Phone service in SA, for both regular & cell? (Houston: credit report, month to)

[saku39]

My location would be mostly for inside of 1604, but outside 410, on the northwest and northeast side.

Who's the best for cell service?

Who's the best for regular phone service?

Who's the cheapest?

Who's the most expensive?

Who should be completely avoided like the plague?

Thanks in advance

[PopsGuysRule]

Originally Posted by saku39

To the top for some answers.

My thought is that, because phone plans, both land line and cell can differ sooooo widely based on so many factors, people haven't given any input.

I mean, goodness, even one provider can vary drastically depending on so many factors about your account, such as, how many phones? which features (out of TONS these days)? etc etc etc....

You see what I mean? Probably visiting the websites of some of the various providers will allow you to quickly gather some info to help you make a choice.

I don't think anyone is ignoring you - really; I just think that the possibilities are vast and so, it's a search you need to do on your own, because you know your needs and preferences..... Good luck in your search!!! (I know, I hate moving into new places, and I've done it so many times in my life!!!)

[ShaneSA]

Everyone has different needs and wants on the land line and cell phone.
I have no land line anymore. It's all cell. The cell carrier I went with is Cricket. Flat rate for ALL calls, in town or long distance. I know what the bill is month to month. And it works in SA and Houston and Austin, up to Dallas. Outside Texas, where I very seldon go anymore, I need to get a tac phone to have cell use.
But you probably have different needs.
Web sites will give you a heads up on what to expect when you call each providor.

[Steel Man]

Got rid of AT&T land line as I wanted to change my number and have it not listed in the phone book. They said it would cost $10 a month to keep the number unlisted...what a rip off! I told them to go with plan B, cancel my land line account. I use my cell phone now, Cingular (owned by AT&T) which has good service for a reasonable price. Funny thing though, when I dropped the land line, I received a letter asking if I wanted to have a cell phone with them.

[wCat]

Hello Saku! Welcome to SA! I have to agree that it's a hard question to answer not knowing what your needs are.

I happen to have Sprint. I'm not sure if it's any better than ATT or T-Mobile or any of the others. Some features are great with one company, but you give up something to get great features with another. It's all a trade off.
My whole family has changed to Sprint so we have unlimited mobile to mobile minutes. Texting is big with kids and adds up. So many features now, with pix and flix and ad gimmicks! It's enough to drive anyone insane.

RE: Land line. No offense to SBC/ATT employees, but I HATE that company. That being said, if there is a power outage, you will still have service to call out. Time Warner is the other big land liine game in town, and your phone will not work if the power goes out. I have had "issues" with both.

I did like having TW initially because I had cable, DSL, and my land line all on one bill. Life needs to be simple. But now I see ATT advertising the same.....but I know nothing about their computer provider.

Steelman mentioned private numbers..... Errrrrr! When I had SBC (now ATT), I had my first initial and last name listed with no address. As a newly divorced single mom, I wanted that security, but didn't want another dumb fee on my bill. This was a huge mistake because I was listed for example as "J Doe.....555-1234". There just happened to be a number of "J Does" (John, Jan, Judy, Josh etc) that were being hunted down by credit colllectors!!! I could never get them to stop calling!!!! They even put MY number on these people's credit reports! It was a nightmare. When I called SBC to request a new number and unlisted, I was told I had to pay a fee for it being unlisted. They allowed NO exclusions and I was told the FCC MADE them charge. ??? So I called TW and they didn't charge for an unlisted number. ??? I asked how they got around the FCC....and they said they weren't required to charge. I knew something was up, so I called SBC/ATT back and got a supervisor on the phone. She said actually it was the Public Utilities Commission, and that they don't "MAKE" them charge, they just "approve" ATT's request to charge! BIG diff......I explained to this supervisor that their lower level customer service reps needed to be trained to give out honest information. She apologized and said she would mention it. Now I hear their fee is even higher for unlisted.

So....again...it's a trade off....but I've also gone to all cell.

Sorry for being so long......I suppose this was more of a rant!

I use a cell phone for 90% of my calling, but I also have a cheapo phone-only AT&T land line. I have nothing but local calling on it - no long distance, no caller id, nada. The base cost is $13 a month plus tax. I've been happy with it for the little I use it. It's nice to have a second place where people can track me down if they need me, and I like the security of it. For example, if we have another ice storm like we had this winter, and my power blows, I can't recharge my cell, but I can still make calls on my land line.

I have Cingular. So far, I like them just fine. I have good coverage. However, it seems like all of the major and minor carriers have decent to good coverage in this area, so it's probably best to decide based on features that are important to you. I do know, however, that the best pre-paid program is T Mobile. They don't charge you a daily access fee like Cingular does.