Why, oh why, AT&T?

[carsly]

I hate being stuck with AT&T for the iPhone. Call quality is poor, signals drop out on a whim, coverage is non-existent in many places (major cities and burbs, go figure) and customer "service" is anything but. To top it off, I get to pay a king's ransom everything month for their service.

I miss T-mobile and my $4.99 all you can eat data, calls that never dropped out during four years of use (I made it my first three hours before my first dropout on AT&T), reliable coverage and fantastic customer service.

If anyone at AT&T is wondering why there are so many unlocked iphones out there you don't have to look very far. Here's to the new iPhone...unlocked for all!

 

[caseychan]

Personally, I prefer AT&T over T-Mobile. The thing with these service providers are that it really is an independent experience unique to each user. T-Mobile is very unreliable around my area and AT&T has been rock solid. Also, many of my contacts are AT&T which means, free mobile to mobile.

Plus, with the iPhone 3G coming out and T-Mobile currently not offering 3G services, well it makes it a no brainer for me. Do I wish I had the choice for T-Mobile? Absolutely. Would I ever go back? Doubtful.

What I do miss about T-Mobile though is there GREAT customer service. I used to think it was a joke that customer service can actually be good, until I started calling T-Mobile. Man are they nice!

 

[carsly]

Agreed on the T-Mo customer service, best of any carrier (wireless or wireline) bar none. It is one of the key reasons that I've stayed with them for 2 of my 3 lines (the third I moved to AT&T for my iPhone) for almost five years now.

As for 3G, T-Mo's nationwide buildout is well underway and reportedly the network is already up and running in NYC. Here is hoping that I can get an unlocked iphone 3G that will run on T-Mo.

 

[bripat22]

why, oh, why, AT&T?

After hearing horror stories about AT&T, I'm pleased to say that I have had no problems in 2 years-great call quality and excellent customer service. My brief stint with T-Mobile was NOT a happy one

 

[xtreker15]

I have Verizon and I hope they seriously consider killing themselves for not picking up the iPhone.

 

[Ryvannis]

I have Verizon and I hope they seriously consider killing themselves for not picking up the iPhone.

Verizon received the offer first for the iPhone and they turned it down, there was rumor that they are going to take full advantage of the Android.

 

[f1_race_fan]

Verizon did drop the ball, but I think Apple wanted a global presence with GSM.

 

[kevinbell]

never had problems with AT&T. Sure sometimes you get a know-nothing CSR on the phone, but the right prodding you can get to a senior CSR that than fix the issues. With the handful of issues over the years, I just take the phone to an AT&T store and let them call and deal with CSR.

 

[CoachFreak]

Personally, I prefer AT&T over T-Mobile. The thing with these service providers are that it really is an independent experience unique to each user. T-Mobile is very unreliable around my area and AT&T has been rock solid. Also, many of my contacts are AT&T which means, free mobile to mobile.

Plus, with the iPhone 3G coming out and T-Mobile currently not offering 3G services, well it makes it a no brainer for me. Do I wish I had the choice for T-Mobile? Absolutely. Would I ever go back? Doubtful.

What I do miss about T-Mobile though is there GREAT customer service. I used to think it was a joke that customer service can actually be good, until I started calling T-Mobile. Man are they nice!

ITA! Everyone I know (except a slim few) have AT&T so most of my calls are free.

When I had Verizon I hardly dropped a call in 8 years, but they passed on the iPhone

 

[SLVR6]

T-mobile certainly varies from city to city. They will have 3G coming soon, but not on the same frequencies as Att unfortunately.

 

[ronbo2000]

....
When I had Verizon I hardly dropped a call in 8 years, but they passed on the iPhone

How may more years long before the iPhone monopoly expires?

 

[caseychan]

I stand corrected.

I now wish that the iPhone was not exclusively tied to AT&T. Competition lowers prices, when you are locked into AT&T they can charge WHATEVER they want for data.

 

[volsfan0911]

I had VZW - coverage was generally very good, customer service sucked and they cripple GPS on every phone across the board to force you into their VZNavigator plan. Plus, they're expensive. I have heard nothing but good things about T-mob but I want/need 3G (which they're just now rolling out) and if you're outside a major market, some others in my company have reported you're SOL. Switched to ATT 8 months ago and have been pleasantly surprised. I was expecting horrors especially based on friend's past experiences with crap customer service, horrible reception, signal strength, etc. Thankfully my experience has been overwhelmingly positive so far. They're not as cheap as TMob but coverage has been excellent for me, I can skip Telenav if I want to and still use Google maps and/or Yahoo! for navigation (I choose to use TeleNav simply because it's an excellent product, works great on my Blackberry and I get a cell allowance so I'm not paying for it anyway). I hope this continues when I get the 3G iPhone. I also sent an email asking if I was eligible for an upgrade this July even though that only puts me 9 months in my 2 year contract. They answered "yes" although you'll have to sign a new 2 year contract to get the subsidized pricing. Which I can live with personally.

 

[jmeiners]

Verizon received the offer first for the iPhone and they turned it down, there was rumor that they are going to take full advantage of the Android.

What is "the Android"

 

[anon(1217668)]

What is "the Android"

Google's Andriod- Android

 

[Dionte]

I'm leaving sprint, I have been with them for the past ten years, service has been fine, I am paying 67 bucks a month for 400 anytime minutes and unilmited everything else, including text messages and gps, mintues starting at 7 pm. Its gonna hurt paying at&t 25 bucks more and getting less features but I really really want an iphone.

 

[LouCap]

ATT is WAY over priced

A little math...

ATT Family Plan...two Blackjacks sharing 1400 minutes...PDA data plan...$224+/month...same plan required for iPhone (if you are doing family w/ that much talk time)

Sprint...two Instincts sharing 1500 minutes...unlimited data...$129/month.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...is ATT that much better that they're worth an extra $1200/year for the same services? I love the iPhone too, but again, for an extra $1200/year?

 

[U-CREATE-ITDOTCOM]

Att Vs Sprint

A little math...

ATT Family Plan...two Blackjacks sharing 1400 minutes...PDA data plan...$224+/month...same plan required for iPhone (if you are doing family w/ that much talk time)

Sprint...two Instincts sharing 1500 minutes...unlimited data...$129/month.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...is ATT that much better that they're worth an extra $1200/year for the same services? I love the iPhone too, but again, for an extra $1200/year?

I agree, I really liked Nextel/Sprint for about 7 or 8 years now. This week, I to the 3G jump to AT&T and already not too happy with their service dropping. AND almost double the cost for my Family Plan.

 

[cjvitek]

A little math...

ATT Family Plan...two Blackjacks sharing 1400 minutes...PDA data plan...$224+/month...same plan required for iPhone (if you are doing family w/ that much talk time)

Sprint...two Instincts sharing 1500 minutes...unlimited data...$129/month.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...is ATT that much better that they're worth an extra $1200/year for the same services? I love the iPhone too, but again, for an extra $1200/year?

Not sure where you get those numbers.

The ATT family plan with 1400 minutes is $90 a month.

Two iPhones will be an additional $60 for data. Add unlimited texting for $30, and you have $180. Not near the $224 you said. Is it more than the Sprint plan? Yes, but not $1200 a year!

And of course, you are ignoring coverage. In my experience (and others may differ), but ATT has far better coverage than Sprint. Plus, they have rollover to save your unused minutes.

And of course, you can pick plans that are cheaper. If you go to a 700 minutes plan, they are both the same price ($70). I don't know how much it costs to add a Data package to spring, but obviously for ATT it would be $60 for the two lines. Unlimited texting for Spring is $20 per line, while with ATT it is $30 for the family plan. So right there, you are $10 cheaper!

I am not an ATT fan-boy, but the information provided should be correct.

Chris

 

[trevor#IM]

At&t service is about the same as Verizon in my area. Out in the country though, Verizon has better coverage. But that was a sacrifice I had to make for iPhone.

One thing that I don't like are At&t text plans.
$5 -200
$15 - 1500
$20 - Unlimited

WTH is that? They are banking on people going for the unlimited. Why no $10 plan with like 1000? I was hoping they were like Verizon with unlimited 'in' but they aren't. With Verizon I had unlimited in and 1500 out for $15. That would have been great because almost everyone I know has At&t so it would have been like unlimited. I probably only need 200 for Verizon... Why doesn't At&t have unlimited to other At&t customers like Verizon???