Best cell phone carrier for Wake Forest?? (Raleigh: new house, buy)

[magichappens]

Hi all,

I moved here about 2 months ago from the SF Bay Area and have been staying with my folks in Wake Forest until my house sells, at which point I will likely also buy in Wake Forest (it's so beautiful!).

My current cell phone provider is Verizon (no contract), and I've been told by numerous people that they have the best coverage in the Triangle but I gotta tell ya that no-one can 'hear me now'! My signal sucks in most places of the house, and even on many roads (dead zones on New Light Rd or else everything sounds like it's breaking up). Maybe this is because of the phone that I have (Samsung Alias) - I've heard some phones get better signals...

Frankly, I am DYING to get an iPhone when they are finally available again b/c I work in Internet Marketing and it would be fabulous to be able to access the web without a crippled version of a browser while out and about, but I'm very concerned that AT&T coverage will be even worse here in Wake Forest...

Wake Foresters - what cell phone company do you go with (and what particular phone do you use) and how has your signal been?

If I'm going to be stuck with Verizon I've been considering the enV2 since I'll be doing a lot of texting back to my friends in CA thanks to the time difference and I need a good QWERTY keyboard. Anyone have that phone? What do you think of it? Is there a better Verizon phone w/qwerty keyboard and a better internet experience?

Thanks for any help anyone can provide! I've been learning a lot about the area from this forum so thanks to everyone for making it a great resource!

[byebyenortheast]

I'm in Wake Forest. My contract w. Verizon expired last September. I didn't renew and was waiting for the 3G iPhone. Then my Treo died in May.

I re-upped with Verzion. I've had no issues with signal and coverage. I have a BB Curve and my wife has the ENV2. Both phones are great for phone, text, and email (BB). Internet is mediocre on the BB; however, phone coverage is my priority.

From my experience Verizon has the best coverage nationwide. I decided against AT&T due to issues in other areas of the country where I travel for business.

I've heard good things about Alltel in this area. There are a number of other previous threads on this topic. Search for them and you will find some good feedback about all the carriers.

[leighbhe]

I live off of purnell, and we used to have verizon, which worked fine at my house. It did drop on new light, and I haven't found a service that doesn't, unfortunately. Because of the type of new phone I wanted, we switched to at&t, which does not get service at my house. Seriously, the verizon coverage was much better in and around wake forest than the at&t service I have experienced. At&t definitely has no service on new light, or many of those back roads, it always drops on purnell between thompson mill and camp kanata. It also drops on stony hill when you approach purnell. It seems fine on the "other" side of wake forest (east side of capital) but verizon was fine on that side as well. So, I don't have much advice except to say I was less frustrated and could use my phone at my house with verizon.

Leigh

Originally Posted by magichappens

Hi all,

I moved here about 2 months ago from the SF Bay Area and have been staying with my folks in Wake Forest until my house sells, at which point I will likely also buy in Wake Forest (it's so beautiful!).

My current cell phone provider is Verizon (no contract), and I've been told by numerous people that they have the best coverage in the Triangle but I gotta tell ya that no-one can 'hear me now'! My signal sucks in most places of the house, and even on many roads (dead zones on New Light Rd or else everything sounds like it's breaking up). Maybe this is because of the phone that I have (Samsung Alias) - I've heard some phones get better signals...

Frankly, I am DYING to get an iPhone when they are finally available again b/c I work in Internet Marketing and it would be fabulous to be able to access the web without a crippled version of a browser while out and about, but I'm very concerned that AT&T coverage will be even worse here in Wake Forest...

Wake Foresters - what cell phone company do you go with (and what particular phone do you use) and how has your signal been?

If I'm going to be stuck with Verizon I've been considering the enV2 since I'll be doing a lot of texting back to my friends in CA thanks to the time difference and I need a good QWERTY keyboard. Anyone have that phone? What do you think of it? Is there a better Verizon phone w/qwerty keyboard and a better internet experience?

Thanks for any help anyone can provide! I've been learning a lot about the area from this forum so thanks to everyone for making it a great resource!

[cas965]

My friends that have Alltel love it, I can tell you that I have Sprint and my signal is absolutely terrible in Wake Forest, when I go to Raleigh it's fabulous. I just got back from visiting family in the SF area and I have the same problem with Sprint there, so I wouldn't go with Sprint for this area. Good luck

[Herd33]

I have At&t on a Razr phone and I haven't had any problems. I don't do a lot of talking while I'm driving, but anywhere I've needed coverage in the WF area, I've had it. I don't have a land line, I only use my cell, so getting calls on it are pretty important. Good luck :-)

[dinalkulp]

We have Verizon, and I thought it was just my phone. I had the Razor, and I was up for renewal for the new-every-2-deal beginning in July. They let me renew a few weeks early because of the "trouble with my phone." I got a new phone, an LG, and it has made some improvement but not a lot. I still have a very weak signal and literally have to move from room to room to find a place where it won't drop my call or break up. I am hoping that once we move into our new house at the end of August that reception will be better. If not, I have already asked Verizon if I can break my contract for that reason without paying a cancelation fee, and they said yes. Unfortunately it sounds like we won't have a much better choice if other carriers are doing the same thing. I don't get it because Verizon said they have 3 or 4 towers surrounding us.

[jeffs555]

I have had Alltel for many years, and have no problems with coverage anywhere in Wake Forest. I hope that won't change now that Alltel has been bought out by Verizon.

[kwalk65]

Alltel is the ONLY carrier I have had that I NEVER lost signal anywhere in Wake Forest or the Triangle area. I came here from California with Cingular and it had terrible coverage. I live off of New Light Road as well and I've always had a very strong signal with Alltel. We switched about 2 years ago to Alltel and I'm SO GLAD I did.

[mm34b]

Originally Posted by dinalkulp

We have Verizon, and I thought it was just my phone. I had the Razor, and I was up for renewal for the new-every-2-deal beginning in July. They let me renew a few weeks early because of the "trouble with my phone." I got a new phone, an LG, and it has made some improvement but not a lot. I still have a very weak signal and literally have to move from room to room to find a place where it won't drop my call or break up. I am hoping that once we move into our new house at the end of August that reception will be better. If not, I have already asked Verizon if I can break my contract for that reason without paying a cancelation fee, and they said yes. Unfortunately it sounds like we won't have a much better choice if other carriers are doing the same thing. I don't get it because Verizon said they have 3 or 4 towers surrounding us.

Which LG model are you using?

[dinalkulp]

Originally Posted by mm34b

Which LG model are you using?

It's the 5400.