Carrier Comparison site?

Is there a website or other resource that I can go to for detailed comparison
information between the different wireless phone carriers? In particular, I
am interested in local (Minneapolis) comparisons as well as regional and
national comparisons.

I am willing to consider:

Sprint PCS
Verizon Wireless
Cingular Wireless
T-Mobile

I have been a Sprint PCS customer in MN for several years now and my contract
is up in November, so I am just doing some research. I have had a decent
experience with Verizon (Airtouch) and T-Mobile (Aerial/Voicestream) in the
past, but it was many years back.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

---

› See More: Carrier Comparison site?

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" wrote:
>
> Is there a website or other resource that I can go to for detailed comparison
> information between the different wireless phone carriers? In particular, I
> am interested in local (Minneapolis) comparisons as well as regional and
> national comparisons.
>
> I am willing to consider:
>
> Sprint PCS
> Verizon Wireless
> Cingular Wireless
> T-Mobile
>
> I have been a Sprint PCS customer in MN for several years now and my contract
> is up in November, so I am just doing some research. I have had a decent
> experience with Verizon (Airtouch) and T-Mobile (Aerial/Voicestream) in the
> past, but it was many years back.

Are you looking for comparisons of plans, coverage, or something else?

If it's coverage, everyone claims to cover all areas! If you're looking for
coverage at one particular place (e.g., your house), you're best off going
to each carrier and taking advantage of whatever trial plans they offer.

Notan

Notan <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Are you looking for comparisons of plans, coverage, or something else?
>

1. Coverage [Quality]
2. Call Quality
3. Customer Service

> If it's coverage, everyone claims to cover all areas! If you're looking for
> coverage at one particular place (e.g., your house), you're best off going
> to each carrier and taking advantage of whatever trial plans they offer.
>

I am looking for comparison information in the above categories for:

1. Locality (i.e. Twin Cities, MN)
2. Region (i.e. Minnesota or perhaps a group of states)
3. National

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

These sites are really great for getting to the bottom of coverage in
your area:

http://www.cellreception.com/coverage/index.html
http://www.deadcellzones.com/

....just enter your zip code

Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
> Is there a website or other resource that I can go to for detailed comparison
> information between the different wireless phone carriers? In particular, I
> am interested in local (Minneapolis) comparisons as well as regional and
> national comparisons.
>
> I am willing to consider:
>
> Sprint PCS
> Verizon Wireless
> Cingular Wireless
> T-Mobile
>
> I have been a Sprint PCS customer in MN for several years now and my contract
> is up in November, so I am just doing some research. I have had a decent
> experience with Verizon (Airtouch) and T-Mobile (Aerial/Voicestream) in the
> past, but it was many years back.

JD Power Call Quality rankings for the region that includes Minnesota
are ranked in the following order:

T-Mobile
Verizon
Sprint
Quest
Cingular

I don't have Consumer Reports (February issue), but Verizon was number
one in all regions IIRC.

As far as a survey for the Twin Cities, I expect that Consumer
Checkbook, which just started up in that area, will have one soon.

Basically, Verizon is the best nationwide carrier, in terms of coverage
and call quality, just read the CR and JD Power reports.

I also found that with Verizon, and a tri-mode phone, I got coverage way
in the outer fringes of the Twin Cities area, out to Hamburg where I was
visiting some friends on a farm. Without tri-mode, which you can't get
on Cingular or T-Mobile, forget about good coverage outside the metro
area. And be careful to get a tri-mode phone, not all-digital. Even when
the carriers turn off analog in the cities, it will remain on in rural
areas. Of course with Sprint you can also get a tri-mode phone and roam
onto the AMPS network for free. The only issue with Sprint is that their
urban coverage is all at 1900 Mhz, which works less well inside big box
buildings.

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" wrote:

> Is there a website or other resource that I can go to for detailed comparison
> information between the different wireless phone carriers? In particular, I
> am interested in local (Minneapolis) comparisons as well as regional and
> national comparisons.
>
> I am willing to consider:
>
> Sprint PCS
> Verizon Wireless
> Cingular Wireless
> T-Mobile
>
> I have been a Sprint PCS customer in MN for several years now and my contract
> is up in November, so I am just doing some research. I have had a decent
> experience with Verizon (Airtouch) and T-Mobile (Aerial/Voicestream) in the
> past, but it was many years back.
>
> --
> Thomas T. Veldhouse
> Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

Google is your friend. Try it.

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Is there a website or other resource that I can go to for detailed
> comparison
> information between the different wireless phone carriers? In particular,
> I
> am interested in local (Minneapolis) comparisons as well as regional and
> national comparisons.
>
> I am willing to consider:
>
> Sprint PCS
> Verizon Wireless
> Cingular Wireless
> T-Mobile
>
> I have been a Sprint PCS customer in MN for several years now and my
> contract
> is up in November, so I am just doing some research. I have had a decent
> experience with Verizon (Airtouch) and T-Mobile (Aerial/Voicestream) in
> the
> past, but it was many years back.
>
> --
> Thomas T. Veldhouse
> Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1
>

Consumer Reports recently rated all the carriers in several major markets.
Verizon was the top dog in all of them (and they charge/treat customers
accordingly) and as I recall, T-Mobile was second in several. Cingular was
consistently in the cellar (which is why they have low prices and good
promos).

Jos.

These sites are really great for getting to the bottom of coverage in
your area:

http://www.cellreception.com/coverage/index.html
http://www.deadcellzones.com/


....just enter your zip code

"Jos. Wheeler" wrote:
>
> "Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Is there a website or other resource that I can go to for detailed
> > comparison
> > information between the different wireless phone carriers? In particular,
> > I
> > am interested in local (Minneapolis) comparisons as well as regional and
> > national comparisons.
> >
> > I am willing to consider:
> >
> > Sprint PCS
> > Verizon Wireless
> > Cingular Wireless
> > T-Mobile
> >
> > I have been a Sprint PCS customer in MN for several years now and my
> > contract
> > is up in November, so I am just doing some research. I have had a decent
> > experience with Verizon (Airtouch) and T-Mobile (Aerial/Voicestream) in
> > the
> > past, but it was many years back.
> >
> > --
> > Thomas T. Veldhouse
> > Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1
> >
>
> Consumer Reports recently rated all the carriers in several major markets.
> Verizon was the top dog in all of them (and they charge/treat customers
> accordingly) and as I recall, T-Mobile was second in several. Cingular was
> consistently in the cellar (which is why they have low prices and good
> promos).

Ya gotta wonder, at times, what people the surveyors are getting their
information from.

Head over to alt.cellular.verizon and you'll find posters *****ing up
a storm.

Notan

[email protected] wrote:
> These sites are really great for getting to the bottom of coverage in
> your area:
>
> http://www.cellreception.com/coverage/index.html
> http://www.deadcellzones.com/
>
> ...just enter your zip code
>

I have seen the first site (the better of the two), but not the second.
Thanks for the info. This covers in part what I am looking for.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I don't have Consumer Reports (February issue), but Verizon was number
> one in all regions IIRC.
>
> As far as a survey for the Twin Cities, I expect that Consumer
> Checkbook, which just started up in that area, will have one soon.
>
> Basically, Verizon is the best nationwide carrier, in terms of coverage
> and call quality, just read the CR and JD Power reports.
>
> I also found that with Verizon, and a tri-mode phone, I got coverage way
> in the outer fringes of the Twin Cities area, out to Hamburg where I was
> visiting some friends on a farm. Without tri-mode, which you can't get
> on Cingular or T-Mobile, forget about good coverage outside the metro
> area. And be careful to get a tri-mode phone, not all-digital. Even when
> the carriers turn off analog in the cities, it will remain on in rural
> areas. Of course with Sprint you can also get a tri-mode phone and roam
> onto the AMPS network for free. The only issue with Sprint is that their
> urban coverage is all at 1900 Mhz, which works less well inside big box
> buildings.

Thanks. I have had issues in several locations where Sprint PCS is one or no
bars (on my Sanyo MM-7400) and I need the antenna up to make calls. The
problem is that I miss incoming calls and they go to voicemail. These same
areas are seeing nearly maximum bars with Verizon. Granted the reception
indicator on phones is simply relative for that particular phone, but you get
the idea. Verizon didn't used to cover my home at all, so I had to give the
phones back after one week. They eventually fixed the issue by putting up
antennas on the nearby tower that has been T-Mobile and Sprint PCS only for
years.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

[email protected]lid wrote:
>
> Google is your friend. Try it.
>
>

If Google had suited my needs, I wouldn't have asked here. So far, Google
hasn't, so I asked. Perhaps somebody has something out of the way, or
multiple listings they can post here for simplicity.

Thanks.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

Notan <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Ya gotta wonder, at times, what people the surveyors are getting their
> information from.
>
> Head over to alt.cellular.verizon and you'll find posters *****ing up
> a storm.
>
> Notan

Vocal minority perhaps. Discontent is often loud and content is usually
silent. Verizon WAS the number one carrier in size until Cingular absorbed
ATTWS, so they certianly will have numbers, even vocal minority will be
significant in size.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

Dave Markson's site: http://www.cellguru.net/


"Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Is there a website or other resource that I can go to for detailed
> comparison
> information between the different wireless phone carriers? In particular,
> I
> am interested in local (Minneapolis) comparisons as well as regional and
> national comparisons.
>
> I am willing to consider:
>
> Sprint PCS
> Verizon Wireless
> Cingular Wireless
> T-Mobile
>
> I have been a Sprint PCS customer in MN for several years now and my
> contract
> is up in November, so I am just doing some research. I have had a decent
> experience with Verizon (Airtouch) and T-Mobile (Aerial/Voicestream) in
> the
> past, but it was many years back.
>
> --
> Thomas T. Veldhouse
> Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1
>

Notan wrote:

> Ya gotta wonder, at times, what people the surveyors are getting their
> information from.

They used very large sample sizes, so the margin of error is very small.
And remember, they don't ask "which carrier do you think is the best?"
they ask questions regarding your experience with your own carrier.
Unless a Verizon customer is more likely to overlook problems than say a
Cingular or Sprint customer, there is no reason to not believe the surveys.