Which Mobile Phone Carrier is The Best of the BIG FOUR?

1. 82

   CrazedNovelistposted 10 years ago

   Which Mobile Phone Carrier is The Best of the BIG FOUR?
   
   I've heard a lot of different things about people's mobile carriers. I want to know truly which is the best of the four: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile? Think of things such as Price, Customer Service, Data/Phone Signal/ and Available Phones. I just might switch from T-Mobile, but I'm Attached

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2. 67

   atechwizposted 10 years ago

   As a current Sprint customer who is looking at switching myself I do not feel that Sprint is anywhere near the top.  I am in the Phoenix Arizona area and it is surprising how bad the coverage is.  They only have 3G in Phoenix.  Last I checked Phoenix was the 6th largest city in the US and we do not even get 4G?  My other beef with Sprint is their lack of device selection.  I know I am in a minority here but I prefer to use Windows Phone devices and Sprint is the only carrier to not have one.  The only real positive thing I can say about Sprint is their cost is pretty good and I do get a discount because of where I work.  When I take the 4G with the lack of devices that I want to use I will be switching when my contract is up in February.  I know this did not directly address your question but hopefully it gives you an idea of what Sprint is like.  I will monitor the other answers that you receive and perhaps that will help me also.  Thanks.

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   1. 78

      JustSimple infoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I understand what you are saying.  I tried them out, and it was painful, I switched back to my original carrier before the 14 return policy.   My advice, is to look beyond what is out there....if you want to keep sprint, and save money, You can....

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3. 76

   mrpipposted 10 years ago

   Without a doubt, right now, Verizon Wireless is the best wireless carrier in terms of coverage and quality of network. Sprint is finally investing billions in upgrading their network so it will only get better. AT&T is also beefing up their network. VZW continues to build out their 4G LTE network, so things all around will continue to get better and better.
   
   In the NYC metropolitan area, VZW's coverage is definitely the best!!

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   1. 82

      CrazedNovelistposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your answer. I can definitely see where you're coming from. However, my problem is the cost of Verizon. They tend to be as high or higher than AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile.

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   2. 78

      JustSimple infoposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      You are paying for the Verizon coverage and quality.   If you travel alot i recommend Verizon.  if you don't I wouldn't recommend Verizon First.  Less drop calls and call quality, Verizon is usually number one.  The others are catching up.

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4. 78

   JustSimple infoposted 10 years ago

   Verizon wireless for coverage, but you need to look outside that box.    I will not talk bad about any carrier, I used to work for one of the big 4, but after I left, and I dearly missed my employee phone plan, I educated myself on what the "real" cost of wireless service is.   
   
   There are TONS of MVNO operators out there that people just do not know about or are scared to use.   MVNO stands for Mobile Virtual Network Operator.  Fancy term that just means, you are using one of the name brand networks, just not called the named brand, i.e., Virgin Mobile or Boost Mobile, those are just Sprint Service rebaged.     The best thing you can do nowadays is buy your phone outright, or buy a good quality used phone.  Tons and I mean tons of places offer used phones, and they are just as good as brand new phones.  The old flip phones of before are not good, but within the last year, the iPhones, and Droids, of the market have been producing phones that last.   I personally tried out all my former competitors when I no longer worked for a certain wireless company and man, for where I lived, the service was just not up to par with what I was used to.   I did not end up keeping my prior companies service because it was too expensive.   But I can tell you there are lots and I mean lots of choices to save you money. 
   My father was on my employee plan, but I convinced him to buy his next phone outright so he didn't have to worry about any contracts, plus his bill was cut by 68% a month.  And he has unlimited everything!   I didn't want to use that MVNO, so I am using a T-Mobile MVNO.   I don't promote wireless carriers, but I would be more than happy to point you in the right search direction.   
   
   The more up front, for a phone, the less you pay in the long run.  2 year contracts are not worth the headache.  And certain phones like ATT and Tmobile work on each other carriers, even with Sprint and Verizon, some phones 3G phones will work, you just have to ask for them to be unlocked.  The new LTE service that is launching is great, but the average person doesn't need the speed.  Unless you are a heavy data user, LTE  speeds is not a factor in my opinion.

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   1. 82

      CrazedNovelistposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your answer!!

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