Which Cell phone service in Dallas works better? (Houston, Atlanta: credit, construction)

[GordonGecko]

I currently use SPrint in Florida for cell phone and its EVDO connection is great here. How about Dallas? How is Sprint there in terms of connectivity, etc..?

[Willys]

Just yesterday I was reading of a major Verizon Wireless outage in the DFW, maybe 2 or 3 days ago, but it can happen to any carrier. I've used Sprint for years with no problems. DFW is fairly well 'wiredless' so the option is yours.

[Philip T]

I had great service with Sprint here in Dallas. Its downside is it drops off pretty hard if you travel into rural areas outside of the DFW 12 county area. Customers keep dragging me further and further out, so I switched to Verizon, as it claims a bigger footprint -- big mistake -- details here:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/busin...-lawsuits.html

I am now using T-mobile -- cheaper than Sprint or Verizon, but quality seems as good as Sprint, with a much larger footprint.

But overall, if I were you, I would stick with Sprint for at least a while here in Dallas if you do not have to travel too far afield, as it does have very good coverage in the areas it covers.

If you just stay very local to Dallas, maybe look at MetroPCS, (flat $30 to $40 a month) but dunno, as I have not tried them.

[fratermus]

I've used tmo, verizon, and sprint and all were fine.

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by Philip T

I had great service with Sprint here in Dallas. Its downside is it drops off pretty hard if you travel into rural areas outside of the DFW 12 county area. Customers keep dragging me further and further out, so I switched to Verizon, as it claims a bigger footprint -- big mistake -- details here:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/busin...-lawsuits.html

I am now using T-mobile -- cheaper than Sprint or Verizon, but quality seems as good as Sprint, with a much larger footprint.

But overall, if I were you, I would stick with Sprint for at least a while here in Dallas if you do not have to travel too far afield, as it does have very good coverage in the areas it covers.

If you just stay very local to Dallas, maybe look at MetroPCS, (flat $30 to $40 a month) but dunno, as I have not tried them.

I use metroPCS, they're fine. I was using Cingular before and I don't notice any difference in service, but you're right...you have to stay local for them.

[CallMeLaura]

I had Sprint until a couple of months ago. They covered everywhere I needed to go, except right in front of Texas Stadium, which dropped every time I drove past. They will credit your account for dropped calls - just call the service number and state Dropped Call at the prompt.

I stayed within DFW, unless I was traveling out of state. Coverage along the major highways is pretty good until you get to Oklahoma.

One thing I noticed was that periodically the phone wouldn't ring, but then I'd have a voicemail pop right up. Or I'd miss a call and the voicemail wouldn't show up for a couple of days. Not frequently, but enough to be annoying.

I now have AT&T and it sucks. Drops calls constantly.

[nativeDallasite]

Originally Posted by CallMeLaura

I had Sprint until a couple of months ago. They covered everywhere I needed to go, except right in front of Texas Stadium, which dropped every time I drove past. They will credit your account for dropped calls - just call the service number and state Dropped Call at the prompt.

I stayed within DFW, unless I was traveling out of state. Coverage along the major highways is pretty good until you get to Oklahoma.

One thing I noticed was that periodically the phone wouldn't ring, but then I'd have a voicemail pop right up. Or I'd miss a call and the voicemail wouldn't show up for a couple of days. Not frequently, but enough to be annoying.

I now have AT&T and it sucks. Drops calls constantly.

People always complain about metroPCS dropping calls but I've not had that problem at all. Then again, I rarely roam anywhere near the service boundaries. I do notice that my phone sometimes has trouble sending text messages, but I think that may be this building's massive communications equipment and satellite repeaters interfering with it.

[SAtoDallas]

I've posted this before. I currently work in the wireless industry engineering/construction and T-Mobile has the best footprint in the metro. They are currently upgrading the system for UMTS. Sprint works fine, ATT is overrated, Metro is about 6 years behind the others Verizon is good too. I guess it depends on what you want your phone to do and where you go with it. T-Mobile is the best though.

[Willys]

'You say T-Mobile has the best footprint in the metro', but what about around the state, primarily on the interstates or other metros? And nationwide, LA, NYC, DC, Miami, etc?

[SAtoDallas]

Originally Posted by Willys

'You say T-Mobile has the best footprint in the metro', but what about around the state, primarily on the interstates or other metros? And nationwide, LA, NYC, DC, Miami, etc?

Well the OP was inquiring about Dallas and this is the area I work in the most. I can tell you T-Mobile is doing the most agressive upgrades in CA,Miami,Atlanta,NYC,Dallas,Houston with the other markets to follow. ATT is spending a lot of money in Baltimore(and the Eastern Shore) right now but that doesn't always mean better.

Sprint and Clearwire have joined forces to provide a wireless broadband network but that is still in the works.