Who's your cellular phone provider?

[anapuni808]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

Well, I was going to change to TMobile until a couple of weeks ago. I started my cell service here in 1996 with Honolulu Cellular which then got sold to AT&T which then merged with Cingular.

My Cingular contract was (finally!) up last month and after checking with them, they said I could continue with my same plan but on a month-to-month basis. I liked that because I had a REALLY good plan. But, then I started thinking - what if they change their policies and I lose my REALLY good plan?

So, I decided to see what Cingular would do for me to keep a good customer. I ended up getting to keep my bonus minutes but also getting the Cingular National 400 plan with Rollover. So, in the end - I now have a better plan than I started with and since I had just gotten a new phone, I still have a REALLY good plan! They kept offering me new phones but I stuck to my guns and insisted on keeping what I had before the merger. My argument was that it wasn't my fault that the merger happened and that we AT&T customers shouldn't be penalized. After working my way far enough up the food chain at Cingular - I finally got to someone who could make a decision.

I still would prefer to be an AT&T customer but Cingular did right by me and I'll have no problem sticking with them for at least 2 years.

by the way Serenity - tell your hubby hello from his old taxi customer on Anapuni St.

[Serenity]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

by the way Serenity - tell your hubby hello from his old taxi customer on Anapuni St.

Oh....

definately will ,

I was supose to have left a while ago, but he got held up, so I'm still waiting for him . Hopefully he comes in soon.

Take care. A big Aloha to you.

HUGS.

[adrian]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

Okay, since I'm out of college, now is the time to port my number, as I'm getting fed up of getting no signals in certain spots (more recently, the Sheraton Hotel, Outback steakhouse, and the Sears stores).

Anyone want to lend me their phone for a day so that I can test out the reception? (my relatives only have tmobile). And according to tmobile's personal coverage check, they have coverage where it fails (either the places are blocking it, or tmobile really needs to get a frequency upgrade.)

[hinokei]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

Okay, since I'm out of college, now is the time to port my number, as I'm getting fed up of getting no signals in certain spots (more recently, the Sheraton Hotel, Outback steakhouse, and the Sears stores).

Anyone want to lend me their phone for a day so that I can test out the reception? (my relatives only have tmobile). And according to tmobile's personal coverage check, they have coverage where it fails (either the places are blocking it, or tmobile really needs to get a frequency upgrade.)

Okay, first of all, I can tell you that not all providers are going to be perfect everywhere. So while you say that your T-Mobile phone doesn't work in the places above, you'll be saying the same thing about whatever provider you switch to later, of course in different places where you knew your T-Mobile phone worked.

Second, I know you probably don't want to hear this, but for me, Nextel seems to work the most consistently, if you want to borrow a nextel phone for a day, I'll PM you and we can work something out.

Third, because T-Mobile is using 1900 MHZ, it ain't gonna work in thick concrete buildings unless they have a repeater nearby, and unless they get a license for the Hawai'i market in the 850 range, which is probably unlikely, you won't see any frequency change anytime soon.

I know this change is probably brought on by you starting your computer business full speed, so I can understand where you're coming from. You might want to consider the free incoming plans offered by Sprint and Nextel, or the unlimited calling with Mobi PCS.

As for Mobi, as long as you don't leave O'ahu, the coverage is very, very good. It's an impressive network buildout so far for a company that just launched in January.

If anyone remembers VoiceStream's launch in 1995, you'll remember what a disaster that was.

But, for the record, here's the cell phone providers I currently use or pay for:

Sprint
Nextel
Verizon
T-Mobile
Mobi PCS

[adrian]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

If anyone remembers VoiceStream's launch in 1995, you'll remember what a disaster that was.

That's because Hawaii was a test market for Voicestream/Tmobile.

And can anyone confirm that Verizon's towers run on backup power when there was a poweroutage? I know that Nextellers can just PTT each other off network, but I don't like their huge phones (and that PTT noise). *checks Nextel's website* But the free incoming is so tempting...

[hinokei]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

That's because Hawaii was a test market for Voicestream/Tmobile.

And can anyone confirm that Verizon's towers run on backup power when there was a poweroutage? I know that Nextellers can just PTT each other off network, but I don't like their huge phones (and that PTT noise). *checks Nextel's website* But the free incoming is so tempting...

Regarding VoiceStream, it wasn't a test market, it was a initial launch market. I know this firsthand because I worked for them then.

Most cell providers have backup power at each tower colo. In certain areas the area might be run by one provider, and leased to others.

Nextel: Huge phones? The i870 and newer clamshells aren't that much bigger than your V635.

Since you're gonna be doing computer consulting, why not get a blackberry?

I have one, it's very handy.

[adrian]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

Anyone got either the Nextel or Sprint free incoming plans? That's the only reason why I have those two on my "radar".

[hinokei]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

Anyone got either the Nextel or Sprint free incoming plans? That's the only reason why I have those two on my "radar".

I have seperate plans on both Nextel and Sprint.

[Hellbent]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

up until recently i used to sell cell phones. i currently have hawaiian telecom, and it isnt too bad.
the great thing about the service is that they didnt build new antennas, they rent from 2 other carriers - sprint and verizon. so for 1 price you get 2 carriers worth of coverage.
ive sold alot of prepaid phones, and tracphone is pretty expensive. the cost per minute is 0.33? there are other prepaids that are cheaper. might require more investment, but in the long run could net you savings.
i used to sell mobi, tmobile, and nextel. i wouldnt really recommend those at the moment as theyre going to various transition phases.
the best thing to do is ask your co-workers and family what they use and if its any good in your area.

[adrian]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

the great thing about the service is that they didnt build new antennas, they rent from 2 other carriers - sprint and verizon. so for 1 price you get 2 carriers worth of coverage.

So they use CDMA? Wow, I never knew that. Mobi and Hawaiian Telcom uses CDMA...

[Bard]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

Sorry for the ranting, but I've gotta vote no on T-Mobile. My wife and I used them for years and we were very happy with the quality of the reception, the price was right, etc... all things considered, technically, they were an awesome provider.

That's until the fake charges started on my account.

One day I got a message from T-Mobile on my phone saying "hey buddy, you better pay your bill soon! It's big!" Well, something like that anyway. I checked it and had about $80 worth of ringtones and wallpapers... which my phone couldn't even have used. Some of them multiple times for the same one! I called up their support and the lady said, yeah, this is pretty obviously a screw-up because they were charged to a type of phone I didn't even own. She said she'd put in a request and it'd get taken care of, no worries.

Few weeks later, I get another "pay now or else" message. Turns out they had denied the request, 'cause you know, it's my problem. I never did figure out what the rationale for that was, just got a lot of very snarky, bordering on rude responses from their phone support people. I guess once someone pushes the right button you become a problem customer instead of a customer with a problem.

To make a long story short, this happened for several months straight and involved me having to find an outspoken advocate at the local T-Mobile store and/or go through the BBB to get an "execute customer support" contact before I could get the charges fixed. Not completely sure which one got it really fixed, but they were incredibly obstinate about the whole thing and treated me like the bad guy throughout (minus the people in the local store, who were pretty awesome as usual for Portlanders ).

They offered at the end to change my SIM card and my phone number to stop the charges. Yeah! They couldn't even figure out what was going on in their own system! This could be an opportunity for them to fix a big bug in their database or even find someone breaking in, but they couldn't be bothered. I went over to Cingular that day and though their technical service isn't quite as nice (reception and all that), I haven't had a bunch of fake charges on my phone since then! They'd probably do the same thing to me (seems like most cell providers are rotten like that) but it got me away from the immediate problem.

[blueyecicle]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

My two cents...

I use to be with AT & T, as Cingular use to be a single company in itself, later Cingular combined with AT & T, & just became Cingular.

No offense to those who are Cingular fans, but, since they became Cingular, I just didn't like them any more .

So, I switched to T-MOBILE!!, plus my hubby is on T-mobile for the longest tme, so I figured I would join in with him, & help him to save on his minutes. With the family plan, texting, & calling between him & I doesn't get deducted off of his minutes & buckets etc..

Over all, I really like being in T-Mobile. Plus, I use an x495 . http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/...6-c4bc0f593aeb

I have the opposite experience, I has T-Mobile for 4 years and they messed up my bill every 2 or 3 months and charged me 800.00 one time! For a 30.00 bill. Plus my phone would lose bars every 3 feet. When I went to turn my service off the customer service guy refused and hung up on me then he agreed to turn it off in 3 days but turned it off 10 minutes later then sent me another 100.00 bill..I owed nothing! It was a fight to the death!

Switched to AT&T and loved it Now I have Cingluar. They aren't bad but their customer service is clueless. I know more about their policies than they do. But their coverage rocks because when I go on vacation in your areas my phone works! Free to call home! Love it! My kids love it too

[Bard]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

Maybe it's just T-Mobile in Oregon or something

I had also heard that around the same time I had those problems with the charges, someone from this area had been hacking into T-Mobile. This was the guy who was digging photos out of Paris Hilton's Sidekick.

But still. You'd think with all that going on they'd at least try to be a little more understanding about mysterious things showing up on people's bills. Instead .. "oh, are you sure your kids didn't do it or something?" Yep -- my non-existant kids, using my non-existant Samsung phone

[adrian]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

Okay, for you Cingular users: how is customer service? I heard on a mobile forum that Cingular's CS basically sucks (compared to tmobile, which rocks!)

The only reason why I'm deciding to jump ship, is because of the 850mhz frequency that Cingular uses (Tmobile sometimes uses that band, but not here). Plus, I want to have the freedom to use my phones - then I would have researched more on mobi (and I get a discount) if that wasn't the case.

[achow]

Re: Who's your cellular phone provider?

I am a T-mobile customer. Been with T-mobile for almost 3 years, I like their customer service.