I agree, I have that plan too, and if you have an unlocked phone/don't need the payment plan/subsidy, that's the very best deal out there. Even if you have to go over on the minutes and pay extra it's still cheaper.
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What is the best national carrier?
- Thread starter generalsmart
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I agree, I have that plan too, and if you have an unlocked phone/don't need the payment plan/subsidy, that's the very best deal out there. Even if you have to go over on the minutes and pay extra it's still cheaper.
Bingo. They have fantastic customer service. I've been with the company for something like 18 years now. I've never had a bad experience with AT&T, and I've been with them thru all the iPhones, etc. No reason to switch.
If I ever do need to switch, I'm going to Verizon. Why? Because they match (or exceed, depending on area) AT&T's coverage/reliability/etc. And I have no problem paying someone $$$ to take over their unlimited VZW plan.
Globe in the Philippines esp in Manila. I use a TM prepaid sim which is part of Globe. Offers the best promos.
In US, I tried them all but was with AT&T the longest (2001-2011) when they were still called Cingular. I can't say I can complain about their service! I once racked up a $4000 phone bill for going over my 200 MB data limit. I spoke with a CSR and she got the billing down attaching an unlimited plan BEFORE I went over. So I didn't pay much except an extra $40 on the next bill!
Still, I might prefer VERIZON because CDMA technology really works better in remote areas and office buildings. I just hate how Verizon brand their Androids with hideous logos of their's. But on iPhone, nothing at all and they are unlocked. So you get an unlocked iPhone with CDMA/GSM frequencies. Verizon iPhone is the way to go if you are thinking of traveling.
T-Mobile have the best deals though for both prepaid and postpaid. Never going back to Sprint after trying it out two years. Too many hidden charges. At least Sprint and T-Mobile didn't put an ugly logo on the back of their HTC One M7's.
In US, I tried them all but was with AT&T the longest (2001-2011) when they were still called Cingular. I can't say I can complain about their service! I once racked up a $4000 phone bill for going over my 200 MB data limit. I spoke with a CSR and she got the billing down attaching an unlimited plan BEFORE I went over. So I didn't pay much except an extra $40 on the next bill!
Still, I might prefer VERIZON because CDMA technology really works better in remote areas and office buildings. I just hate how Verizon brand their Androids with hideous logos of their's. But on iPhone, nothing at all and they are unlocked. So you get an unlocked iPhone with CDMA/GSM frequencies. Verizon iPhone is the way to go if you are thinking of traveling.
T-Mobile have the best deals though for both prepaid and postpaid. Never going back to Sprint after trying it out two years. Too many hidden charges. At least Sprint and T-Mobile didn't put an ugly logo on the back of their HTC One M7's.
Exactly. Look on Android forums and you see that T-Mobile and Verizon are generally the top carriers.
That's the lynch pin of selecting a carrier. Coverage has always varied by market (and even within markets) and will continue to do so. Just as it has always been, one has to decide based on the carrier that meets one's coverage requirements and meets one's budget.
This topic is just pointless as any other topic asking which carrier is best. As stated above everyone is just going to post what they prefer and use.
Pretty much. Which basically doesn't really say much as far as what someone else would or should have.
Not necessarily. There are objective differences. Prepaid plans on the same carrier are much cheaper, but the psychology of subsidized phones with a postpaid plan is very attractive to people who think monthly rather than annually or semi annually. Even once you know the math, it's not a "natural" economic decision to buy the phone outright. But if you can afford to, it is a good decision.
If you can't afford to... Rethink your situation
That really only applies once coverage isn't in question, and that seems to be the first and most important item that is coming up.
And even after that, what's best for someone as far as plans and pricing can be different than what it is for someone else. So, again, it's basically down to simoly what carrier do you have and not much more beyond that.
In the early days of Android, AT&T only carried like one Android device. Remember that Moto Backflip piece of crap they sold us? They practically forced their customer base to get an iPhone, if they wanted a legitimate smartphone. This is probably the reason why there are a lot more VZW/TMo people on XDA, etc.
VZW and TMobile were a lot more aggressive in the early days. T-Mobile was the Android launch partner and VZW had the DROID line.
Now AT&T has the best phone line-up in the business. They carry everything and seem to be very close partners with Samsung and Apple. They practically sell every random Galaxy variant made.
I've been on AT&T forever in the DC area. My plan is relatively cheap ($73 a month for unlimited data), but the quality is pretty poor.
AT&T Pros:
- I think it's still cheaper than what I can get verizon for (Looks like even a 3gb verizon single line plan now would be $90+taxes)
- Have a grandfathered "unlimited" plan
- GSM network means I can use it while traveling, though ONLY after 2 years since those f*ckheads won't unlock the phone, despite being under contract. It really doesn't make sense to me - I've already guaranteed to pay you no matter what. Why do you have to lock the phone?
AT&T Cons:
- LTE performance is a joke around here. I just ran a test that was a bit under 1Mbps down. Best I've seen is maybe 5Mbps.
- Very spotty coverage in parts of DC, particularly the U street area. I won't even get text messages delivered.
- Once you hit your cap, the slower speed is beyond usable. They throttle down to something like 0.1Mbps which can't even handle google maps. I don't mind some mild throttling, but I would expect an LTE service to do something like 5-10Mbps under normal conditions and 1Mbps under throttled conditions. Not 1Mbps/0.1Mbps.
AT&T Pros:
- I think it's still cheaper than what I can get verizon for (Looks like even a 3gb verizon single line plan now would be $90+taxes)
- Have a grandfathered "unlimited" plan
- GSM network means I can use it while traveling, though ONLY after 2 years since those f*ckheads won't unlock the phone, despite being under contract. It really doesn't make sense to me - I've already guaranteed to pay you no matter what. Why do you have to lock the phone?
AT&T Cons:
- LTE performance is a joke around here. I just ran a test that was a bit under 1Mbps down. Best I've seen is maybe 5Mbps.
- Very spotty coverage in parts of DC, particularly the U street area. I won't even get text messages delivered.
- Once you hit your cap, the slower speed is beyond usable. They throttle down to something like 0.1Mbps which can't even handle google maps. I don't mind some mild throttling, but I would expect an LTE service to do something like 5-10Mbps under normal conditions and 1Mbps under throttled conditions. Not 1Mbps/0.1Mbps.
Tmobile here.
Was on Cingular/AT&T from 2007- October 2014, service was great, but we switched when the bills got way too high. Our family does a lot of overseas calling to India for work and to communicate with family, and it was getting pretty expensive. TMO has their stateside to international talk package, where calls from the U.S. to India are free. That sealed the deal for us. Joined on an unlimited LTE data family plan promo back in November.
I live in the Midwest, very close to two major cities, and coverage has been pretty solid for the most part. LTE everywhere I go, and in places where signal stinks, wifi-calling comes through.
Very Happy with Magenta
Was on Cingular/AT&T from 2007- October 2014, service was great, but we switched when the bills got way too high. Our family does a lot of overseas calling to India for work and to communicate with family, and it was getting pretty expensive. TMO has their stateside to international talk package, where calls from the U.S. to India are free. That sealed the deal for us. Joined on an unlimited LTE data family plan promo back in November.
I live in the Midwest, very close to two major cities, and coverage has been pretty solid for the most part. LTE everywhere I go, and in places where signal stinks, wifi-calling comes through.
Very Happy with Magenta
May be you are right, I voted for att, but I tested my ipad t-mo yesterday, it gave me 85-95 download speed in the city, att 35-40. I switch when I get iphone with LTE12. In my area coverage is a bit spotty. The only reason I look at t-mo is international calling and excellent roaming price.
Very true, they also carried the Galaxy S4 Active and may carry the S6 Active if it ever comes out.
Yup. The Galaxy S4 active, S5 active, S6 active, Galaxy Alpha, S5 Mini, Mega, Mega 2, etc.
Wow, I didn't realize just how many random models they have.
Also, when I was in the Samsung product cycle, AT&T always seemed to be the first carrier to ship out the Samsung flagships to their stores, for both Galaxy and Note launches.
I've had Verizon, Sprint and now T-Mobile. Verizon has provided me with the best coverage, but charges the most and their customer service didn't always treat me well. Sprint had great customer service, good pricing, good phone selection, but bad coverage in my area which is the only reason I switched to T-Mobile. T-Mobile has been fantastic! Good coverage (not great), excellent customer service, and pricing comparable to Sprint but they offer the jump program, which is such a great option to have and also includes phone insurance for $10 a month. They don't have the best cell phone selection but do carry a majority of the flagships. Don't have anything to say about AT&T, but where I live and work, they don't have good coverage according to their users.
I've been a Verizon user for 10 years now and haven't had any issues or problems with customer service. I'm also happy with the loyalty plan they offered. Was on AT&T before that, but switched because everyone I knew was on Verizon and texting and phone calls was free for Verizon to Verizon users. This was before imessage was available.
The utter unwillingness to unlock absolutely aggravates me. I'm switching to Verizon for this reason.
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TMO would be a good option if there wasn't a gap in coverage (as in NO coverage) between Allentown & Reading PA. Where I have TMO coverage it's faster tharn ATT (16 up/4 down on TMO v. 9 up/3 down on ATT). Love the international data roaming on TMO . . .
I seriously recommend T-Mobile, especially for a iPhone.
Yes Verizon has more coverage then any other wireless provider yeah we know that.
ATT has good coverage and allow voice and data at the same time, yeah we know that.
The only thing that there lacking is a Unlimited Data Plan.
Long story short, there is no point in having a smartphone phone when your limited on how your able to use it.
The data is the brain of the smartphone, when your limiting it, you unable to use it for its full potential.
T-Mobile covergae has improved, and if your in there coverage area I would get them, if not the next best thing is ATT, they have good pricing on data buckets, which will give your phone a bigger brain
Yes Verizon has more coverage then any other wireless provider yeah we know that.
ATT has good coverage and allow voice and data at the same time, yeah we know that.
The only thing that there lacking is a Unlimited Data Plan.
Long story short, there is no point in having a smartphone phone when your limited on how your able to use it.
The data is the brain of the smartphone, when your limiting it, you unable to use it for its full potential.
T-Mobile covergae has improved, and if your in there coverage area I would get them, if not the next best thing is ATT, they have good pricing on data buckets, which will give your phone a bigger brain
