andyzee
New member
I want to get off Verizon as my wireless provider, no question about it, great service, just don't like their cost. How do the other providers compare?
-
Welcome to AlpineZone, the largest online community of skiers and snowboarders in the Northeast!
You may have to REGISTER before you can post. Registering is FREE, gets rid of the majority of advertisements, and lets you participate in giveaways and other AlpineZone events!
Verizon vs Sprint vs ATT vs T-Mobile
- Thread starter andyzee
- Start date
roark
New member
I now have Verizon. US Cellular had fantastically better coverage in remote areas in New England.
o3jeff
New member
I have Sprint(probably about 8 years now) and have been perfectly happy with them. Unlimited text, data, off peak at 7, mobile to mobile any carrier, etc. for $70, can't beat it. I know last year I had coverage at Sugarloaf while the ATT people had nothing.
I don't go to a lot of remote areas so I could care less if there is coverage or not. Also most if not all give you 30 days trials now.
I don't go to a lot of remote areas so I could care less if there is coverage or not. Also most if not all give you 30 days trials now.
Puck it
Well-known member
Sprint coverage is spotty at Kton. NO coverage at all in the canyon area.
Just had trouble mostly in the condo. Did ok on the mtn, though there was definitely no 3G there.
drjeff
Well-known member
If you're in a metropolitan area, you'll be fine with most anyone. If you also want to use you phone in the mountains during ski trips, Verizon seems to have better coverage at more ski areas, especially in the Northeast than any other carrier at this time
mondeo
New member
Nobody gets coverage at the base of Bear. Other than that, I have no issues with ATT coverage, although I don't really use the phone along 103/100 where I'd expect some gaps.
drjeff
Well-known member
There's alot of really unhappy AT&T customers at Mount Snow - very spotty service at best. Although the rumor in the Mount Snow area is that an AT&T exec recently bought a place there and that there will be a dramatic improvement in AT&T service soon
andyzee
New member
For me mountain coverage, although a nice to have, is not that important. I'd rather ski. My concern is just for Northeast overall.
severine
New member
When I last investigated, AT&T and Verizon were about the same costs (though B gets a bigger work discount for Verizon, so we stay with them). I really have no complaints about Verizon--always had great service. VT used to be spotty (for everyone) and I considered switching to AT&T. Had the phones side-by-side for a 3-day weekend and Verizon won. Granted, that was 5 years ago... but still.
Good luck!
Good luck!
andyzee
New member
Same here, had them both side by side for awhile and Verizon won out, but that was a few years ago was wondering if anything has changed. I've actually had them all, Verizon, Sprint, ATT, VoiceStream/T-Mobile, Nextel. And Verizon is tops, just wondering if anything has changed and if other service providers have gotten better. What get me about Verizon is that if I want to upgrade to a nice phone (smart phone) I have to a buy a minimum 29.99 data package. 1 for me, 1 for my wife, that amounts to 59.98 a month for something I don't really care about. If I don't want to go for data package, the selection of phones gets real crappy.
severine
New member
The data package does suck--we only upgraded last summer to that ourselves, holding out as long as we could--but don't most require that? I'm pretty sure AT&T had a similar requirement at the time when we were shopping.
andyzee
New member
Yes, they all require a data package, but shopping around, I found that others are cheaper minimums. In some cases I could get unlimited data, and maybe pay something like $20 more a month than Verizon without data
severine
New member
You don't have unlimited data now? I do. Free hotspot, too.
mondeo
New member
$15/mo for 200MB on ATT. I don't watch video or stream radio unless I have a wifi connection, so I'm at 86MB 2/3 of the way through the billing cycle. Webpages really aren't that data heavy.
andyzee
New member
No, and that's my point, I don't really care to surf on my phone. I did have a data package at one point, think it was like $10, lasted two months before I realize I didn't want or need it. Now I'm being told that if I want a nice phone, I have to pay $60 a month extra for me and my wife.
BackLoafRiver
New member
I went through a VERY similar search fairly recently. For me, it came down to coverage in Northern New England. Maine is AT&T hell. Along I-95 it is pretty consistent, you will get service almost all the way up to Bangor. (after that, you are S.O.L)
Since I spend a lot of time in VT, I checked out the difference there too. Since the Unicel acquisition a few years ago, AT&T's coverage has improved but still falls short in rural areas. They did JUST get 3g about 15 months ago although the rumored 4g rollout will be faster.
I went with Verizon. I get a better discount through work ( +1 for teaching) and I have coverage ALMOST everywhere in Maine, NH, and Vermont. Extreme rural areas are the exception but, that is true of all of them. For ski roads, Route 4 to Saddleback is a black hole but 27 up to Sugarloaf is very consistent. (only lose service in one section of about 5 miles)
Data prices seem fairly consistent between AT&T and Verizon. (although I am not sure what to think about the "tiered" data pricing) If Data speed is of concern, it seems to be consensus that AT&T 3g is faster than VZ 3g.
If you spend more time in a metropolitan area, I don't think it matters which of the big 3 you go with. It's when you start to head out into rural areas that coverage gets questionable. Consumer Reports did a great write up recently on the 4 Major carriers.
Thank god for trial periods. If you are considering the switch, do it when you know you'll be traveling a bit. If it is an area that gives you a hard time with VZ coverage, use the crap out of your phone and check the difference. Usually carriers won't charge you usage if you are in the first 15 or 30 days.
Best of luck man!
Since I spend a lot of time in VT, I checked out the difference there too. Since the Unicel acquisition a few years ago, AT&T's coverage has improved but still falls short in rural areas. They did JUST get 3g about 15 months ago although the rumored 4g rollout will be faster.
I went with Verizon. I get a better discount through work ( +1 for teaching) and I have coverage ALMOST everywhere in Maine, NH, and Vermont. Extreme rural areas are the exception but, that is true of all of them. For ski roads, Route 4 to Saddleback is a black hole but 27 up to Sugarloaf is very consistent. (only lose service in one section of about 5 miles)
Data prices seem fairly consistent between AT&T and Verizon. (although I am not sure what to think about the "tiered" data pricing) If Data speed is of concern, it seems to be consensus that AT&T 3g is faster than VZ 3g.
If you spend more time in a metropolitan area, I don't think it matters which of the big 3 you go with. It's when you start to head out into rural areas that coverage gets questionable. Consumer Reports did a great write up recently on the 4 Major carriers.
Thank god for trial periods. If you are considering the switch, do it when you know you'll be traveling a bit. If it is an area that gives you a hard time with VZ coverage, use the crap out of your phone and check the difference. Usually carriers won't charge you usage if you are in the first 15 or 30 days.
Best of luck man!
drjeff
Well-known member
The hard reality is that in this day and age, very little (if any new R&D) is going into new, "basic" (non-smart phones) since such a huge percentage of the market wants smartphones
ScottySkis
Well-known member
I had Sprint for years and much cheaper then Verizon by 40dollar a month I do get coverage in a basement were I work with Verizon were with sprint I was roaming on no bar also some subway stations I get bars with verizon if their is emergency its nice to have that
Similar threads
