Do You Love Your Cellular Carrier?

I left Cingular for US Cellular, and I love it. They were the cheapest, and regionally the most popular when I researched it with Consumer Reports about a year ago. But Verizon was the nationwide favorite. T-Mobile was also well-rated, so you can't really go wrong with your choices.

The signal strength/availability is better with US Cellular than it was with Cingular. Although they are regional, they do have national pricing and service in I think all major areas. When we signed up they had a lot of family deals where you can get multiple phones. We got Razrs (I think they're ugly, but they work fine - the speakerphone is amazingly good quality for a cell phone) for a really good price, and we have a shared-minutes plan.

I live in the Beverly area and commute to the North Shore for work. My cell carrier is Cingular and it is TERRIBLE. There are many, many spots along the Tri-State Tollway where I get dropped and in my home I have to frequently angle my body in such a position as to get decent reception.

We can't wait for our contract to be up so we can change to a new provider.

We've had Verizon for 5 years now and had very few problems with service. Plus they have the new every 2 option, which is basically a free phone every 2 years (depending on what phone you want). They have coverage all over the place. I just went to Puerto Rico and had no problems making or receiving calls there, either.

I actually really like T-Mobile - I've been with them for 13 years through living in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois. I currently live in River North and I have never had any problems. I have noticed a reduced signal with my BlackBerry compared to the regular phones I've had in the past, but only when I've tried using it in under ground parking ramps and high-rise elevators (both of which used to work with my regular phone). Whatever you chose, competition is so fierce in the cellular world that if you end up switching and hating it I'm sure you will be fine switching again and since you can keep your number now no one will notice but you. And, doesn't US Cellular have that try it free for a month deal so you can test your area? Whatever you choose I'm sure you'll be fine (the only one I wouldn't use is Cingular, I've heard horrible things and my husband uses them and they are awful).