FACTS ABOUT VERIZON:

VERIZON has excellent coverage on the West Coast of Florida in the old
GTE Mobilenet coverage area, however, where they acquired PrimeCo
networks the coverage SUCKS!

Years ago I lived in Tampa where the coverage was excellent.  I even
worked for GTE Mobilenet when they launched their vaunted CDMA
network.

Then I moved to Utah and traveled the country and Verizon worked
great.  However, when I moved to Miami, I could not place a call from
my house and I live 1 block off U.S. 1 in a HEAVILY populated part of
Miami-Dade County!

When I called Verizon they gave me a trouble ticket and some arrogant
S.O.B. from Verizon's technical department called me from the Tampa
office and explained they don't guarantee service everywhere and that
the contract I signed in Utah was in full force and effect in Florida,
but they "didn't guarantee the service would work in Miami when I
signed it, only in Utah."

Then he gave me a lot of double-talk about how his personal phone will
let him still make calls when there is no signal bar present.  He
acted as if I was imagining the whole thing and I am the only one with
the problem.  But he did slip by saying Miami was a Primeco
acquisition for Verizon and that network isn't as reliable as the GTE
Mobilenet CDMA network.

Anyways . . .

What kind of crap is that?  The contract is valid and enforceable in
Florida but service is not?

So I am stuck with a $170 early termination for two lines.  

It's not like I am living in the middle of Iowa.  I am in MIAMI - a
major U.S. city and the service simply doesn't work on my street and I
am 1 block off a major artery.

Verizon's response and treatment of a ten year customer was and is
UNCONSCIONABLE!  I will most likely go to small claims court and try
to get a judgment equal to the amount of the early termination fees.
At that time I will pay for the balance of my airtime that I owe on my
last bill!

AT&T's GSM network leaves a lot to be desired too, but time should
ameliorate that problem.  And AT&T treats their customers just as
poorly.

I bought a Sony Ericsson t68 for $249 when they first came out - which
is a legendary problem phone.  Sony replaced the phone three times and
AT&T stopped selling them.  Their solution?  "Too bad! Extend your
contract and we'll give you another phone for $50."

Yeah, right.  AT&T knowlingly and willingly sells defective phones and
their solution is to turn you over to the phone manufacturer who in
turn keeps replacing the defective phone with a new defective phone.

When you go back to AT&T they say, "Too bad.  Extend your contract."

Want to change your rate plan with AT&T?  You lose all the promotion
(nights & weekends) benefits unless you EXTEND YOUR CONTRACT again.

I tell you what, when my contract with AT&T expires I am going to
Cingular and go for ROLLOVER.

I will NEVER, EVER buy a phone with a contract again.  Why?  Because
they screw you coming and going.  Do the math.  You save nothing by
getting the phone at a bargain rate.

The best bet is to go to ebay and buy an UNLOCKED phone that will work
on TMOBILE, AT&T and CINGULAR for the discounted retail price and then
you can change carriers whenever you want.

Is it true Cingular doesn't require a contract?  If so, SIGN ME UP!

And those ROLLOVER minutes from CINGULAR are sounding better by the
minute.

On a rate plan with Verizon and AT&T you lose EVERY WAY.  Didn't use
your minutes?  You're not getting what you paid for.  Used more than
your rate plan allowance?  You're paying an EXORBITANT premium for
going over your plan.

When a cellular company gets smart and starts offering flat rate plans
for power users whose usage fluctuates, and NO CONTRACTS, expect a
following of customers and minimum churn.

In my experience, cell customers will tolerate reception and coverage
inadequacies, however, they will not tolerate POOR customer service
and being treated with callous indifference!

I am a future CINGULAR customer!

Also, maybe one of the geniuses in the marketing department will
figure out the best way to get customers in the wake of Number
Portability will be to offer to PAY FOR YOUR EARLY TERMINATION fees if
you switch to their carrier.

And you can do it without paying $1 out of pocket - simply apply a
credit equal to the termination fee to the new service bill.  Of
course the customer has ALL the responsibility for providing proof of
the termination fee within X number of weeks/months.

I read it costs $340 to get a new cell service subscriber but a LOT
LESS to keep the customers you have, therefore, marketing money is
being spent on retuention or minimizing churn.

The game has changed and all the major carriers are in collusion on
pricing and policies.  And all this is done to minimize churn.

Sooner or later one of the major carriers is going to get weak and
they are either going to be acquired by one of the other majors, or
they will make a calculated gamble to grab market share using a
product mix that consists of novel rate plans and policies that will
engender loyalty.

Take the lid off Cingular!  Sell unlocked phones!  Be honest with your
customers and they will reward you with loyalty.  You're heading in
the right direction with ROLLOVER and NO CONTRACTS.  Go the remaining
mile and break away from the dirty tricks of AT&T and Verizon.

What about rate plans that are fair and easy and provide discounts
based on volume just like any other normal business?  This concept
can't be difficult - it's an age-old marketing standard and people
have come to expect it over the years.

Here, you plug in the numbers - change them as you wish but you get
the idea:

< 200 minutes = $0.30/minute
200 - 500 minutes = $0.27
500 - 1000 minutes = $0.25
1000 - 1500 minutes = $0.20

To clarify the last statement Cingular is still 1900 TDMA in West
Florida (Tampa bay) so although they are most likely quite good in
Orlando with the old Bellsouth 850 system now overlayed with GSM in
Tampa, they are a lot like Verizon and Sprint.. 1900 Mhz.