Your preferred wireless carrier.

[RobbieL2415]

Mine's T-Mobile.  I had Verizon prior to June of this year but it got too expensive.  I'm impressed by T-Mo's coverage in my area.

[ozarkman417]

I often find myself teasing my friend when he has no service and I do (he has T-Mobile). I have Verizon because I'm not the one paying for it. My family switched from AT&T to Verizon several years ago due to bad coverage, but I'm sure in that time they have vastly improved.

[jeffandnicole]

I used Verizon Wireless for probably 20 years.  Just last week I switched over to Xfinity for my service provider...which utilizes Verizon Wireless's towers for their coverage, so I shouldn't see any change in service or reception.

[NWI_Irish96]

I used Verizon Wireless for probably 20 years.  Just last week I switched over to Xfinity for my service provider...which utilizes Verizon Wireless's towers for their coverage, so I shouldn't see any change in service or reception.

We did the same.  We switched to xfinity for mobile.  Same coverage as Verizon but much less expensive.

[LM117]

I switched to Verizon last month. I previously had Sprint and their coverage is shit, especially in rural areas. My family travels to North Carolina often since our doctors are with Duke Health in Durham and for half the trip, I had no signal and what signals I did get were weak as hell. I also visit friends in Goldsboro and Wilson and I had very little coverage there too. Nobody I know in eastern NC has Sprint for the same reason. Even around here, the signal wasn't that great. Switching to Verizon took care of my problem.

PS: For those wondering why we go 60+ miles for healthcare, it's because good healthcare in Danville doesn't exist. But that's another story...

[jeffandnicole]

I used Verizon Wireless for probably 20 years.  Just last week I switched over to Xfinity for my service provider...which utilizes Verizon Wireless's towers for their coverage, so I shouldn't see any change in service or reception.

We did the same.  We switched to xfinity for mobile.  Same coverage as Verizon but much less expensive.

I needed new phones as well; ours were 3 years old (LG v10) and 2.5 years old (LG v20).  Nice phones but they never caught on.  The LGv10's technology updates never kept up with today's features either. We now have the Samsung s10.

[US71]

I used Verizon Wireless for probably 20 years.  Just last week I switched over to Xfinity for my service provider...which utilizes Verizon Wireless's towers for their coverage, so I shouldn't see any change in service or reception.

We did the same.  We switched to xfinity for mobile.  Same coverage as Verizon but much less expensive.

I needed new phones as well; ours were 3 years old (LG v10) and 2.5 years old (LG v20).  Nice phones but they never caught on.  The LGv10's technology updates never kept up with today's features either. We now have the Samsung s10.

I use Verizon service, but I bought my own phone which saves me around $20 a month vs leasing

[hbelkins]

Best network here is Appalachian Wireless, which is the CDMA network. Verizon roams off them. My work phone is from Verizon. It's problematic in US Cellular territory in West Virginia, where they only allow 1x data roaming for Verizon devices.

Personally, I have AT&T because I had to switch to a prepaid service a few years ago and the SIM card was cheap. My iPhone was an AT&T-only phone, so I had little to no choice.

[doorknob60]

I use Sprint because of the $25/mo unlimited kickstart plan. Also, they have good roaming agreements with T-Mobile and US Cellular so when I travel to some rural areas, I often have better coverage than even Verizon or AT&T that won't roam on those. Around Boise, they are pretty decent, though they have a few more dead zones here (indoors) than the other carriers. I think it works better than when I used to have AT&T, but I've heard AT&T has improved since then. When you're close enough to a Sprint tower to get a strong Band 41 LTE signal, it's the fastest you'll find here (except Verizon just launched 5G, but most phones don't support that yet), I've seen 160 Mbps on mine. T-Mobile and Verizon are the best 2 overall in Boise I would say, though.

Google Fi was great (the 3 carrier switching was perfect for my use case, and I'm a low data user so it was cheap), until I had some issues receiving calls. I don't know what happened, worked great for me for 2.5 years then it stopped working reliably, so I had to switch. I went to Total Wireless which runs off Verizon. Coverage was good, but speeds were not great, some areas with bad congestion and/or deprioritization. And I didn't get service in Trout Lake, WA anymore. That led me to Sprint which will roam on US Cellular LTE in Trout Lake, and I really can't beat $25 a month, and it works well enough everywhere I need to use my phone. If I didn't use Sprint, I'd probably give AT&T Prepaid or Cricket another shot and see if they fixed their bad spots around Boise (I know they work in Trout Lake which is a plus), otherwise probably a T-Mobile based provider like Metro or Mint (which my wife uses currently; we'd probably put her on Sprint too if her phone supported it though).

[vdeane]

My parents have Verizon, as did I until a few years ago.  The main criteria was that it was known to have good reception in both Rochester and the North Country (where I went to college).

When I upgraded my phone to a smartphone, I switched to Cricket because data plans with the "big 4" are expensive (especially Verizon and AT&T, which have better nationwide coverage).  What I'm paying for 5 GB of data (which I never use, but I wasn't sure how much I'd need when I got the plan so I chose the middle one, plus this one includes free roaming in Canada if your usage there doesn't exceed 50% of the usage in a billing cycle) is not very much more than what I was paying Verizon for just voice/text after splitting my phone off from my parents.

[kevinb1994]

My family, depending on which side of the family (in-laws included), will say either AT&T or Verizon. I know that my parents have been wireless customers since the days of Bell Atlantic, though, since we were once AT&T landline customers, they may have actually been AT&T/(New?) Cingular Wireless customers at one point.

Here, the Jags' stadium was once known as being sponsored by Alltel, which was acquired by Verizon over twelve years ago (although some of the assets were also acquired by AT&T).

BellSouth, formerly known as Southern Bell, once had its regional offices inside what is now the TIAA Bank Center here.

After moving into our two-year-old home, we decided to get AT&T U-verse instead of cable as that was recommended at the time (don't know if it still is). We don't have landline service, however (just internet and TV).

[1995hoo]

Ms1995hoo and I use Verizon. Among several other reasons, a major one for me is that they have by far the best service in the DC subway tunnels.

[JKRhodes]

I use Total Wireless, which runs off the Verizon towers.

[SP Cook]

AT&T.  Their cross ownership of DirecTV means data free streaming of about half of DirecTV's channels, and another set as "Watch ATT"; and their cross ownership of HBO means free HBO. 

Around here, I find AT&T and Verizon to be about the same; Sprint is way inferior; the others only work if you are within 5 miles of I-64.

[kphoger]

My favorite carrier is Anything Except Sprint.

My wife and I have had Verizon Wireless for about ten years now, and they're just fine.  My main criterion is that I can use a GSM-capable phone.  Even though Verizon Wireless uses CDMA, I can roam on GSM with the phone I have.  Most phones they sell, however, can't do that.  (The reason I need GSM capability is that the town in Mexico where we travel regularly only has GSM towers nearby, not CDMA.)

[hbelkins]

AT&T.  Their cross ownership of DirecTV means data free streaming of about half of DirecTV's channels, and another set as "Watch ATT"; and their cross ownership of HBO means free HBO. 

Around here, I find AT&T and Verizon to be about the same; Sprint is way inferior; the others only work if you are within 5 miles of I-64.

I'm not really a happy DirecTV customer right now. I don't know if AT&T's takeover of them has contributed to the poor customer service and inflated prices or not. I've been with DTV for about 17 years now and am giving serious thought to switching to Dish.

AT&T has greatly expanded its reach into West Virginia in recent years. I was surprised upon a trip to Logan County a few years ago to find I had really good AT&T service along US 119 and WV 10. Nothing on my Verizon work phone except in a few spots.

The Elkins/Parsons area and segments along new Corridor H are also surprisingly good for AT&T reception. And as I stated in a prior post, if you can get service on a Verizon phone, which is spotty, you only get 1X data service through their roaming agreement with US Cellular.

[SP Cook]

AT&T.  Their cross ownership of DirecTV means data free streaming of about half of DirecTV's channels, and another set as "Watch ATT"; and their cross ownership of HBO means free HBO. 

Around here, I find AT&T and Verizon to be about the same; Sprint is way inferior; the others only work if you are within 5 miles of I-64.

I'm not really a happy DirecTV customer right now. I don't know if AT&T's takeover of them has contributed to the poor customer service and inflated prices or not. I've been with DTV for about 17 years now and am giving serious thought to switching to Dish.

To take it off-topic, I hear your DirecTV complaints across a lot of boards.  Price I get, and it is a complex subject that involves a changing paradigm relative to pro sports.  Topic for another day. 

But, "customer service" ?  This I just don't get.  I have had DirecTV since just after it was invented, and can count my hands the total number of interactions with "customer service".  They come in and install it, it works, perfectly, and there you go.  I don't call "customer service" because I don't need any.  You push the right buttons and it works.  What "customer service" and I needing?

[plain]

I use Straight Talk, which around here uses Verizon towers.

[hbelkins]

But, "customer service" ?  This I just don't get.  I have had DirecTV since just after it was invented, and can count my hands the total number of interactions with "customer service".  They come in and install it, it works, perfectly, and there you go.  I don't call "customer service" because I don't need any.  You push the right buttons and it works.  What "customer service" and I needing?

I've had the need to interact with them this week due to losing my local channels and needing an upgrade. Being given several different numbers to call, being bounced around to different representatives who can barely speak English, having to provide the same information to each of them and them not recording the requested changes in information, and finally, them screwing up the request and telling me I needed to be home for a service call, so I take the day off work only to have the technician not show up.

[Max Rockatansky]

Verizon definitely has the best coverage in the rural areas out west.   Thankfully that's what my employer uses which means I get a discount.  Either way I usually lose cell phone reception around the 5,000 foot elevation mark in the Sierras and really don't get much coverage at all in the Diablo Range. 

[Ned Weasel]

Does anyone know if Spectrum Mobile is good?

[SSOWorld]

Verizon definitely has the best coverage in the rural areas out west.   Thankfully that's what my employer uses which means I get a discount.  Either way I usually lose cell phone reception around the 5,000 foot elevation mark in the Sierras and really don't get much coverage at all in the Diablo Range. 

Yeah you'll get that - I had plenty (or lack) of that around Yellowstone's interior and on the Beartooth Highway.

[jakeroot]

From age 12 to 17, I was on AT&T with my father. We were iPhone guys, and that was the only choice back in the day. But he had been with them since the Cingular days, so it was just by chance that he was with the right carrier.

I've been on T-Mobile for about five years now. Started with them back when the iPhone 6 was released (also my last iPhone), and they were doing their "Jump!" month-to-month promotion. I paid sales tax and a down payment up-front, and then spread the phone cost out over two years. But the plan allowed me to buy a new phone after 12 months of payments (or an equivalent of that). No other carrier was doing this at that point, and T-Mobile had both great international plans (for when I'm in Canada) and excellent service in my area (as they are based outside Seattle).

After five years, I'm just as satisfied. They really changed the whole mobile phone marketplace for the better, and T-Mo have only gotten better, in terms of their customer support, their phone/accessory selection, and their service in podunk areas. I am seldom without service, despite what my Verizon friends seem to think. Back in the day, Verizon led in service coverage, but it's a veritable tie these days. T-Mobile's LTE coverage is virtually identical to Verizon, and it's usually faster.

There was a period when I was with AT&T (yes, when I was in high school) where I bought a couple unlocked phones (LG G3 from Korea (w/ antenna!) and a Nexus 4). Bit fidgety with our cell bands, but GSM was a requirement, and therefore so was AT&T or T-Mobile.

[LM117]

Does anyone know if Spectrum Mobile is good?

Spectrum uses Verizon's network IIRC, so it should be.

[Max Rockatansky]

Verizon definitely has the best coverage in the rural areas out west.   Thankfully that's what my employer uses which means I get a discount.  Either way I usually lose cell phone reception around the 5,000 foot elevation mark in the Sierras and really don't get much coverage at all in the Diablo Range. 

Yeah you'll get that - I had plenty (or lack) of that around Yellowstone's interior and on the Beartooth Highway.

Some parks like Grand Canyon and Yosemite Valley have some decent cell coverage due to private concessions or a tower a Park Service housing.  Locally Pinnacles, Sequoia and Kings Canyon have non-existent coverage aside from a hike to a mountain peak along the Generals Highway.  Even then you're usually picking up a tower from either Fresno or Visalia.  Surprisingly I've found cell coverage in Death Valley to be pretty good since Furnace Creek has a lot of amenities.  One that always surprised me was that the cell towers in Ventura County and Santa Barbara County don't seem to reach any of the Channel Islands.