Cell Phone Carriers

It seems that no matter who I pick, it seems to be the worse phone company. I am looking at Sprint through OOIDA.

Dave

I have 2 phone. Sprint because their internet is awesome and unlimited and Net10 because their coverage is awesome and 50/mon unlimited everything but internet is not so great.

First and foremost you have to make a choice on what you want your cell phone service for. Just to talk. For internet. For texting. ETC.

And second, you have to realize there are only 2 MAJOR companies out there. AT&T and Verizon.

Yes, they are both pricey. I have had both. AT&T many years ago. And VZM (Verizon) for the past several years.

Why do I mention that there are only 2 MAJOR carriers? Due to the fact that every small company out there, Sprint, Net10, Virgin, and all of them borrow their time by using the other major companies towers.

It is true, in certain areas the smaller companies might have their own towers, but they don't have towers covering from coast to coast. To my knowledge only the major 2 carriers have their own towers all over. And yes, even they "borrow" other companies towers in certain areas.

The reason I mention this is because when cell phone use is at it's peak, such as in maybe rush hour. The middle of the day, etc, what ever time it might be in each area, the "owner" of the tower will allow their own customers access before it allows 3rd party access.

In other words, say you are in NYC area. And you have a 3rd party carrier, such as Sprint. Sprint "rents" time from VZM in the NYC area for use of VZM towers. If VZM is extremely busy and doesn't have a lot of bandwidth open, they limit Sprint customer's use of the tower. They let their own customers use the tower first.

Maybe none of you have run into this issue because we (truckers) usually only pass through an area. We are not in a city for hours on end. Usually anyway. When I was a bus driver, I saw it all the time in the bigger cities. NYC, Washington DC, etc. And believe it or not, Pittsburgh used to be the worst. If you had Sprint, you didn't have any coverage once you left the tunnels till you got miles down the road. With VZM, I had coverage all the way around the area. Customers that had AT&T also had coverage.

Now that was a few years ago. Things might have changed in the past few years. But I do know that the smaller companies still "rent" time from the bigger companies. And when you "rent" you come in second during the real busy time.

I have VZM and I am very happy with it. But even VZM doesn't have great coverage in all areas. It all depend on population and profit. Yes, profit. If an area is very low populated and there isn't much chance of making profit by putting up towers, neither VZM nor AT&T will have coverage. You might get a smaller, local carrier in certain areas, but you will be limited on their coverage area.

No matter what, you have to make a choice on how much you are willing to pay for the coverage you need.

Keep it safe out here. The life you save might be your own. Joe S.

I actually use both AT&T and Verizon - I know, I'm a glutton for punishment. But because I have both carriers I can tell you that they are both good. Verizon is superior though. You get what you pay for on this stuff. With my flat-bed work I am sometimes right out in the middle of nowhere. Here's a photo of a recent delivery location near Amsterdam OH.

If you can see the equipment up on the side of the hill that's where I had to be to get unloaded. AT&T was completely out of the picture, but my Verizon account pulled through so I could call my youngest daughter and tell her about the simple redneck pleasures of going mudding in an eighteen wheeler! Several of the trucks had to be pushed up the hill with a bull-dozer. When I was coming out of there I found one of my fellow company drivers in the ditch with his truck.

Okay. Verizon and AT&T are pricey, but premium. May I ask you Verizon users what you are paying for your plans? I know that your plans may vary, but just to get a cross-section of costs.

I know this is an old forum post, however I started with T-Mobile and I know there coverage sucks unless you are in or near a major city, however I have since opened a line at Verizon and they have the superior coverage. Now due to the fact that I live in the truck my only expenses are my phones, food and laundry so I have 2 lines total, one with T-Mobile and one at Verizon. I use the Verizon line for everything, however it doesn't have truly unlimited hotspot. My T-Mobile line does, so my Verizon line is my primary line and my T-Mobile line is my secondary hotspot line. I pay 85 a month plus taxes and fees at Verizon and at T-Mobile I pay 110 per month everything included. I have the iPhone X 256GB in Silver on Verizon and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 64GB in Orchid Gray on T-Mobile. I love them both and they both have great service. I won't be cancelling either one anytime soon.