Cell Phone Service in Pittsburgh (Carlisle, Somerset: apartment, house, neighborhood)

[youngabe]

I've lived here all my life, but I'm just looking to get some input in regards to which cell provider seems to be the "favorite."

Anyhoo, I currently have Verizon and I'm ready to switch. I've noticed a steady decline in the four years I've had them. It almost seems as if they've gotten too large or something. I personally drop calls frequently and my service fluctuates often in major areas...such as the Parkway and Downtown! It's not the phone, I have some friends that are as picky as I am and noticing small things like this as well.

With that being said, I'm particularly interested to hear comments on Sprint in Greater Pittsburgh. AT&T won't work...I personally think their voice quality is laughable, but once again, my opinion. So...do any of you have Sprint service horror stories, praises, etc? So far, the general consensus is thumbs up on Sprint, but I'm interested to hear what this diverse crowd has to say!

[Blackbeauty212]

I'm another Verizon deflector - I had verizon since they we're Bell Atlantic Mobile and loved them back then...But last year Verizon just got a little bit tooo greedy and nickel and dime-ish for my taste...VERIZON CHARGES FOR EVERY SINGLE SERVICE on top of HIGH VOICE AND DATA PLANS...

Dont get me wrong their Network is Very Good and is Very Extensive.....make no mistake, but you do pay dearly for it.

I was talking to my friend that lives in Edgewood and let her know that was getting tired of Verizon wallet raping practices....I then hinted at going with ATT because i wanted the iPhone..(Later learned what a bullet i dodged) she informed me to avoid ATT if i was coming home to Pittsburgh often (she deflected from ATT right when the iphone 3G was released and went to Sprint)....She suggested Sprint to me and I was very squeemish about it because of the horror CS stories and I didnt think their network was on par with Verizon and I live in NYC and travel around the East Coast, Miami, LA, Chicago and Seattle so I needed something to work in all these places...

She promised me that Sprint customer service had tremendously improved since the new CEO came on...and for someone who uses all of the features of their phone (Voice, SMS, DATA, GPS) Sprint pricing was insanely refreshing from what i was used to with Verizon...I went in head first to and gave Sprint a shot for the 30-day trial...luckly i was coming home to Pittsburgh during that time so really had a chance to test travelling with Sprint...

My entry plan with Sprint was the Simply Everything for 99$ plan with a Blackberry Curve....My first full day with Sprint i found service Perfect in NYC work, Apartment, even some subway stations...and boy was the Internet fast on my curve..I would even say Sprint has faster data than Verizon at certain times of the day, but it was definitely just as good as Verizon in NYC...

Ok Check one - Works in the city I live and work in...Now was time for the Road test....taking Greyhound to Pittsburgh

I played with my Blackberry all through NJ and Eastern PA (Texting, Facebooking, Twitter, and using the Browser) Sprint service was SOLID clear into Carlisle PA now just outside Carlisle on the PA turnpike for about 2-3 miles I was roaming on Verizon (but Roam in the US is free with Sprint so i didnt care) once we got to Somerset/Breezewood area I was back into the 3G fast data coverage and this was rock solid all the way into Pittsburgh, no hickups....

At this point Very impress, never imagined I saved so much over Verizon, with essentially the same Service. I was home in Pittsburgh for about 4 days that weekend...and visiting family i was all over the Pittsburgh Metro...and the one place Sprint single was kinda weak was in my Grandmothers basement in Highland Park...but the above ground floors was perfect 5 bars. Needless to say NOT A BIG DEAL at all.

fast forward today....I am extremely happy I made the switch from Verizon the money i save and the services I get no-one can touch...I'm now using a blackberry tour and love it..

My current plan

is 69.99 a month with a 20% employee discount i pay a final bill of 57.xx and i get

Unlimited calls to Any Cell Phone regardless of who the other person is using - Its called Anytime Mobile

Unlimited 3G Data

Unlimited GPS

Unlimted Text

Unlimited Blackberry Email

Nights start at 7pm

450 anytime mins that's only used to call House and Business phones and before 7pm on Weekdays. Last month i used 50 total anytime mins. because everyone I call uses a Cell phone. And I also have a WIFI Card with Sprint for internet on my laptop and Ipod touch and again the Data is the fastest Ive ever seen wirelessly.

And since I've had Sprint I've travelled extensively across the USA - I admit I dont travel to No Man's Land in Montana...and Sprint was solid everywhere I've been even in Purto Rico...

Needless to say i dont regret my decision at all....I know alot of people think of Sprint from the past or are like me just to scared to leave Verizon, but trust me Sprint is just as good as Verizon in Pittsburgh..I even kept my Verizon open for the 30-day trial that i was with Sprint, i was so insecure about the move.

now Customer Service I am proud to say I dont need Sprint customer service much because my bill is pefect and I have everything i need in my plan, and my bill is the same every month, something I never had with Verizon...but I put up with it for so long because was brainwashed into think Verizon's the only thing that works.

In the Pittsburgh area i would say cell service is ranked like this part based on my use and part based on what others have told me:

1/2 Verizon/Sprint
3 ATT
4/5 T Mobile/Cricket

Hope this Helps!

[bbrian12]

i have verizon and it cost me 100$ a month for unlimited txt/pic, moble web, 450 anytime minutes, unlimited night and weekend, and the 3g coverage is in and out all the time and i make few calls as it is and it seems like at least a few of them get dropped. i been with verizon since i had a phone and im getting fed up with them but im stuck with them for 2 years cause i just got a new droid a couple months ago

[youngabe]

Thanks @Blackbeauty212, that was quite the extensive reply and it's very much appreciated! My concern was that I wouldn't have service in certain places that I do with Verizon, yada yada, but if roaming is free in the U.S., that's great. Also, everyone I have spoken to has given me a similar account to yours. I can safely say, there hasn't been one person that has said, "DON'T DO IT, STAY AWAY!"

@bbrian12 That's how I am, I'm locked into my contract with VZW, but I'm actually considering just paying the early termination fee. I really want to try something new because your experiences are exactly what I'm having. Spotty/jumpy 3G, dropped calls all over the place, etc.

[greg42]

You really gotta get local with it, I mean down to your neighborhood and such if you rely on your phone at home. They all have gaps here, and the gaps are in different areas. So you should see if you can get a fairly local perspective on Sprint if you want it to work at home, although you should have a 2-4 week trial period if you want (that can be a pain if you do end up returning and wanting to switch carriers, but at least it is an option). I had Sprint some years ago, and it was mostly fine for me then in most areas, and AFAIK it's only improved since then, but this isn't really much to go on.

ATT works fine for me here with my iPhone. I haven't had it not work anywhere where I've tried it. But as I said, every network still has its gaps. My boss lived in one place where Verizon didn't work, for example. Can you hear me now? Nope! ATT is pretty bad in building penetration downtown, it seems. Not a big problem for me as we're not in the center of a large building here at the office, but, you know, you have to judge by your own use. Just use that trial period to its full extent, try to go as many places as possible where you really need the phone to work, just to be sure.

I'm going on 4 or maybe 5 years of my personal direct experience only being with ATT phones and service.

[Mugatu]

^^^ Yeah, it can be trial and error to find a carrier that fits YOUR needs. I have Verizon because that is pretty much the only carrier in which I can get a signal in my bottom floor apt. A friend of mine with AT&T can't get a signal in my apt, and neither could Comcast and whatever network they use when they were doing a cable install there. I recently upgraded to a Droid and get good 3G service in there too. So I'm pretty much stuck with Verizon as long as I live in the same place.

[aveojohn]

Cricket, have had it for years, no problems and no minuets.

[nuwaver88]

Originally Posted by aveojohn

Cricket, have had it for years, no problems and no minuets.

I have AT&T. If I want to see a minuet, I can go to You Tube because I am allowed unlimited browsing with my plan. It's a shame Cricket does not allow this. It is a pleasure to see these age old dances. Here is what you are missing.YouTube - Menuet a Quatre)

[mmarango]

I'm in the same boat myself. I've had Verizon for 6 years and recently I've started having problems with very spotty coverage. I'll sometimes loose service or I go from full 3G to 1x with no data and that pretty much makes my smartphone useless. The Verizon CSRs are very nice but when it comes it issues like this all they've done is send me a replacement phone which I know is not the cause. I tried AT&T for month but got zero service at work so they're out of the equation. Looks like sprint is next.

[aveojohn]

Originally Posted by nuwaver88

I have AT&T. If I want to see a minuet, I can go to You Tube because I am allowed unlimited browsing with my plan. It's a shame Cricket does not allow this. It is a pleasure to see these age old dances. Here is what you are missing.
YouTube - Menuet a Quatre)

You know what I mean(minute). Anyway, I'm not interested in any of that crap, games,web or you tube, I just want to make calls and do a little texting. Cricket does this all for about 45 bucs a month.