Sprint Wireless Network in Brooklyn

whyfi

My contract with AT&T is finally coming to an end, and I'd planned on moving to a family plan on Verizon. Unfortunately, rumors of a costly tiered data plan are being spread - if true, I think that I'll look elsewhere, which is the purpose of the thread.

For the Sprint subscribers in the area, are you happy with reception, from both sound quality and dropped calls point of view? What about data speeds?

I used to be a Sprint customer a few years ago, but, for the life me, I can't remember any impressions of the experience... maybe this means that the experience was good and unremarkable or it could be that the fury over all of my AT&T dropped and missed calls has driven out all previous memories...

booklaw

I've been quite happy with Sprint over a number of years. Their customer service has recently become incredibly good. I've had no issues with sound quality, dropped calls or data speed.

Ironically, I'm thinking of leaving Sprint when the HP Pre 3 comes to Verizon and ATT. It has not yet been announced for Sprint, and I have my doubts. I've been using the original Palm Pre since it came out a couple of years ago, and I like it so much that I don't want to switch to Android, Blackberry or even iPhone.

But my only problem with Sprint's network is that it is CDMA rather than GSM, and so most Sprint phones cannot be used for vacations in Europe. Otherwise it's fine.

I live in a brownstone, and, as noted above, have no signal issues.. If you live in an apartment building there may be issues with signal penetration deep into the building. Sprint's frequency range penetrates less well than Verizon's... I do not know how well it compares to ATT's.

armchair_warrior

get a used something like this or phones

http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?rt=nc&LH_ItemCondition=12&_nkw=sprint 4g hotspot&_fln=1&_ssov=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282

try it out for a month and quit. if you buy your own equipment you don't have to sign 2 year contract. talk to them to make sure its still like this, who knows what their plans are these days.

as you read my other review , i have no complaints about them so far.

whyfi

@booklaw - Windows Phone 7 for the win, seriously.

If you haven't heard the VZW rumor going 'round, they're saying that $30 for 2GB is going to be their most affordable plan... right now, it's $30 for unlimited data. Because I'm almost always near a Wi-Fi network that's accessible, I was hoping for a smaller plan - I typically use less than 200 MB/month.

armchair_warrior

if you go over you gonna get raped!!! getting raped isn't fun .

if youre just using net for your thing you could always get a usb stick its cheaper service and real unlimited.

stacey

WhyFi we have the Verizon family plan and pay only 30 for unlimited text and wifi. I gave up my home phone because I have really good service with the cells. I think there is a 9.99 choice for something like 1 MB or smaller. I also like that I can use my phone as a hot spot for my ipad.

the psycho-ologist

Just be very careful that you don't live:

1.On the first floor or in a basement,

2. In an old building with very thick lead/ or old insulation

3. Near a police station, a fire station, or in an industrial/commercial zone.

I switched to Verizon after having A LOT of dropped calls, and crossed wires. In my apartment, I never had service unless I was on "roaming" which turned out to be Verizon. I was charged through the nose for that too. I went over my "roaming minutes" all the time. Before you switch, if you have a friend on the service, invite them over and see if they can hold a conversation on their cell phone in your apartment, while they walk from room to room. Have them try to make calls, and also try to keep a conversation with you on their cell phone, while they walk around.

booklaw

That is a truly excellent idea!

In fact, I'll make you a no-strings offer... If you'd like, I'll bring my Sprint smartphone to your apartment and let you use it to make calls, surf the web, etc. for a half- hour or so. PM me if you're interested.

armchair_warrior

We were hoping it wouldn't happen, but it appears that Verizon CFO Fran Shammo's summer foreboding of his company's dreaded tiered data plans could be right on the money. Droid-Life is reporting the magic date will be July 7 and has provided supposed pricing details: data plans without tethering would start at $30 for 2GB, while 5GB and 10GB will cost $50 and $80 respectively. Tethering will cost an extra $20 and adds another 2GB to the pool. There's said to be no notable separation between 3G and 4G -- you'd be billed exactly the same whether you're packing a Droid X2 or a Droid Charge. These new plans wouldn't affect anyone currently under contract, though it's still unknown if customers can hang onto them when it's time to renew. While this remains filed in the "grain of salt" cabinet for now, it may be a good time to at least start checking out your next phone.

Update: We just received an internal memo sent around today to select Verizon Wireless employees, and the verbiage is impossible to deny. These things are coming, and soon. Read it in full after the break.

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/20/verizon-tiered-data-plans-coming-july-7-starting-at-30/

whyfi

Bah - hand-wringing at its worst. My contract is up before the rumored VZW data plan revision, so I should be able to be grandfathered in on an unlimited, even though I don't use that much. Looking at Sprint, I didn't like the one and only WP7 phone that they have and I don't know that I have the patience to wait for the next round before ditching AT&T. The consolation, I guess, is that with a family plan on VZW, we'd be coming out ahead vs. wife on VZW and me on Sprint... so I think that that's the way that I'm going to go...

Maybe.

sandcastler

VoLTE (higher-quality voice calls) is IMHO the most exciting upcoming development in the technology of mobile phones. Yeah, it is so simple. But seriously it is the ONE thing that will get me to cut my land line, because I hate the current quality of mobile phone voice calls, just can’t enjoy a conversation like that. I need to hear the nuances of the human voice, and if VoLTE will do that, then I will want it.

Just wondering whether others find it as compelling.

I think this is related to OP, since VoLTE is projected to start on Verizon next year or something?

whyfi

Call quality is important to a certain point, after that, it's not as much of a factor for me. I'm not such a chatty Cathy on the phone, though - it's rare for me to exceed 250 minutes any given month.

As an update, I ordered the phone today - I decided on the HTC Trophy on Verizon.