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Old 12-23-2011, 01:39 PM
pfc pfc started this thread
 
37 posts, read 54,641 times
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Hi,

I will be living in Oak Park and working in Downers Grove and am trying to determine which cellular provider has the best signal in these areas. I am currently an AT&T customer and while staying for a few days in both places noticed that often times I had no coverage at all. So basically I am leaning towards either Verizon or Sprint, but I would like to hear the opinion of people who are currently in the area.

Thanks.
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Old 12-23-2011, 01:58 PM
 
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In the Chicago suburbs the coverage that Verizon has is generally inferior to ATT. The legacy of Bell Labs & Lucent in the region meant LOTS more ATT personal to recommends site to the cell planners.

Sprint has different technology and together with their 4G / WiMAX coverage is pretty good IF YOU PAY THE UPCHARGE...
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Old 12-23-2011, 02:41 PM
 
Location: Oak Park, IL
5,525 posts, read 13,948,017 times
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My wife has verizon and I have AT&T. AT&T is pretty bad in Oak Park. Supposedly they're working on it.
AT&T plans to improve wireless service in Oak Park | News | OakPark.com
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Old 12-23-2011, 06:09 PM
 
Location: Not where you ever lived
11,535 posts, read 30,259,477 times
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Verizaon and Sprint phones using CMDA technology roam on the same towers. Sprint 4G phones seem to offer excellent 4G/3G coverage in most areas. I have an old friend who is a LD hauler tha travels nationwide. He has the 4G from Sprint and loves it because he can watch the Cubs and Bears games and movies. I have a Sprint and a Verizon phone. I had AT&T and T-Mobile in the past. What I learned is twofold

First AT&T serves larger citiies and state government cities best. It has never served areas outside of the core area very well. It still doesn't which is why Verizon and Sprint are popular in these places. Secondly, the quality of the phone makes a bigger difference than the money you pay for the service. Free phone are free because they have limited range. I live in a very rural area. If I want excellent coverage I buy a high dollar phone to get it. For instance I never had any trouble with either phone on my trip between St. Louis and Tulsa on I-44 except in a small town in MO that was wired for AT&T coverage; it had a big college; I used my cousin's phone . My cousin had zero coverage in every area except St.Louis and Tulsa on her AT&T phone. AT&T owned MO and OK copper lines; there is little if no land line competition there.

However US Cellular is an IL company with a ton of towers in Illinois. I think they give a 30-day return policy if it does not work in your area. You must have ROAMING enabled on any phone you buy. I think the price you pay for services these days genreally includes roaming.

I do have friends who travel throughout the US regularly.. They like the Walmart no contract phones. If it does not work you can return it with no penalty. AT&T follows the dollar and Oak Park has it. If you plan to use your phone to stream you may want to consider 4G.

Last edited by linicx; 12-23-2011 at 06:45 PM..
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Old 12-24-2011, 08:36 AM
 
1,002 posts, read 1,785,625 times
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US Cellular works well in Oak Park. I know a lot of people that switched from AT&T to USC, and they've all been pretty happy. Don't know about Verizon or Sprint.
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Old 12-24-2011, 03:07 PM
 
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I've lived in Oak Park for 7+ years and have had Verizon as my carrier the whole time. I rely on my cell phone exclusively, no land line. I have never had a problem with the service at all and am certainly planning on renewing my contract with them in the future.

Comcast, there's another story...
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