Sprint Cellular Service (now about half price compared to Verizon) - Why not change???
Steve Wolf
phones over the Internet. As Sprint has dropped their cellular costs to
just over half what Verizon wants, tell me again why I don't want to go
with Sprint. Coverage is not an issue.
Coverage is not an issue. On their coverage maps, roaming is free. So
color roaming areas in the same as full coverage areas. Yes, they have
slightly less coverage, especially out west. I'm not going out west.
Coverage is not an issue.
It's reported that Verizon doesn't care. "Go with Sprint then!" is
their reply. Fat and happy in a recession. A good place to be for
Verizon, I guess.
With coverage not being an issue (did I mention that?), my RVing about
the east coast looks like it could get cheaper.
Steve
www.wolfswords.com under the motorhome link
Hunter Hampton
>I now have Verizon, without a contract as I have bought my last few
>phones over the Internet. As Sprint has dropped their cellular costs to
>just over half what Verizon wants, tell me again why I don't want to go
>with Sprint. Coverage is not an issue.
>
>Coverage is not an issue. On their coverage maps, roaming is free. So
>color roaming areas in the same as full coverage areas. Yes, they have
>slightly less coverage, especially out west. I'm not going out west.
>Coverage is not an issue.
Since coverage is not an issue, I won't tell you that I'm online with
my Verizon phone now... and my Sprint phone doesn't even have a
signal....
I'm in Wisconsin Rapids. It's the second time in a month the Sprint
hasn't had any signal at all.
That all said,
Go with Sprint.
Hunter
Steve Wolf
Coverage is an issue and Hunter's the experience to prove it. Albeit
not an issue in my particular area, but Murphy has a way of fooling with
RVers. Sure as heck I'll end up visiting Tommy Tucker's Robot World and
miss the most important call of my life.
Thank you Hunter. I really do appreciate your report.
Steve
Art Todesco
gave me a real good corporate
discount, making it very nice. While
living in the southwestern suburbs of
Chicago, I never had a problem with
coverage. During a long RV trip to
west coast there was no problems either.
However, I am now living in
western NC where there is no Sprint. I
thought to myself, so what, I can
roam 100% of the time. Even Sprint said
that wasn't a problem. Wrong.
Roaming coverage was very spotty at
best. This is Verizon country. I think
Verizon give its roaming partners the
left over bandwidth or something. For
all I know, I was roaming on the "Ma &
Pa" telephone system. There is a
Verizon tower right in the area where I
am now staying, actually in the the
same subdivision. Service here was very
good. But, if I traveled just a
few miles, there was virtually no signal
at all. Unfortunately, I had to go to
the Verison for cell service. I also
have Verizon for land line and
DSL .... both are horrible. I am used
to almost perfect land line and DSL
from new at&t, previously, SBC,
Americtech and Illinois Bell. BTW,
Verison has also announced the sale of
their land line business (and I
assume DSL) to Frontier. I can't wait
to see how badly they will screw it
up. I was considering going with cell
based internet service, but again it is
Verizon. I could go with Millenicom,
which is a reseller of Sprint and
Verizon, but living here, it would be
Verizon. Maybe their internet over
cell is better than their DSL. Anyway,
I an going to wait until I move to
my new house, if it ever gets finished,
to see if the DSL is any better there.
Janet Wilder
Steve,
Sprint just had an enormous layoff a few months ago so I would be a
little worried about their financial situation, especially if they are
selling their services so cheap. You might do well with them or you
might be like the folks with Altell who found themselves Verizon
customers anyway.
In any event check out the alt.cellular.sprint newsgroup and the
alt.cellular.verizon group, which I think is the most active one.
--
Janet Wilder
Way-the-heck-south Texas
Spelling doesn't count. Cooking does.
Janet Wilder
> Verizon. I could go with Millenicom, which is a reseller of Sprint and
> Verizon, but living here, it would be Verizon. Maybe their internet over
> cell is better than their DSL. Anyway, I an going to wait until I move to
> my new house, if it ever gets finished, to see if the DSL is any better
> there.
ARt,
Are there any radio wave internet providers in your area? I live where
there is no cable, no DSL and a 19.9 at best phone service. I have dealt
with two companies that provide internet to "rural" areas via radio
waves. The first one required plugging in a small receiver called a rip
wave. It was great service when it was up, but the local provider was a
very small company and couldn't maintain it.
I'm now with a phone co-op (AT&T provides my land line)who has installed
a TV-sized dish to receive the radio waves and I'm very happy with it.
Art Todesco
There are 2 over the air internet
services here, however, you have to be line
of site to their antenna.
Unfortunately, from my new house, I
can't get to
either one. My temporary location is
pretty far from a Verizon remote, so
I can only get 1.5Meg DSL. But, 1.5 is
not the only thing. My testing can
show 1.5 meg, however, their system just
seems to take breaks, sometimes
never coming back to you. I've
complained and complained. I'm tired to
the guy in Asia telling me that I need
to change my data cable, or telephone
cable. One guy even told me that my
modem wall wart MUST be plugged
directly into the wall rather than an
outlet strip!. My new house is closer to
a new remote unit that serves an
industrial park. I'm hoping for better, but
not holding my breath. BTW, even the
land line service is bad .... lots of
hum on the line and also other noises.
They told me nothing was wrong ...
BTW2 I retired from 31 years in the
telephony business.
Janet Wilder
> Janet,
> There are 2 over the air internet services here, however, you have to be
> line
> of site to their antenna. Unfortunately, from my new house, I can't get to
> either one. My temporary location is pretty far from a Verizon remote, so
> I can only get 1.5Meg DSL. But, 1.5 is not the only thing. My testing can
> show 1.5 meg, however, their system just seems to take breaks, sometimes
> never coming back to you. I've complained and complained. I'm tired to
> the guy in Asia telling me that I need to change my data cable, or
> telephone
> cable. One guy even told me that my modem wall wart MUST be plugged
> directly into the wall rather than an outlet strip!. My new house is
> closer to
> a new remote unit that serves an industrial park. I'm hoping for
> better, but
> not holding my breath. BTW, even the land line service is bad .... lots of
> hum on the line and also other noises. They told me nothing was wrong ...
> BTW2 I retired from 31 years in the telephony business.
When you call ask them if they can hear the hum. They sure could hear mine!
I get a bad hum on my phone line at least twice a year. SBC who is now
AT&T, has fotzed (sp) around with the lines and cables, even replacing
the entire phone line from their box to the house. They have a bad cable
up the road. They need to replace it. They won't because there are only
a handful of customers on that cable. They've come very close to
admitting it.
The last time I had the hum I called and demanded to speak with a vice
president. I got someone else, but that person at least listened. I
demanded a reduction in my phone bill to match the reduced service I got
because they refused to replace their equipment. They quickly dug up
something and patched the cable. I don't know how long this will last,
but now I have the direct phone number of the person in charge of
repairs for the area at their offices in Harlingen.
At least next year I won't have to go through pushing all the menu
buttons again.
Good luck with your phone service at the new place. Maybe you can get
them to hook you into the cable serving the industrial park.
Janet Wilder
>> phones over the Internet. As Sprint has dropped their cellular costs to
>> just over half what Verizon wants, tell me again why I don't want to go
>> with Sprint. Coverage is not an issue.
>
> in hell. Horror stories with Sprint abound, and I have mine as well.
> If you like going through hell, only to wind up in court with those
> people, go with Sprint. Otherwise, run, don't walk, the other way.
>
> Tom
Now you've made me curious. What's the story?
Peter Pan
"Art Todesco" <acto...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:h30ck4$8jo$1...@aioe.org...
> Janet Wilder wrote:
can't say it will work in all situations, but when i was in northern idaho
couldn't get hs internet myself, called the local hs, they had it and
pointed me to their provider, was able to glom onto their service.... heck
if you have a school nearby, worth a shot...... (turned out they had a
repeater on a mountain i could see from my roof)
Art Todesco
plugged his super fancy handset/tester to
the line. There was NO HUM in his
handset. I had 3 different phone, which
I showed him, all hummed, big time. He
said, well, it must be you phones ...
actually strongly implied it. I know
his ultra fancy unit just filters out
anything
out of band. There is probably a way to
not use the filter, but I don't think
Verizon trains their people sufficiently
to know what they are doing.
All 3 of my phones worked in my previous
house with no problem.
One phone was a simply, non electronic
30 year old phone. Hum on a telephone
line is caused by crosses with ground,
power or another line. A telephone by
itself cannot usually produce
longitudinal noise unless there are some
other
connections to the phone other than the
2 wires, like a phone that has an
external power connection. Anyway,
hopefully, I will be moving to the new
house in a few weeks or a month. Maybe
the line there will be better.
Janet Wilder
> Janet Wilder wrote:
>> Good luck with your phone service at the new place. Maybe you can get
>> them to hook you into the cable serving the industrial park.
> It's funny. The guy that came out, plugged his super fancy
> handset/tester to
> the line. There was NO HUM in his handset. I had 3 different phone, which
> I showed him, all hummed, big time. He said, well, it must be you
> phones ...
> actually strongly implied it. I know his ultra fancy unit just filters
> out anything
> out of band. There is probably a way to not use the filter, but I don't
> think
> Verizon trains their people sufficiently to know what they are doing.
> All 3 of my phones worked in my previous house with no problem.
> One phone was a simply, non electronic 30 year old phone. Hum on a
> telephone
> line is caused by crosses with ground, power or another line. A
> telephone by
> itself cannot usually produce longitudinal noise unless there are some
> other
> connections to the phone other than the 2 wires, like a phone that has an
> external power connection. Anyway, hopefully, I will be moving to the new
> house in a few weeks or a month. Maybe the line there will be better.
I hope so, Art. Good luck!
Nate
"Hunter Hampton" <airstrea...@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:hqi555tl0k4vtn6mf...@4ax.com...
Did you try setting the Sprint phone to roam on other people's networks? My
plan does not charge for the roaming so it would not cost me any more to use
the Verizon network. Maybe others do have to pay. But still, would it not
be less than owning and servicing two phones?
Nate
Dave Woodruff
"Janet Wilder" <kellie...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:000cc060$0$14529$c3e...@news.astraweb.com...
Anybody that travels a lot and is thinking of going to Sprint needs to be
aware of their definition of out of service as used in roaming and what
their policy is or certainly was a couple of years ago regarding this.
They say you can roam which is true and great but if over half of your calls
are from roaming areas they have the right and do use it to drop your
contract with no refund. I called to ask about this when thinking of a
switch to Sprint. Their definition of excessive roaming was not over half
of your calls, but if your roaming calls (all of them) amounted to more than
half of your basic monthly plan limits. This does not include night and
weekend minutes at all, if you have a 400 min. plan and use over 200 minutes
roaming, be it weekend or whatever in a month you are in violation of their
policy.
Please don't take my word for this, call them. I did and chose to stay with
Verizon. I also live in the west, and much of this area is roaming. If you
are going to be in larger metropolitan areas all the time Sprint is great
otherwise go in with both eyes wide open.
Dave W.
Hunter Hampton
<woody...@nospam.starband.net> wrote:
>They say you can roam which is true and great but if over half of your calls
>are from roaming areas they have the right and do use it to drop your
>contract with no refund.
You can't roam when there's no signal.
Steve,
I'm in Minocqua now... online with Verizon again, no Sprint service at
all.
Hunter
Art Todesco
this thread, I was with Sprint for many
years. When I moved to western NC,
Verizon is the only company for full
coverage. Yes, when I had Sprint, I
roamed here 100% of the time and it
worked well where it worked. There were
some areas where there was
simply no service ... but Verizon did
cover those areas. BTW, I heard from
a truck driver that if you wanted good
service on the Interstates, Sprint is
the best. I can confirm this for all my
travels. There were times that I had
very good service at an Interstate exit
and no service a few blocks away at
an RV park. A funny thing, Sprint
called me to try to upgrade my service
just prior to the move. I told the
sales droid that I was moving to western
NC and Sprint didn't service the area.
He told me that it was ok as my
plan had free roaming and I can roam
100% of the time, exactly contrary
to what others have said. Sales people
will frequently make up stories just
to land the sale. No .... they would
never do that, would they?
Steve Wolf
the idea after the good counsel of the folks here who have experience
with both.
Verizon told my daughter that although she could take her number to
Sprint, they would impound her number for five days (in case she changed
her mind) and have to deactivate her account while her number was
impounded at Verizon. Excuse me??? After she applied the appropriate
legal wrath regarding federal portability requirements, the costs of
business that would be lost during the impound and who would be
responsible for that loss, Verizon turned over her number to Sprint.
That's my girl!
Hunter Hampton
>Verizon told my daughter that although she could take her number to
>Sprint, they would impound her number for five days (in case she changed
>her mind) and have to deactivate her account while her number was
>impounded at Verizon. Excuse me??? After she applied the appropriate
>legal wrath regarding federal portability requirements, the costs of
>business that would be lost during the impound and who would be
>responsible for that loss, Verizon turned over her number to Sprint.
>That's my girl!
Good for her. You know Verizon now has that call 5 numbers, any
numbers, free so you can call her Sprint number and not be charged
minutes.
Hunter
nada
> Same reason your CB radio won't talk on the HAM 2 meter band.
Congress is going to address the issue of not allowing roaming on
competitors towers. It use to be that everyone could.
The Verizon phone that I bought recently has all the types of service
including Europe. At least that was what was described. It has adapters
for four different electrical plugs for charging. I haven't found the
time or need to explore if I can roam with it on other networks.
Probably have to subscribe to their service.
Steve Wolf
Steve
www.wolfswords.com under the motorhome link
Steve Wolf
Janet Wilder
>> Now you've made me curious. What's the story?
>
> Some years ago, we switched to Sprint due to the pricing structure.
> Within a week it became obvious that Sprint didn't even work within
> the most common areas of our city. As per our contract, we returned
> the phones within the allotted free return time. They never credited
> us for them, despite my repeated requests to do so.
>
> Over time, they sent me dozens of nastygrams, totally ignoring the
> fact that it was their error. I, in turn responded with over a hundred
> letters plus emails, each time explaining the circumstances carefully.
> They threatened legal action. I threatened legal action.
> Eventually their attorney talked to my attorney. They filed suit. I
> filed a counter suit. This drug on for years. Finally they indicated
> they would drop it.
>
> So it was over, so I thought. Wrong.
>
> A few years later, I went to refi my house. I had one bad mark on my
> credit. An unpaid bill to Sprint. The only way to resolve it was to
> either start the fight all over again, or pay the damn thing, which by
> now had ballooned to over $800. I gave up and paid the bastards.
>
> I have warned others, some didn't listen. It cost one friend the same
> as it cost me.
>
> You can get screwed at least two ways in this world. One is to go to a
> whorehouse. The other is to get Sprint.
>
> May the bastards rot in hell and go bankrupt.
>
That's a great reason to avoid Sprint at all costs. I'm so sorry you had
to go through all of that. I'm sure the lawyer wasn't free, either.
I have heard some nasty stories about Sprint but yours is by far the worst.
Janet Wilder
> On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:52:47 -0700, Nate wrote:
>
> Same reason your CB radio won't talk on the HAM 2 meter band.
Last I knew Sprint phones were CDMA, too. As a Verizon user, I've roamed
on Sprint towers. One that I recall was outside of Little Rock, Arkansas
about 8 years ago.
Janet Wilder
> The Verizon phone that I bought recently has all the types of service
> including Europe. At least that was what was described. It has adapters
> for four different electrical plugs for charging. I haven't found the
> time or need to explore if I can roam with it on other networks.
> Probably have to subscribe to their service.
I have one of those Verizon "global" phones, too. It came with a sim
card and I installed it. It also came with adapters and prepaid phone
cards that could be used on pay phones to call Vodaphone, the Verizon
service provider in Europe if I was having any problems. Verison
packages this phone in a kit with great instructions and everything a
global traveler would need.
When I got to Europe I pushed a few buttons to get to the right menu
place and I had a signal. I spent a few months using my Verizon phone, a
Motorola, Z6cx, in Europe. I was able to keep my regular US cell phone
number which even worked with voice mail notification on the GSM system.
No charges unless I made or received a call.
When I got back to the US, I set it back to CDMA and it's my all the
time phone. I have not played with setting it for both systems at the
same time. I haven't been anywhere where I didn't get good service from
Verizon, so why would I bother?
Janet Wilder
> Good for her. You know Verizon now has that call 5 numbers, any
> numbers, free so you can call her Sprint number and not be charged
> minutes.
That program only works for the larger minute plans. It doesn't apply
for the 400 minute plan.
Since Alltel became Verizon, there are hardly any of my friends and
family who aren't a mobile to mobile call on Verizon so the minutes
don't count. I never get near using up the 400 minutes in my plan. Last
week one of my oldest and dearest friends in New Jersey was able to call
me and chat for 40 minutes in the middle of the day because we both have
Verizon. I think that's just wonderful!
Gar
> So a well traveled user of both Sprint and Verizon shows me wrong!
> Coverage is an issue and Hunter's the experience to prove it. Albeit
> not an issue in my particular area, but Murphy has a way of fooling with
> RVers. Sure as heck I'll end up visiting Tommy Tucker's Robot World and
> miss the most important call of my life.
>
> Thank you Hunter. I really do appreciate your report.
>
> Steve
>
>
> Hunter Hampton wrote:
>> On Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:05:28 -0400, Steve Wolf <ne...@w8iz.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I now have Verizon, without a contract as I have bought my last few
>>> phones over the Internet. As Sprint has dropped their cellular costs
>>> to just over half what Verizon wants, tell me again why I don't want
>>> to go with Sprint. Coverage is not an issue.
>>>
>>> Coverage is not an issue. On their coverage maps, roaming is free.
>>> So color roaming areas in the same as full coverage areas. Yes, they
>>> have slightly less coverage, especially out west. I'm not going out
>>> west. Coverage is not an issue.
>>
>> Since coverage is not an issue, I won't tell you that I'm online with
>> my Verizon phone now... and my Sprint phone doesn't even have a
>> signal....
>>
>> I'm in Wisconsin Rapids. It's the second time in a month the Sprint
>> hasn't had any signal at all.
>>
>> That all said,
>>
>> Go with Sprint.
>>
>> Hunter
I don't think it was the REAL Hunter.. Someone must be signed in on her
account..
The REAL Hunter would have left a report such as this:
>> Since coverage is not an issue, I won't tell you that I'm online with
>> my Verizon thingy now... and my Sprint thingy doesn't even have a
>> signal....
WHERE is the REAL Hunter?? Could she be a victim of an RVr girlnapping???
--
Ol' Gar and Mahoney... Workin' on the Hot-Rod Bus.. under the bridge..
down by the river..
Art Todesco
for me except when I ordered my
new service from Verizon. Verizon was
able to "pull" the number from
Sprint, however, they refused to release
it. Maybe it was the 5 day impound
or something like that, but eventually,
Sprint did released it and Verizon picked
it up.
Nate
"Doc" <joh...@individual.de> wrote in message
news:000e1429$0$14536$c3e...@news.astraweb.com...
> On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:52:47 -0700, Nate wrote:
>
>> news:hqi555tl0k4vtn6mf...@4ax.com...
>>>
>>> I'm in Wisconsin Rapids. It's the second time in a month the Sprint
>>> hasn't had any signal at all.
>>>
>>> That all said,
>>>
>>> Go with Sprint.
>>>
>>> Hunter
>>
>> Did you try setting the Sprint phone to roam on other people's networks?
>> My plan does not charge for the roaming so it would not cost me any
>> more to use the Verizon network. Maybe others do have to pay. But
>> still, would it not be less than owning and servicing two phones?
>>
>> Nate
>
> Sprint phones, which are GMRS will not roam on Verizon, which is CDMA.
> Same reason your CB radio won't talk on the HAM 2 meter band.
Interesting. I'll have to get rid of my phone then since it should not
work.
http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-touch-pro-sprint/4505-6452_7-33248637.html
Nate
Nate
"Dave Woodruff" <woody...@nospam.starband.net> wrote in message
news:a91e7$4a55200f$9441ca3e$20...@STARBAND.NET...
If you're roaming that much you probably ought to get a different carrier
anyhow. Sprint's policy actually makes sense from a customer service
standpoint. They just aren't PC about how they tell you to get a better
service provider.
Nate
Nate
They do have plans that include free roaming (mine does). Is it possible
the sales droid actually knew more than these "Other people" you talked to?
Nate
Bruce S
>>>
>>> Sprint phones, which are GMRS will not roam on Verizon, which is
>>> CDMA. Same reason your CB radio won't talk on the HAM 2 meter band.
>>
are popular for short range communication. Sprint uses CDMA (and has for
quite a while). Check for yourself:
http://www.rentcell.com/cdma-info.htm
In looking for confirmation of this, I was surprised to see several articles
suggesting that Verizon was switching from CDMA to GSM for their high speed
data connection. Makes me wonder if they are planning the same change for
all their phones.
Bruce
Brian Elfert
>> Sprint phones, which are GMRS will not roam on Verizon, which is CDMA.
>> Same reason your CB radio won't talk on the HAM 2 meter band.
>Last I knew Sprint phones were CDMA, too. As a Verizon user, I've roamed
>on Sprint towers. One that I recall was outside of Little Rock, Arkansas
>about 8 years ago.
Sprint Nextel phones are a non-standard radio system that I don't believe
anyone else is using these days.
A plain old Sprint phone is CDMA.
Brian Elfert
Bruce S
> CDMA, I thought they were GSM. I sit corrected.
Of the major (nationwide) US providers, Sprint and Verizon are CDMA, while
ATT and T-Mobile are GSM.
Sprint being CDMA is the reason I switched to T-Mobile a few years ago. I
knew that when I retired, I wanted to travel, and having a GSM phone made
that easier, thus Sprint was dropped and service moved to T-Mobile. And
then I discovered that T-Mobile does not provide service to Mexico. And I
still have not made it to Europe.
BTW, I was the one satisfied Sprint customer, and never had a problem with
them - If nor for CDMA vs. GSM, I would still be a Sprint customer.
Bruce
Janet Wilder
flawless in Europe and it's my everyday phone here in the US. Worked in
Mexico and on the cruise ships, too.
BTW, since 1995, it is the only phone I have ever paid for. It cost me
$50 after rebates. Every single cell phone other than the current global
one, was free, including the analog 3 watt bag phone. In all of our
years with Bell Atlantic Mobile/Verizon we have been treated well and
have had great service. I learned just how good that service was when we
were RVing and I had signals where others with other providers didn't.
My phone lacks a camera. http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/phone.php?p=1377
Bruce S
>>
> I have a Verizon phone that is global. It works on CDMA and GSM. It
> was flawless in Europe and it's my everyday phone here in the US.
> Worked in Mexico and on the cruise ships, too.
I like my current phone (T-Mobile G1) and I am happy with T-mobile service -
not to mention that everyone I call regularly is on T-Mobile, so I never use
all my minutes. In fact, even with my son and my mother on my family plan,
I can't remember a month when we used much more than half our minutes. Of
course, I'm not a phone person, and never call anyone - if they want to talk
to me, they have to initiate the call.
And as far as coverage, at my son's house, T-Mobile is the only company to
provide reliable service. Although, I'm sure that will change as the
neighborhood builds up a little more. Right now, they are at the far
southwest edge of LV.
Bruce.
Art Todesco
other people were people posting
on this thread. He may have known,
however, I subscribe the the X-Files
statement, "trust no one".