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[serious] looking for opinions on cellular networks and switching.


Murse

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So I'm starting to get really fed up with AT&Ts shenanigans. Now I'm being throttled to .5 (yes 0.5) megabit up and download speeds once I hit 5gb. I'm on the grandfathered unlimited data plan, I don't tether, and I'm seeing my average monthly data usage to be around 10gb. Sometimes as high as 18gb and as low 8gb. I'm also paying about $90 a month for my plan, minutes, text, iPhone data.

 

I've talked with Verizon to see what they can offer me and it's going to be about $140 a month with a 10gb data plan.

 

T-Mobile will be $70 per month if I bring my iPhone 5 with me. And something like another $15 per month if I upgrade to the 5s. And the plan is their unlimited everything with no throttling.

 

If I switch to a tiered plan with AT&T it will be $150.

 

I'm out of contract and my iPhone has been unlocked by AT&T, so there won't be any problems with switching.

 

T-Moblie almost sounds to good to be true. And my concern is with speeds. I'm in the Groveport and Canal Winchester most of the time and will be transferring to OSU this next semester. So if anyone has any experience with T-Moblie is these areas would be a bonus.

 

Another point is that now that I'm using my iPad air more, my data usage should decrease.

 

So my question is basically what are people's opinions on these networks and what would you do in this situation? Stay with AT&T and limit myself on cellular data usage (both in plan data and time using it) or switch to another carrier?

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I talked with Verizon today, and they offer a 15% discount as well. I'm also in the hunt for a new service provider. I'm with sprint now, and the service isn't that great. I'll most likely be going with Verizon. It sucks about the data thing, that's how they get you. I'd just suggest only being online if you have wifi to limit your usage.
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I recently switched from Sprint to T-Mobile. I work in Grove City just off Stringtown and have a solid LTE connection, and working at night I pull 30 megabit, but I haven't tested it here during the day. Other places I'm usually around 23 - 25 megabit during daytime hours on LTE.

 

They have done a very good job of lighting up LTE in places that already had HSPA/HPSA+. The problem is that now there's really nothing between LTE and Edge (2g) which is very slow, but still on par with the best Sprint could give me. I only have Edge at my house in Johnstown, but I don't really care because I just jump on wifi.

 

I think very highly of T-Mo, but they REALLY need to start building towers away from the cities. I roam most of the drive to my parent's in south east Ohio.

 

Something to keep in mind is that they throttle on an as-needed basis. I believe post-paid plans with the lowest caps get priority, down the line through post-paid, then pre-paid with lowest caps, and the unlimited pre-paid plans get lowest priority. So if you get that plan and are on a congested tower, your speeds will suffer first. But as soon as the congestion is gone, you are right back to full speed. Considering I've yet to see under 20 megabit on LTE, which is faster than my home connection, I have no problem with this. I started off with the unlimited plan but noticed I wasn't even hitting 2 gb in a month so I went to the 2.5 gb plan. The other nice thing with T-Mo is that if you do hit your cap, you just get throttled to Edge speed, rather than having to pay more to keep going.

 

You really can't go wrong with T-Mo so long as you stick to their service area. If you are out in rural areas a lot, you will probably want to go with Verizon.

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Also, you could do what I did and give them a test drive. Order a SIM card off their website and just pre pay for a month, see how it works for you. I'm not sure if the iPhones from ATT have the correct LTE radio installed, so you may be stuck with HSPA+, which honestly is still pretty good.

 

One thing that people don't like about them is that they can't get discounted phones every two years. I personally am fine with having a lower bill, and buying whatever phone I want whenever I want. I got a Nexus 4 right after the price dropped to blow them out, I'll run it until I get tired of it and then just order whatever the current Nexus device is, and pay cash and not get locked into another stupid contract.

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I don't know why, but I'm surprised to see so many people liking T-mobile so far. Copperhead I didn't think about the paying for a month and trying it out, that's a great idea. As far as service coverage goes, the farthest away from Columbus is my in-laws down in Carroll, where they just AT&T LTE coverage. I hope T-Mobile is down there.

 

Also I don't mind not having a subsidized phone because it gives me the freedom to change carriers or phones when ever. So far I think I've paid for 2 or 3 of my iPhones outright and used either my upgrade or my wife's to get the new one every year. With T-Mobile you basically finance it by paying a monthly amount on top of your bill.

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I just switched to T-Mobile as well and pull close to 40MB down and 15MB up on LTE, which covers most of Columbus. However, you'll see lots of 3G/4G outside of major cities and 2G in rural areas. I am very happy with their service and customer service after switching from Verizon after eight years.

 

Also, they do offer a 15% military discount.

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My contract is up in January with VZW and I am seriously considering going with straight talk. For $45 a month you get unlimited everything and they piggy back off of T-Mobile/VZW towers depending on what phone you have. I think its only 3G service, but for the price its hard to justify going with anyone else for me.
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I've said it a million times on here. You can't beat T-Mobile when it comes to price, customer service and speed. Only time I wouldn't recommend them is if you live out in rural areas.

 

I got a Nexus 4 right after the price dropped to blow them out, I'll run it until I get tired of it and then just order whatever the current Nexus device is, and pay cash and not get locked into another stupid contract.

 

That's all I've been doing ever since the Nexus One. Buy a Nexus from Google and not get locked into a contract.

 

FYI, check out this ROM if you haven't yet. I run it along with an LTE radio and it's awesome. It's the Nexus 5 port.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2507021

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I've said it a million times on here. You can't beat T-Mobile when it comes to price, customer service and speed. Only time I wouldn't recommend them is if you live out in rural areas.

 

Ya, I really wish they had coverage where I work. I very likely would have went with them last time and gotten a Nexus.

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T-Mo just pushed 4.4 to my Nexus 4 last night. It's pretty sweet so far.

 

Yeah, unfortunately it didn't come with the Google Experience Launcher (GEL) that the N5 got, or the transparent navigation and notification bars. Luckily you can install the GEL if you want.

 

http://www.mediafire.com/download/3ina0fd8fwki5fo/GoogleHome.apk

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My contract is up in January with VZW and I am seriously considering going with straight talk. For $45 a month you get unlimited everything and they piggy back off of T-Mobile/VZW towers depending on what phone you have. I think its only 3G service, but for the price its hard to justify going with anyone else for me.

 

Straight Talk throttles after 2.5 gigs a month, otherwise I would have suggested it already.

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I went to T moble a few months back and have NO differance in service at all and the customer service is MILES ahead of Verizon. I couldn't be happier

 

Waiting for BC to chime in. :lol:

 

I think very highly of T-Mo, but they REALLY need to start building towers away from the cities. I roam most of the drive to my parent's in south east Ohio.

 

You really can't go wrong with T-Mo so long as you stick to their service area. If you are out in rural areas a lot, you will probably want to go with Verizon.

 

This.

 

I didn't read a Damn thing in this thread but stay away from Sprint

 

This.

 

My contract is up in January with VZW and I am seriously considering going with straight talk. For $45 a month you get unlimited everything and they piggy back off of T-Mobile/VZW towers depending on what phone you have. I think its only 3G service, but for the price its hard to justify going with anyone else for me.

 

I'm with straight talk and it's as good as my Verizon was and using the same network. I don't use it a lot though. $45/mo unlimited everything.

 

I pay ~$45 per month for VZW. Find a fam member and do a fam plan.

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yeah i didnt even consider sprint, my wife had it before we were married and all i remember is her not having service anywhere. granted that was over 8 years ago and im sure coverage is better now.

 

i am also staying with the iphone so i wasnt considering a network that didnt offer it.

 

based on the positive response to t-mobile, im going to look into buying a prepaid sim for a month and see how coverage is. if its good enough ill be switching.

 

thank you everyone for your responses. it makes me more comfortable with switching when everyone has a positive review of their service.

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My contract is up in January with VZW and I am seriously considering going with straight talk. For $45 a month you get unlimited everything and they piggy back off of T-Mobile/VZW towers depending on what phone you have. I think its only 3G service, but for the price its hard to justify going with anyone else for me.

 

Just so you know after 2 gigs data it drops to 2g.

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