Sprint or Verizon???

[Ray LeTourneau]

Our existing Alltel contract is finally over and I'm shopping. I'm considering both Verizon and Sprint for a basic Smartphone. What I've found so far is Sprint gives you more phone and what appears to be a better plan for the money. But is the service/coverage as good. I know there are coverage maps out there to view but real world info from users always seems to make more sense.

Both carriers phones I'm looking at are also hot spot capable but once again, Sprint is the more cost effective plan. 5Gig for $30 whereas VZ is 2Gig for $20. Keep in mind this is only the charge when using the phone as a hot spot. Not the same as the USB modem plans.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[Rrloren]

Several yrs. ago I had Sprint but had to switch to Verizon since the coverage was much better when traveling. Now that was several yrs. ago so maybe Sprint has improved their coverage.
In my travels from Me. to Fl. and as far West as Mt. I find very few areas w/o coverage with Verizon. I would say it depends on where you will spend most of your time. Good luck with your selection.

 

[robnmo]

Ray, we've had Verizon for years and traveled alot, found very few spots without service, both our son and daughter had Sprint one switched soon as his contract was up, our daughter paid the early penalty and cancelled after a few months, both did this within the last 2 yrs, she's on Verizon now and said it's alot better (in her opinion) and they both us their phones for everything. But like Rrloren said, it might depend on your location. Good luck in your choice

 

[Crumgater]

Have you considered T-Mobile?
Their coverage is vastly improved over a few years ago.

Being an insider with T-Mobile, I'm not sure how their rate plans compare...
Curious as to why their not on your "consideration" list.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Have you considered T-Mobile?
Their coverage is vastly improved over a few years ago.

Being an insider with T-Mobile, I'm not sure how their rate plans compare...
Curious as to why their not on your "consideration" list.

T-Mobile coverage in Northern IL and central WI is pretty spotty. That's where we spend the majority of our summer.

 

[jnbhobe]

Ray; I have Verizon now, its probably the best I've had in the last 20yr. I had cellular one with good priceing then AT&T witch had good coverage but their pricing was way high.I've tried Sprint but it worked the best in metropolitain areas and I don't spend much time in the city. With Verizon we get a 22% discount on the main line witch is Patti's thru GE retirees, check around Verizon gives discounts to a lot of companys including the millitary.

 

[Nabo]

We have had Verizon for about 10 years with little problems traveling throughout the country including Hawaii. I was also amazed at how well the coverage was in the western part of British Columbia Canada. We also have the air card (for over 5 years) with VZ and haven't had a lot of problems with it even tho the coverage isn't as good as the cell service. Hubbie is heading to Puerto Rico next week and the island has full coverage.

 

[Jellystone]

I've been a Sprint customer for 10 years or so and have been pleased overall. My wife and I both upgraded to BlackBerry phones a year ago thru Sprint and have enjoyed the phones and the overall cell service. We use our phones only in the South (LA,MS,ARK,TX,TN,FL) so I obviously can't speak for the coverage in other areas of the U.S.A.

One quick point of interest, not long after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, I was working near Venice, LA and everyones cell phone signal was hitting on offshore towers ($$$) and I still had Sprint service because they rushed down to get their towers back up and running immediately after "The Storm". Sprint's quick action provided communication at an important time for thousands of people.

 

[rumaco]

Verizon for over 20 years.....simply because I am too lazy to look for better.....not too many problems.....I just hate change!!!!!!!

 

[olyfire]

We started with Verizon in 1990 before they were Verizon. Extremely good coverage. In 2007 we switched to AT&T because of price. We just switched back because of coverage. We travel lots and there were just to many dead spot with AT&T.
Our daughter moved in with us a few years ago with Sprint. Very poor reception. She moved up by Seattle and again when she was traveling for work to many dead area. Now she has Verizon and no dead areas.
Just look at their coverage map compared to any other service out there. Definitely the best.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

From the replies, it seems Verizon is the clear choice. From a wallet standpoint I was hoping for more good news towards Sprint but an extra 20 or 30 bucks a month is well worth the peace of mind. In the back of my mind, I sort of knew it might end up to be Verizon. I've had a Verizon USB modem for a couple years now and have had good service with that as well.

Thanks ya'll!

 

[AlexSian]

Ray... if you are thinking verizon... you may want to struggle with alltel a couple more months and see if the rumors surrounding vzw iphone with 4g/lte come true. if i were you and pulled the trigger now.... and then verizon DID come out with 4G phone within next couple months... i'd end up kicking myself a LOT.

 

[beasleyrl]

Ray - Like many others, I've had personal experience with Verizon, ATT, and Sprint. I also manage telecom services for a large federal agency. There is no question that Sprint has better pricing. However, the phrase "you get what you pay for" may appropriately apply here. Verizon seems to have the best network coverage. There are lots of reasons from being one of the original wireline carriers and having that older lower frequency spectrum which simply penetrates buildings better. As someone mentioned, unless you are in a hurry, you might want to wait and see what happens with their LTE service. It has real potential. VZW was very successful in the spectrum purchase a few years ago and it will benefit them and you in the long run. One note on the iPhone/Verizon phone. Unless something has changed, the iPhone doesn't have the capability to tether. If that is a feature you want, it may not be an option.

 

[AlexSian]

the iphone has been able to legally tether for some time now: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3574
whether or not a rumored verizon iphone can tether at launch, remains to be seen.
after all, its still just a rumor... though it does seem bound to happen sooner or later.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

I just received an advertising offer from Verizon for a 4g usb modem. $50 for the modem and $50 a month for 5Gig and $80 a month for 10 Gig. Alex, thanks for the advice but I really don't feel the need at this point for a 4G phone. Mainly due to the cost. Secondly the current coverage areas don't fit our needs. Maybe once my next contract runs out, 4G will be more wide spread and the phones will be cheaper. I can get a Droid2, which will act as a wifi hot spot for about $130. The extra charge to use it as a hot spot is $20 a month but limited to 2Gig. Extra is more $$$. I doubt that I'll do the hot spot thing at this point. Just the phone with the talk and data package at about $70/month. Lots of things to consider/compare but I think Verizon will be getting my business. Since I just made an Alltel payment, I'll be waiting till after Christmas.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Ray, does your Chevy have OnStar??

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Ray, does your Chevy have OnStar??

Yes but it's not activated. It also doesn't have near the capabilities of the newer versions. WHy do you ask?

On another note, Sams Club has a great deal on the Droid 2 with Verizon. I'll be picking it up tomorrow morning. Thanks for all the replies and advice. I may look into that 4G modem offering as well. The money saved per month makes it a good deal and I don't see myself going without the service any time soon..

 

[Big Al and Donna]

I have Verizon and have traveled all across the USA and have never had a problem. My son is in the military and they issued him a phone and they use Verizon. I used to sell all phones and services and they all issued me phones. The only one that worked all of the time was Verizon. The worst was T-mobil, and the most costly was Sprint. Good luck with you choice.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Well, Verizon has another customer as of this morning. The downside was my old number wasn't portable due to it's area code. Verizon supposedly doesn't "cover" that area code. I might try calling customer service to see if they can do anything. The guy at the Sams Club Kiosk made a couple calls with the same result. Now I have to learn how to use this darn new fangled thing. Droid 2

So thanks for all the input. Travel Safe Ya'll!