Question about Sprint PCS

[cchen]

I know Sprint PCS has free long distance, but what about roaming? I didn't see anything about it on their site...

 

[Spooner]

They have National plans..... usually call to anywhere / from anywhere... as long as you can get on the PCS network.

There are some deadspots, but, overall, I'm happy so far.

 

[Pabster]

Roaming can get expensive in a hurry. It's usually 0.39/min, but in some areas they charge 0.69/min. And if you're calling long distance (from wherever you happen to be roaming) tack on another 0.25/min for long distance.

Sprint PCS is great, so long as you're in a major metropolis and along major freeways/highways/interstates. Coverage outside that is sparse at best and usually unreliable.

 

[cchen]

Are the national plans the only ones that include roaming?

From their site:


<< Pay no long-distance charges for plan minutes used from anywhere on our nationwide network. >>



Does that mean free roaming anywhere on their network?

 

[perry]

They only have one type of plan, and it includes roaming (as in using the phone outside your home area, not outside the PCS network) and long distance.

Yea, it means you can use your minutes to call anyone in the US from anywhere on their network.

 

[Ciber]

dont bother with pcs, get verizon. they have the best coverage around and their plans/rates etc are basically the same as sprint if not better.

 

[pulse8]

<< dont bother with pcs, get verizon. they have the best coverage around and their plans/rates etc are basically the same as sprint if not better. >>



Verizon's national planes are MUCH worse than Sprint's.

 

[cchen]

Well.. I'm going to be traveling up and down the east coast... so I need a plan that includes "roaming"... so far I'm only looking at cingular and sprint...the only two providers that have roaming included and cool phones

 

[bigcfromcinci]

I know one thing their CS sucks big time

 

[LethalWolfe]

I'd go w/Sprint 'cause you don't have to sign a contract.


Lethal

 

[Thanatopsis]

Go here and click on coverage

 

[Thegonagle]

<< I'd go w/Sprint 'cause you don't have to sign a contract.


Lethal >>



You also pay at least $10/mo. for the privilege of not being in a contract.

Here's the deal: If you are not in range of a Sprint PCS owned tower, the phone searches for an alternate tower owned by a different provider. If you talk while you're on a different provider?s network/tower, you pay 39 cents per minute, plus 25 cents per minute for long distance if you originate the call.

I changed from Sprint PCS to Verizon because of this specific shortcoming. I like Verizon because the customer service people consistently answer the phone right away (zero hold time, every time I?ve called) and they seem to be under less stress than SPCS people and are therefore more pleasant.

SPCS?s network features (VM notification, usage information updates, etc) seem to work a little better than Verizon's, but Sprint's spotty coverage (nothing rural, except on some Interstates) kills the deal for me. As long as you?re in the geographical area specified by your Verizon plan, you are not charged for roaming, no matter what type of signal your phone picks up, or who actually owns the tower providing the signal. For me, Verizon just works better.

 

[SUOrangeman]

I've used SprintPCS as my only phone service for roughly 2.5 years now. Living in the Washington DC area, I have had little to no problems save 9/11 and whenever I go home (down in the country) to see my parents (I wouldn't want anyone to reach me there anyways). I've vacationed in San Fran, the NO, and Chi-town and my phone never missed a beat. Heck, my sister called me from college and she didn't even know that I was on Bourbon Street.

I went looking for a new phone recently, and I think Sprint's variety puts most other carriers to shame ... and you can walk out of your favorite store with a phone and without having signed a contract.

-SUO

 

[kgraeme]

I recently was doing the same research and found that Cingular has some extremely illegal billing practices. Like billing people for hundreds of hours that they didn't use. It's so bad that at least one state (Kansas?) is mounting a major lawsuit on behalf of all the state's customers.

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

I have Sprint. The Company pays for it. As long as I can call all my accounts, it works fine. Plus the Kyocera is nice with a 8MB PDA!