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AT&T Customers Remaining Loyal as Verizon and Sprint Gain iPhone
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I have my iPhone 4 on T-Mobile. I moved to the US from Canada and had my phone unlocked before I did. Despite not being able to get 3G speeds, I DO get unlimited data, texts, and unlimited calling to US and to my family back home in Canada, all for a prepaid $60 a month. Never dropped a call and I'm not on any sort of contract so when I change countries again, nothing to worry about.
I have my iPhone 4 on T-Mobile. I moved to the US from Canada and had my phone unlocked before I did. Despite not being able to get 3G speeds, I DO get unlimited data, texts, and unlimited calling to US and to my family back home in Canada, all for a prepaid $60 a month. Never dropped a call and I'm not on any sort of contract so when I change countries again, nothing to worry about.
Happy to say that I switched to Sprint. Never happier. No 3G in my area with AT&T. Sprint, YES. Verizon, YES. AT&T, No. Good riddance!!
There is only one advantage to the AT&T network, and that is simultaneous voice and data. While this is huge, it's unfortunately only theoretical since most of the time I can't get any 3G or even Edge connection here in Chicago, and when I can the data speeds are so bad as to be useless. That coupled with zero voice coverage in the downtown area and especially in my apartment and it makes their claims of having the fastest and most reliable network laughable at best, criminal at worst. I actually have to use Line2, a VOIP line on my iPhone 4 to even make phone calls in my home. If i was in BFE I could understand that, but I'm in Chicago, a huge city!
I have several friends with iPhone 4 and 4S's here with Verizon and they say their data speed is fantastic and they never drop calls. It sucks that I won't be able to get voice and data at the same time, but as soon as my contract with the devil is up I'm switching to Verizon!
I have several friends with iPhone 4 and 4S's here with Verizon and they say their data speed is fantastic and they never drop calls. It sucks that I won't be able to get voice and data at the same time, but as soon as my contract with the devil is up I'm switching to Verizon!
Price was my major contributing factor. It annoys me that my AT&T FAN rate is about the lowest package price I can pay for iPhone service. When I priced out Verizon or Sprint, leaving AT&T didn't make enough sense.
AT&T has always been clear about their Machiavelli-endorsed ways of keeping customers through means other than making them happy. Oh well.
Had such a problem with dropped calls and lack of service on ATT in some areas. Went back to Verizon with the 4s and haven't had one dropped call and I get service everywhere (except when I am in the subway in some areas)
How many people said they were jumping ship to VZW when they announced they were getting the 4?
Everyone up to then kept waiting and wishing for it to come. When it came it was a less than stellar showing. VZW over forecasted their numbers.
ATT has sold more 4S' as well. I'm not going to sit here and say ATT is perfect. We all know VZW has best nationwide 3G coverage(although slower), but I guess numbers don't lie. I guess we'll see next year when the people who had 2 year contracts for iP4 on ATT contracts are up.
Everyone up to then kept waiting and wishing for it to come. When it came it was a less than stellar showing. VZW over forecasted their numbers.
ATT has sold more 4S' as well. I'm not going to sit here and say ATT is perfect. We all know VZW has best nationwide 3G coverage(although slower), but I guess numbers don't lie. I guess we'll see next year when the people who had 2 year contracts for iP4 on ATT contracts are up.
Grandfathered unlimited data on two lines and a 24% corporate discount kept me at bay.
Other carriers are not without their faults, so leaving would make no sense.
Other carriers are not without their faults, so leaving would make no sense.
ahh but at last
sprint sux. The net on theirs in frighteningly slow. Top speed is like .5mb. IF you want price, go sprint; if you want speed and awesomeness in the real world, go att. I personally hate att, but no lie the speed is just there. I went with sprint though cause it was cheap, and the person who has the phone prob uses 20kb a month if even (wifi is literally everywhere I live @).
sprint sux. The net on theirs in frighteningly slow. Top speed is like .5mb. IF you want price, go sprint; if you want speed and awesomeness in the real world, go att. I personally hate att, but no lie the speed is just there. I went with sprint though cause it was cheap, and the person who has the phone prob uses 20kb a month if even (wifi is literally everywhere I live @).
For me it's just that I've been with AT&T/Cingular so long and never had an issue so I have no reason to change (and I'd lose my unlimited).
I don't really want to go to a slower network like I hear Verizon is (no benefit to me, I get fine connection with AT&T) and Verizon at this point would be more expensive (not even considering losing unlimited, AT&T has a better cheaper plan and that's all I really can afford. I can't afford the high minute plans which is where Verizon's price gets better). And Sprint I have even less motivation to go to since the experience I had with them was connection so bad I had to ask my parents to start calling me with the landline cause I couldn't understand a word they said. And from what I understood at the time from other's experiences (in different areas of the country) Sprint was just like that. Hell, their recent fiasco with iPhone speeds doesn't really make me feel confident they've changed much. Yeah, maybe that's changed but why would I care about switching to a carrier I have had bad experiences with from one I've had consistently good experiences with?
I don't really want to go to a slower network like I hear Verizon is (no benefit to me, I get fine connection with AT&T) and Verizon at this point would be more expensive (not even considering losing unlimited, AT&T has a better cheaper plan and that's all I really can afford. I can't afford the high minute plans which is where Verizon's price gets better). And Sprint I have even less motivation to go to since the experience I had with them was connection so bad I had to ask my parents to start calling me with the landline cause I couldn't understand a word they said. And from what I understood at the time from other's experiences (in different areas of the country) Sprint was just like that. Hell, their recent fiasco with iPhone speeds doesn't really make me feel confident they've changed much. Yeah, maybe that's changed but why would I care about switching to a carrier I have had bad experiences with from one I've had consistently good experiences with?
AT&T isn't hat bad.
I had service hrough Verizon before getting my iPhone 3G, so I have some perspective here. Honestly AT&T is a better company to deal with and their service is pretty darn good around here. I would have dropped Verizon anyways due to the munchkins they employees at their stores.
In any event people need to realize that their local service levels don't effectively tell you how well overall service is. In my area I get connections of equal quality from both Verizon and AT&T. Both of these providers will fail to offer a connection out side of my local area, in different locations of course. It is rather silly of people to judge a cell phone service by connection quality in anyone location.
I had service hrough Verizon before getting my iPhone 3G, so I have some perspective here. Honestly AT&T is a better company to deal with and their service is pretty darn good around here. I would have dropped Verizon anyways due to the munchkins they employees at their stores.
In any event people need to realize that their local service levels don't effectively tell you how well overall service is. In my area I get connections of equal quality from both Verizon and AT&T. Both of these providers will fail to offer a connection out side of my local area, in different locations of course. It is rather silly of people to judge a cell phone service by connection quality in anyone location.
I wish they had a little bit more customer loss so that they would review their unlock policy. As it is, it sounds like they have no reason to change their curmudgeonly ways. "No one ELSE seems bothered that their 'world capable' phone will never be usable on another network, so why are you?"
As much as I am frustrated with AT&T's coverage in my area (San Francisco & environs), I don't feel that compelled to switch. A friend was visiting last week, and she had a new iP4S with Verizon. While she was able to consistently get more bars, her 3G data speeds were noticeably slower. I use my iP4 more for data than for making calls, so (relatively) fast 3G speed is more important to me. Plus, I rarely experience dropped calls, despite less-than-ideal signal strength at times.
I think AT&T will be safe until people's two year contracts expire. No one wants to cancel and be charged $350 just to switch carriers. They shouldn't be over confident until their customers have been given the chance to switch. I have been with AT&T since 2007 and haven't had any problems with service. The two times I had to call customer service they were very helpful and courteous. Only time will tell.
I made the switch to Verizon within the first hour of pre-orders. Its nice to have our phones actually ring and not drop calls all the time. I can even text other people at sporting events now.
People should review their actual data usage before assuming they need to stick with unlimited. I listen to XM for most of the day and use a Slingbox a couple times a week and don't have a problem.
People should review their actual data usage before assuming they need to stick with unlimited. I listen to XM for most of the day and use a Slingbox a couple times a week and don't have a problem.
I switched to Sprint because I got a good discount through my work. To be completely honest, I'm thinking about going back to AT&T. Sprint's coverage is really spotty and their 3G data speed is horrible. No wonder why Sprint offers the unlimited data plan...because the rate at which you use their data will take you twice as long because of their SLOW network!
Don't have an iPhone yet but AT&T has always shown to have better coverage in areas where I have traveled to. I have been able to get a few bars when people with other carriers have only been able to get one, and I have got one bar when others phones have been reduced to bricks. Different people have different coverage needs which will influence there decision, also to be able to talk and surf may be something some need.
The other aspect that effects people is package deals with home phone, internet, and tv, if you are within AT&Ts coverage for all 4 you can get a better deal.
The other aspect that effects people is package deals with home phone, internet, and tv, if you are within AT&Ts coverage for all 4 you can get a better deal.
I believe it may be too early to speculate that so many of AT&T's customers are "loyal." My contract ends next June, then I'm gone.
Gsm
If Verizon or Sprint ever switches to a GSM based network (which iirc LTE is, but the iPhone does not yet), I will consider switching to them. I have been a GSM user since 2002 (mainly because I lived in Europe) and enjoy more having the ability to swap a device as easy as removing and inserting a card, something you don't get with CDMA. Death to CDMA!
If Verizon or Sprint ever switches to a GSM based network (which iirc LTE is, but the iPhone does not yet), I will consider switching to them. I have been a GSM user since 2002 (mainly because I lived in Europe) and enjoy more having the ability to swap a device as easy as removing and inserting a card, something you don't get with CDMA. Death to CDMA!
I have a 4G hotspot of their's and its dog meat. It is so unreliable on 3G or 4G. I have had times where on 4G my data speeds for 256 kb/s
I'm an Android user but usually follow Apple news as my wife has an iPhone and I use an iPod touch at times and we'll likely be getting an iPad soon. I'm not sure why the at least newest iPhone doesn't have voice and data on Verizon. My Thunderbolt had it prior to LTE availability in our area I'd think they could figure something out for the 4S as well. I didn't use it much as I just don't find the feature incredibly useful personally, so I'm not sure how it worked exactly, but I know it was available.
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