Cell phone providers?

Problem I had with Sprint was lack of coverage. Sucks up in Kernville.
Try: Flat $50.00 per phone unlimited. My Bro-in-law has it and is happy. He travels around for business and has had no problems using a Blackberry. That's my next plan after my Verizon ends. The price can't be beat even if your not a text/web guy. Be aware they use the Sprint network.
-- Bill

I take it your on the downside of the hill, so you might want to look at jitterbug.com lol
But in all seriousness..
First and formost you want good reception wherever you are.. If you spend most time at home, then check with ppl around there.. You'll be able to gauge your choice by if they have good service or not.
Second, look at the plans.. Do you need 100 mins a month, or 1000 mins a month. Sometimes it's cheaper to pay as you go than to get a regular plan. Especially when your not looking for anything other than a telephone.
Third is picking the phone. You defiantly want something rugged, My suggestion is Motorola, but that's just my opinion.

I use TracFone. I seldom use it but like to have in an emergency. Minutes are not cheap but for my seldom use, they keep accumulating and it only costs me $99/year to re-up for a year and roll over minutes. Also don't think you're bound to providers service as they rent what's available, so service may be better. My only concern is phone is getting a little long in the tooth and I may spring $19.95 for a new one.

Seems Verizon has better coverage out west than anybody else. They are also more expensive. As to phone choices... I have a Casio GZ'one that is about 3 years old and still works fine. I bought it used on Ebay. You have to do your shopping and find a durable phone. Mine was originally a mil spec phone, but I understand Motorola also has a model or two in the rugged waterproof department.

I used to buy my Nextel phones off Ebay. When I was using the 550s and 700s...Id buy 2 of them, for $5 each off ebay, and when Id bust one (seldom), simply swap sim cards and batteries and be off and running.
I see tracphones on ebay regularly.
Gunner

I might add that I think Page Plus actually uses the Verizon network so has the same coverage. Some of their prepaid plans are pretty darn good. Check the Verizon Usenet newsgroup for more info.

I've got Nextel and I'm not too pissed off at them. I get 900 min's per month with a second line for the wife (she shares the minutes). We have phone and that "walkey talkey" thing. I pay $81.72 per month. BTW, I've been with Nextel since ATT wouldn't renew at the new customer rate after 10 years with them. R. Wink

I've had Verizon for years now and am very happy with them. Their coverage is good and I pay about $38/mo for 300 minutes. I don't use anywhere near that, even with the base landline forwarded when I leave the house. The LG phone that I have seems to be pretty rugged, as I've managed to drop it several times and it's still ticking.
Jim

I believe you have incorrectly spelled "Billing Department".
That's a lot of money for a guy with your stated financial limits. Did it ever cross your mind to have your "retinue" get phones of their own?
Sounds like it's them that's done with you.
This sounds like the Gunner hallucinatory version of your distress over a creditor that wants to get paid before you get to far into their pants. Eh whot?
Your phone number won't be transferable on an unpaid account.
You really have to go over your made up BS more carefully before pushing the send button Gunner.

I missed the Staff Meeting but the Minutes record that Gunner Asch reported Elvis on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:27:12 -0700 in misc.survivalism:
[snip]
I've been using the Verizon Prepaid service for the last umpteen years. You buy minutes which are good for so many months. Minimum is 15, and those are good for thirty days. Last year I discovered that $100 will buy minutes good for a year. They lasted 8 months,,, which is still cheaper than by the month. Of course, if someone is a big talker (texter, or roamer), they can burn through those minutes in a very short time. But it works for me.
More than that I cannot say.
Oh, and the Cassio G-force phones are "bomb proof". Friend has one, has had it fall 13 feet to concrete, and fall in the coolant tank. Still works. But they come with all the bells, whistles, doodads, thinggummies. Dual overhead windshield-wiper knobs, Chrome plate muffler bearings, AM/FM UHF and ESP radio, an alarm clock with calendar, tide table, and Ephemeris, and a personal assistant to set everything up.

You've got to check on the Tracfone site to see what phones are supported in your area, any old phone off eBay may not work. If you buy the right model from them, you've cut your per/minute cost in half, "double minutes for life". Supposedly, you can transfer your existing number to their service, all I've ever done is transfer the same number from phone to phone(both Tracfone), can be done on the web site with both phones in hand. Downside to Tracfone is they jigger their phones so that only the one SIM can ever work in it. No swapping SIMs to use on another service. Might be some way to program the thing to get around that, not commonly available knowledge, though. Can be had for as little as $10 new, plus whatever time you buy for it. And if you hate the service, you can drop it and take up with somebody else, all you're out is the cost of the phone and you could probably sell that on. Another downside is if you don't keep up on your time and let it expire without buying more, your phone number goes with it. Phone keeps track of time and days for you and you CAN set it up to buy more over the phone itself. I usually run out of service days long before I run out of talk time. I use it mostly for long-distance calls, same rate as local if I'm in the same service territory. If I go visit my sister in another state, the per-minute rate doubles. No other roaming charges. They use whatever service is in the area I'm in, usually pretty good, except for 8 blocks from here there's a service hole, don't know why.
Stan

I have Cingular/AT&T myself.
4 phones all with voicemail. 5000 Night/Weekend minutes. 850 Anytime minutes a month with unused minutes that roll over. So if we use 50 minutes this month they add the 800 left over to next month. Currently I have 5,758 minutes in rollover to use up in addition to the 5000 night/weekend minutes and this months 850. This is a nationwide plan, phone works anywhere in the US that has AT&T access. Minutes are shared between phones.
$113.66 a month total. Including all current fees/taxes in NY. $59.99 for the first phone, $9.99 each for up to 4 more.

Page plus does use the Verizon network. And Verizon has the best coverage in the East too. Or at least at my house.
We use the prepaid Page Plus phones and for not many calls it is the cheapest. But you might look at the following. It has the Page Plus unlimited and the 1200 minutes a month plans info.
Dan
Standard - Our most popular prepaid mobile plan, offering rates from as low as 4=A2 per minute in $10, $25 and $50 denominations. More Info
Talk n Text Plans
Unlimited Talk n Text - Our Unlimited Talk n Text monthly prepaid mobile plan is the best value in wireless. Unlimited domestic voice minutes, unlimited domestic text messages, and 20 megabytes of data for just $44.95 a month. More Info
Talk n Text 1200 - Perfect for the average cell phone user. For just $29.95 a month, this plan includes 1,200 voice minutes, 1,200 text or picture messages, and 50 megabytes of data. More Info
Text Add-On Plan
Power Text - Are you a heavy texter? Add Power Text to any plan (other than Talk n Text plans) for just $10.95 a month for 2,000 texts, or $19.95 a month for unlimited texts. More Info

I've also been happy with Verizon... I've had their $39.99 450 min/month plan for about 3 years now. (After tax & license the monthly bill is really like $47.00) I average around 400 min a month, and so far have only found one little area of 'cell hell' in the Los Angeles area... it's in the front rooms of friends house.
You can take your old number with you.
The free VZW cell to cell also works very well for me, as 90% of my family, friends, coworkers & clients with cell phones also use Verizon. This was something I looked into before signing up, and has payed off.
I also put call forwarding on my land line, and FWD it's calls to my cell while out of the house... works very well. (I use Google Voice to make free 24/7 long distance calls from the land line)
The VZW plan comes with texting, internet and all that, but I called customer service and had all the superfluous crap shut down. BTY, at first I had texting shut off but still got Verizon text spam. calling cust service again, I learned that even the Verizon spam can be shut off, but you have to ask for it specifically. (Don't turn on 'caller ID blocking', or you'll lose free VZW cell to cell in-calling! (You can block your outgoing caller ID on a per call basis by first dialing *67)
I don't know about other carriers, but with VZW, you can switch your service to a spare (VZW) handset without having to call cust service.
From the spare handset dial:
*228
Option 3
On the prompts enter your 10 digit phone number, and last 4 of your SSN.
Erik

All I know is AT&T was ok for me for years.
But they all are probably like the following.
I move to BFE and the phone has no coverage. So, I call and say sorry, but I have to change providers cause you have no coverage here. They come back with " Why are you leaving after 14 years?" The phone doesn't work here. "We'll send you a new phone for free!" They still send me promo stuff.
Same thing with B of A. "Oh yes Sir. we have banks in Wis."
B of S
And none of them sounded or looked like they where in India.
SW

I've had Verison for a decade or more. 100% reliable service, no games or phony charges. No drops, either. JR Dweller in the cellar
-------------------------------------------------------------- Home Page: If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses -------------------------------------------------------------- Dependence is Vulnerability: -------------------------------------------------------------- "Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal" "I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

The tracfone site generally has good deals on the models that work in your area. I had a Nokia refurb that was basically free for buying minutes. It died after about 4 years, so I bought a LG at RadioShack and had the minutes transferred. At home, it uses Verizon, which is the only carrier that reliably works where I live.
I've been happy, but I am a very light phone user, literally about 10 calls a year. I got it mostly so my brother can contact me in an emergency, since my landline is basically a modem connection.
One problem is customer service. It's rumored the service center is in LA, not TJ, but English is a distant second language. I had it activated at RadioShack because I figured they knew the ropes, but it still took about an hour to get my minutes transferred. I felt bad, because I know the woman at RS from the ham club, but she has much, much more patience than I.

--- Original Message ----- From: "Bob La Londe" Newsgroups: alt.machines.cnc,misc.survivalism,rec.crafts.metalworking Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2010 11:49 AM Subject: Re: Cell phone providers?
Thats the phone I use. It's hit cement quite a few times and has been wet and it keeps on ticking. It has a great speaker phone if you don't want any apparatus in your ear when you drive. Verizon used to have a shitty attitude but I think everyone got a memo because they got a whole lot more helpful recently. The lock screw that holds the battery broke. I had been using tape for quite a while. I brought it in and the next day they fedexed me a brand new phone at no charge. If you go to Verizon get the Casio GZ. The most industrial friendly phone I've used. Im paying about $70 for 900 minutes.

As someone else mentioned, the prime concern is coverage in your specific area and places you go. I have no idea about their coverage in your area, but have had T-Mobile family plan since we started with cell phones. A lot less money than you're paying.