Long story short…Sprint sucks. Their recent merger with Nextel didn’t help that.
The same provider’s service can vary widely from area to area. We had Verizon in the DC area and loved it, moved to New Orleans, and ended up switching to T-Mobile for their good customer service after getting hosed by Verizon customer service in the new area.
Then we moved back to the DC area, and decided to try Sprint since my husband’s company offers a deep discount with them. We got zero service at our house, crappy customer service, and returned to T-Mobile barely a week later. We still don’t have great service, but we’re living in a little hollow where I don’t think anybody has good service. And whenever the service goes significantly down, I can call them and complain and they compensate us with extra minutes since it’s been due to equipment work on their part every time.
I agree with the suggestion to have everyone bring their different service providers’ phones over to your place and see whose works best. Because asking the rest of us will do you no good whatsoever with service being so location-specific.
K. I’m still gonna recommend you a try T-Mobile, even though the reception may or may not be better. You have a grace period with them in which you can return your phone and pay only a prorated amount for the service if you’re unhappy with the service provided. I believe it’s 14 days, but you might want to check with your friend’s girlfriend. Also, she might be able to get an employee plan for you – the original reason I went with VoiceStream (T-Mobile’s old name) was that I got an employee rate with it.
I third the recommendation to get a bunch of people together and see who can use their phones in your house and studio, but keep in mind that reception quality is also dependent on the phone. I used to have a Sony Ericsson that couldn’t hold a signal anywhere, whereas my current Nokia N70 can be used almost everywhere. Nokias are well-known for their strong reception, though.
I also strongly agree with DrLoveGun says about Sprint. I have never met a happy Sprint user anywhere in my life. Two of my close friends ran screaming from Sprint as soon as their contracts were up because they despised it so utterly.
[Austin Powers voice] Don’t get mad, baby, get even. [/APV]
Johnny, check out this must-read MSNBC article on subleasing your mobile phone. It’s perfectly legit–and you don’t have to pay a big fee.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10338289/from/RL.4/
TMobile buyer’s remorse period is 14 days, 30 if you activate through Amazon or live in California. I can’t say I’d recommend ANY Motorola product, I’ve never heard so many complaints about so many different models from the same maker of any kind of product, EVER! I’ve been using various Samsung phones for the past few years and I’m really happy with them. Right now, the E335 is still available and it was free on the web site last week–it’s a really pretty phone and my daughter had her E315 replaced by an E335 and she’s loving it, much better reception and the camera rocks. I have an E105 right now and I’m holding out for Bluetooth and EDGE in my next phone. It’s gonna be spendy, I’m sure…
The coverage map you look at on the web site is excellent for estimating the coverage–I’ve had feedback from lots of people who say they regularly get coverage in areas where the map says none, it’s actually a bit pessimistic! In California the coverage is pretty much the same for Cingular and TMo, since TMo bought large parts of the shared network since Cingular had to divest after acquiring ATT. The phone you use will absolutely make a difference in the experience. Also, if you’re having issues with reception and the situation has degraded over time, it could be problems with the SIM card–when they go bad it’s like having a whole network’s worth of issues that follows you around wherever you go, static, dropped calls, distorted audio, lack of reception, etc. If the issue persists when you put your SIM into a different phone, and if the issue occurs in multiple locations in a ten mile radius it’s probably your SIM going tits up.