My experience: high prices-- but good network and phone service. Been with
them since Airtouch days.

Doc

Much is said about the high prices of VZW. I don't see it today. I have been
with VZW (and Airtouch) for around 8-10 years. I recently did a price
comparison of my 2100 minute family plan with VZW. Once everything was
considered, to make it apples to apples, VZW was about the same. Example:
T-mobile offers plans that sound cheaper, but without free nights and
weekends. Etc. I compared Cingular, T-mobile, Sprint and VZW. I could not
find any significant difference in price.

-Frank

I can't say anything has become worse. VZW just gets more solid as time
goes on. They added a bunch of sites in my area.

You might be surprised if you actually compare prices "apples for apples".

I dumped 'em for Alltel in coastal SC a few years ago.  They dropped the
regional service trying to get more money for less minutes for national
service few people ever need.  I also got tired of being lied to.

Alltel sells me 800 mins with free N/W, free LD, free M2M on Alltel for
$46, including the tax loads.  The same $39 plan on VZW is 300 minutes
with stiff rates if you go over.  It's a no-brainer.  Alltel's system is
smooth across Eastern SC, all 800 Mhz.  VZW had no service north of
Georgetown, SC, at Myrtle Beach, so bought up some mom and pop shop's PCS
license to have "something" up there.  South of Charleston, to Savannah,
they also had no system, but have since bought up another small shop on
800 Mhz.  There hasn't been much "construction" unless you count the new
sales offices.

If I go to Florida, I dial 611 and buy 100 minutes of nationwide coverage
for $10 that doesn't "expire" if I don't use it all.  If I'm in Florida
and run out, a call to 611 will buy more added to the bill.  I remember
when I was a regional Verizon customer being charged $276 dollars extra
for making a few phone calls in Florida during a month-long trip.  
Alltel's way is much better.  In our area of the country, they also have
much smoother coverage in the countryside where I have to work.

If Cingular works better where you live for the same or less money, I
think it's a no-brainer to jump ship.  This company loyalty nonsense you
always see here never ceases to amaze me.  The corporation doesn't care
about you or me or anyone.  When you jump to Cingular, don't sign any
contracts.  Take in a Cingular phone your company has stashed in a drawer
for disposal that still works and put it on Cingular.  I've never had a
contract with Alltel.  I owe them nothing.  There's no sense becoming a
contract slave to anyone if you can easily avoid it.  Of course, I also
don't do mortgages, another personal choice.  I'm not fond of bankers,
either, driving my country into ruin.

Isn't Number Portability great?....(c;

I have been with Verizon for about 11 years in two different areas
(Washington State and San Diego).  Yes, they are more expensive.
However, their coverage is broader (in my experience), service more
dependable ( I have family members on several different carriers) and
better when traveling.  I could probably count the number of dropped
calls I have had with Verizon over many years on my ten fingers.  Don't
recall one dropped call since moving to Washington 3 years ago.

My only bitch with Verizon is their policy of crippling phones to force
purchase of $$$options but have gotten around that by hacking my phones,
which I agree I shouldn't have to do.
-

Pegleg
U.S. Navy Retired
Support Our Troops,
Question The Policy!

All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words:
freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.
         Sir Winston Churchill

In every range of usage, the top three carriers are almost the exact
same price, as is Alltel.

Look at "http://www.mobileburn.com/plans.jsp?source=MENU"

T-Mobile is often a little less, but doesn't include mobile to mobile.
This can make a huge difference in areas where Verizon is the dominant
carrier by a big margin, such as where I live. I only have 300 peak
minutes, but I rarely use them up because the vast majority of cellular
users in this area are also Verizon subscribers.

Try checking the $39.99 plan for each carrier and comparing them.
T-Mobile is actually the highest cost per minute. Since T-Mobile somehow
has the reputation of being the lowest cost carrier, it's interesting
that T-Mobile has a significantly higher ARPU than Cingular or Verizon
(Sprint's ARPU is still being boosted by the high-revenue Nextel
customers, so a good comparison isn't possible).

Sprint actually has the best plans, with nights starting at 7:00 p.m.,
and not gouging for going over your plan minutes. Sprint's current
problems go much deeper than their plan costs.

IMHO, the service has gotten much better.

I've been a VZW customer for over 4 years. Been happy since then.

In that four year time, the native service area has expanded by leaps
and bounds. They have either added service (PCS bands) or purchased
small mom & pop cell companies (and a few medium sized ones too) to
cover a bunch of the country.

Are they perfect? Hell no! No one is. Wireless is full of problems.
But overall, VZW has done the best job.

Are they the best solution everywhere? No, chosing the cell service
you need depends on what you need where you need it. VZW can't have
the best signal in all areas of the country. In some cases, it makes
more sense to go with Sprint, Alltel or (gag, choke) Cingular.

But in my travels througout the US (and in fact, I'm on vacation right
now), VZW works very well where I've travelled.

My wife used to have Cingular, but she came over to VZW in July. She
hasn't looked back!

Dave