stay with sprint or move to a different carrier?

[pslee]

i currently have sprint service in NYC and i am contemplating whether to change the carrier or stick with sprint. sprint in NYC is by far the worst carrier although things are getting better with NV. very slow 3G speeds compared to verizon LTE and at&t LTE and HSPA+, and tmobile HSPA+. the speeds are not even comparable. now we do not have LTE yet but i am still enjoying WIMAX 4G which i think has decent coverage in NYC. but the speeds are progressively getting slower and most of the time I am getting 2-3mbps or even less. Also the 3G, 4G and voice coverage is horrible in our apartment, which led us to order airave, thanks to some threads opened here.

Now, the contract is almost over, and we are eligible for an upgrade. But I am very skeptical about Sprint now. I switched from Verizon since Verizon was too expensive for our family to get smartphones. i've done some research and I need some advice or help.

 

1) Verizon has by far the best coverage for 3g and LTE. monthly payment for us will be around $270 with 6GB shared everything plan.

2) At&t has good 4g HSPA+ and LTE speed in NYC. heard complains about dropped calls but my coworkers with At&t dont complain. monthly payment will be around $260.

3) Tmobile has surprising awesome HSPA+ speed in NYC. some say it is faster than LTE speeds and good voice coverage in NYC. since my friends cousin owns tmobile store, he can give me some discount of the service. monthly payment will be around $190 with two unlimited and two unlimited with 2gb cap.

4) Sprint has no LTE coverage and new phone do not have wimax coverage. no news on LTE services yet and also 800mhz and 2500mhz LTE band will not be used by current phones that is available, which is only for 1900mhz LTE. monthly price will be $250.

 

I am leaning towards Tmobile since its the cheapest and has good HSPA+ speeds and it actually has very strong signal at the apartment that I live, which Sprint seems to struggle to get. I like sprint but current phones not able to use 800 and 2500mhz LTE band is the biggest hold back. we have horrible 3G and voice service at home where we use our phone the most and l know they are on 1900mhz band, which current LTE is going to be based on. does that mean we will have really bad LTE signal as well? what do you guys think i should do?

[Boosted20V]

I really don't understand posts like this. No one is going to beg you to stay on Sprint. I find it funny you say there is no LTE in NYC. Obviously it hasn't launched yet but work is being done. Also, what good are Verizon/ATT speeds when you're capped at 6gb's on 4 lines?

[pslee]

I really don't understand posts like this. No one is going to beg you to stay on Sprint. I find it funny you say there is no LTE in NYC. Obviously it hasn't launched yet but work is being done. Also, what good are Verizon/ATT speeds when you're capped at 6gb's on 4 lines?

 

thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. i am not saying sprint sucks, but how much it will be different in few months and what kind of network upgrades i can expect. i thought this forum is more than some sprint fanboys.

[Ascertion]

LTE is being released on every tower, also, it'll be about the same signal strength as your 1x signal is. If you have a dBm value of higher than -95, LTE will be almost non-existent in your apartment complex. NYC is lighting up with LTE though on the 1900 mhz band and will begin it's 800mhz deployment mid-year, 2013. 800Mhz frequency allows for much better coverage radius and building penetration. Tmobile I hear is very reliable in big cities but in rural areas, you'll have a hard time. You have 14 days to try them out.

 

If you can put up with the GSM voice quality, then it sounds like T-Mobile is your best option. Both Sprint and T-Mobile have a bright future. There's nothing wrong with going to T-Mobile if Sprint doesn't meet your needs. I do think that Sprint is trying to make their current customers with this repaid LTE deployment.

 

I recall somewhere that the new NV equipment will increase coverage by up to 20% (could vary from site to site).

[Boosted20V]

thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. i am not saying sprint sucks, but how much it will be different in few months and what kind of network upgrades i can expect. i thought this forum is more than some sprint fanboys.

 

To be fair, it is a technology fanboy site if anything. Look around at all the info. You're complaining about voice coverage, 800mhz deployment will more than clear that up. You're in a market that is being given priority but unfortunately got set back by Sandy. T-Mo will never have the coverage Sprint will attain simply because they have no sub-Ghz spectrum.

[tommym65]

You will be very unhappy when you incur the overage charges on the "$260" and "$270" plans from Verizon and AT&T. Sounds like T-Mobile is the place you want to go, and you will likely be happy there if they manage to stay in business. Sprint is just starting to deploy LTE in New York & New Jersey, and while they are certain to make progress, it sounds like you are itching to leave. Wherever you end up, S4GRU folks will wish you the best of luck.

[ydoucare]

I think you ought to just wait it out and give Sprint a chance. I don't doubt you'd be satisfied with T-Mo, but you might be even more satisfied with Sprint if you're patient enough to stick around.

[pslee]

LTE is being released on every tower, also, it'll be about the same signal strength as your 1x signal is. If you have a dBm value of higher than -95, LTE will be almost non-existent in your apartment complex. NYC is lighting up with LTE though on the 1900 mhz band and will begin it's 800mhz deployment mid-year, 2013. 800Mhz frequency allows for much better coverage radius and building penetration. Tmobile I hear is very reliable in big cities but in rural areas, you'll have a hard time. You have 14 days to try them out.

 

If you can put up with the GSM voice quality, then it sounds like T-Mobile is your best option. Both Sprint and T-Mobile have a bright future. There's nothing wrong with going to T-Mobile if Sprint doesn't meet your needs. I do think that Sprint is trying to make their current customers with this repaid LTE deployment.

 

I recall somewhere that the new NV equipment will increase coverage by up to 20% (could vary from site to site).

thank you so much for your comment! Do you know around when sprint will start rolling out 800mhz and 2500mhz capable devices? I am only seeking out for my best option and inquire about sprint network upgrades that will be available in coming months. i know some of you guys are very avid sprint fans and spent precious time to help out other people with your knowledge.

[Dkoellerwx]

Sprint is actively deploying LTE in the NYC market, there is a good chunk of the Bronx that has LTE coverage right now. I would imagine most of the city will have some level of coverage by the end of the year. Sprint WILL have LTE on every tower once the market is completed by mid-2013.

 

Sprint in general has very good voice quality, and once 800 SMR voice and LTE launch, you have even better voice and data coverage, on par with Verizon. One place where Sprint has an edge is they have a much denser network, so Sprint's network will not become overburdened as quickly as Verizon. In some places, Verizon's LTE is already running at speeds just above 3G due to the saturation.

 

But, as others have said, no one here will beg you to stay with Sprint, if you need to move, do what you have to. Just know that you are in a market with active LTE deployment, and your network is about it get a whole lot better.

[Dkoellerwx]

thank you so much for your comment! Do you know around when sprint will start rolling out 800mhz and 2500mhz capable devices? I am only seeking out for my best option and inquire about sprint network upgrades that will be available in coming months. i know some of you guys are very avid sprint fans and spent precious time to help out other people with your knowledge.

 

We probably won't be seeing 800/2500 LTE devices until Q2 of next year, since there won't be a network to run them on until later next year.

 

800 SMR voice is already active in the Chicago market, and will go live in more markets as the Nextel iDen network is shut down. Many phones already support the 800 SMR voice band, and will benefit immediately once the service goes live.

[dedub]

I believe it will be first quarter 2013 for 800 mhz LTE devices, and 2nd half 2013 before 2500mhz devices, if I recall correctly from the recent sprint/clearwire investors meetings.

 

I am pretty sure all current LTE devices support 800mhz voice already, so it would just be a matter of when nextel is shutdown and 800 goes live on the nve towers.

 

If you can swing a non-contract pre-paid carrier plan somewhere, you could switch to that until such devices become available on sprint.

 

Else, you will simply have to choose to remain with sprint or buy new tmo phones.

 

If you simply stay with your current phones on sprint, it does not cost you anything other than whatever frustration you give yourself. Anything else is going to trade cash for *potentially* less frustration.

Edited November 21, 2012 by dedub

[Ascertion]

I believe it will be first quarter 2013 for 800 mhz LTE, and 2nd half 2013 before 2500mhz devices, if I recall correctly from the recent sprint/clearwire investors meetings.

 

I am pretty sure all current LTE devices support 800mhz voice already, so it would just be a matter of when nextel is shutdown and 800 goes live on the nve towers.

 

If you can swing a non-contract pre-paid carrier plan somewhere, you could switch to that until such devices become available on sprint.

 

Else, you will simply have to choose to remain with sprint or buy new tmo phones.

 

If you simply stay with your current phones on sprint, it does not cost you anything other than whatever frustration you give yourself. Anything else is going to trade cash for *potentially* less frustration.

It's possible that they will start deployment of 800mhz lte q1 next year, but I think Sprint would have started releasing phones that support it by now if they were.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[dedub]

yeah I was meaning 800 lte devices, not 800 lte services. I edited the post to clarify.

[Ascertion]

yeah I was meaning 800 lte devices, not 800 lte services. I edited the post to clarify.

Got ya. That makes sense. I wont even touch an LTE 800 device until my local towers are fully upgraded.

[lilotimz]

Actually if you think about it. Sprint not releasing any phones that support 2.5ghz and 800mhz lte bands fits the current phone market. If i understand this.. 2nd quarter is sometime after march to mid summer and guess what phones are usually released in april/may...

 

The Galaxy S series & maybe the HTC 1x series...

 

Gotta have a flagship phone for sprints new and improved LTE coverage w/ the 800mhz band right right?

 

Calling the GS4 as one of the first phones to support all of Sprints frequencies!

[lynyrd65]

i currently have sprint service in NYC and i am contemplating whether to change the carrier or stick with sprint. sprint in NYC is by far the worst carrier although things are getting better with NV. very slow 3G speeds compared to verizon LTE and at&t LTE and HSPA+, and tmobile HSPA+. the speeds are not even comparable. now we do not have LTE yet but i am still enjoying WIMAX 4G which i think has decent coverage in NYC. but the speeds are progressively getting slower and most of the time I am getting 2-3mbps or even less. Also the 3G, 4G and voice coverage is horrible in our apartment, which led us to order airave, thanks to some threads opened here.

Now, the contract is almost over, and we are eligible for an upgrade. But I am very skeptical about Sprint now. I switched from Verizon since Verizon was too expensive for our family to get smartphones. i've done some research and I need some advice or help.

 

1) Verizon has by far the best coverage for 3g and LTE. monthly payment for us will be around $270 with 6GB shared everything plan.

2) At&t has good 4g HSPA+ and LTE speed in NYC. heard complains about dropped calls but my coworkers with At&t dont complain. monthly payment will be around $260.

3) Tmobile has surprising awesome HSPA+ speed in NYC. some say it is faster than LTE speeds and good voice coverage in NYC. since my friends cousin owns tmobile store, he can give me some discount of the service. monthly payment will be around $190 with two unlimited and two unlimited with 2gb cap.

4) Sprint has no LTE coverage and new phone do not have wimax coverage. no news on LTE services yet and also 800mhz and 2500mhz LTE band will not be used by current phones that is available, which is only for 1900mhz LTE. monthly price will be $250.

 

I am leaning towards Tmobile since its the cheapest and has good HSPA+ speeds and it actually has very strong signal at the apartment that I live, which Sprint seems to struggle to get. I like sprint but current phones not able to use 800 and 2500mhz LTE band is the biggest hold back. we have horrible 3G and voice service at home where we use our phone the most and l know they are on 1900mhz band, which current LTE is going to be based on. does that mean we will have really bad LTE signal as well? what do you guys think i should do?

 

The only problem with T-Mobile is in-building coverage and rural HSPA coverage. For you, those don't appear to be an issue, However with T-Mobile it's easy to try before you buy if you have an old GSM phone. T-Mobile has prepaid plans at $30 a month.

 

Perhaps T-Mobile is a better option for you right now. When Sprint gets better and if T-Mobile doesn't cut for you in two years, you can come back.

[jcrowder3]

i currently have sprint service in NYC and i am contemplating whether to change the carrier or stick with sprint. sprint in NYC is by far the worst carrier although things are getting better with NV. very slow 3G speeds compared to verizon LTE and at&t LTE and HSPA+, and tmobile HSPA+. the speeds are not even comparable. now we do not have LTE yet but i am still enjoying WIMAX 4G which i think has decent coverage in NYC. but the speeds are progressively getting slower and most of the time I am getting 2-3mbps or even less. Also the 3G, 4G and voice coverage is horrible in our apartment, which led us to order airave, thanks to some threads opened here.

Now, the contract is almost over, and we are eligible for an upgrade. But I am very skeptical about Sprint now. I switched from Verizon since Verizon was too expensive for our family to get smartphones. i've done some research and I need some advice or help.

 

1) Verizon has by far the best coverage for 3g and LTE. monthly payment for us will be around $270 with 6GB shared everything plan.

2) At&t has good 4g HSPA+ and LTE speed in NYC. heard complains about dropped calls but my coworkers with At&t dont complain. monthly payment will be around $260.

3) Tmobile has surprising awesome HSPA+ speed in NYC. some say it is faster than LTE speeds and good voice coverage in NYC. since my friends cousin owns tmobile store, he can give me some discount of the service. monthly payment will be around $190 with two unlimited and two unlimited with 2gb cap.

4) Sprint has no LTE coverage and new phone do not have wimax coverage. no news on LTE services yet and also 800mhz and 2500mhz LTE band will not be used by current phones that is available, which is only for 1900mhz LTE. monthly price will be $250.

 

I am leaning towards Tmobile since its the cheapest and has good HSPA+ speeds and it actually has very strong signal at the apartment that I live, which Sprint seems to struggle to get. I like sprint but current phones not able to use 800 and 2500mhz LTE band is the biggest hold back. we have horrible 3G and voice service at home where we use our phone the most and l know they are on 1900mhz band, which current LTE is going to be based on. does that mean we will have really bad LTE signal as well? what do you guys think i should do?

 

I was a Sprint Customer for almost 20 years. I like the idea, but couldn't wait for the LTE buildout in my area.

Sprint is supposed to launch NYC in the next couple of months (Anticipated was Dec 2012, but suspect Sandy slowed that down).

One option I would suggest (Unless you just can't wait) is to let your contract expire and continue for a couple of months on Sprint.

If they don't launch LTE in a timely maner, then move to T-Mobile.

 

Another Note... I was concerned about Data Caps, ( I get 6GB for 3 Smartphones), Our 1st month we used 1 GB. We don't stream movies to the phones, so its not bad. Think about price if that matters to you. try out the cheaper alternative, but keep your options open. I am hoping to go back to Sprint in a couple of years after LTE and 800Mhz are fully rolled out. You might consider the same for T-Mobile.

[pyroscott]

thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. i am not saying sprint sucks, but how much it will be different in few months and what kind of network upgrades i can expect. i thought this forum is more than some sprint fanboys.

 

What is this? You start an account, ask a question that has been asked and answered at least 6 times in this forum, and then get snarky at a long-time member because they call you out for trying to get us to make your decision for you? Search the forums, and make the decision yourself.

 

Topic closed.