A Review For Those in the Northeast
Written: Jul 08 '03 (Updated Jan 05 '04)
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Pros: The best coverage in the Northeast. Many store locations.
Cons: Service isn't Necessarily cheap.
The Bottom Line: Great coverage, Great service, and competitive prices. For the New Englander who needs service that will follow them around, U.S. Cellular has the total package.
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| bigfrank21's Full Review: General Reviews of US Cellular Customer Service |
As many people should know, Cellular service is different all across the country. I've read a couple reviews about unsatisfied customers in the midwest, but I can only say that U.S. Cellular's service is the premier service available in the northeast (PA, NY, MA, Conn, RI, VT, NH, ME).
For those who don't know, U.S. Cellular has different customer service headquarters across the nation designated for customers in each specific region. I've dealt with our area's customer service many times and I am very satisfied with them. I rarely use over 100 minutes a month, and when my number was somehow stolen and being used to make calls in Nevada, U.S. Cellular called me to ask if I was placing the calls. They solved the problem before it even started and I was never charged for any Nevada calls.
I once made a payment via check and they mis-entered the amount into their computer and tried to charge me a late fee. I called up, sent a bank statement/check copy to them and they fixed the error within 7 days and even gave me credit towards my next bill for the trouble.
As you can tell I am very pleased with the service, but the main reason I signed with U.S. Cellular to begin with was because they had the most comprehensive coverage in the northeast.
All carriers have service in NYC, Albany, and Boston. And Verizon was close with service in Burlington, and Portland. UNICEL (formerly Cellular One) has great local coverage of NH, but no regional plan.
U.S. Cellular has coverage all across these areas. It isn't flawless, I know of a couple dead zones in VT, but they remain dead to all services not only U.S. Cellular.
**** TDMA protocal no longer in existence ->
The only real drawback of this outstanding service is their use of the TDMA protocol. Basically this means that you can't use high-bandwidth features, and the type of phones available are old (I have the Nokia 5160, and it's huge).
However, U.S. Cellular is in the middle of a total system overhaul (in the northeast) and will soon be switching over to a top of the line 3G CDMA protocol which will allow me to get a web-enabled phone, or a picture phone, or at least anything cooler than my hefty 5160. The switchover is planned to be completed by October 2003.
My story may not be common everywhere, but in the northeast U.S. Cellular is a winner.
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* Update (1/5/04) *
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U.S. Cellular has completed their Northeast system upgrade. I have upgraded my plan as well as my phone and I remain pleased. One thing that should be noted is that many of the new phones now offered in the Northeast are Digital-Only phones. They 'will not get service in an area with only analog service'. However, these newer phones have better technology that 'works harder to find service' and 'often gets better service in the same area'.
The new network protocal has paved the way for the introduction of U.S. Cellular's new "Enhanced Wireless Service" EASYEDGE. Basically, its the the equivalent of Verizon's GET IT NOW or Sprint's VISION services. It provides ringtones, wallpapers, and games, etc.
One more tid-bit of information for the curious.... U.S. Cellular has recently bought the FCC licenses for the rest of Vermont from AT&T (part of a market swap that gives AT&T FCC licenses in Florida). This could possibly lead to an increased local service area or simply better service throughout Vermont. Yay!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 35 /month
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Epinions.com ID:
bigfrank21
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Location: VT
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 2 members
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