Switching to Sprint? Opinions?

[email protected] wrote:

> Well, I really thought when I went to Sprint in the first place, that
> they would have good coverage in cities such as Orlando, Tampa,
> Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Diego, Minneapolis, Detroit, Greensboro,
> Columbus, San Francisco, Jacksonville (my home area), Tallahassee,
> Houston, etc.

Yeah. All carriers have their weak areas. Cleveland, for example,
was great when I lived there, but downstate in Columbus they have had major
issues, according to my colo provider (I work out of my home near Los Angeles,
but my Internet servers sit in a data facility in Columbus, and my colo
provider used to have a problem with his Sprint phone roaming much more
often than it should when he was at home.)

> When I get hit for roaming in my home town.......

....then obviously Sprint is not the carrier you should be using.

Alltel has a good rep in Central Florida. Like my hometown (Cleveland),
a large chunk of Florida's 800 MHz CDMA cellular network was run by GTE
Wireless. I had a GTE Wireless phone in Cleveland. GTE Wireless's Cleveland
network and the network in Florida -- Central Florida, at least, were spun
off to Alltel in the GTE/Bell Atlantic/Airtouch deal that created Verizon
Wireless.

I'm not sure if Jax was part of that deal or not; it's possible that Alltel
is not even in Jax. However, if they are, you should check them out. And
I plugged in a zip code I found on the Web - 32224, the zip for the University
of North Florida - and found lots of Alltel stores, so I imagine they do
have a presence in Jax. You may want to inquire on alt.cellular.alltel
to find out about actual customers' opinions of Alltel in Northeast Florida.

--
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› See More: Switching to Sprint? Opinions?

In alt.cellular.sprintpcs [email protected] wrote:

> $5.00 per month to get a true national plan without roaming charges.
> It just torques me.

Yes, but if you get a true nationwide plan -- say, Verizon National Single-
Rate, or Alltel Total Freedom, or Cingular Nation -- it will still cost
more than the equivalent preferred-network plan -- Verizon America's Choice,
Alltel National Freedom, or Cingular Preferred. The preferred network plans
allow you to roam nationwide on the carrier's network and on the networks
of certain other carriers where they've negotiated inexpensive roaming
agreements. Everywhere else you pay for roaming. Sprint Free & Clear is
a preferred-network plan (albeit one that only includes Sprint networks).
Always has been. And the reason those other preferred-network plans were
introduced was to compete with F&C, which was at the time a much better
deal than pioneering plans like AT&T's Digital One-Rate (the first-ever
true nationwide plan).

The true nationwide plans will always be more, and in some cases will cost
more than $5/month above the preferred-network plans.

The real issue is that with the possible exception of Cingular, the others
don't limit you to a certain percentage of your calls being on the carrier's
own network. But the cost is in line with, and is often less than, other
carriers' equivalent true nationwide plans. You *will* pay more because
when you roam, the carriers pay the roaming networks for the privilege of
letting you roam and on the true nationwide plans, they *can't* bill those
minutes back to you as roaming minutes, so they eat the roaming charges.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

In alt.cellular.sprintpcs [email protected] wrote:
> On Fri, 11 Jun 2004 16:36:50 -0500, "Ernest D. Stalnaker"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I'm thinking about switching from Verizon to Sprint, but I keep hearing
>>stuff that scares me away. And I can't find anyone who can tell me if the
>>service will work well in an area that's about 2 miles from the Interstate
>>but kind of in the country (Verizon works well there).
>
> Not sure where in the country, or on which interstate you are on,
> but.....

The question is where you are. I don't know how they are in Indiana -
do you live near Purdue or only go to school there?

There are some cities where SPCS coverage sucks. As Deb has pointed out,
they have problem spots all over Florida. I can identify Columbus, Ohio
as another area, although when I lived in Cleveland their network was solid
and I didn't have roaming issues at all.

What we need to do is find someone in your area. Perhaps you can talk
to some people at Purdue or find existing Sprint customers at the local SPCS
store or Radio Shack and find out how their coverage experience is - that's
the only way to get a real, accurate picture of how Sprint would work for
you.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

In alt.cellular.sprintpcs [email protected] wrote:

> Which is another of my problems, since the cell phone is primarily
> used when I am out of town. So far, it has stayed under the 50%
> roaming, but there have been one or two months where it really
> "teetered" on the edge.

I suggest trying Alltel Total Freedom... I've not really heard anything
negative at all about Alltel in Florida.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

In alt.cellular.sprintpcs [email protected] wrote:

> Anytime you drop off the PCS network to an analogue signal, you are
> roaming, and roaming charges (in my case, 41 cents a minute) apply.

41 cents a minute? You must be on an old plan. Which leads me to a suggestion:

I would suggest, if you haven't given up your Sprint phone yet, calling *2
and having the CSR flag your phone for a PRL update, just in case. Then you
wait a couple minutes and call *2 again and, since your phone's flagged for
an update, it'll send the update to your phone.

If you've already tried this and it hasn't worked, my suggestions for
other cellular carriers can be found elsewhere in this thread.

>>I must say I haven't heard much good about Sprint in the past, but these
>>companies change all the time. Any opinions? I remember in particular
>>that Sprint had weak coverage in the Los Angeles area. Has that
>>changed?
>
> I do not have a good opinion of Sprint. Every time I see their ads
> where they talk about "nationwide coverage with no roaming" it just
> infuriates me.

OK, but I *live* in Southern California and our Sprint coverage is solid,
up here in the High Desert, down the hill in San Bernardino and vicinity,
and in the Los Angeles area when we venture down there.

Sprint actually has coverage at my house on the edge of Apple Valley where
Verizon has no coverage.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 22:22:55 -0500, Steven J Sobol
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>> When I get hit for roaming in my home town.......
>
>...then obviously Sprint is not the carrier you should be using.

Obviously.....

>
>I'm not sure if Jax was part of that deal or not; it's possible that Alltel
>is not even in Jax. However, if they are, you should check them out. And

Chuckle....well the Jacksonville Jaguars home stadium here in Jax is
Alltel Stadium....

Yes, Alltel has a large presence here, however, they don't have a plan
that is satisfactory for me.

>I plugged in a zip code I found on the Web - 32224, the zip for the University
>of North Florida - and found lots of Alltel stores, so I imagine they do
>have a presence in Jax. You may want to inquire on alt.cellular.alltel
>to find out about actual customers' opinions of Alltel in Northeast Florida.

I need a national plan and carrier, and have pretty much decided to go
with Cingular.

Deb

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 22:29:06 -0500, Steven J Sobol
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Yes, but if you get a true nationwide plan -- say, Verizon National Single-
>Rate, or Alltel Total Freedom, or Cingular Nation -- it will still cost
>more than the equivalent preferred-network plan -- Verizon America's Choice,
>Alltel National Freedom, or Cingular Preferred. The preferred network plans

Not necessarily. I have found a true nationwide plan, that will give
me 50 less anytime minutes a month, and more N&W minues, but with
rollover, so for those months where I use less than the anytime (most
months), they'll bank and be used for the months where I spike.

The plan will actually cost me at least $10.00 or more less per month
than I am currently paying for my Sprint plan, with the same feature,
but only the 50 minute difference. Most months, I don't use more than
300 minutes in a month. About 3 - 4 months a year, I'll spike to
about 500 - 600 minutes. With the Cingular plan, I'll be able to
roll the minutes I don't use over, and not get the overage charges
get on the "spike months" now.

>introduced was to compete with F&C, which was at the time a much better
>deal than pioneering plans like AT&T's Digital One-Rate (the first-ever
>true nationwide plan).

Actually, AT&T had a true no-roaming national plan well before they
came out with the Digital One-Rate. I was with them for two years
before they introduced the Digital One-Rate, and was never charged a
roaming fee, even when in roaming areas. That's one reason I was so
ticked when I found out that what Sprint meant by "national coverage
with no roaming" was not really national coverage with no roaming,
even on the Free and Clear plan.

>own network. But the cost is in line with, and is often less than, other
>carriers' equivalent true nationwide plans. You *will* pay more because

I'm not sure how a service that is calculating out to be $10.00 or
more less per month, with the same features (including the second
line), is going to cost me more than the "equivalent service" with
Sprint. Right now, with Sprint, my first line is $55.00 per month,
the second adds 20.00, making the cost $75.00 before the "extra"
charges are added on.

The plan I will be going to has the same feature, with 50 less anytime
minutes per month (more than made up for with rollover) and with the
second line will cost about $60.00 per month before the added
regulatory fees and taxes.


Deb

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 22:36:30 -0500, Steven J Sobol
<[email protected]> wrote:

>In alt.cellular.sprintpcs [email protected] wrote:
>
>> Anytime you drop off the PCS network to an analogue signal, you are
>> roaming, and roaming charges (in my case, 41 cents a minute) apply.
>
>41 cents a minute? You must be on an old plan. Which leads me to a suggestion:

I finally "choked" and bought the "feature" that I now pay a monthly
fee for to get "free roaming".

>I would suggest, if you haven't given up your Sprint phone yet, calling *2
>and having the CSR flag your phone for a PRL update, just in case. Then you
>wait a couple minutes and call *2 again and, since your phone's flagged for
>an update, it'll send the update to your phone.

It updated it last night, the last in a series of updates over the 2
years I've been with them.

>If you've already tried this and it hasn't worked, my suggestions for
>other cellular carriers can be found elsewhere in this thread.

I have looked into Alltel, but am leaning towards Cingular now.

>> I do not have a good opinion of Sprint. Every time I see their ads
>> where they talk about "nationwide coverage with no roaming" it just
>> infuriates me.
>
>OK, but I *live* in Southern California and our Sprint coverage is solid,
>up here in the High Desert, down the hill in San Bernardino and vicinity,
>and in the Los Angeles area when we venture down there.

When I was last in that area (granted over a year ago), I had very
poor coverage in the 29 Palms area (went to visit my son) and in the
San Bernadino, Riverside and Orange county areas.


Deb

[email protected] wrote:
>
> I have Sprint PCS. I wind up on roaming at least 25% of the calls I
> make on a regular basis. I find it irritating that I have to pay a
> montly service fee to get the "true nationwide network with no
> roaming" that the ads promised.

You don't. You're misreading the claim. That's actually a dig at Verizon,
where it's actually possible to be on their network *and* roaming at the
same time. With Sprint, if you're on the SPCS network, you're not roaming.
Period.

This is not to say the misread isn't understandable, or to deny your claims
about the coverage issues you have. It's simply to point out the actual
context of that claim.

[email protected] wrote:
>
> Not necessarily. I have found a true nationwide plan, that will give
> me 50 less anytime minutes a month, and more N&W minues, but with
> rollover, so for those months where I use less than the anytime (most
> months), they'll bank and be used for the months where I spike.
>
That's a *very* intriguing insight you've provided. More N&W minutes? Our
plans provide *unlimited* N&W minutes now. Truly so. Based on a few posts
I've seen in the Cingular group, that appears to be not truly unlimited.

And for $60/month, your phones could be covered under Fair & Flexible
America For $65, Unlimited N&W minutes could start at 7.

For those four months, assuming max usage at 600 minutes, you'd pay an
additional $30 each month it happens. And that's not a "use it or lose it"
feature. Not nearly the catastrophic cost involved in, for example, running
out of rollover minutes and going into $0.40/min usage rates.

So, you've got some coverage issues, and that's certainly a valid reason to
be on your way. No question about that. But, when it comes to plan options
and monthly costs, it sounds like you've compared Sprint apples to Cingular
oranges.

[email protected] wrote:
> On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 03:12:07 GMT, "O/Siris" <0siris@sprīntpcs.cŲm>
> wrote:
>>
>> The 50% limit only applies to total usage. If more than 50% of your
>> total usage in a month is roaming, then we cover you and send you a
>> reminder about the 50% limit. Do it again within 3 months, and we
>> still cover you, but we remove the Free&Clear America option.
>>
>> Do you really think you'll use that many roaming minutes more than
>> once within a 3-month period?
>
> I came very close on at least two occasions during my business travel.
> The phone is primarily used for business when I am at a client's, and
> that is usually out of my home area.
>
> When I can't get a PCS signal, I'm forced to roam.
>
> Deb

A grand total of two times? I asked about doing it twice within one 3-month
period. If you don't do it twice within 3 months, you're covered and you
stay covered.

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:

> I do not have a good opinion of Sprint. Every time I see their ads
> where they talk about "nationwide coverage with no roaming" it just
> infuriates me.

It is sure a stretch of commonly accepted English to call Sprint's
coverage Nationwide. It does reach from one end of the nation to the
other, but a true map is like a spider web full of swiss cheese holes.

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:

> On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 02:40:49 GMT, "Bob Smith"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> >
> >I've noticed you've brought back that 1,400,000 number in the past two days.
> >So Phillipe, just where is that simple copy and paste, along with a page
> >number out of the 10Q. After 20 plus requests from quite a few people here,
> >including yours truly, you still haven't backed up your statement.
>
> I can't speak about the number of customers who have left, but
> according to the FCC 2003 posting of complaint statistics, Sprint PCS
> was second only to AT&T in the number of complaints per 10K users.
>
> http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/05...laintsAll3.pdf
> is the link to the graphic.
>
> AT&T wireless had 3.39 per 10K, Sprint had 2.25 per 10K with the other
> providers listed all having 1.6 or less.

Amazing how a Sprint apologist can have a bad memory when they want to.
Sprint's own 10-K filing with the SEC listed it as losing 1,400,000
customers in the first calendar quarter.

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:

> On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 09:23:30 GMT, "Robert M." <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >> Verizon phone uses. But it will cost 69 cents/min, unless you have a
> >> Free & Clear America Plan for $5 extra per month (then no extra cost).
> >
> >ONLY if total roaming minutes are less than half of the total minutes
> >used that month.
>
> Which is another of my problems, since the cell phone is primarily
> used when I am out of town. So far, it has stayed under the 50%
> roaming, but there have been one or two months where it really
> "teetered" on the edge.

Someone else suggested that on the last day of the month you dial *4 to
check your usage, and call a landline (home or office) and leave your
cell phone "off the hook" to use up minutes to get yourself near your
limit, to maximize allowable roaming minutes.

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:

> On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 03:27:11 GMT, O/Siris <0siris@sprīntpcs.com>
> wrote:
>
> >> ONLY if total roaming minutes are less than half of the total minutes
> >> used that month.
> >>
> >>
> >
> >Actually, no. If you exceed that 50% limit, you're still covered.
> >We send you a friendly reminder of the 50% limit, but cover you
> >unless you exceed it twice within a 3-month period.

Except no where does SprintPCS say that in writing so a customer would
know.



>
> Which can really suck if you are a frequent traveller, and get stuck
> in areas where PCS just can't be found. (On retrospect, in the larger
> metro areas, I just realized it is in the industrial areas or "just
> outside city limits".)
>
>
> Deb