cell phone carriers

[pontifex]

my dad recently got a new cell phone and new plan for it. the place he got it from is called www.consumercellular.com.

its cheaper than the regular carriers like Verizon, Cingular, T-Mobile, etc for a comparable rate plan.

the thing is, when you look at their coverage map, it is Cingular's coverage map.
i'm not very knowledgable about cell phone stuff so thats why i'm asking. so are these independant companies using cingular's towers and stuff or what? i don't understand how that works. is it better to go with an independant carrier or with the larger ones?

Cingular
Nation 450 w/Rollover $39.99 450 minutes-Anytime 5000-Weekend
Nation 900 w/Rollover $59.99 900 minutes-Anytime Unlimited-Weekend

Consumer Cellular
Anywhere/Anytime 400 minutes $30.00 there are no weekend minutes for any plan
Anywhere/Anytime 800 minutes $40.00 from consumercellular.com.

also i don't think consumercellular does rollover minutes. i only end up using about 100 minutes a month with my current plan anyway, so it doesn't really matter to me that i don't get free/extra weekend minutes. I currently use verizon and get no signal at my house (i live out in the sticks). my dad gets a good signal with his new phone at my house.

so for me, this sounds like a good deal, since i pay $39.99 a month now for my 500 minutes a month verizon plan.

this company has a satisfactory rating with the BBB, so i'm not worried about getting ripped off.

 

[Spineshank]

Theres a local company here that just started up and they are using the GSM network so it uses Cingular's towers and the rates are very good. I currently have Verizon and coverage in my area is actually sorta spotty.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Gnrslash4life
Theres a local company here that just started up and they are using the GSM network so it uses Cingular's towers and the rates are very good. I currently have Verizon and coverage in my area is actually sorta spotty.

hey, i just looked at your info, i live in PA too.
whats the name of the company you are talking about?

 

[FoBoT]

probably a re-seller deal

 

[pontifex]

yeah, i already figured that out.

why can't anyone tell me if reseller deals are worth it or not?