellphone much? If you do, you might go with a carrier that has a GSM network. If not, I would go CDMA for the US, as it has better coverage, and also penetrates buildings better than GSM.

I live in Manhattan, where every carrier has their little map with the deepest, darkest green (for best coverage) and when I had T-Mobile (GSM) it was horrible. Dropped calls all over the place, barely worked in my apartment. Now with Verizon (CDMA) my phone works pretty much everywhere. However, Verizon phones, as far as software and user-friendliness is concerned, suck lots of ass. I miss my T-Mobile phone, the service, not so much.

That being said, I think I heard something recently about Verizon finally opening up their network to non Verizon phones or something, which would be awesome.
posted by Grither at 7:01 AM on March 12

Yesterday I was talking to someone about their cell service. They moved from one condo to the one next door and went from perfect service inside to none.
Maybe you should try the service you are planning on going with inside your house.
posted by beccaj at 7:06 AM on March 12

You could also look at T-mobile @ Home service: T-mobile cellular service with a wireless router at your place. If cellular service isn't available inside you can route calls via VOIP.
posted by sharkfu at 7:10 AM on March 12

If you travel internationally I'd highly recommend T-Mobile. They're GSM and possibly the only national carrier that will unlock your phone on request so you can use other SIM cards in it.

Coverage is great in Chicago, not sure about other cities - but as sharkfu mentioned, they also have an @Home service now that essentially acts as a mini cell tower for your home, and all calls made while on it are free.
posted by chundo at 7:41 AM on March 12

Your most reliable option may be to simply poll your neighbors.

Also: I hate to be Debbie Downer, but all cell companies are pretty much the same. While you think you hate Sprint, I can assure you that everyone else has had awful experiences with every major carrier out there. There is no Magical Friendly Helpful Carrier.
posted by unixrat at 7:45 AM on March 12

You could also look at T-mobile @ Home service: T-mobile cellular service with a wireless router at your place. If cellular service isn't available inside you can route calls via VOIP.
posted by sharkfu

Has anyone used this? I am seriously considering switching back to T-Mobile now, since I have a very good wireless router in my apt, and miss their phones/customer service/prices....thanks for the heads up sharkfu!!
posted by Grither at 8:34 AM on March 12

I haven't used it but Howard Forums has a sub-forum dedicated to it. Apparently with the right setup (UMA cell phone + T-Mobile @ Home on your account) you can even use it at wifi hotspot overseas and make calls as if they're local.
posted by sharkfu at 8:56 AM on March 12 [1 favorite]

The only problem with the T-Mobile VOIP service is that not all phones support it, so you will be limited to a few models.
posted by kindall at 9:07 AM on March 12

Find friends who have phones from various providers and ask them to drop by and check their phone signals within your actual home.

I'm in a part of Maryland which generally has great Verizon (my provider) coverage, but it is annoyingly spotty within my own house. I've always assumed that's because I live at the foot of a mountain in a hilly community.

A friend who has a Sprint phone gets a strong signal throughout our whole house, but I'd never switch because I am generally very happy with my Verizon Wireless phones and plan.
posted by imjustsaying at 9:14 AM on March 12

I am going to suggest att. ATT phones can also be used internationally. Here on Long Island att and verizon have the same great coverage with T-mobile in a distant 3rd.

PS ATT also will unlock your phone.

So i Think you cant lose with verizon or att.
posted by majortom1981 at 10:18 AM on March 12

I agree with unixrat. All these companies are the same. The idea that AT&T is better than Sprint just isnt in touch with reality. They all offer the same services for about the same amount of money. Their support is terrible and they all try to lock you into contracts. Sprint seems to be the least evil of them all because you can get on a SERO plan and get a fairly nice discount and they have super-fast EVDO. The coverage in Chicago is pretty excellent too. If Im going to get ripped off and treated badly I might as well do it while enjoying fast downloads and good coverage.

That said the best thing you can do right now is call these providers and ask for a 30-day trial of their service. They'll give you a phone you can use for 30 days for a fee and you can call people from your home, work, etc to see how good their coverage is. Not all providers do this, but many do, they just dont advertise it.
posted by damn dirty ape at 10:39 AM on March 12

There's not very many explicit differences between carriers. It breaks down like this:

CDMA: Verizon, Sprint
GSM: AT&T, T-Mobile

There's honestly not a whole lot of difference between the two even then. The biggest thing is that most of the rest of the world uses GSM, so if you travel internationally frequently, you'll still be able to use your phone, whether you use roaming on your own carrier or get a SIM card from a carrier local to where you are traveling. Speaking of SIM cards... it is easier to find a wider variety of cool phones out there for GSM due to it being pretty much a worldwide standard.

If you care at all about wireless data speeds, CDMA is probably the way to go. Verizon's and Sprint's EvDO coverage is much better than GSM carriers' HSDPA at this point, and nominal speeds are faster as well.

Beyond that, the difference comes down to coverage in your individual area. For that, I'd side with the others and say you should ask neighbors or colleagues, or visit one of any number of websites that try to create accurate coverage maps, like the previously-mentioned Signalmap.
posted by joshrholloway at 12:38 PM on March 12

Thanks all. The reason I am dumping Sprint (like many, many others) is for their truly horrible customer "service" and they fact they treat existing long-time customers like crap.

I guess I will just have to get friends to come over for a phone party or something!
posted by worker_bee at 12:59 PM on March 12