What cell phone service provider is the best?

[agent_fish]

My contract with Sprint recently expired. Should I re-sign with them, or is there another provider who you think is better, for whatever reason?

They are offering me a $100 credit to my account and a $150 rebate on a new phone. The plan I would probably get with them costs $45.99 a month (including $6 a month for phone insurance). It would be 400 anytime minutes (which is probably enough for me) and includes free nights and weekends that start at 7pm and free mobile-to-mobile.

I intend this thread to be more of a discussion of the benefits of the various cell phone service providers (for example, Verizon with rollover minutes, which is cool) rather than just specific advice for me. However, if you would like to provide specific advice to me, I wouldn't mind.

[Golden_Rhino]

I used to work in the cell phone industry. Can't be much help as far as companies go because we don't have the same ones up here, but I can tell you that those rollover minutes sound pretty sweet. I would pay an extra 5 - 10 dollars a month for it. If any Canadian company gets it, I'm on it like a fat kid on a Smartie.

[SackUp]

Cingular has rollover, not Verizon.

Verizon is still better though. Any place you sign up with will give you a similar deal on a new phone.

It is best to check with people who live in your area to see what service is best there. I have never had any problems with Verizon anywhere I have gone in the US - most of my friends could say the same.

Also, a lot depends on who you talk to - what service they have. Free mobible to mobile can save a ton of minutes.

I've heard sprint is on the lower end of service for reception. Verizon, then cingular being the best.

[pvn]

They all suck. Sooner or later, you'll be pissed off no matter who you pick.

[xx44]

T Mobile is aweful, but their plan kinda makes up for it: 1500 whenever, free nights/wekend 49.95

[David H]

In addition to comparing plans from an economic standpoint, try to find a map of service in your area. I don't know if all service providers have these, but T-Mobile does(or at least they did as of a few months ago)

You can see if there are any dead spots that will be a problem(with T-Mobile, I got no service at school, and maybe a bar at home. Pretty crappy)

[Vuron00]

[ QUOTE ]
They all suck. Sooner or later, you'll be pissed off no matter who you pick.

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT. I've had 4 different companies and they all have sucked for various reasons.

[NSchandler]

Cingular has gotten pretty good service for me. The rollover minutes are nice.

But for the love of god, stay away from T-mobile at all costs.

[TheStation]

Sprint now has street level mapping on their website, just go to the coverage page and type in zip codes of where you normally are or plan on being, see if the service is good there - this is more of a tip for people looking at Sprint as you already have it and know how the coverage is whre you use it

Sprint and Verizon are my two favorites although your cost per minute on Verizon will be higher, this is mainly due to the fact that you are more likely to get service in some out of the way town with Verizon than you are with Sprint, so its a question of where you need coverage, if you arent having any issues with Sprint's coverage than I would stay there.

Also with the mobile to mobile minutes - these are only valuable if you friends are all on the same carrier so take a look at that - I know during college most of my friends were all on Verizon so that was a great deal - most of us after graduation are all running Sprint so that now posts a better free mobile to mobile value

Also if you can wait a little longer Sprint and Verizon are releasing a good number of phones in October and November as part of the Christmas ramp up which inclues the new Motorola K1m (the replacement to the RAZR) which will be out for both Sprint and Verizon in Oct/Nov

[microbet]

I have sprint and while the coverage isn't horrible, it isn't good.