T-mobile or AT&T?

[GasX]

I am switching phones/plans/provider and am trying to decide whether or not to go with AT&T or T-mobile.

Any recommendations?

500-1000 minutes per month
heavy email usage

 

[zig3695]

ive used tmo for a year now, and i couldnt really recommend them for the greatest coverage. while if youre in a city that has tmo coverage, its usually very good. but there are whole towns that tmo doesnt cover at all, so if you travel, look out. not sure about att, but i do notice my phone switches to att many times while hopping between cities.

still, i put up with it because the blackberry internet plan is $20 a month unlimited. hell yeah. and i never understood the blackberry craze until i got my pearl... cant live without my blackberry now, and no im not a hollywood bufoon!

 

[teatime0315]

If you live a big city T-Mobile has good service @ cheap prices. But if you plan on going to the country side or anything like that, its not very reliable.
Cingular has much better service but that comes with a price, usually cost a bit more for comparable plans.

 

[Kelvrick]

TMO cuts out in the elevators at while while my att coworkers just keep chatting.

 

[intogamer]

T-Mobile typically sucks in buildings. If you are in a densely populated or metro area, then you should go T-Mobile.

$39.99 for 1500min Promo is nice

 

[pm]

I agree with the others.

T-mobile got in the US market by acquiring Voicestream - and usually Voicestream's allocation of spectrum puts it in a range that doesn't do well in buildings (~1900Mhz). AT&T, on the other hand, has a larger number of towers and a usually uses a section of spectrum that penetrates walls much better (~850MHz). They both usually share towers, and AT&T has a lot of 1900MHz towers - but overall, T-Mobile tends to be on the high frequency end of the spectrum, while AT&T is on the lower.

On the other hand, T-Mobile tends to be a bit cheaper. And I personally think that T-Mobiles customer support is much better than AT&T's - having used both for a quite a while.

As others said, if you live in a metro area, then T-Mobile will probably work well enough, and be cheaper, and in my experience they are much friendlier. If you are not in a place with a lot of towers, then AT&T's better section of spectrum will probably result in better signals and less dropped calls.

 

[zig3695]

i do find that surprising though, since att runs most or all of tmo's towers. i often find my pearl on att cells, but its still not the same coverage as att.

 

[intogamer]

Originally posted by: zig3695
i do find that surprising though, since att runs most or all of tmo's towers. i often find my pearl on att cells, but its still not the same coverage as att.

That is about to change. Because T-Mobile announced exactly today that they have acquired Suncom. Checked your profile, and you shall no longer be roaming in NC.

T-Mobile is on the road become a "top dog"

 

[Deeko]

I've had TMobile for about 5-6 years now, and I've had no complaints. I lived in philly most of that time, but spent plenty of time in the surrounding areas with no coverage issues.

 

[Rottie]

Tmobile network is horrible I live in southern California I get network disconnection many times I know they are working hard to fix it but I am not impressed...I get data only plan for 30.00 a month. My cellphone is Sidekick 3.

 

[intogamer]

Originally posted by: Rottie
Tmobile network is horrible I live in southern California I get network disconnection many times I know they are working hard to fix it but I am not impressed...I get data only plan for 30.00 a month. My cellphone is Sidekick 3.

Californa is too spread out

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: intogamer

Originally posted by: Rottie
Tmobile network is horrible I live in southern California I get network disconnection many times I know they are working hard to fix it but I am not impressed...I get data only plan for 30.00 a month. My cellphone is Sidekick 3.

Californa is too spread out

and I saw ads everywhere saying "Dad, please don't drop me" or something like that I don't believe Tmobile is improving with few dropping calls..maybe not for data only plan I dunno.

 

[JC86]

i've been with both and really have nothing bad to say about either. I'd ask your co-workers, friends and family who have both and see which one has best reception where you live. Then choose accordingly.

 

[zig3695]

as far as tmo's customer service goes, its excellent for me. i love their online account page and management, easy online billing and good commercials too. yes, that matters. i left us cellular because i hate joan cusack and thats a fact.

 

[MegaVovaN]

TMO pwns for me, I live in very metro area - inside 610 loop Hoiston TX.
regular cell phone, no data plans

 

[AnyMal]

Basically, you'll have to choose between a so-so coverage (T-Mo) and so-so customer service (at&t). Decide which one you'll need the most.

 

[bamx2]

It really depends on you coverage needs . AT&T ( and Verizon too ) has better coverage ( more sites and a combination of 850 and1900 mhz coverage) . It is very frustrating to not having coverage where you need it . Sprint PCS SERO plan may not a bad option either ( they roam on Verizon ) if they have improved their customer serivice .

 

[Muadib]

If your profile is right, you should have no trouble in your area with either. If you frequent the
less populated areas of NJ, then you will want at&t or Verizon.

 

[intogamer]

If you need email theres is a $9.99 blackberry push email

But if your company has an exchange server. You should opt for $5.99 T-MobileWeb with unlimited EDGE/GPRS

T-Mobile offers the best deal. 1000 minute for $39.99 is standard. But you can often times find promotions like 1500minutes for $39.99.

Should be under $50~ with TmobileWeb FTW

 

[ahfunaki]

I've been with AT&T for about 6 years now and I have zero complaints about them. I've basically turned all of my family/friends to them also and no one has hurt me yet.

But it really does depend on your specific area, what your friends and family have and so on. It would be pointless to get AT&T when your entire family has Sprint and never get to use mobile to mobile minutes...

But yea, AT&T gets my vote...

 

[Tiamat]

Ive had some serious issues with ATT/Cingular customer service, but with Tmobile, the customer service has been good -- they feed me bonus txt msgs whenever I get spam txt msgs and free minutes when they lost a tower for a half a day. For me, in the boston area, tmobile works as well as I need it. It doesnt work well in buildings and the MBTA, but I dont mind as long as I dont have to put up with crap whenever I call customer support.

 

[ChaoZ]

I have TMobile and for me there's a huge lag time between then time you hit dial and for it to ring. Somewhere between 5-10 seconds, it's damn annoying.