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Alpha Phoenix
Premium Member
join:2001-06-15
Brooklyn, NY

Alpha Phoenix

Premium Member

[Need Info] Verizon Wireless vs. T-Mobile

Hi guys,

I live in Brooklyn, NY and currently have Verizon Wireless as my cellphone provider. I am really tired of them not having the greatest or the newest/best lineup of smartphones, and when they do finally get a highly anticipated phone, it takes them forever and a year to get it. The phone that I want, the HTC One, still isn't even out on Verizon yet! »/r0/do ··· _ani.gif
Then on top of that, they hold back software updates for practically a millennium, sometimes not releasing updates at all! They were 3 updates behind before they finally started rolling out JB 4.2.2 to the Galaxy Nexus (which is the phone I currently have). They are also charging customers out the ass for their service! Feels like I'm being raped compared to what the other cellphone providers are charging.
Now to be fair, I do know that Verizon has top notch 4G LTE coverage and speeds, and covers more areas nationwide. I am also still grandfathered in to their unlimited data plan that they no longer offer, so that is a huge plus right there!

I was mulling over the idea of making the jump over to T-Mobile because they have a better selection of smartphones, get the newest phones pretty much second (after AT&T), and are much faster with pushing out OS updates than Verizon is. Also they did away with contracts, and the price of their unlimited everything plan is waaaaay cheaper than Verizon.
Now also to be fair, I know that they don't have nearly the same coverage area that Verizon does, and their 4G LTE speeds are not as fast, and are not deployed in anywhere near the amount of areas that Verizon's is. Plus I've read that their unlimited data plan isn't truly unlimited, because one you pass something like 500 MB, they drop you down to 2G speeds until your next billing cycle. (Can anyone confirm if this is true or not?)

So I just wanted to turn to you, my fellow NY'ers, and ask what your thoughts, reviews, and experiences are on this matter, since we all live in the same area of the US, and thus can more accurately discuss the coverage area/speeds that is relevant to where I live.

FYI, I'm a pretty heavy, power user on my smartphone. Don't know if that info might be relevant or not, but just thought I would include it in case it is.

Thanks!

PhoenixDown
FIOS is Awesome
Premium Member
join:2003-06-08
Fresh Meadows, NY

PhoenixDown

Premium Member

Were you impacted at all by Sandy?
tired_runner
Premium Member
join:2000-08-25
CT
·Frontier FiberOp..

1 recommendation

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At work we use Verizon Wireless LTE for field staff. Speed is good, the ability to maintain a stable connection isn't. Like you, I personally don't want my wallet raped so I've never considered using them for personal use. And well.... Verizon still uses CDMA for the voice portion of their network, which sounds like utter shit in my opinion.

I use T-Mobile on an HTC Sensation 4G phone. Outdoor reception is usually great, and in most places I can get an HDSPA signal, aka 4G-esque speeds but not LTE. My brother has a Samsung Galaxy S4 with T-Mobile; which uses LTE; and he's happy. Indoor reception can vary. Sometimes you can get full bars on HDSPA as you enter a building, only to later find that your handset can only get one bar on EDGE once inside.

The only two places where I care that my phone works; at work in downtown Brooklyn and at home in The Bronx; it does work well.

The most appealing feature of using T-Mobile is the ability to bring your own, unlocked device and get phone/data services as though you bought the phone from them directly. Your phone has to have T-Mobile's radio frequencies for it to operate in the US network; currently GSM 1900 MHz and UTMS 1700/1900/2100 MHz. Careful to pick a phone that only does HDSPA via UTMS 1700 MHz only as T-Mobile is presently shutting that down and re-purposing it for LTE. Also, bear in mind that if the phone you pick doesn't operate on HDSPA 1700/2100 MHz, it will only operate on 2G EDGE speeds for data; very very slow.

The HTC One you want is available for T-Mobile already, and it will do LTE as well.

As for pricing, I do T-Mobile's prepaid $30 plan. Since I do most of my talking via 3G using Google Voice, Asterisk PBX and a SIP client, I'm alright with 100 minutes per month for when I need to make important calls only. I attached their current plans as they're shown to me in the account management portal.

You can also (for now) avoid paying taxes whenever you re-up for service. There are several online calling card places that sell the T-Mobile PINs you need to renew your monthly plan. You can always choose to automatically have T-Mobile renew service for you, but they charge tax on the amount credited to your account.

Hope this helps

Alpha Phoenix
Premium Member
join:2001-06-15
Brooklyn, NY

Alpha Phoenix to PhoenixDown

Premium Member

to PhoenixDown
said by PhoenixDown:

Were you impacted at all by Sandy?

No. Why?
Alpha Phoenix

Alpha Phoenix to tired_runner

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to tired_runner
Thanks for the info. Seems like their 4G LTE speeds, and their network really isn't anywhere near up to what Verizon currently has in place. Plus I know that Verizon is planning on rolling out their AWS and 5G network soon.»www.sci-tech-today.com/s ··· 0F19WS5R
tired_runner
Premium Member
join:2000-08-25
CT

tired_runner

Premium Member

5G? Doubt it. They need to gouge their customer base first to get ROI for LTE.

As for AWS, T-Mobile uses that in the 1700 band as well.

Pirate515
Premium Member
join:2001-01-22
Brooklyn, NY

Pirate515

Premium Member

said by tired_runner:

5G? Doubt it. They need to gouge their customer base first to get ROI for LTE.

True. Also, before Verizon starts on 5G, they need to implement VoLTE. Once that's done and VoLTE is everywhere CDMA is now, they can start enticing existing customers to switch to LTE-only handsets. Once enough do, they can start decommissioning CDMA, hopefully in favor of 5G. By the way, do we know specifically what 5G is and how it is different from 4G/LTE?

Alpha Phoenix
Premium Member
join:2001-06-15
Brooklyn, NY

Alpha Phoenix

Premium Member

But 4G LTE significantly drains battery power. My Galaxy Nexus practically bleeds battery power when I have it on 4G LTE, that's why I keep it on WiFi when I'm home, and mostly 3G CDMA when I'm out, unless I need 4G LTE, in which case I specifically turn it on for whatever that purpose is.