How is Central VA service?

[Stromson]

Howdy T-Mobilers! I have a quick question for those of you living in the Central (Richmond and surrounding area, specifically) VA region: How is your service?

Reason I ask is this: I'm sick to bloody **** of Verizon and AT&T continually jacking up rates, ETFs, etc, and the T-Mobile Even More Plus plans are starting to look awfully enticing. I picked up a cheapo T-Mobile prepaid phone to check out local signal, but it doesn't do 3G, so thats really what I'm concerned about (I'm pretty iffy on the whole 1900 mhz band thing, but thats for a different story). Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

[48593039584729]

3G is a different network, and most of the prepaid phones T-Mobile sells have poor reception so.. which one did you get? The 1661 is the worst prepaid phone they sell.

But yeah if you want to get an idea of how 3G reception is, the only way to know would be to get a 3G device. The 3G network is undergoing some major improvements this year. And correct me if I'm wrong but Verizon uses 1900 for it's EV network and 850 for it's 1X network in most places.

That said I've heard good things about the 3G network in the state, but more near Virgina Beach...

[Stromson]

I grabbed the Moto W233 on sale for $20, which seemed like a decent price for a phone intended only to test T-Mo signal strength around town (don't worry, I'll recycle it). My big beef with the UMTS (which is 1700 on T-Mo, I goofed there) is that T-Mobile is one of the only carriers in the world that uses that band for 3G connectivity (which means most unlocked phones don't support it, and so I'd be living on EDGE if I wanted to pick up something random).

The coverage map shows pretty solid 3G coverage throughout the metro area, but it's always nice to get an opinion from someone who actually is/was on the network currently (vs paying $x amount for a 3G device I may or may not ever use again).

[48593039584729]

You can always resell. Of course you also have 14 days for a return w/ T-Mobile directly.

The coverage map isn't a great depiction of coverage because not all cities have a complete 3G overlay and there are a few EDGE towers here and there set to be filled in soon..

[saustin81]

Originally Posted by 48593039584729

3G is a different network, and most of the prepaid phones T-Mobile sells have poor reception so.. which one did you get? The 1661 is the worst prepaid phone they sell.

But yeah if you want to get an idea of how 3G reception is, the only way to know would be to get a 3G device. The 3G network is undergoing some major improvements this year. And correct me if I'm wrong but Verizon uses 1900 for it's EV network and 850 for it's 1X network in most places.

That said I've heard good things about the 3G network in the state, but more near Virgina Beach...

I have T-Mobile 9700 in richmond and I must say that I have no complaints I keep full five bars 95% of the time even in my house. I only loose some signal @ work but that's no deal breaker for me because its still usable

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[bigtime2]

I'm also in Richmond and I have a Curve 8900 and a Bold 9700, but mostly use the curve.

3G is not the greatest but I have coverage everywhere I go. The only part of town where I don't get any 3G coverage, just one or two bars of EDGE as well, is near University of Richmond. Everywhere else both 3G and EDGE are good, full bars most of the time.

[Stromson]

Awesome, I'm glad to hear it's decent. I have Verizon at the moment, and I have no expectations of T-Mobile being in the same league in terms of coverage, so I don't mind a few dead spots here and there. Big thing I'm looking at is the whopping $1200 difference over 2 years between being on Verizon vs T-Mobile, and quite frankly, for $1200, I can live with a dropped call or two. :-P

[bigtime2]

Oh yeah, coming from Verizon to T Mobile in Richmond will be a big difference. I used to have a BlackBerry for work on Verizon, but I've had a personal BlackBerry with T Mobile, and Verizon was Almost always better anywhere in Richmond.

I think saving $1200 will be worth not having perfect 3G coverage, but you will be fine with T Mobile's coverage around Richmond.

[Armando175]

So what are you waiting for, come on over to T-Mobile! We will welcome you with open arms. LOL Just like someone mentioned above, you have 14 days to return your phone if it doesn't meet your needs. You'll be saving a lot of money. $1200 is a lot to save. I don't live in Richmond, VA but in a small town that didn't have 3G. They didn't even have TMO when I moved to the town but after they bought off SunCom, now I have I have a tower 1.5 miles away and my 3G is always on five bars. I'd rather have a few dead spots here and there instead of giving my hard earn money to the blood sucking VZW or AT&T.

[cheech4]

Originally Posted by Stromson

Awesome, I'm glad to hear it's decent. I have Verizon at the moment, and I have no expectations of T-Mobile being in the same league in terms of coverage, so I don't mind a few dead spots here and there. Big thing I'm looking at is the whopping $1200 difference over 2 years between being on Verizon vs T-Mobile, and quite frankly, for $1200, I can live with a dropped call or two. :-P

Ummm ever heard of Sprint? coverage is closest to Verizon's and the prices are as good as T-mobile, you should check us out. 30 days free trial and nothing to lose.

[48593039584729]

Originally Posted by cheech4

Ummm ever heard of Sprint? coverage is closest to Verizon's and the prices are as good as T-mobile, you should check us out. 30 days free trial and nothing to lose.

Sprint coverage is spotty in Richmond(close to Verizon's it is not), T-Mobile also exclusively has UMA/WiFi calling to fall back on with it's blackberries. Sprint also doesn't have discounts with unsubsidized phones or no contract options.

[Stromson]

Originally Posted by cheech4

Ummm ever heard of Sprint? coverage is closest to Verizon's and the prices are as good as T-mobile, you should check us out. 30 days free trial and nothing to lose.

485 pretty much hit the nail on the head. My draw to T-Mobile is the Even More Plus plan, which has a solid discount for buying the phone unsubsidized (I also hate contracts). I like the idea of being able to just buy the phone outright, run it on T-Mobile's network, and not be otherwise tied down. No commitment is sweet.

[cheech4]

Originally Posted by Stromson

485 pretty much hit the nail on the head. My draw to T-Mobile is the Even More Plus plan, which has a solid discount for buying the phone unsubsidized (I also hate contracts). I like the idea of being able to just buy the phone outright, run it on T-Mobile's network, and not be otherwise tied down. No commitment is sweet.

what ever floats your boat, i still think you should give Sprint a try for 30 days, no obligations you cant lose. as far as the guy who mentioned spotty coverage, that's what we Sprint have roaming agreements with big V to take care if that..... i do agree though owning the phone outright no contracts is sweet.

[48593039584729]

Originally Posted by cheech4

what ever floats your boat, i still think you should give Sprint a try for 30 days, no obligations you cant lose. as far as the guy who mentioned spotty coverage, that's what we Sprint have roaming agreements with big V to take care if that..... i do agree though owning the phone outright no contracts is sweet.

If your signal fades your call does too, it doesn't just switch over to roaming. The phone will hold on to no/poor signal until Sprint's signal is completely gone before you will roam and that means dropped calls and poor voice quality.

[Stromson]

Along that same line of thought, doesn't T-Mo have roaming agreements in place with AT&T as well? The only time I can remember losing signal in my AT&T days was inside my high school (which was like a bunker), or when I was camping out in the middle of nowhere (and where I had no desire or expectation for cell service).