Cell phone. Carrier

theoldwizard1 wrote:
There are really only 3 "carriers", AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile/Sprint.

There are hundreds "Mobile Virtual Network Operators" who offer different rates and different levels of customer service.

I use Ting. Rides primarily on Sprint. Customer service is FANTASTIC ! Not the best data rates.

Also be very aware of what carrier has the most towers in the area of interest. Not all of the carries cover all areas equally well.

In my area, T-Mobile/Sprint service is non existent, they have no towers closer to me than 30 miles away and they do not sell service to my zipcode..

Verizon has one tower within 5 miles of me, but no towers and no coverage between my town and the next city 15 miles away from me so no service while I am driving.. Basically a no go for me for Verizon.

ATT surprisingly enough has three towers within 5 miles of me, has towers between my town and the next city and gives full coverage driving around my area..

No matter how glowing of a report you get from folks on this forum, unless the carrier has plenty of towers around you you will be disappointed with terrible to no service..

And as mentioned, many of the "off brand" resellers piggy back off of the name brand service towers and they will exclusively use only the towers from the main brand they contracted with..

Trac used to use ATT and Verizon depending on where you lived, now days they are exclusively Verizon only if you are a new subscriber or you replace a old Trac phone with a new unit..

Something else worth mentioning, the level of customer service when something goes wrong with you phone may not be as stellar with the low cost resellers.. I have been down that road also..