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Name your favorite US cell carrier


  • Total voters
    61

TheAnswer

macrumors 68030
Jan 25, 2002
2,519
1
Orange County, CA
Maybe everyone should post their general location as well, so we can get a feel for any regional differences.

LA area, California - Had T-Mobile since they started here and love it.
 

AllieNeko

macrumors 65816
Sep 25, 2003
1,004
57
T-Mobile. I wish they had native coverage up here in Kalispell, MT (it's roaming on Chinook and Alltel's horrid GSM roamer overlay) but they still rock.
 

After G

macrumors 68000
Aug 27, 2003
1,583
1
California
Voted T-Mobile as I get a killer deal currently and reception everywhere I've been. I've switched phones and SIM cards a lot as I seem to have bad luck with phones and T-Mobile's been the best about it.

Customer service shouldn't be undervalued.
 

Grimace

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Feb 17, 2003
3,568
226
with Hamburglar.
TMobile has the highest customer service ratings of any of the major US carriers. They also have some of the cheapest rates.
 

Grimace

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Feb 17, 2003
3,568
226
with Hamburglar.
I guess some of the data may be greyed by the fact that some people rate the service of company while others rate the level of reception/dropped calls.
 

iKwick7

macrumors 65816
Dec 29, 2004
1,084
32
The Wood of Spots, NJ
TMobile has the highest customer service ratings of any of the major US carriers. They also have some of the cheapest rates.

Agreed. I absolutely LOVE T-Mobile, and am a bit sad that I may be leaving them (albeit temporarily) to get the iPhone when it comes out. Their service great, customer service is outstanding, and they have awesome rates.

How can anyone vote for Verizon. I hate that company with a passion. Sure they have a great network, but they have the worste customer service ever, they over charge like a fox, they lock their phones and disable features, and make you pay for garbage. Horrible company. They only company I despise more than Verizon is Cablevision. Ewww....
 

DavidLeblond

macrumors 68020
Jan 6, 2004
2,323
600
Raleigh, NC
Feh, I get perfect service (as in no dropped calls and good reception) with Verizon.

Unfortunately, they cripple the hell out of all their phones. They put their OS on all the phones. Hell, my wife's RAZR doesn't have a tip calculator and my POS LG phone does... what kind of sense does that make? Why put LESS doo-dads on a newer, sleeker, more powerful phone?? And why can't I sync with a USB cable? I'm ready to jump ship in 2008 when my contract ends, network be damned.
 

Jovian9

macrumors 68000
Feb 19, 2003
1,967
110
Planet Zebes
How can anyone vote for Verizon. I hate that company with a passion. Sure they have a great network, but they have the worste customer service ever, they over charge like a fox, they lock their phones and disable features, and make you pay for garbage. Horrible company. They only company I despise more than Verizon is Cablevision. Ewww....

I agree. I have a Verizon contract for another year. After that I'll be switching to Cingular and the iPhone. Years ago when I switched to Verizon from Cingular, Verizon had a lot better reception around my area (Indianapolis), but then Cingular merged with AT&T Wireless (or bought them out, or vice versa, not sure) and for the past 2 or 3 years all my friends with Cingular have ALOT better reception in this area. When I first switched to Verizon I never dropped calls, which did tend to happen some on Cingular. Nowadays I'm not sure a day goes by where I do not drop a call on Verizon. Not to mention the RAZR was the worst cell phone I've ever had (on Verizon....but my friends Cingular RAZR was pretty nice which is why I wanted one in the first place).
So I voted for Cingular since these are the only 2 carriers I have experience with over the last 7 years or so and I prefer Cingular to Verizon.
 

Grimace

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Feb 17, 2003
3,568
226
with Hamburglar.
the one thing I can give Cingular is that when I was with them, the data speed was pretty friggin' fast. Verizon data is okay -- good enough for email, but not for web page loads.
 

AllieNeko

macrumors 65816
Sep 25, 2003
1,004
57
Apple should have done this poll! 52% of Mac users prefer T-Mobile and under a quarter of Mac users prefer Cingular.

I bet if you did the poll before the carrier for the iPhone was announced Cingular's percentage would have been even less - I'm sure at least one dedicated Applehead voted Cingular just because of the iPhone announcement.

Get real Apple, at the price this should be getting sold as an unlocked unbranded device.
 

Grimace

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Feb 17, 2003
3,568
226
with Hamburglar.
I'm there with you markie but I think Apple was going for quality control [irony?] with one carrier since Apple is supporting the phone's integration with the network - not Cingular.

All the networks (especially data) work very differently. Cingular had to build visual voicemail into its structure.

I think Steve's thought was - worldwide compatibility and data speed. Cingular rules those two area, just falls flat in customer service and the phone end of things. :rolleyes:
 

apfhex

macrumors 68030
Aug 8, 2006
2,670
5
Northern California
"US Cellular"? I've seen their name tossed around on occasion, but I've never heard of anyone who used them. Wonder why they're on the list.

T-Mobile has the best prices, but Cingular has better coverage. So I dunno who to vote for.
 

Cooknn

macrumors 68020
Aug 23, 2003
2,111
0
Fort Myers, FL
Had T-Mobile since they started here and love it.
I've tried just about all of them in my area and so far T-Mobile has been the best. Maybe I'll be able to find an unlocked iPhone that will work on their network. Until then my BlackBerry Pearl aint so bad :)
 

Grimace

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Feb 17, 2003
3,568
226
with Hamburglar.
The comments all seem very regional. Verizon some places is bad, other places the best -- same for the other carriers.

When I switch [back] to Cingular in June, I plan on being a VERY vocal customer about reception, dropped calls, etc. I plan to be "that guy" on the phone demanding the world if something goes wrong. :p
 

AllieNeko

macrumors 65816
Sep 25, 2003
1,004
57
"I think Steve's thought was - worldwide compatibility and data speed. Cingular rules those two area, just falls flat in customer service and the phone end of things. "

T-Mobile and Cingular would be equal in the worldwide compatibility - maybe even giving a slight edge to T-Mobile for being all in the PCS band and for cheaper international roaming rates most places.

Data speed - not relevant. The iPhone only supports EDGE. T-Mobile and Cingular both run EDGE. Cingular's high-speed UMTS/HSDPA network won't be used by the iPhone.
 

apfhex

macrumors 68030
Aug 8, 2006
2,670
5
Northern California
Cingular's high-speed UMTS/HSDPA network won't be used by the iPhone.
But Steve said they plan to support 3G in the future. Cingular is a bit ahead of TMO (who doesn't have any 3G at all yet :) ) in that category. As for future 3G plans of the two provides, I dunno. All I do know is that EDGE is painfully slow, the little that I've tried it.
 
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