I've just cancelled Cingular
Written: Apr 10 '07
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Pros: Decent voice quality, reasonable rates, and rollover minutes.
Cons: Bars are LOWERED to NONE in too many places.
The Bottom Line: They lowered the bar
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| eros's Full Review: Cingular Mobile Phone Service in Washington/Baltim... |
I was an AT&T customer and one of those people who believed the Cingular hype when they said that the merger would enable them to draw on the huge resources of both networks. They offered a free phone upgrade for a two-year contract. I had been quite happy with my AT&T service (after a nightmare experience with WorldCom) and the old phone was fine, but I was told that I would need the new phone to be able to get the full benefits of the new service. It also had some cool features, such as a camera.
I switched to the new phone (Motorola V220 I think) just before I started a new job downtown in Washington, DC. I found that I was unable to get any reception almost anywhere in the building where I worked (the Ronald Reagan Building, for those who are familiar), even next to the windows. Of course, I couldn't get coverage in the Metro subway, but I didn't really expect to. Since I wasn't working there when I still had the old phone and service, I didn't have anything to compare the new phone to, and thought it must just be the building. A number of other people also had trouble getting cell phone reception in that building. However, I was also traveling out of town quite a bit, and found I was getting no signal in many of the hotel rooms where I was staying and even in restaurants. I also had no coverage inside large stores, and sometimes even outside if I there was a building overhang or anything.
At the same time, one of my colleagues, who had the same phone model and service, was able to get reception in parts of the RRB where I couldn't, so I came to the conclusion it might have been my particular phone. After a number of calls back and forth with Cingular during which I had my phone reset several times, they also came to the same conclusion and sent me another (refurbished) phone. This phone looked old -- the flip cover was a little loose and the backlight only stayed on for a few seconds during calls -- but the coverage did seem to be marginally improved. But I was still unable to get a signal in most parts of the RRB.
I no longer work in that building and generally the coverage seems to have improved slightly over the last two years but I still don't think it is as good as it was with AT&T. I can't use it at all in Metro stations and on trains. I've seen other people using cell phones in the Metro and since I spend a number of hours a week commuting, I feel I really need that convenience.
My contract expired recently and after doing some research I decided to switch to Verizon. I only received the phone the day before yesterday, so haven't been able to try it out in shopping malls and stores yet, but was able to try it out on the Metro. Except for a few "no signal" areas in tunnels further away from Washington DC, I was able to get a signal and make calls both while on the train and at the station. I left voicemail messages at my office while calling from the train and the station and while the quality wasn't great, it was okay.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): $40
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Epinions.com ID:
eros
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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