Switching cellphone providers (not)
Benita and I have been with T-Mobile for the last 4 years. We like T-Mobile. We have had a few issues with them just like you would in any relationship lasting over a few years. A couple of arguments with the Customer service but nothing major wanting us to switch though.
Lately I have been awed with the advent to faster mobile data services. T-mobile has lagged a bit in that area. Nowadays with Benita and I constantly on the move we sometimes feel that it would be quite cool to have a data plan and a phone which could be used for a few basic things such as get quick information from the internet and send out some quick emails.
I started looking into some plans and services.
- Verizon - great network reception, fast EVDO data service but on CDMA, hence uncool phones (unless you go for a Treo). But far more expensive than any other cellphone provider. Maybe justifiably so.
- Sprint - not so great reception, fast EVDO service again on CDMA, a-la Verizon but far cheaper. They also had the new Treo 700p that I like a lot.
- Cingular - GSM based service but I had heard of some major Customer service issues. And similar technology to T-Mobile. If I was going to stick to GSM, I’d rather stick with T-Mobile.
I narrowed my decision to sticking with T-Mobile who was willing to give us a small discount with a 2 year extension or Sprint with a 2 year contract with a much cheaper data plan and phones that would cost us twice as much as the ones that we liked in T-Mobile. No biggie.
I call up Sprint to have one simple question answered:
If I am on a family plan, then is my data plan shared as well or do I need to get a separate data plan on each phone?
I had to call them thrice, had to be put on hold twice and the third person answered my question without even flinching. I cannot believe that 2 reps could not answer a simple question such as this.
Sorry Sprint, you were looking great for a sec but I cannot deal with 2 years of crappy customer service.
T-Mobile is dead. Long live T-Mobile! We are getting 2 T-Mobile SDA’s for ourselves and hopefully 2 more years of decent customer service.