Sprint Free&Clear America vs. VZW National Single-Rate

alt.cellular.sprintpcs added for those SPCS denizens who want to add
comments.

cathy <[email protected]> wrote:
> Sprint has an add-on to their regular plans called Free and Clear
> America (I think that's what it's called). For $5 a month, what it
> does is eliminate roaming charges. Anywhere you can get a signal,
> analog or digital, whosever system it is, you won't pay roaming
> charges (kinda like National Single Rate).

Yes. It's F&CA. Your roaming airtime usage must total less than 50% of
your total airtime usage. I thought it was $10 per month, but still, you
understand the basic idea.

> Does Verizon have anything like this to go with their America's Choice
> plans? The reason I've never switched from NSR to AC is because of the
> roaming charges. The one thing I NEVER want to see on my bill are
> roaming charges. NSR takes care of that, but the plan I have now is
> rather limited.

No - for no roaming ever, you'd need NSR. Here's the deal: You have the
preferred-network plans (Sprint Free & Clear, Cingular Preferred, Alltel
National Freedom, AT&T National Network, Verizon America's Choice) that offer
no roaming on the carrier's networks nationwide, as well as selected networks
operated by competitors that the carrier's negotiated good roaming deals with.

Sprint's Free & Clear was the first such plan, although it only allows roam-
free usage on Sprint's own network. Everyone else came up with the preferred-
network plans to compete with Sprint.

Then you have the true no-roaming plans (Sprint Free & Clear America,
Cingular Nation, Alltel Total Freedom, AT&T Digital One-Rate, Verizon NSR).
AT&T was the first to market with this type of plan about four years ago,
maybe five. Everyone eventually introduced a Digital One-Rate clone.

Except Sprint.

The whole point of the preferred-network plans is since you can only roam for
free on *specific* carriers with which your carrier has negotiated good rates,
it's cheaper for them to allow you to roam and therefore they can offer lower
prices on the plans.

Sprint offers the F&CA add-on, but none of the other big guys need to. They
already *have* the no-roaming-anywhere plans.

> The promotional minutes (got the plan about 4 years
> ago) are only for weekends, no nighttime at all. I'm tired of having
> my calling time so limited, and I've contemplating switching to
> Sprint. I travel a lot and need that no-roaming capability.

> But before I do that I want to see if Verizon has anything/will do
> anything to match Sprint's plan.

#1: They won't. If you shop for your cell carrier based primarily on
price, and you chose Verizon, you chose the wrong carrier. Verizon hasn't
ever and will not ever market themselves as a low-price carrier. That's not
their thing. And since they can potentially have to pay for significant
amounts of roaming for which *they can't bill you*, they're not likely to
give much away for free and cost themselves more money.

#2: Travel a lot? If, over the course of a few months, Sprint PCS detects
that (on average) you're spending more than 50% of your airtime roaming, they
reserve the right to take you off the plan.

I suppose Cingular might be a better choice for you, but I honestly don't
know anything about their network or customer service; I've never used them,
and I will never use them because they are partially owned by a telephone
company that I have had significant problems with.

But if you're expecting lots of free minutes on any of the *true* nationwide
plans, you'll probably be disappointed. And you will definitely need to check
coverage maps; companies that offer the freebies, like AT&T on their GSM
"Next Generation" network, don't always offer good coverage. In particular,
AT&T's legacy TDMA network is much, MUCH larger; a sales rep for an AT&T
authorized agent at the local mall even told me, recently, to stay away from
the GSM network because the older network has much more coverage. (Note:
AT&T Digital One-Rate *is* offered on the older network, but you're not
likely to be able to get most of the promos that are offered on the Next
Generation network.) And AT&T is having to deal with some major issues
anyhow.

I'd suggest doing some research on some of the other carriers. If you're
not happy with Verizon, you should switch, but for *your* specific purposes,
I don't know that Sprint would be the right choice for you.

Hope this helps. I'd hate to see you make a decision that ends up hurting you
in the long run.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services
22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950
Steve Sobol, Proprietor
888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * [email protected]

---

› See More: Sprint Free&Clear America vs. VZW National Single-Rate

Steven J Sobol wrote:

> alt.cellular.sprintpcs added for those SPCS denizens who want to add
> comments.
>
> cathy <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Sprint has an add-on to their regular plans called Free and Clear
>>America (I think that's what it's called). For $5 a month, what it
>>does is eliminate roaming charges. Anywhere you can get a signal,
>>analog or digital, whosever system it is, you won't pay roaming
>>charges (kinda like National Single Rate).
>
>
> Yes. It's F&CA. Your roaming airtime usage must total less than 50% of
> your total airtime usage. I thought it was $10 per month, but still, you
> understand the basic idea.

Actually, it's both. It's complicated. In non-affiliate markets, F&C
America is $5 a month and negates roaming charges up to and including
50% of your consumed airtime. So, as long as you use SPCS coverage areas
as much or more than roaming areas, you're ok. My understanding from a
few people at Customer Care is that they aren't charging overages in
most cases, instead making reccommendations of different habits and
plans. *YMMV of course.*

In affiliate markets, the plans generally cost $10, though the price
sometimes varies. The minutes included are fixed, and can vary by
market, with a low of 30 minutes. There are a number of markets that
offer 50 or 100 minutes. I don't recall any immediately that offer more.
I used to have a chart...

Anyhow, the easiest way I've found to determine which plan you get is to
type your zip code into the front page at http://www.sprintpcs.com Next,
click on the National Plans and then click on the Free and Clear America
option to see the details for that market.

Also note that you can get a more aggressive plan by changing your CSA
to a non-afilliate market, like San Antonio. You get a new number in
that area though.

One of the things I've failed to get a satisfying answer on is the way
N&W usage works on roam. I've heard that it does, and I've heard that it
doesn't. I've also heard that N&W has a different 50% counter than AT
usage. Anyone with experience with F&C America know about N&W on roam?

-mike

Steven J Sobol <[email protected]> wrote:

>cathy <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Sprint has an add-on to their regular plans called Free and Clear
>> America (I think that's what it's called). For $5 a month, what it
>> does is eliminate roaming charges. Anywhere you can get a signal,
>> analog or digital, whosever system it is, you won't pay roaming
>> charges (kinda like National Single Rate).

Remember, though, that you'll pay for long distance while roaming, so if
you go out of town and call home while roaming on a non-Sprint network,
you'll pay $0.25 per minute. Free and Clear America really isn't the
same as Digital One Rate.


--
Jack Hamilton
[email protected]


If men are to wait for liberty until they become wise and good in slavery,
they may indeed wait for ever.
- Lord MacCaulay

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 21:21:42 -0800, Jack Hamilton <[email protected]> wrote:

>Steven J Sobol <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>cathy <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Sprint has an add-on to their regular plans called Free and Clear
>>> America (I think that's what it's called). For $5 a month, what it
>>> does is eliminate roaming charges. Anywhere you can get a signal,
>>> analog or digital, whosever system it is, you won't pay roaming
>>> charges (kinda like National Single Rate).
>
>Remember, though, that you'll pay for long distance while roaming, so if
>you go out of town and call home while roaming on a non-Sprint network,
>you'll pay $0.25 per minute. Free and Clear America really isn't the
>same as Digital One Rate.

Huh?? First of all, the current SprintPCS plans say all long distance
is included. Plus, if you get the Free and Clear America plan, you'll
never be roaming, so you'll never incurr any long distance charges.

At least, that's the way it seems to me.

Cathy

cathy wrote:

> Huh?? First of all, the current SprintPCS plans say all long distance
> is included. Plus, if you get the Free and Clear America plan, you'll
> never be roaming, so you'll never incurr any long distance charges.
>
> At least, that's the way it seems to me.
>
> Cathy

You're roaming. Nothing, short of a Sprint tower, or going to one, will
change that. It's about what you pay for roaming.
-mike

"T. Loso" <[email protected]> wrote:

>That is correct Free and Clear Ameria include roaming and LD up to 50% of
>minutes used. The 50 minute Roaming Bundle does not include LD.
>
>"cathy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 21:21:42 -0800, Jack Hamilton <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> >Steven J Sobol <[email protected]> wrote:
>> >
>> >>cathy <[email protected]> wrote:
>> >>> Sprint has an add-on to their regular plans called Free and Clear
>> >>> America (I think that's what it's called). For $5 a month, what it
>> >>> does is eliminate roaming charges. Anywhere you can get a signal,
>> >>> analog or digital, whosever system it is, you won't pay roaming
>> >>> charges (kinda like National Single Rate).
>> >
>> >Remember, though, that you'll pay for long distance while roaming, so if
>> >you go out of town and call home while roaming on a non-Sprint network,
>> >you'll pay $0.25 per minute. Free and Clear America really isn't the
>> >same as Digital One Rate.
>>
>> Huh?? First of all, the current SprintPCS plans say all long distance
>> is included. Plus, if you get the Free and Clear America plan, you'll
>> never be roaming, so you'll never incurr any long distance charges.
>>
>> At least, that's the way it seems to me.
>>
>> Cathy
>
Me too until the bills came rolling in for roaming. I was so mad that
they lied to my face, that I sold the phone, took a loss, and went with
Verizon NSR plan.

Don't let Sprint fool you or lie to you. If you go off their "network"
you will pay through the nose.

In all the time I have now been with Verizon I have NEVER paid long
distance or roaming on the NSR plan, no matter where I am in the US, and
now Canada too.

Mark

Jack Hamilton wrote:
> Steven J Sobol <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>cathy <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>Sprint has an add-on to their regular plans called Free and Clear
>>>America (I think that's what it's called). For $5 a month, what it
>>>does is eliminate roaming charges. Anywhere you can get a signal,
>>>analog or digital, whosever system it is, you won't pay roaming
>>>charges (kinda like National Single Rate).
>
>
> Remember, though, that you'll pay for long distance while roaming, so if
> you go out of town and call home while roaming on a non-Sprint network,
> you'll pay $0.25 per minute. Free and Clear America really isn't the
> same as Digital One Rate.
>
>


Totally wrong. You are not charged for long distance!

>Remember, though, that you'll pay for long distance while roaming, so if
>you go out of town and call home while roaming on a non-Sprint network,
>you'll pay $0.25 per minute. Free and Clear America really isn't the
>same as Digital One Rate.

With my F&C America plan I've never been charged long distance while
roaming. Digital roam, analog roam, cross country calls--all included.
Not a penny more.



----------------------------
To email me, remove the zz.

I concur. I travel extensively and often in very remote areas where Sprint
PCS is not available. I have over 400 subcontractors scattered throughout
the 50 states and PR that I communicate with with my i500 and with F&CA I am
NOT charged roaming or long distance EVER. My roaming usage always stays
below 50% of total usage and that includes N&W. I average about 3500 to
4000 minutes per month (about half of that is after hours and weekends) and
a bunch of that is spent roaming. I have never had a problem.
Thadius
"RexYBlue" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >Remember, though, that you'll pay for long distance while roaming, so if
> >you go out of town and call home while roaming on a non-Sprint network,
> >you'll pay $0.25 per minute. Free and Clear America really isn't the
> >same as Digital One Rate.
>
> With my F&C America plan I've never been charged long distance while
> roaming. Digital roam, analog roam, cross country calls--all included.
> Not a penny more.
>
>
>
> ----------------------------
> To email me, remove the zz.

Jack Hamilton wrote:

> Remember, though, that you'll pay for long distance while roaming, so
> if you go out of town and call home while roaming on a non-Sprint
> network, you'll pay $0.25 per minute. Free and Clear America really
> isn't the same as Digital One Rate.

Free & Clear America DOES cover long distance.

Tom Veldhouse

"T. Loso" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> That is correct Free and Clear Ameria include roaming and LD up to 50% of
> minutes used. The 50 minute Roaming Bundle does not include LD.

You might try fixing your time on your computer. Your reply showed up with a
time date of 12-31-03 @ 1:09 AM.

Bob

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Jack Hamilton wrote:
>
>> Remember, though, that you'll pay for long distance while roaming, so
>> if you go out of town and call home while roaming on a non-Sprint
>> network, you'll pay $0.25 per minute. Free and Clear America really
>> isn't the same as Digital One Rate.
>
>Free & Clear America DOES cover long distance.

Perhaps, but they claim that it does not. The description on their web
page says "PCS Free & Clear America Receive additional off-network
roaming minutes for use when traveling off the digital PCS Nationwide
Network. Additional per-minute charges apply for domestic long-distance
calling."

I don't know how to interpret that in a way that gives free long
distance while roaming.


--
Jack Hamilton
[email protected]


If men are to wait for liberty until they become wise and good in slavery,
they may indeed wait for ever.
- Lord MacCaulay

"Jack Hamilton" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Jack Hamilton wrote:
> >
> >> Remember, though, that you'll pay for long distance while roaming, so
> >> if you go out of town and call home while roaming on a non-Sprint
> >> network, you'll pay $0.25 per minute. Free and Clear America really
> >> isn't the same as Digital One Rate.
> >
> >Free & Clear America DOES cover long distance.
>
> Perhaps, but they claim that it does not. The description on their web
> page says "PCS Free & Clear America Receive additional off-network
> roaming minutes for use when traveling off the digital PCS Nationwide
> Network. Additional per-minute charges apply for domestic long-distance
> calling."
>
> I don't know how to interpret that in a way that gives free long
> distance while roaming.
>
>
> --
> Jack Hamilton
> [email protected]

Gotta be a typo Jack as LD is included with F&CA ...

Bob

On Thu, 11 Dec 2003 01:06:26 -0600, Mike <[email protected]> wrote:

>cathy wrote:
>
>> Huh?? First of all, the current SprintPCS plans say all long distance
>> is included. Plus, if you get the Free and Clear America plan, you'll
>> never be roaming, so you'll never incurr any long distance charges.
>>
>> At least, that's the way it seems to me.
>>
>> Cathy
>
>You're roaming. Nothing, short of a Sprint tower, or going to one, will
>change that. It's about what you pay for roaming.
>-mike

Mike - you seem a bit....confused. We weren't talking about paying for
roaming, but paying for =long distance=. My point is, and several
people here seem to concurr with me, that if with the Free and Clear
America plan you never pay for roaming, then you never pay for long
distance, either. Regardless of what tower the signal is carried on,
Free and Clear America prevents you from being charged any roaming
charges, and therefore any long distance charges, either.

Cathy

Really not trying to cause a flame war here BUT....

We used to have the Sprint PCS F&C America Plan and changed to the VZW
NSR plan after we encountered several areas in eastern OK and northern
MS and AL that dumped us to the American Roaming Network at $3/min when

we tried to make a call. This happened on my wife's and son's Sprint
phones as well so it was not a phone thing. This together with the
rotten service and uncaring attitude of our local Sprint store
employees caused us to switch to VZW - and there is no comparison - the
improvement was well worth the few extra $ difference in plan costs.

As long as we have stayed within the allotted minutes with the VZW NSR
plan we have never had any extra charges for roaming or LD or
encountered the ARN crap anywhere from CA to the east coast and from
I-40 south to the gulf coast. And a very large fraction of this time
we were either on the Verizon Network or the Verizon Extended Network.
I set the service change beep on my LG 4400 and I remember it beeping
only a few times indicating roaming.

I recently changed to the National Access Plan with the same features
as my NSR plan except it allows one to share minutes between voice and
data at no extra charge. This has worked out real well as I no longer
have to mess with motel or hotel internet services but just hook up my
phone to my Mac PB and get instant access to the web. Even if the fast
3G service is not available I can easily dial back to my local ISP and
get on the web that way.

My advice is if you have a real choice between F&C and NSR (coverage,
etc) - go with VZW. They are not perfect but are much better than the
rest IMHO.

Frank McGirt
[email protected]