I disappeared for a few weeks as the family and I traveled across parts of the western US. While I'm gone, Scott decided to jump on those of us who have chosen to go prepaid. He says we're gonna lose coverage. Well, most of what he says is true, but the coverage 'problem' is a bit overblown.
After our return from roaming across rural Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, I can say there are a few alternatives that will keep your from losing coverage when moving to prepaid. The biggest surprise was the AT&T GoPhone. When you lose AT&T coverage, that's it...no roaming. The T-Mobile prepaid phone was far more useful with almost as much off-network roaming available as T-Mobile postpaid plans. We'll talk about CDMA-based phones later.
The real stars were the Straight Talk and Net10 'Bring Your Own Phone' plans that kept some kind of coverage virtually everywhere. Like the AT&T and T-Mobile networks they are based on, Data coverage was best on the home network, but there were far more roaming possibilities on Straight Talk and T-Mobile. Critics say the Straight Talk/Net10 coverage maps are too optimistic, but I found them spot on. That's a good thing.
The low lights are that rural data networks are still hopelessly slow, and once our Straight Talk phone 'forgot' that it is supposed to roam on AT&T (a reboot fixed that). Then there's the issue of GSM roaming on Verizon Wireless. Yes, there are parts of the old Alltel GSM network still supported by Verizon. There is no Data and there's a end date for this coverage that needs to be addressed by the GSM community soon or there will be a loss of service.
We are putting together a full report on the TracFone, Straight Talk and Net10 coverage capabilities and how they may be a good choice for your conversion to cheaper prepaid service.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Go Prepaid & Lose Coverage?
I have been watching the process of BillRadio and a number of others who advocate switching to Prepaid wireless to save money. What are you guys thinking? This web site for years has been focused on getting the maximum cellular coverage and most moves to prepaid are taking a trip in the opposite direction! Go from AT&T postpaid to GoPhone and you'll be cutting yourself off from coverage in thousands of locations. Here in New Mexico, I spent almost as much time roaming on Commnet Wireless as I did on AT&T. I didn't know what good service was until I switched to Alltel, and found even better service when I was transferred to Verizon Wireless.
I know that Bill Radio is making a reluctant move from Verizon to AT&T with the idea that doubling what he pays to Verizon just isn't worth it. At least he found out T-Mobile won't cut it for him. Bill and I agreed long ago that AT&T's Ratings belong below those of Sprint and a handful of other smaller carriers. I believe there will come a day when he returns to admit his mistake. For years he has been claiming that AT&T's coverage ranks third, at best.
I understand that some of you east of the Mississippi wonder what I'm talking about. AT&T in the west suffers from a whole lot of no coverage that was improved with the acquisition of some of those Alltel properties. But if you switch to an AT&T prepaid plan, you're losing nearly the entire state of Nebraska, just to name one hole! Who is willing to do that in this technology-dependant world? Well, apparently anybody who is willing to give up their all-encompassing postpaid accounts that work almost everywhere in the US, including T-Mobile! Yes, there are some exceptions and the TracFone family of services claim service in as many places, but a scan of various forums reveal complaints about their coverage as well.
Another group I haven't heard from are those who went with Sprint to gain unlimited data, but give up that service while roaming. At least their phone can make calls while roaming, something GoPhone and some AT&T MVNO users can't do. When I lost AT&T coverage right up the street from downtown Santa Fe, I gave thanks for the ability to roam on T-Mobile. Yes, T-Mobile prepaid is a better choice there. But, come on. Are you willing to give up coverage? Oh, you're saving money? How's that working out for you?
I know that Bill Radio is making a reluctant move from Verizon to AT&T with the idea that doubling what he pays to Verizon just isn't worth it. At least he found out T-Mobile won't cut it for him. Bill and I agreed long ago that AT&T's Ratings belong below those of Sprint and a handful of other smaller carriers. I believe there will come a day when he returns to admit his mistake. For years he has been claiming that AT&T's coverage ranks third, at best.
I understand that some of you east of the Mississippi wonder what I'm talking about. AT&T in the west suffers from a whole lot of no coverage that was improved with the acquisition of some of those Alltel properties. But if you switch to an AT&T prepaid plan, you're losing nearly the entire state of Nebraska, just to name one hole! Who is willing to do that in this technology-dependant world? Well, apparently anybody who is willing to give up their all-encompassing postpaid accounts that work almost everywhere in the US, including T-Mobile! Yes, there are some exceptions and the TracFone family of services claim service in as many places, but a scan of various forums reveal complaints about their coverage as well.
Another group I haven't heard from are those who went with Sprint to gain unlimited data, but give up that service while roaming. At least their phone can make calls while roaming, something GoPhone and some AT&T MVNO users can't do. When I lost AT&T coverage right up the street from downtown Santa Fe, I gave thanks for the ability to roam on T-Mobile. Yes, T-Mobile prepaid is a better choice there. But, come on. Are you willing to give up coverage? Oh, you're saving money? How's that working out for you?
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
US Cellular Sells Chicago to Sprint
US Cellular is one of our top-rated networks. One one hand it's sad to see them sell off spectrum and customers to Sprint in the Chicago to St. Louis territory, but it's also nice to see they're staying in the fight. It would have been great to see US Cellular become a nationwide network but they just don't have the financial resources.
There's a lot to not like about the deal, especially if you're one of the millions who get sent over to the Sprint tent. It could be the best thing to happen to the rest of the network. US Cellular has a chance to survive for a bit longer and service could continue to get better. US Cellular is still expanding 4G coverage and still treats customers better than the others. Where US Cellular is good, they're very, very good. In the affected areas they were not their best. I believe they're lucky to find a buyer since Sprint doesn't really need the spectrum.
This is similar to the recent deal with Plateau Wireless in New Mexico who sold off a piece of their network to Verizon Wireless. The idea is to create a better and stronger network...as long as it isn't one of the Big 4.
Those of us in the affected areas could do worse than Sprint. Then there's the folks in the US Cellular home office in Chicago...now what?
There's a lot to not like about the deal, especially if you're one of the millions who get sent over to the Sprint tent. It could be the best thing to happen to the rest of the network. US Cellular has a chance to survive for a bit longer and service could continue to get better. US Cellular is still expanding 4G coverage and still treats customers better than the others. Where US Cellular is good, they're very, very good. In the affected areas they were not their best. I believe they're lucky to find a buyer since Sprint doesn't really need the spectrum.
This is similar to the recent deal with Plateau Wireless in New Mexico who sold off a piece of their network to Verizon Wireless. The idea is to create a better and stronger network...as long as it isn't one of the Big 4.
Those of us in the affected areas could do worse than Sprint. Then there's the folks in the US Cellular home office in Chicago...now what?
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Nobody's Perfect
I have been trying to switch to a full-time Smart phone, but I need to do it without the monthly charges breaking the bank. It turns out, none of the top 4 carriers gets a perfect score with any Smart phone, mostly due to coverage dead spots. Verizon doesn't work at the rec center. AT&T drops out when researching at the library. Sprint and T-Mobile signals both disappear behind the hill in our own neighborhood. What's a guy to do?
In my case, Verizon wins at coverage but loses with too high of a price. I can't justify doubling my cost just to add data. T-Mobile and Sprint do very well with Data speeds but have dead spots for voice calls in critical locations (I was really pulling for T-Mobile!). AT&T sits right the middle with Goldilocks coverage and data (not too good...not too bad). The most important thing I learned is that data is a side interest and that voice calls are still most important.
The next step is deciding whether to work directly with AT&T or an AT&T re-seller. The price difference is Straight Talk at $45 per month vs. AT&T GoPhone at $65 a month. AT&T's data limit is 1Gb a month, Straight Talk's is more than double that, and there are almost 10 other alternatives that all use the AT&T network. Price is not necessarily the most important point, but guess which one I'm trying first?
In my case, Verizon wins at coverage but loses with too high of a price. I can't justify doubling my cost just to add data. T-Mobile and Sprint do very well with Data speeds but have dead spots for voice calls in critical locations (I was really pulling for T-Mobile!). AT&T sits right the middle with Goldilocks coverage and data (not too good...not too bad). The most important thing I learned is that data is a side interest and that voice calls are still most important.
The next step is deciding whether to work directly with AT&T or an AT&T re-seller. The price difference is Straight Talk at $45 per month vs. AT&T GoPhone at $65 a month. AT&T's data limit is 1Gb a month, Straight Talk's is more than double that, and there are almost 10 other alternatives that all use the AT&T network. Price is not necessarily the most important point, but guess which one I'm trying first?
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Plateau Wireless Lives On
Why can't they get this right? Today, Verizon Wireless announced that they have "completed their purchase of Plateau Wireless". The problem is only a PART of Plateau's network has been purchased and we were one of only a few news services that clarified the deal last Spring. Plateau still maintains a wireless network in their previous coverage areas in New Mexico and west Texas, and will be making considerable improvements to that GSM network.
I spoke with Plateau's CEO Tom Phelps today to make sure that the deal hadn't changed. He was also a bit miffed that most of the wireless press still can't get the story right. Mr. Phelps also added that they were using the money from the Verizon transaction to upgrade their wireless network to 4G and adding fiber to their wired network.
We hate to see a small wireless company give up, but, in this case, Plateau made a creative move that will improve the wireless experience for many rural New Mexico and Texas cellular customers, whether they end up with Verizon or with a new and improved Plateau.
I spoke with Plateau's CEO Tom Phelps today to make sure that the deal hadn't changed. He was also a bit miffed that most of the wireless press still can't get the story right. Mr. Phelps also added that they were using the money from the Verizon transaction to upgrade their wireless network to 4G and adding fiber to their wired network.
We hate to see a small wireless company give up, but, in this case, Plateau made a creative move that will improve the wireless experience for many rural New Mexico and Texas cellular customers, whether they end up with Verizon or with a new and improved Plateau.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Your Mexico Vacation
Each year we update our Mexico wireless information, this year it's just ahead of the winter travel season. We have so much new information we need list them:
Have a good trip and email us with your wireless experiences.
- MEXICO CELLULAR: This is our new entry point for all kinds of wireless information for Mexico travelers, including reviews on the Mexican wireless carriers.
- USING YOUR US PHONE IN MEXICO: Can you just take your current phone with you? Even more important: should you use that phone?
- WIRELESS CALLING INSTRUCTIONS: We've tried to dig up all the oddities you might encounter when trying to make a wireless call in Mexico, and listed Helpful Tips.
- ZOOMABLE MEXICO COVERAGE MAPS: We have added one of our most popular features of our Cellular Maps site for US carriers: Interactive Maps for Mexican carriers.
- DATA ROAMING DANGERS! There are horror stories of people just checking their email in Mexico and getting hundreds of dollars in data roaming charges!
Have a good trip and email us with your wireless experiences.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The Smart Phone Race
Go ahead, call it a 'Race to the Bottom'. Our search for the best value in a Smart Phone plan is really a quest for the cheapest Smart Phone plan. One of the decisions made early in the process was to go with a GSM phone primarily to take advantage of all the 'Bring Your Own Phone" opportunities. After playing with the bargain-priced T-Mobile $30 for 5Gb/100 Minutes plan, I knew I needed a lot more minutes when I eventually converted to one main phone.
I was convinced that the best route was the SIMple Mobile $40 plan. Then a friend told me about her weekend in rural Colorado. You know, one of those areas where there's only Verizon and AT&T coverage. Where would that leave a SIMple Mobile phone? Unusable. They do not claim any coverage off the T-Mobile network. So much for the $40 plan.
The next move up in price is Straight Talk at $45. They claim their GSM coverage is the same whether you put their SIM in an AT&T or T-Mobile phone, locked or unlocked. After reading posts from Straight Talk users, it appears the ones who use an AT&T phone get "throttled" after using more than 2 to 3Gb a month, while users with T-Mobile phones don't have similar complaints. We'll make our decision soon and report on the results.
As a disclaimer, I notice there are numerous ads for Straight Talk service across our web sites. We are not compensated for reporting on or leaning toward that service.
I was convinced that the best route was the SIMple Mobile $40 plan. Then a friend told me about her weekend in rural Colorado. You know, one of those areas where there's only Verizon and AT&T coverage. Where would that leave a SIMple Mobile phone? Unusable. They do not claim any coverage off the T-Mobile network. So much for the $40 plan.
The next move up in price is Straight Talk at $45. They claim their GSM coverage is the same whether you put their SIM in an AT&T or T-Mobile phone, locked or unlocked. After reading posts from Straight Talk users, it appears the ones who use an AT&T phone get "throttled" after using more than 2 to 3Gb a month, while users with T-Mobile phones don't have similar complaints. We'll make our decision soon and report on the results.
As a disclaimer, I notice there are numerous ads for Straight Talk service across our web sites. We are not compensated for reporting on or leaning toward that service.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
T-Mobile's Next Phase
Updated to reflect the MetroPCS/T-Mobile merger is confirmed.
Just after I decided to join T-Mobile for most, if not someday all, of our wireless needs, T-Mobile finalized a spectrum swap with Cricket Wireless. Then came the news that T-Mobile will merge with Metro PCS. This may be an easily-approved combination and we're trying to see how it feels from a consumer viewpoint. With incompatible CDMA vs. GSM technologies, there are a few hurdles to overcome. Both companies do have a long-term goal to embrace LTE technology. MetroPCS already uses VoIP so synergies are already possible. We must not overlook the incompatibilities of the networks. As with the purchase of Nextel by Sprint, the technology problems may never be solved without big losses of money or customers.
For the short term, there should be no need for wholesale handset conversion, it could evolve as users decide to change their needs. The bigger question is how much the loss of a competitor affects the overall market. MetroPCS is not available in many US markets, but it serves a number of the largest cities. This means a loss of competition in the nation's biggest cities but it increases the wireless capacity for the number four network, right where we need it most.
A larger T-Mobile may make it even more difficult for the next largest carrier, Cricket, to survive, forcing them toward another suitor, potentially Sprint. Sprint came within a whisker of buying MetroPCS. That means Sprint may still be in the market for the spectrum and customers that Cricket could bring to the table, and woop, another competitor disappears. Don't overlook the possibility that Cricket could also still join the T-Metro party.
A few years ago we were appalled at the idea of only 5 or 6 national wireless carriers, now we're desperate to keep 4! We thought the best idea was a MetroPCS-Cricket combination. Now we're cheerleading to keep T-Mobile and Sprint alive. It's our own form of Long-Term Evolution!
Just after I decided to join T-Mobile for most, if not someday all, of our wireless needs, T-Mobile finalized a spectrum swap with Cricket Wireless. Then came the news that T-Mobile will merge with Metro PCS. This may be an easily-approved combination and we're trying to see how it feels from a consumer viewpoint. With incompatible CDMA vs. GSM technologies, there are a few hurdles to overcome. Both companies do have a long-term goal to embrace LTE technology. MetroPCS already uses VoIP so synergies are already possible. We must not overlook the incompatibilities of the networks. As with the purchase of Nextel by Sprint, the technology problems may never be solved without big losses of money or customers.
For the short term, there should be no need for wholesale handset conversion, it could evolve as users decide to change their needs. The bigger question is how much the loss of a competitor affects the overall market. MetroPCS is not available in many US markets, but it serves a number of the largest cities. This means a loss of competition in the nation's biggest cities but it increases the wireless capacity for the number four network, right where we need it most.
A larger T-Mobile may make it even more difficult for the next largest carrier, Cricket, to survive, forcing them toward another suitor, potentially Sprint. Sprint came within a whisker of buying MetroPCS. That means Sprint may still be in the market for the spectrum and customers that Cricket could bring to the table, and woop, another competitor disappears. Don't overlook the possibility that Cricket could also still join the T-Metro party.
A few years ago we were appalled at the idea of only 5 or 6 national wireless carriers, now we're desperate to keep 4! We thought the best idea was a MetroPCS-Cricket combination. Now we're cheerleading to keep T-Mobile and Sprint alive. It's our own form of Long-Term Evolution!
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