[joaquin654]

ok , I know i've seen these threads before but searching for some reason didn't yield too many rellavent results. Soooo , I'm basically asking T-Mobile or AT&T ? I know that most people will say that this question is long argued and that this is just a matter of preference and location .... but .... I'm still curious as to how people feel about these 2 providers today in 2007 with all the 3G and UMA services offered. I do want another blackberry ( maybe 8800) to add to my already impressive blackberry drawer. Both T-Mobile and AT&T offer this model and although I'm located in NYC I travel up and down the eastern coast so coverage is important ..... now my contract is up with AT&T and I'm thinking about switching ..... I don't know why I wanna switch or even if I do but I would like to hear people's opinion as to :

1. coverage
2. customer service
3. reliability / billing
4. blackberry support

thankx to all that contribute POSITIVE feedback as I'm not looking for a fight or debate as to who's provider will kick who's @55 ... =)

[Dubdub]

Well I think it is more of a personal decision. You have to go with the carrier that has the coverage you need, when and where you need it - where you live, work, play, travel, go to school, etc. No matter which is cheaper or has cool features or someone tells you it is the best, it really makes no difference if you don't have a signal.

IMHO, Verizon and ATT have better cover coverage, with Sprint being #3 and T-Mo being fourth. All carriers will have dead spots, especially in NY and in the hilly regions. I travel from NYC to all over the Northeast, and have found that ATT has the coverage where I need it. But I also carry a Verizon phone for those areas where ATT can't get to. Having never been on T-Mo, I really can't say how good or bad their coverage really is.

I have never used T-Mo so I can't comment on the BB support and reliability issues. I would assume it would be about equal and RIM provides the follow on f the carrier can't handle it.

I have heard that T-Mo has better customer service, but then you only see and read the bad stuff here, very seldom the good. But then I rarely call CSR about anything. My bill has been correct for the most part and on those times when I had to call CS, it was handled quickly and was settled amicably.

[John Clark]

IMO, TMo's customer service is WAY better. It's 24/7 and they have always done their best when I call. Coverage isn't as good but their prices reflect it. I'm a pretty happy TMo customer.

[MikeyLikesIt]

I think that Dubdub has nailed it. I went with AT&T (the company formely known as Cingular) strictly because of coverage. I was carrying a company Verizon phone and one other manager in the office had T-Mobile. Most of the home office folks have T-Mobile, so I was definately going against the grain.

But I travel internationally, and did a careful study and neither T-Mob or Verizon would give me the coverage that Cingluar did. I wouldn't brag on Cingular on a commercial basis as they have dealt me some real misery, but when it comes to having a phone to use in the places that I go, they are tops.

Do the research based on where you intend to roam.

MikeyMike

[John Clark]

I've travelled all over Europe with AT&T/Cingular users and we all roam on the same networks. I'm betting the international roaming is about the same. AT&T's network is better in the US, though.

[.Shaun]

tmobile in all areas.
never had a problem with them.

[word2218]

one thing that i've noticed in NYC (live and work there) is that ATT has much better coverage indoors than T-mobile. When I used to have T-mob, I would be sitting at restaurants or bars with my coworkers who were on ATT, and I wouldn't get any service.. so when ATT got the curve, I switched and am happy with my coverage.

I don't like how their customer service is not 24/7, but I haven't had any issues with billing or anything.

[John Clark]

It can also be the frequency being used. AT&T has some 850Mhz towers and that frequency does get into buildings better than the 1900Mhz. That could be a big part of it.

[jwh463]

I switched to ATT a couple of months ago. I had Tmob since 2001 in the Voicestream days.
1. coverage ATT wins
2. customer service Tmob is great, havent used ATT
3. reliability / billing both good
4. blackberry support never used it

Main reason for switching was coverage IN MY HOME, we just ditched landline and Tmob just barely gave us one bar in the house, ATT 4 inside all the time. Check where coverage is best for you, DFW is highly saturated with the big 4. I did drive to San Diego last year and only lost coverage twice on the road trip and it did not last that long.

Final deal breaker was a recent power outage (4hrs) where we could only text message, to make a phone call I used my onstar (verizon). My neighbors never lost signal on their ATT service. I did call Tmob after that and they admitted the backup power supply at the nearest cell tower malfunctioned.

I love my ATT service....but Tmob was good too. Coverage would be the biggest factor for me

[Galvatron]

been with tmo for 2 years alobetter here allaround than aatt BTW suosedly BBad on will be reduced to 9.99 a month soon

[birdiebo]

Have used T-mo and ATT both in Europe and Australia. Both services roamed/worked well. There was usually a 5-10 minute difference for incoming messages, with those through ATT arriving first. Initiating and then stopping International Roaming is much easier on T-mo...you can do it yourself on their website. ATT definitely has more extensive coverage in the US. ATT also has better insurance coverage for the device itself. Slight edge to T-mo because their pricing is much better. Good luck!

[andrey33]

No one mentioned those hidden fees ATT charges. Every month I pay $15 extra for things like MTA TELECOM SURCHARGE or STATE TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXCISE SURCHARGE.

Never had that with T-mobile.

[Globetrotterdoug]

The best Tmo service is when you are roaming, like in Europe or Asia or even Vermont. Then you get cheap rates, good coverage and great CS. the problem comes when you have to use Tmo's network. It's weak compared to AT&T. I've had both (as well as VZW and Sprint). I'd switch back to Tmo in a minutes if coverage was as good as AT&T. (Still VZW is the best coverage IMO.)