Wireless telephone question/survey - Montana Owners Club

vickster · 10-31-2004, 05:38 AM

My antiquated Nokia analog cell phone is slowly shutting down after ten years of faithful conversations. So, need to do some homework before I upgrade my service. Before I hit the bricks would sure appreciate input/comments from my fellow MOC members as to what they are doing in the wireless arena.

Based upon your user experience is there a difference between wireless providers? What service do you subscribe to and why? Any major problems with any of the wireless providers? Any particular feature I should be looking for?

My needs have changed since I purchased my Nokia. With the increased traveling I think I need some sort of national coverage preferably without long distance or roaming charges.

Sure do appreciate your help and guidance in an area thatI am not all that familiar. Thank you.

dbrill · 10-31-2004, 06:31 AM

I currently have a Nextel for work and Sprint for personal use because my wife has a Sprint for work so I have a few minutes and the Sprint to Sprint option. I have had both Verizon and AT&T for work in the past and the best coverage of the bunch has been Verizion with Nextel being the worst (great on the interstate but week elsewhere like I have no Nextel service at home). Hope this helps.

HamRad · 10-31-2004, 06:38 AM

vickster,
We did a lot of research before we settled on Verizon. We were looking for a national type coverage. We knew we'd be doing a lot of traveling. We have their America's Choice service plan.... I think. They change the name of things from time to time.... The only place we've found that we had very little coverage was last Oct. along the Oregon coast. Of course there was not a lot of service by any provider in that area. Other than that we have been very happy with the coverage.

On our trip this summer from CA to Glacier NP and then to WI, MI, and down to IN we had excellent coverage. Only twice up in the far north of MI did we run into the dreaded "Roaming"! Both those episodes lasted only a few minutes. The rest of the time we either had "Extended" or their regular "Verizon Wireless" service. On our way back to CA we expected to have little or no service in NB but ended up with great service.

The best thing to do is to look at the coverage maps of the service providers that you are interested in.... or look at service providers that have coverage where you expect to travel.... Then see what kind of plan or plans they offer. I really wanted to get the Nextel service but when we started looking we saw that their coverage and plan(s) were not going to be what we wanted. Took us about 6 weeks of visiting and looking and reading the various plans.... Good luck.

HamRad

8.1al · 10-31-2004, 07:15 AM

We have the Cingular 1000 nationwide plan that you may have seen advertised recently for $39.95 This gets you 1000 anytime minutes with rollover, no long distance or roaming charges, voicemail,etc. What we like most is we aren't restricted to just the Cingular system. If there is no Cingular available we can use whatever is there at no charge. We have had some trouble in few places with the Sprint system not letting us in but otherwise it has been pretty good.

sreigle · 10-31-2004, 07:51 AM

We also have used Cingular for several years and are so pleased we've yet to find anything we think we'd like better. We only very rarely in our travels around the country have had an unusable signal. Like Charlie & Nila we pay no roaming and no long distance.

A couple of months ago we got the cable to connect phone to laptop to use as a modem. It functions as an external modem and does not require additional software nor additional cost. It does use our minutes so we only use it as a modem on nights and weekends. This is what I used to post the pictures, do email, and do the MOC while we were at the rally since Pla-Mor has no provision for email.

I'm sure there are other good services but you asked our experiences and this is the only one we've ever had. We've talked with relatives and friends with other services but have no first-hand experience with them.

skyguy · 10-31-2004, 08:03 AM

We had Verizon years ago and the coverage was terrible. In Colo, ATT provides better coverage than our current subscription to Nextel, so I have kept one ATT phone active. We use a "pay as you talk option", not to expensive if you opt for the max minutes.

We dropped our "land line" at the house, in favor of cell phones, and the "walkie-talkie" aspect of nextel comes in handy with work, family, and the friends that also have nextel. We were able to roll over the old land-line number to a cell phone for the house. The cell phones portability is an issue, though, many times when the house phone rings there is a frantic search to find the dang thing! And nextel is primarily along the I-25(N/S) and I-70 corridors(E/W), and doesn't cover ALL of Colo. If they had better coverage, it would be perfect!

Glenn and Lorraine · 10-31-2004, 12:58 PM

We use Verizon for not only our cell phone but also for our Verizon AirCard for our internet as well. The Cell phone and AirCard are to seperate accounts but both use the same signals. With the exception of Front Royal Virginia where we were in the mountains and Black Lake in northern NY we have always had a signal.

Now after all that we just ordered a new laptop which will come with WiFi. So I will have both the AirCard and WiFi. As soon as I get the 'puter I'll be asking for advise on how to use the WiFi.

BillyRay · 10-31-2004, 01:53 PM

depends on the service in the area you will most frequent. we use verizon, it works best for us. many places we go nextel won't even work. I think there all good in different ways, but each area is different. we have had verizon for years now and have no regrets.

rehorner · 10-31-2004, 02:37 PM

I do a lot of business travel and have AT&T for my business phone. I have never had a problem anywhere in the country. You may want to wait just a little longer and see what develops with the merger of AT&T Wireless and Cingular. On the other hand, I have also heard good things about Verizon.

OntMont · 10-31-2004, 02:57 PM

If you look beyond the brand names and consider the technology each uses, I think you will find that Verizon, Sprint, Bell Canada, and possibly some others use what is called CDMA digital. The major competitors use TDMA. (Don't worry about the acromyms stand for, they are just different ways of providing a digital service). From what I have read, CDMA is better for use in rural areas where the towers are widely spaced, TDMA works better in urban areas with a dense tower population. With that in mind, I chose a the CDMA system from Bell Canada (because that is where we live). It works seamlessly with the Sprint network in the US. CDMA service providers have a data service called 1X, that allows you to connect to the internet at fairly high speed. This service is billed on volume of data downloaded rather than minutes of use. If you decide on a CDMA service provider, you should research the rate plans available for the way you intend to use your phone. So far we have found the Sprint service quite good in the areas that we have travelled, but that is the other thing to consider, who provides the best coverage in the area you travel. It can get quite complicated and you can't rely on the mostly commision paid sales reps to give you the straight goods (or even know much about the more advanced techincal features). I think you are doing the right thing by asking around and doing your own research.

Countryfolks · 10-31-2004, 03:27 PM

We have Alltel [no Verizon availble here], which is CDMA also. Our plan is the called Total Freedom, no roaming/long distance, 200 min [more available], 1000 min free time on wk-ends and after 9:00. It supposedly uses Verizon towers in areas they don't have towers of there own. If you get either of these be sure to get what is termed a trimode phone, it has digital and analog capabilities, which you will need if you travel a lot, because analog is still widely used. There are a lot of areas that do not have digital yet. You can get a lot of info here;

http://www.howardforums.com

There is also a technology called GSM that is begining to grow and apparently offers very good service in urban areas and along some travel corridors. I have no idea how widespread it is. It is not compatable with CDMA.

There are what is called pre-paid phone plans also.

Skip

PS- Mary suggested you might also consider getting a pre-paid phone card from Sam's, Wallyworld, truckstops, etc., for use in those areas the cell dosen't work, really cheap minutes.

stiles watson · 10-31-2004, 03:38 PM

Well, I have been enraged by them all. But have finally settled down to just being steamed by Verizon. My major complaints are twofold. (1) The quality and consistancy of service is in no way compareable to the land lines. (2) There are no lines to maintain, no poles to fix or cables to run, and the mechanical/electronic guts are no more complicated. So why should the pricing continue to be as high as it is.

When we go full-time, I will probably revisit the entire question to determine who I will allow to enrage me next.

padredw · 11-01-2004, 12:59 AM

Just a quick note to say that we also use ALLTEL. We have the "Total Freedom Plan" which allows nationwide use with no roaming or long distance charges. We have had this service over a year and have never had any extra charges. We were on a cruise in Hawaii in September, used the phone to make rental car arrangements on several of the islands. I was surprised when I got the bill that nationwide really means nationwide. No extra charges. We are not full timers, but we got the nationwide service plan because of our RV journeys. We often call for campground reservations, even to change campsites within the park, when we find that necessary. Those calls used to involve roaming and long distance charges. It surely is good to have "Total Freedom" in those circumstances.

snowbunny · 11-01-2004, 06:55 AM

We have the Verizon America's Choice plan. It is $39.95 a month for 400 minutes and there is supposed to be no roaming and no long distance. I use a data cable to connect the cell phone to my laptop and it works faster than a dial up modem usually.

If you can find a phone that is tri-band (includes analog as well as digital) buy it! We got a LG VX4400b which I believe is discontinued but it gives us reception in very rural areas where the digital networks haven't made it yet. I know that analog is on its way out but for the next few years it can sometimes be the only way to phone home!

jh1802 · 11-01-2004, 11:01 AM

WEe have Cingular and have had it for about ten years now. The reason I chose cingular is because you get a free phone everytime you renew your contract.(every 2 years) And for a few more $$ you can upgrade to a fancier phone. You may want to consider this since you mentioned that your phone is very old. With the way technology is changing when I get my new phone every 2 years the old phone is obsolete. Also, by the time the battery is starting to go bad I am ready to get a new phone. Also, with Cingular, you can change your plan at anytime at no charge. Some of the other companies may now offer the same things but when I signed up, They were the only ones that gave a free phone.

Thunderman · 11-01-2004, 11:32 AM

I have Cingular and no complaints until now. I recently received a note from them offering to give me my choice of 2 phones free and a option to buy a camera phone for $49.00. I would have to sign up for GSM service which I believe is 100% digital. I presently have a "gaited" phone which accepts all coverage, cdma, tdma or analog. The gaited phone is no longer available (Nokia) from Cingular.
In checking the coverage maps I find a large area of central Texas is
not covered by the GSM service. I spend a good deal of time in the area so that is a disappointment to me. Cingular did say that improvements would be made every 6 months in regard to coverage. Guess I will keep my old phone for now.
As previously mentioned, check the coverage maps for the phone you purchase. The Cingular buyout of ATT may be helpful in the near future..hope so.
Have a good day!

patodonn · 11-01-2004, 11:35 AM

Vicki:

We use Verizon for our cell (and only) phone. After two circuits around the country, we have had pretty good luck on voice comm most everywhere, either with Verizon directly or on their "Extended Network" (leased access through other carriers) Notable areas of no comm were northern Wisc and Minn, high country in Montana and N. D., and the Oregon Coast.

Digital service is another matter...you have to be on Verizon network, not the extended Network, for computer access using their Quick Link (VERY slow connection - 19K BPS) or Express Net system. Hgh speed, but it is $$. I haven't used the phone directly as a regular phone would work to dial the telephonic access numbers, primarily because the phone hooks into the computer via the USB port, not with a regular telephone connector plug. I think the computer's telephone modem is hard-wired to the phone port, and cannot be transferred to a USB port.

We have had lots of places where we can't use the computer with Verizon because of the Extended Network situation. It sure is nice when it is available (about 70% of our travel places) and you can sit in the rig in your jammies and let it crank away.

Give us a call on the land line and we'll be happy to talk about it..

Best,

PJ and Nancy

Jeff Heiser · 11-02-2004, 03:23 AM

We use AT&T. On our main plan (my phone) we have the plan that has no roaming, nation wide long distance with no long distance charged, 1000 minutes and have had absolutly no problems. I have had AT&T since they first started offering cell phone services. We have been all over the country - the mountians of NC, Canada, the Florida Keys, out west, 25 miles off shore, and have never not been able to place a call. Sure some of the calls have been marginal but my wife and I are very pleased with the service we have. My wife has T-Mobile and so do my kids which makes it really nice because there is no service charge when they talk to each other over their cell phones (no cell-to-cell charges). Seeing that the people my wife mostly talks to are our children we pay a monthly fee on her phone and they talk for hours and hours basically free.

When people havent been able to get us or we have been unable to dial out we consider those times to all be worthy diversions. Sometimes we just like not getting phone calls.

We did try GSM service offered by AT&T and were very displeased with it and went back to or PCS type service. In the future I am looking at DirecWay with voice over IP for our Internet service and telephone. We may still keep a cell but just not sure right now.

Jeff Heiser
Merritt Island Florida

sreigle · 11-02-2004, 08:35 AM

Thunderman, is that the same coverage map as for the standard Cingular service? I saw that gap, too, including the Big Bend National Park area. We spent five weeks in Austin last winter, then Fredericksburg, up to Big Bend NP, Alpine, etc., and had coverage the entire time. I don't recall if it was digital or analog but we had phone service. Didn't have the cable to try it as a modem at that time so can't comment on that but we've used the phone as a modem in Indiana where we were on roaming and it worked fine. We just have the normal service with a Nokia 6340i phone. The laptop sees it as an external modem and dials the phone, etc. Uses our minutes so we do that only on nights and weekends but we don't pay a single nickel for any special data service from Cingular. We do have a dialup ISP (8.99/mo).

vickster · 11-05-2004, 05:11 AM

THANK YOU everyone for taking the time to respond to my question. I feel better informed thanks to your good responses. Today I am "hitting" the bricks for the second phase of my research.

I noticed that Verizon and Cingular seem to be the most popular carriers. Only two Sprint users responded.

I will keep you posted.....

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