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donnap99
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« on: November 09, 2001, 10:05:20 pm » |
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First, what do you refer to your phone as (see subject line)? I have to select a service. I'm bowing out of the business-provided plan 'cause I'm feeling terribly guilty about the quantity of personal phone calls and that they will not accept reimbursement from me when the bills come in. I think I'm on the fence between Spring & VoiceStream. My current phone is Sprint, and I've had no problems with coverage or the phone, but VoiceStream is less expensive. I need not less than 500 "peak" (aka anytime) minutes. I'd like to hear experiences about all of the carriers... AT&T, Cingular, Sprint, VoiceStream, anyone else? I know I'm leaving out someone obvious... Thanks! DonnaP99 |
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bethalize
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« Reply #1 on: November 09, 2001, 10:08:26 pm » |
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I call my mobile telephone my 'mobile', but that is what they're marketed as over here.
Bethalize
Deskdemon Forum Board Staff
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laundryhater
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« Reply #2 on: November 09, 2001, 10:34:05 pm » |
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Even though mine is a digital is still refer to it as "cell phone" because I'm used to it (had cell previously) and "cell phone" rolls out of my mouth easier than "digital phone".
My husband and I shopped around for a while too. We decided to go with U.S. Cellular. Not because it offered the best deals or the most minutes for the money, but because the calling areas were larger for our state. The other companies offered just a small sliver of calling area. U.S. Cellular covers all of Iowa plus part of Illinois, Missouri, and Minnesota. And since we have friends we visit in Illinois and Minnesota that was great news that we could drive there and still be able to make calls from our phones.
We bought our two digital phones last year in December when they had their Christmas deals out. We were able to purchase two phones for 2 cents (1 cent each), no connection fees, with Sharetalk, voicemail, caller id, and call waiting.
The only thing I don't like is that I can't figure out how the heck to get voice mail message notification. So I'm always having to call my voice mail box and check. It's a pain. I know there's a way to do it but I can't figure it out for the life of me. I think I'm just gonna have to take it back to the store and ask them to please show me how to do this.
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countrigal
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« Reply #3 on: November 09, 2001, 10:54:01 pm » |
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Ok, this is a hot topic for me - especially right now. I've had 3 different service providers for our "cell" phones (which is what I call them, whether they're a cell phone or digital or whatnot) in the last 3 years. I started with Alltel, which had good coverage and good price, but the bill was screwed up every month and I had to go to someone, in person, to get it fixed. Even after I cancelled the contract (after our year was up) I was still billed until I went down in person and reminded them that I had cancelled it before the cut-off date for the billing cycle and therefore the charges were wrong.
Then I went with Sprint. Again, coverage and price were good, but the billing was a problem. Not during the service, but when it came time to cancel (because I had moved and I had to switch services, even if I wanted to stay with Sprint or else have everyone calling me dialing a long distance #) they continued to bill me after I had cancelled service. I had direct payment for my bill, so even after I closed my bank account, they continued to bill it, which would re-open my account, cause me an overdraft fee, etc. I'd call Sprint, get it credited, supposedly "fixed" so it wouldn't occur again, and the next month I had the same problem. I called the bank and put a stop payment for the amount of the Sprint payments and haven't had a problem since, but even the bank person said that they'd had many problems with Sprint in this area (billing, direct payment) and that on accasion they'd refuse a payment, and then Sprint would resubmit for a different amount (change from say $38.56 to 38.57) and then the payment would have to be made. (bank can only put stop payment for specific amount and Sprint knew this and how to get around it).
I now have Cellular One, and am not at all happy. Coverage is supposed to be good for most all of Alabama, a good portion of GA, and even in SC. I can't use my phone from my home at all, have to get about 10 minutes from my home to use it, and lose service quite often around the Montgomery area (which is all supposed to be covered by Digital). The only place it works perfectly, no complaints, is within Montgomery itself. Other than service, or lack there-of for me, I like Cellular One. Good plan, good price, and hubby and I share minutes (over 500 peak minutes, 3000+ evenings and weekend minutes, free long distance -from our local calling area to anywhere in the US, etc). So far, we haven't used up all of our peak minutes, much less our off-peak minutes, and we use it to call our families (course, not from home since we don't get service out there!) and safe on long distance bills on our home phone.
So that's my horror stories... I'm going to be looking for a provider come next summer once again. Anyone in the AL/GA/SC area got a cell phone and a recommendation, I could use some advice/guidance. Not many folks left to try at this time.
CountriGal
Deskdemon Editorial Board Member
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execsec
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« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2001, 11:31:46 pm » |
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I call my phone a "cell phone" whether it's a digital one or not. I used to have CellularOne (which was turned into AT&T) and got rid of it when Voicestream came out with it's month to month service. I didn't have any trouble with AT&T, it's just that I seemed to be paying a lot for very few minutes. I was with Voicestream for about 4 years and it was very cheap and it served my purpose (almost all local). BUT, whenever I went out of my area, it didn't work. Even in areas that it was supposed to work. Anyway, I stopped with them, and then they told me that my SIM card had never been updated to be able to make calls out of area!!! I'm now with Cingular Wireless (at home) on the family plan. It works well for us, especially when my husband goes out of town and I call mobile to mobile, there's no charge. I was also issued a business plan at work through AT&T but rarely use it for business. I'm thinking of turning it back in and going back to my home phone and just turning in "business calls" on my expense report. I'm sure it would be less expense for the office. That way, I can add my daughter with her own line and get more minutes to share between my husband, my daughter, and me. And it would be cheaper because we would be calling each other "mobile to mobile."
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chikky
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« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2001, 02:35:55 am » |
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It is clearly where you live and what carrier you use will depend on the service you get. There are many options as there are people in the world. My question is how ofter does bossie call you on the cell after hours or even during hours? To answer your original question....I use Verizon, it is a digital service with 300 minutes and 2000 minutes over the weekend. Verizon is my local phone company. So that was my choice. I would be interested to see what the national "cell" phone rates are. Edited by chikky on 10/11/01 01:41 AM. |
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chikky
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« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2001, 02:47:31 am » |
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Post Script (PS). I pay $39.00 (USD) per month . Seems to suit me.
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winkiebear
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« Reply #7 on: November 12, 2001, 02:35:29 am » |
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I call it cell ... it just seems to "roll" easier off the tongue than "wireless". We started with Cellular One. Between hubby and I we shared 360 minutes. We kept going over, and had issues with the service - I would have to dial his number twice to see if his phone was really on! Sometimes it would go straight to his voicemail. We switched to VoiceStream - 600 anytime minutes for somewhere around $40 per month - and that's 600 for each phone. The service is pretty good, the clarity is MUCH better than Cellular One. Good luck with your choice!   winkiebear Deskdemon Editorial Board Member |
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mightymouse
Newbie
Posts: 7
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« Reply #8 on: November 13, 2001, 01:04:05 am » |
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I use Voicestream and get 2600 minutes a month, including 600 "anytime" minues (free long distance anytime/anywhere in the continental US) for $39.95/month. It's not the greatest service, but it works pretty well for what I need. They are always improving themselves, for which I should give them credit.
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laundryhater
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« Reply #9 on: November 13, 2001, 03:26:27 pm » |
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Forgot to add:
For being a digital phone, my husband's phone isn't very clear. I have to ask him to repeat stuff a lot because I only hear every other word.
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msmarieh
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« Reply #10 on: November 13, 2001, 06:17:03 pm » |
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I use Nextel with hubby. There's no charge for the "walkie talkie" to each other. We get to share 800 minutes between us (there were higher plans) and this particular plan has free incoming calls. We bought them on a buy one get one free phone sale. Have had minimal problems and the cell coverage has been totally fine. Occasionally we have problems with the radio side (not sure why, but we are having nextel investigate it).
Marie
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cocookie
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« Reply #11 on: November 14, 2001, 09:15:40 am » |
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Let me echo CountriGal's comment about billing problems. We have Verizon and I've had the same bad experiences with incorrect billing that you had with Sprint --- it took me 6 months to get the last problem straightend out. There wasn't any way to do it in person or by mail -- the only option is to call and talk to whichever customer service person you hit at the time, so I had to re-tell my story many, many times.
We also had direct billing to our credit card and it was a nightmare!!! I would NEVER recommend that; always go with the option of a bill that you have to pay yourself.
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