Other Connectivity > Cellphones, Providers, and Plans > [Cingular] Bye Bye Cingular

[Cingular] Bye Bye Cingular

I've been thinking of making the leap for a month now. I wish I had more time to handle it.
I have a family plan so I cannot use Amazon. Did you order through their website?
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Hey dude, check your IM

reply to yengec
T-M doesn't have free phones without contract extention for upgrades, but after at least 11 months of tenure you have many options which are cheap without a contract extention, but none will be free. One of the nokias would be 19.99 without contract extension, but the phone which are spendy, are still spendy....

If you left the service over not getting a free phone, you need to get your priorities straight, but to receive a good discount on a phone upgrade in most cases you would need extend your contract for one year for that line.

You think they are making money hand over fist, volume is how they do it, many many customers, otherwise the amount they make from a few customers you wouldn't even be fighting over. Also the cost of the phones does take a while to get back after they offer a discount, which is why these companies have an early termination fee. However I still find it stupid to require you to extend your contract to change your plan even on promo plans if you already have equipment, maybe make you pay an activation free for a promo like do you do for new service on some plans if you do leave service within X months as a small penalty like their 59.99 plan is on promo for 45.99, 14.00 they are not getting per month, so a $35 if you don't stay with the service for at least 6 months past that they could charge you $35 to do a little more than break even.
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$75 per hour if you tried to fix it, and failed.
The biggest error is sitting in front of your keyboard.

I have to agree with you on that... I've been able to 'renew' or 'extend' my 2 year agreement on AT&TWS - even if I had to pay $19.99 for a Nokia 6010 (which I just did).

Many older plans are much less expensive (may also have less bells and whistles).
I have 2 lines : $39.99 + $9.99 = 1000 anytime national minutes, free roaming, unlimited free m2m (including Cingular), unlimited free n+w, unlimited free inbound messaging.

The current cheapest plans on Cingular are $10 more / month = $120/year + taxes = decent phone.

reply to BlitzenZeus
That's what I am saying... I was ready and willing to extend my contract by a year (without even downgrading the plan) The plan was a 2 line family plan, and I only needed one phone (not both).

FYI I was on a 1250 Minute plan paying $79.99 for the 1st line plus $9.99 for the second line. My bill after taxes etc was between $112-113 every month.

However Cingular's comeback was "no free phones unless you renew the contract for 2 years". I got the same response from 3 separate cust reps on the phone and from 2 cingular owned stores.

I am sorry but I'd hate to lock myself in for 24 months, when I'm sure 6 months down the road someone will have same amount of features and minutes for $10-20 less a month.
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Timent Technologies South Florida's IT Solutions Provider since 1989

reply to yengec
How's the coverage down there? I have T-Mobile in NYC, but I'll be moving down to Miami in a few months...I'll be around 33157 and FIU's main campus.
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Hey Kev,

Check their coverage here:

»www.t-mobile.com/locator.asp?ref···ault.asp

reply to KevNYC

Check compass.t-mobile.com

How's the coverage in the city Kevin?

Well I live in Queens, the coverage is awesome here...when I head into Manhattan coverage is consistent where ever I go(Financial District, Greenwich, Midtown)...funny thing I noticed though, I was in Chelsea a few days ago and I had full bars but the call quality was kinda iffy.
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reply to yengec

Re: [Cingular] Bye Bye Cingular

I had no problem paying $36 equipment charge fee (although that is just b.s. cingular excuse to make money). I just didn't want to pay an extra $20 for a cheap phone, just because I was renewing my contract for a year, not two.
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Timent Technologies South Florida's IT Solutions Provider since 1989

reply to yengec
sry. i meant $18 "equipment change fee. not 36. and yes, just an easy 18$ in their pocket.

reply to yengec
Could it be that Cingular (and probably others) won't give new phones without a hefty contract extension to prevent people from just arbitrarily deciding that they *want* a new phone? Hypothetically, I could see some people just wanting to trade in phones for newer ones just for the hell of it.

Wouldn't that get out of hand fast? I dunno, just a thought.
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~~I'll make a wish,
take a chance,
make a change,
and breakaway...
Out of the darkness and into the sun...~~

Actually with certain tenure you can buy phones through the upgrade program at T-Mobile without any extra fees, or a contract extension, however the discount isn't anywhere as much.

Right now with a just under a year tenure on a eligible rate plan you can get a brand new Moto v188 for 49.99 + tax without extending your contract for example.
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My hourly rates:
$25 per hour.
$35 per hour if you want to watch.
$45 per hour if you want to help.
$75 per hour if you tried to fix it, and failed.
The biggest error is sitting in front of your keyboard.

reply to yengec
The thing about t-mobile is that thier phones and service only use the 1900mhz gsm frequency. Cingular on the other hand uses 1900mhz & 850mhz gsm frequencies. The main problem is that the 1900mhz frequency tends to have problems penetrating through buildings, or in other words, you wont nearly get as well of a reception as you would if using 850mhz in a building.
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At first I thought everyone on the highway was drunk but then I realized I was driving in Florida

Well even if that was the case (just getting a phone replaced for the hell of it), I didn't have any problems extending my contract for a year (in fact I wanted to), and all that was asked from Cingular was to waive the $19.99 charge (for not extending 2 years)...

A $19.99 bone is not a big thing to throw if it guarantees you at least $1,344 worth of business in the next 12 months (12 x $112.00)
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Timent Technologies South Florida's IT Solutions Provider since 1989

I should clarify that I didn't mean YOU were doing that....just that they might be protecting themselves from people who would (requiring a 2 yr contract would probably deter most people).

I see your point. I was just....randomly thinking?
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~~I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change, and breakaway...Out of the darkness and into the sun...~~