[NA]Cellphone rates[NA]

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
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west Texas
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Dave Taylor
I am near the end of my contract so I got the latest rates from ATT. We have a choice here, between them and Alltel.
Are these rates getting out of hand?? What happened to the 20$/month deals? I have a friend who got a new phone and plan...rec'd August bill and it was OVER $400!!!

What are you paying?
 

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Dave, the good deals for cell phone service are found in business packages, which have pooled minutes and relatively low monthly charges for added phones (example: we pay $10/mo for each added phone).

Check AllTel's coverage areas carefully. You may lose a lot of service that way.

Also, if you talk to a person (as opposed to checking on-line or mail outs), you can often get a better deal.
 
T-Mobile, $155/mo for all four family members, unlimited texting for the teenager. No data plans.
 
I use Verizon for both voice and data... $149.99 a month for, I think, 900 minutes voice and unlimited (basically, anyway) EVDO Internet. Works great pretty much anywhere I regularly travel (mainly in NY, NJ, and Western CT, with occasional trips into New England, the Midwest and the Southeast).

I tried AT&T years ago - twice - and wasn't happy either time. I never had much luck with Nextel, either. Been with Verizon for about eight years now.

Rich
 
I've been with Alltel for several years now. I'm on a shared plan with my daughter. For less than 100/month we get 900 shared minutes, but thanks to the mobile-to-mobile and, "MyCircle" features we use only 100-200 of those minutes each month. We each get 300 text/pic messages per month, but don't use them all.

Incidentally, AT&T is being sued: http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/
 
hmmph. You guys were supposed to say, WHAT a RIPOFF! and generally agree with my rant, directing me to $5.00/month service. At which point I would heartily praise your assistance, offer my thanks and possibly mention how good-looking you were. Then thumb my nose at AT&T.
Speaking of AT&T, can I rant about them? Are their tentacles getting too long, or what??
My last payment for the business phone was delayed due to the holiday. As usual. I have been paying one ATT bill or another on time for 16 years except when holidays slow the mail up.
How did I find out? I went in to see about continuing my contract on the cell phone at Radio Shack. The RS guy says you are not eligible, outstanding balance! But the outstanding balance is not on the cell phone, it was on the work phone! Two separate contracts! Then I get a call at home about the work phone! The home phone is not in my name its in Janet's! Why are they calling her about my work line?? (work line is in my name, its also a sole proprietorship). You know they would try to kill all three lines if there was a problem with one!
 
Wow, that DOES seem particularly invasive. Boo on AT&T for that "customer service".
 
There are cheaper plans. There just aren't any cheaper NATIONWIDE UNLIMITED plans.

Roaming is expensive. You don't pay the $2 a minute (or more) roaming charges with that $59 plan. AT&T still pays ma and pa rural telco or whatever competitor's system the $2+ a minute if you happen be using that system.
 
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In my prior job we had Cingular/AT&T. At the same time I had my Verizon personal phone. The Cingular system had more "dead" zones and dropped calls than the Verizon system. This was while traveling throughout the SE US.

YMMV.

My wife and I are on a shared plan with Verizon and are happy with the service and price.
 
kevin47881 said:
My wife and I are on a shared plan with Verizon and are happy with the service and price.
Click to expand...


Us, too. Besides, calling another Verizon number is free. That and free nationwide roaming and long distance is handy. Of course, we'll turn them off when we board the flight tonight and won't turn them on again until we get home on the 25th. But, I doubt they'll work in Oz anyway. :)
 
I have four phones with Sprint. Unlimited calls to other Sprint phones, no text, no data. 90 a month for 600 shared minutes, which is plenty because most of the calls are among the four of us. But when you add taxes -- DO NOT get me started on those -- it's up to about 110.

In addition, my two home landlines get an hour of free long distance because of the cell phone package.

Six phone numbers. Sheesh.
 
Ken Ibold said:
I have four phones with Sprint. Unlimited calls to other Sprint phones, no text, no data. 90 a month for 600 shared minutes, which is plenty because most of the calls are among the four of us. But when you add taxes -- DO NOT get me started on those -- it's up to about 110.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but if you have to call customer "service..." :eek: :vomit:

Oh, and don't forget they have weird 911 handling too, or at least they used to when I was unfortunate enough to be their customer.

Operator: "911 emergency"
Me: "Yeah, there's a huge brawl going on outside, 3400 block of North Oakland."
Operator: "Where?"
Me: "3400 block of North Oakland."
Operator: "No Sir, what city?" :eek:

I wasn't talking to a real 911 operator, I was talking to a Sprint 911 operator. I've called 911 a bunch of times (10-year-old driving a car on a busy road shooting a squirt gun out the window, numerous drunk drivers, etc.) and I've never had that with any other carrier.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Yeah, but if you have to call customer "service..." :eek: :vomit:
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'll give you that. I have my bill charged to my credit card automatically. Then the card was used fraudulently and I got it replaced with a new number. After four calls to Sprintistan, they still have failed to perform the simple act of changing the number in their computer(s). Oh, wait, maybe they're using Dells. That would explain a LOT.
 
I pay 69.00 a month for 2 lines and 700 shared anytime minutes between us. Can call any other ATT/Cingular phone for "free"(meaning not part of the 700) and unlimited nights and weekends (7:00 PM)
No data and no text stuff.

Haven't never had a real problem with them.

Mark B
 
It's not even ATT anymore. Cingular just bought the name. I used ATT until the buy out. Then they forced you to go digital.
 
ejensen said:
It's not even ATT anymore. Cingular just bought the name. I used ATT until the buy out. Then they forced you to go digital.
Click to expand...

Not quite. SBC and Bell South were partners in Cingular. Cingular bought AT&T wireless and abandoned the name. SBC merged with AT&T, taking the AT&T name which had more history and worldwide brand recognition.

Shortly thereafter "The new AT&T" (lower case logo) merged with Bell South thus owning both parts of Cingular, which they renamed to ... (The new) AT&T.

Easy, huh? :D

Now, what happened to Illinois Bell and Pacific Bell, and....?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtFtcp4mNzA&mode=related&search=

Colbert forgot Pacific Bell and Nevada Bell.
 
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Hey I found a local competitor which is 20/mo less. I can live with that. I think whenever I find a company that has gobbled the competition, has outrageously high prices, I should just suck it up.....then go buy a whole bunch of their stock!
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Hey I found a local competitor which is 20/mo less. I can live with that. I think whenever I find a company that has gobbled the competition, has outrageously high prices, I should just suck it up.....then go buy a whole bunch of their stock!
Click to expand...

Before you jump-ship, check plans carefully- many AT&T plans include unlimited minutes to other AT&T mobile phones. If you have family or friends (hint, hint) who are on AT&T, you may end up better with them.
 
Now that I think about it, there are so often "unadvertised specials" which you can find out about by inquiring.
 
And the "customer retention" folks will often roll out special deals if they really think you are going to jump-ship. Number portability really allowed for useful competition.

Tell 'em about the better deal you're being offered.

Oh, and before you leap, see if you can get a loaner phone from the competing carrier, and make sure it works in the places you need it most (like, in your hangar).
 
Looks like they're packing text messaging in. If you don't use text messaging (and I don't), you ought to be able to get a better deal from them.

That being said, AT&T (formerly Cingular) is one of the more expensive providers for what you get. I have both Verizon and T-Mobile. T-mobile is better rate-wise and customer service wise, Verizon still has analog rollover in rural areas.
 
Where you are, Dave, I'd research coverage first.
 
Ken Ibold said:
Yeah, I'll give you that. I have my bill charged to my credit card automatically. Then the card was used fraudulently and I got it replaced with a new number. After four calls to Sprintistan
Click to expand...

A friend of mine who uses Sprint had his card used fraudulently too, and tracked it down to Sprint (I think it was a new card that he hadn't used for anything else). Someone bought some airline tickets from India to somewhere with his card...

Oh, wait, maybe they're using Dells. That would explain a LOT.
Click to expand...

:rofl:
 
markb5900 said:
I pay 69.00 a month for 2 lines and 700 shared anytime minutes between us. Can call any other ATT/Cingular phone for "free"(meaning not part of the 700) and unlimited nights and weekends (7:00 PM)
No data and no text stuff.

Haven't never had a real problem with them.

Mark B
Click to expand...

I have the 450 minutes which is OK for our usage, considering it's "free" to other Cingular/ATT customers, including our sons. I also take the unliimited media bundle for an additional $20/mo and can tether my laptop if necessary and/or use the Sync phone for email, internet, etc. The 3G service is excellent for internet, but only available in larger metro areas. Edge system otherwise --which is like dial-up, but it will do in a pinch.
 
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$67 per month after all the bs taxes and stuff. My wife and I share 500 minutes on the nationwide plan with Verizon. No text package (no kids). In my area, Verizon is pretty much all you have for a option. I'm not complaining because I as very happy with Verizon. Years ago I had another carrier and it absolutely sucked.

Oh yeah, I get a 15% discount through work with Verizon. That's another reason I am pleased with em.:cheerswine:
 
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