GSM in Florida

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Suzanne - 02 May 2004 15:08 GMT

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with GSM in Fla. My AT&T
2-year contract is up (have digital family share regional), so I'm
month-to-month. Problem is the plan we're on now is a waste--1,000
minutes is too much, but 500 is not enough. So I'd like to go to a plan
that would be more cost-efficient. The GSM plans are better price-wise
with a larger choice of minutes. But when I looked at the coverage map,
it seems to have some big holes in Fla. It also looks like there are
some big holes going up the East coast of the US. How bad is the
non-coverage situation? The rep at the store said the maps need to be
updated, but I am hesitant to believe anything a phone rep tells without
seeing it in writing. I'm reluctant to sign a 2-year contract and
discover we have phones and a plan that suck. Which leads me to my next
question. Just use the phones for talking (don't need a camera,
Internet, etc.) Which are the better GSM phones and which are the
worst? Any opinions appreciated.

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Robert M. - 02 May 2004 23:49 GMT

> It also looks like there are
> some big holes going up the East coast of the US. How bad is the
> non-coverage situation?

The maps ALWAYS overstate coverage, leaving out known smaller deadzones .

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Annie Woughman - 03 May 2004 02:44 GMT

If you choose one of the new "national plans" it doesn't matter if AT&T
coverage isn't that great, someone will have coverage and you won't have to
pay roaming when another carrier picks up your signal. We just switched to
the national plan for that reason--the coverage maps are pretty skinny where
we live here in the northwest, but there are only a few spots where we
actually don't get a signal. One is a twenty-mile stretch in the middle of
the desert and another is about a quarter of a mile where the 1-5 freeway
goes between two hills.

> Just wondering if anyone has any experience with GSM in Fla. My AT&T
> 2-year contract is up (have digital family share regional), so I'm
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> Internet, etc.) Which are the better GSM phones and which are the
> worst? Any opinions appreciated.

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Robert M. - 03 May 2004 12:27 GMT

> If you choose one of the new "national plans" it doesn't matter if AT&T
> coverage isn't that great, someone will have coverage and you won't have to
> pay roaming when another carrier picks up your signal.

Fine but most GSM phones dont have Analog capability, so get out of the
Major cities, and away from the Interstates and you couldnt roam, even
if you wanted to, and your carrier permits it.

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Annie Woughman - 04 May 2004 01:30 GMT

> > If you choose one of the new "national plans" it doesn't matter if AT&T
> > coverage isn't that great, someone will have coverage and you won't have to
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Major cities, and away from the Interstates and you couldnt roam, even
> if you wanted to, and your carrier permits it.

Well, the "dead" spots that I referred to were the exact same dead
spots that I had encountered with my old digital phone, which was a Nokia
6360 and it had very nice reception. I don't think GSM vs digital has that
much to do with the reception. I think it has to do with coverage
available--no matter which carrier provides it.

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