Changing Home Coverage Versus Roaming

I am considering getting a cell phone and have been looking at Tracfone

as a possible source.


About a month ago I checked their coverage in our area and noted good
home coverage.


Now I checked their site and it shows that we are in a roaming calling
area with the accompanying higher costs of operation.


Could someone enlighten me as to how stable these calling areas are?


This phone will be used seldom and for emergency situations.


Also, are there any companies that you would recommend for CHEAP and
DEPENDABLE communications?


Thanks


TMT

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› See More: Changing Home Coverage Versus Roaming

Hi TMT,

We use T-Mobile pay as you go and pay $100/1000min/yr on both our phones,
but found Beyond Wireless; http://www.gobeyondwireless.com/ a better deal
their minutes don't expire so long as you use a minute every 60 days. They
use TMDA which doesn't have as good coverage as T-Mobiles GSM
www.tmobile.com .
Check their web sites for coverage in your area. Also look as a previous
thread on best perpaid wireless.

Patrick

"Too_Many_Tools" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I am considering getting a cell phone and have been looking at Tracfone
>
> as a possible source.
>
>
> About a month ago I checked their coverage in our area and noted good
> home coverage.
>
>
> Now I checked their site and it shows that we are in a roaming calling
> area with the accompanying higher costs of operation.
>
>
> Could someone enlighten me as to how stable these calling areas are?
>
>
> This phone will be used seldom and for emergency situations.
>
>
> Also, are there any companies that you would recommend for CHEAP and
> DEPENDABLE communications?
>
>
> Thanks
>
>
> TMT
>

Thanks for the response.

I have read the recent thread concerning "best prepaid wireless"

My concern is that companies have been changing home versus roaming
coverages (Tracfone is not the first company I have seen change
coverage). It would seem that one needs to continue to switch companies
to maintain a reliable phone when it is needed.

TMT

The reason why the home versus roaming changes are important is that it
tells you that the company is changing coverage.

It is one of the few ways a customer can tell if their coverage has
changed.

In an emergency, the last thing you want to worry about is whether or
not the phone can work.

Also the changes from home to roaming is an indication of how much real
investment a company has in the marketplace. If it continues, Tracfone
may not be around long as the industry consolidation continues.

TMT

As the industry continues to consolidate, those who OWN the hard assets
will survive.

Home versus roam quickly tells you who owns what.

Tracfone has been changing a significant number of areas from home to
roam...and their website has recently been changed to make it almost
impossible to determine what your coverage will be.

All signs that are not favorable for long term stability and survival.

TMT

> "Too_Many_Tools" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> As the industry continues to consolidate, those who OWN the hard assets
> will survive.
>
> Home versus roam quickly tells you who owns what.
>
> Tracfone has been changing a significant number of areas from home to
> roam...and their website has recently been changed to make it almost
> impossible to determine what your coverage will be.
>
> All signs that are not favorable for long term stability and survival.


JoshIII recommends:
Would it be asking too much <again> for you to announce your zip code?

We would be able to analyze and debate the facts, not just the
misguided/misinterpreted impressions of a few.

Then we could settle your coverage concerns once and for all.

The coverage maps at the www.tracfone.com website are *usually* on the
conservative side locally, but offer a more accurate picture on the national
scale.

For example, my local coverage map at the TracFone website shows my CDMA
local coverage area as western South Carolina only. In reality my local
coverage area is western North *and* South Carolina.

Hope this helps!

JoshIII, 7 NOV 05
upstate south carolina
[email protected]
Activating a TracFone soon? Get an email referral from a
TracFone user before you activate and you'll both receive
100 Free airtime minutes! See the website listed below for
details for a free phone and free airtime minutes from TracFone:
http://pasofinosc.tripod.com

Thanks for the offer but that information is on a need to know basis.

I was just on Tracfone's site..all phones shown have roaming for all
locations that are under consideration...and the actual roaming cost is
not shown.

As to the correctness of the maps, I expect them as well as the cell
service provided to be reliable. When this consumer has to play
detective to determine whether or not a coverage area is
available...well, let's just say that my time is valuable and a company
who will waste my time will not be my cell provider.

If you wish to offer information, please supply LINKS to

1) the home/roaming coverage maps for the Nokia 1100 and 2600 phones

2)and provide what the ""Single Rate for every call: local, long
distance, and roaming" is for these phones.

I have looked for this information and it seems to be "missing" from
the Tracfone website.

TMT

Too_Many_Tools wrote:
> As the industry continues to consolidate, those who OWN the hard assets
> will survive.
>
> Home versus roam quickly tells you who owns what.
>
> Tracfone has been changing a significant number of areas from home to
> roam...and their website has recently been changed to make it almost
> impossible to determine what your coverage will be.
>
> All signs that are not favorable for long term stability and survival.

The prepaid resellers exist at the pleasure of the major carriers. The
major carriers don't want to hurt their post-paid business by offering
attractive pre-paid plans, so they sell time on their networks to all
these other companies. At some point they may decide that they no longer
want to resell service, but for now, they see the resellers as upside
revenue.

Tracfone certainly has done the most marketing of any prepaid company,
so even though their prices are very high, they do well in terms of
market share. Few people are aware of companies like Beyond Wireless or
Call Plus.

SMS wrote:
> Tracfone certainly has done the most marketing of any prepaid company,
> so even though their prices are very high, they do well in terms of
> market share. Few people are aware of companies like Beyond Wireless or
> Call Plus.
Also, CallPlus and BeyondWireless only do AT&T areas. TracFone does
many more carriers, and lets you change carriers (while keeping your
TracFone) and keep your minutes.

Compare:

$30 every two months for Dobson Cellular one Simply Speaking for 150
minutes (0.20/minute)

$19.99 every two months with TracFone for 80 minutes with the same home
area (.25/minute).

$100 for one year of BeyondWireless AT&T TDMA service roams on Dobson
for 250 minutes @ 40 cents/minute (42 minutes every two months)

So if you have to use Dobson, I wouldn't pick Beyond Wireless

Tracfone offers yearly deals, and Simply Speaking doesn't offer it.
They won't automatically tranfer payment every 2 months. Unless you
are constantly checking the renewal data, it is a big hassle.

My father-in-law's one year Tracfone deal on Dobson expired 2 weeks
ago, and his phone still works with 70 minutes left. A fluke?