The Verizon-Blackberry commercials seem to claim that Blackberry runs much better on their network. But the T-mobile rep told me there is not really a difference what carrier you have because whether your service is with T-mobile or Verizon, your Blackberry service is on the "Blackberry Network" which is what you pay the additional charge for. T-mobile charges much less for that service in their plans.

I am about to purchase the 8900, and T-mobile seems to have better rates but I want to make sure I know what I'm getting into before I start a new 2 year contract.

Does anyone have any experience with this??

Your info would seem to indicate that you have T-Mobile now. If that's the case, do you get good reception where you use your phone most - home, work, other places you frequent often?

Email comes to your BlackBerry from BlackBerry servers, but it comes over your cellular provider's network. No one can answer the question, however, about which carrier is best for YOU. It depends on which carrier has the best coverage where YOU are going to be, period. I'd go so far as to suggest you ignore anyone who shows up here and answers that (Brand X) is definitely better than (Brand Y). What kind of reception do you get with your current carrier - if you're not satisfied with that, try to find someone who lives/works near you and ask them what kind of coverage they get.

Like it was stated above, it depends. The ONLY reason why I stick with Verizon is that they have reliable coverage in areas where others cannot even get a signal. Carrier coverage is improving all of the time so it may be a moot point by now.

Stick with what works best for you.

Tmob charges $25/mo for their BIS and Vzn charges $30/mo for the same thing. Like he said only you can determine how the coverage is in your location. In ideal settings Vzn's browsing is faster downloading webpages, but how much faster it is for you only you can determine. It also depends on what webpages you are downloading. Some are faster than others. I have EDGE and my friend has Vzn (Tour) and my subjective impression is they are about the same speed.

T-Mo
$45 unlimited calls
$20 unlimited data
UMA for perfect calls from home/work/hotspot/international wifi.... I never have a problem with coverage even when I travel to New Zealand

Verizon doesn't have a plan that is comparable AFAIK

Cameron

The UMA feature is (in the US) unique to T-Mobile and specifically designed to assist with weak coverage areas in addition to not costing "whenever" minutes. I use T-Mo's UMA to get coverage at work were NO cell carrier functions due to excessive electronic interference. I simply attach to works (very close) wireless and I get coverage. At home, thanks to the WiFi/UMA, I have coverage in my basement 20 feet below ground level.

Might make a difference for you.

Coverage is king. A cheap plan is too expensive if you don't have the coverage when and where you need it. So go with the carrier that has the best coverage where you live, work, play and travel.

I am with T-Mobile and couldn't agree more with woodyofid. UMA with the Hotspot add-on makes all the difference to me.

As a side note I guess Verizon's marketing agency earned their money on the ad referenced by Ronel. They at least had him thinking it is the wise way to go. Kudos to you Ronel for digging deeper into the truth.

Verizon has a bigger 3G network than T-mobile. T-mobile is still building there 3G network.

T-mobile has UMA. Verizon doesn't.

A huge disadvantage of Verizon to me is that they disable GPS in their BlackBerry so they can force you to use only their service. If using GPS with third-party software matters and the coverage of each provider is close to equal for you, I would choose T Mobile.

You are mistaken, Verizon Does Not Disable GPS. I use a lot of apps that use the GPS and it works great.

Yes, Verizon does cripple the GPS in MOST of their BlackBerry devices. Prior to the 9630, the internal GPS receiver would not function with any third-party apps, as it was locked to VZnavigator only.
Recently, with the introduction of OS 4.5 on some models, the GPS receiver was opened up to allow use by BlackBerry Maps and Google Maps in some instances.

The Tour is the first Verizon BlackBerry where it is not crippled at all.

The rep was either dishonest or stupid (could be both for all we know).

Network coverage counts for a lot.

Verizon tends to have strong, more complete cell coverage. RIM running the Blackberry network has nothing to do with that.

T-Mobile is cheaper.

For me, it's a case of getting what you pay for. I am willing to pay for Verizon because where I use my phone (quite wide range) it's never let me down. When I had AT&T I was miserable. My friends who have AT&T are miserable. Not sure about T-Mobile.

Is BIS/unlimited data still $20 with Tmobile? Mine is but someone said they raised it to $25 now. Someone above also said you can get unlimited voice for $45 with Tmob. It used to be $50 for old customers. Did that change?

Tmob's BIS plan is now $24.99/month. They have a loyalty program where you can get unlimited calling for $49.99/month.

does verizon offer UMA?

UMA wins over coverage, maybe its because i live in los angeles and its not really that big of a deal, but UMA saves your life sometimes

In the US UMA is only on T-Mobile. Another plus for T-Mobile is they will give you an unlock code after you've been with them for 90 days - very nice if you are traveling overseas and want to use local SIMs.

SMF

I have two BB on TMO with unlim data and 700 min. It works perfect here where I live in the desert of California. Also have no problems when traveling. My wife went to the Philippines to visit family and her unlock 8120 worked great with the local SIM's there and we easily kept in touch. TMO had no problem getting us the unlock codes for both of our BB's. However, like several posters here, it depends on coverage where YOU are at and where YOU travel. TMO is good for us.

If you looking for good service on the cheap, TMO is the way to go (especially on a family plan with 3-5 phones).