Cingular is "firing" me - who should I switch too.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

According to Cingular I am absuing their free roaming, despite their claim of coverage I am apprently almost always roaming, so they are "firing" me as a customer.

Interesting seeing as they just gave me a brand new phone, that they apprently don't want back.

Does anyone in Metro Los Angeles have any thoughts on who I should switch too? T-Mobile would seem to be the best alternative as according to Cingular I was using them all along. I am a little suspicious of coverage maps because they don't seem very accurate. My boss is in a stupid battle with Verizon who seems incapable of fixing a constant billing problem, so I am a little suspicious of them, although their international roaming packages look pretty good.

I have been on Cingular since it was AT&T for the first time, it isn't a subject I have given much thought.

[wildhorses]

1. t-mobile or maybe verizon

dunno 'bout the west coast

but, around here those are the best choices, good luck

[LeftyMom]

2. My Dad's had Verizon for more buyout/name changes than I care to count

since they sold car phones, if you remember those. He had a bag phone though, which was exciting new technology. Anyhow, they take pretty good care of him, and when my sister's phone (a pricey pink Motorola RAZR) flipped the fuck out last night they overnighted her another no questions asked. I don't have service with them because I need a really great long distance deal, otherwise I'd go with them too.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

5. I will give them a serious look,

I never got the impression by boss was unhappy with the service, just their inability to fix a billing problem month after month.

[Katina]

3. unfortunately

on the west coast, Cingular/AT&T has the best coverage. On the east coast it's Verizon wireless. Is it possible you need to upgrade your plan so you don't have roaming? Maybe your new phone has wider capabilities. Call them and discuss the situation.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

4. it didn't go very well,

I couldn't get past the call center redneck who seemed to delight in being unhelpful, I went to a Cingular store and the manager there said the decision is made by a computer and little could be done that would be worth my effort. He told me off the record "you don't have to pay the termination penalty, put your phone on ebay, take the $200 you will get for it and run."

Unfortunately when roaming is turned off from the phone, the signal in my house and office are pretty poor. Also off the record the manager told me the problem is because Cingular is letting the towers they bought from AT&T fall into disrepair so that is why after many years I am roaming where I wasn't before.

[Katina]

6. whoa that's not good

I'm on the east coast and had AT&T wireless here and it was terrible, no service dropped calls. I then tried Sprint, and while it was better, the rest of my family had Verizon. So now I've got verizon because you get the unlimited calling to other verizon customers and while it's not perfect, it's the best one I've had to date.
Good luck.

[Kali]

7. I have Alltel and am pretty satisfied

They all suck in a lot of ways, but they are pretty up-front about info/charges etc. (Don't know if it is available in your area, although I can call LA free hah)

[petronius]

8. I've been really happy with Verizon

In this part of the state they seem to have better coverage/signal strength than the others, and the package we have gives us free long distance...

[Cobalt-60]

9. Pay as you go is better

Contracts suck.
I took two years of abuse from Cingular over roaming. I was always roaming in my home area.
I complained and they offered to move my home area so all calls would be long distance too.
I was just stuck with it. They didn't fire me as they could charge extortionate rates for every call.
Once I finally shed them I went to Virgin Mobile.
I use the phone but sparingly so the higher per minute rate is not a problem.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

11. which phone are you using?

I have never seen any of the phones on their website before,

[LSK]

17. I use Virgin Mobile

It works well if you dont spend all day talking on the phone. If you use a lot of minutes, it might be more costly.

[Cobalt-60]

19. Kyocera K-9

The bottom of the line, bought on sale.
It does serve me well - when I remember to top up, that is.

[Miss_Strawberry]

10. t-mobile!

My boyfriend has T-Mobile which is pretty reliable and the right price. He does lose calls sometimes so if you have the kind of situation that would warrant some immediacy it is a little iffy. This is by no means common though and has improved a lot over the years.

Verizon is terribly expensive but their network is very vast and I never lose calls. However, I feel like I made a deal with the devil to get a new phone. I am def. going to switch to T-Mobile once my two-years is up.

[Reverend_Smitty]

12. I've had Verizon for several years now...

I signed up with them after being fed up with T-Mobile, (I couldn't get a freakin signal in midtown Manhattan...that was the final straw!) but who knows their service might have improved in the last 4 years. I'm almost never roaming with Verizon but then again I'm on the east coast

[Firepit 462]

13. You have a chance to be free of the cell phone !!!!!!!

Being "fired" from Cingular offers you the chance to run laughing and giggling down the open road of cell phone freedom!!!

Don't look back at the rest of us cell phone addicted junkies, throw the cell away and remember how free a day was when you weren't always reachable via cell phone!

Live for the rest of us who are doomed to row the cell phone slave ship for the rest of time!

[Shakespeare]

14. I'm in LA, and just switched from Cingular to T-Mobile.

And I love it; better rates, the "5 faves" thing is better than the mobile-to-mobile free calls (for me) because it can be used for landlines, too, and the coverage is MARKEDLY improved.

I fucking hate Cingular.

[Phillycat]

15. I have T Mobile and I like it.

I also don't have a landline so my cell has to do everything for me, and I've been pleased so far.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. How about Working Assets?

http://www.workingassetswireless.com/

[Javaman]

18. T-mobile has great service and they are also blue. nt