Thinking of switching cell phone provider

[nate82]

AT&T has a price plan that is more along the budget that I am looking at about $100 with their data plan, minutes, and 900 text messages. While Verizon is about $30 more than that I will pay more if one or the other has better coverage in the Milwaukee area. Does anyone have AT&T or Verizon currently? How is the service in the Milwaukee area and also in the north eastern part of the state for both of the carriers? Was thinking about changing from Sprint I keep on getting dropped calls and sometimes the line is fuzzy and I can't hear anything and then it is clear the next day. Replaced the phone a couple of times with Sprint and the problem still persists with them.

[1992casey]

Sprint isn't going to work nearly as well outstate. I'm in north central Wisconsin, and we can't even get Sprint phones up here. Their coverage maps indicate that there are large areas without service. So I wouldn't pick that one unless all your travels stayed near big highways.

 

One good thing about Verizon is that their 3G coverage is practically everywhere. Friends of mine on a farm in the middle of nowhere use it as their primary internet connection. AT&T's 3G is pretty much restricted to fairly large cities. For phones, Verizon has the advantage of all of the former Alltel towers (they were using them before absorbing Alltel anyway). Verizon's phone coverage is likely to be better than AT&T's, but I would guess that AT&T stands a good chance of being fine.

 

I sure like the concept of rollover minutes and the possibility of having an iPhone on AT&T, though. On the other side of the coin, I would be able to combine Verizon minutes with the OnStar phone in my car. Then there's the 3G thing and weighing the cost. It's a tough call.

[sgtcluels]

I've found that ATT 3G is actually faster then Verizon when I test my droid next to my iPhone. Found that strange, but the ATT 3G coverage isn't all that great, not like that map they show, but generally the more remote you go the better internet service Verizon will have compared to ATT.

[patrickgpe]

i have had verizon for 10 years and have never had a problem in the milwaukee area. In addition since they upgraded to 3G coverage, I can get the wireless web everywhere in the state, which wasn't the case 2-3 years ago.

[lodiness]

I've had AT&T for the last 4 yrs, and there service is terrible, especially inside buildings.

[jason21nl]

I've had AT&T for the last 4 yrs, and there service is terrible, especially inside buildings.

I used to have Verizon for the longest time and never had a problem other than my bill was kinda high. That was to be expected because of the options I had included. I switched to AT&T because I was allowed to get on the vendor plan. 2000 min, unlimited data/texts/picture mail and everything else you can think of for only $35. So I went from having a bill that was $90 plus sometimes one that is never higher than $35 because I couldn't pass up a deal like that. However, I freaking hate AT&T coverage. It might be good in Milwaukee or the bigger cities, and its good right inside Appleton where I'm from but if I go out of the city in any direction I'm lucky to even get cell coverage. If I wasn't saving $55-$65 a month, no way I would be with AT&T.

[miggs721]

I reccommend Sprint,I have been with them 10 years, and they just keep getting better and better...Just upgraded to the HTC hero...LOVE IT

[1992casey]

miggs721, how does Sprint do for you in remote areas?

[nate82]

I reccommend Sprint,I have been with them 10 years, and they just keep getting better and better...Just upgraded to the HTC hero...LOVE IT

I currently have Sprint and they have been doing the opposite for me. I just can't stand the dropped calls anymore from Sprint and the bad lines I get. Once I get past Green Bay I don't get a connection at all with Sprint so I can't use it up around there at all.

[1992casey]

Nate, is there one particular place you go in northeastern Wisconsin? If you go to a cabin or something, maybe there are neighbors that can offer advice. It's too bad it doesn't look like you're going to be headed in that direction to be able to do this, but the really efficient way to find out is to ask in the bars. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[nate82]

Nate, is there one particular place you go in northeastern Wisconsin? If you go to a cabin or something, maybe there are neighbors that can offer advice. It's too bad it doesn't look like you're going to be headed in that direction to be able to do this, but the really efficient way to find out is to ask in the bars. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Just to a cabin in the summer every once in awhile and I like to have a phone near me and since my phone doesn't really work all that well up there it is kind of useless until I get close to Green Bay. My uncle has AT&T and his phone works somewhat up there some dropped calls but I would rather have the dropped calls than having no service at all. I think I am going to go with AT&T though just simply because it works somewhat up in the northeastern part of the state and that most of my time I am in major cities like Chicago and Houston. I just don't know anyone that has Verizon that lives up in the northeastern part of the state.

[1992casey]

The phone working at your cabin should be the top priority. Having it work in the general area that you're moving around in would be right up there. And the third priority would be how good your reception is between your cabin and Milwaukee.

 

From my experience, anytime you're north of Green Bay - Wausau - Eau Claire, Verizon/Alltel will do better in general. But there are spots where AT&T works better. A friend of mine has remote land up north. You walk or drive to one spot to use AT&T and another to use Verizon. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

The other thing you might consider for the cabin is an amplifier. You plug in a gadget, hook it up to antenna, and any cell phone within range will have an improved signal. That would also benefit those at the cabin using phones from a provider that's different from yours. If the cabin doesn't have electricity, you could probably adapt a car amplifier and run it off of a battery.