Cell Phones Networks - who do you have?

[Irulan]

ATT here. We've got a family plan with 5 phones on it. OK, not great but works for us.

[roadie gal]

THANK YOU! I have to agree. People who never turn their cell phones on may as well throw them away. I have 2 sisters who do this and it infuriates me no end. They have no problem calling MY cell phone, just to chat, but they never have their phones on, and when there is an emergency it is impossible to get hold of them. I just don't understand why they do this. They have not publicized their numbers, so it's not like just anyone would call them just to chat, but they are not available in emergencies and there have been many over the years.

Don't you think a 67 yr old should carry a cell phone when going out for a 5-mile run? Sheesh!

My cell phone is off the majority of the time. The only time I consistently have it on is when I'm travelling out of town. Around here the coverage is so inconsistent that it's much more annoying to have it on than not. I may or may not get calls... for DAYS. Voice mail shows up on a random basis. Even with the phone on, I may not get that emergency message. So I've taught my cell phone obscessed family to use my home phone.

I carry it on hikes and bike rides, but around here it's a false sense of security.

[Aggie_Ama]

I have T-Mobile because it was where I landed on my mom's contract in college. Now my parents, brother, husband and I are all on a big family share plan. We write a check to my mom and it stays cheap for us all. I am pretty happy with the phone service (though not motorola phones!), my mom says customer service is great. The coverage is spotty in some areas (far hill country, Dallas Metro) but otherwise great. I get 4-5 bars all over my house so I don't need a landline. Makes me happy as a clam to not have that bill! You can check the coverage area at t-mobile.com if you want to consider them.

[Irulan]

THANK YOU! I have to agree. People who never turn their cell phones on may as well throw them away. I have 2 sisters who do this and it infuriates me no end. They have no problem calling MY cell phone, just to chat, but they never have their phones on, and when there is an emergency it is impossible to get hold of them. I just don't understand why they do this. They have not publicized their numbers, so it's not like just anyone would call them just to chat, but they are not available in emergencies and there have been many over the years.

Don't you think a 67 yr old should carry a cell phone when going out for a 5-mile run? Sheesh!

I view it as something out of my control. Why get worked up about something someone else is choosing? They don't want to know that grandma died and when the funeral is? Ultimately, it's their problem that they missed it. Yeah, other people might get hurt feelings but again, you can't control it so why waster energy on it?

I get this a lot with customer and clients. No voice mail? Fine, if I have a question about your job and can't get a hold of you, your stuff gets bumped to the back of the line. I make a note of how many times I **tried** to contact them and leave it at that.

[Blueberry]

I have been known to turn my cell phone off to get some peace and quiet. I have asked my family (nicely) to only use it in case of emergency. My grandmother respects this, and I always answer her calls.

My mother calls it and chats and chats. Her conversations are more like a monologue of her complaining, and one can't even get a word in to say "I need to go now." The last time it happened, I was concerned and answered. I was on the side of the trail getting eaten alive with mosquitoes for better than 10 minutes before she drew a breath and I could say that I really couldn't talk. 5 minutes later she finally stopped complaining about her life.

So yeah - sometimes I turn it off. Guess there have been too many cries of wolf. And sadly there's no ring tone that will tell me whether my mom is calling with an emergency, or because she wants to complain.

CA

[SadieKate]

I screen my calls on my cell phone and don't answer when riding. I'll stop to check who called and listen to a voice mail in case it is an emergency, but in no way do I feel obligated to answer ANY phone at any time unless I know someone is trying to reach me for immediate reasons (doctor, family health, meeting me somewhere, etc.).

I've also been known to fake a dropped call with someone who I can't get stopped (i.e., my mother).

My home is my refuge and taking a phone along with me outside is for convenience and safety, not to extend obligation, guilt and duress.

Caller ID and durn hardheaded-ness is a wunnerful thing. Get yours today.

[pardes]

My home is my refuge and taking a phone along with me outside is for convenience and safety, not to extend obligation, guilt and duress. Caller ID and durn hardheaded-ness is a wunnerful thing. Get yours today.

EXACTLY! I couldn't have said it better. Being accessible is not an obligation unless you choose to be accessible. It astounds me that people expect you to be available 24/7 and then PAY for the obligation. A cell phone is a tool not a ball and chain.

[Flur]

I'm with Sprint. They went through a really bad patch (really, really bad) but things are changing with their new CEO and I'm really glad I stuck it out. Now when I call for something the person on the other end speaks fluent English and is empowered to help me, and I don't sit on hold for very long.

I wanted to switch to their Simply Everything plan, but I had two lines and needed to drop one to do it (I only used one so it seemed silly to keep the other one). Sprint didn't want me to drop the one b/c it looks bad on their stats, so they made me a deal - they gave me an extra 800 minutes for free, and gave me a $10 credit each month, so that I now have 1600 minutes per month (more than I could ever use) and my total bill for both phones is actually less than the Simply Everything plan. Plus, all my data, texts, mobile-to-mobile, Sprint TV and Blackberry push email is all included. I just stuffed the other phone in a drawer, but I was really glad I still had it with a live number when I lost my primary phone.

[Flur]

I just had to comment on one thing, because I'm one of those who doesn't use the phone often, but I ALWAYS ALWAYS leave it on, and I get furious at people I know who don't.

Do you think you're the only person who might have an emergency? What if someone you love has an emergency and needs to reach YOU?

DH hated having a cell phone and decided to go without one. But then we had that big blackout that plunged a quarter of the country into darkness, and a few other post 9/11 bomb scares (we both worked in NYC at the time), and he realized that something really could happen where we'd need to get in touch with each other right away. So he got one and kept it on. Now he's got an iphone and is addicted, and I'm constantly telling him to put the thing away!

[surgtech1956]

I would like to go with Sprint, through my employer I can get a discount(somewhere around 18% a month), but I've looked at their coverage map and its bad.

[Crankin]

I am sorry this is infuriating to you, but NO ONE has my cell # except my husband and kids. I think my dad might have it. So, who would call me? My kids are grown, and if they couldn't reach me, they would call the house.
Well, I do have 2 other people who have the #, but they know not to try and reach me this way. One of them has it for when we lead rides (it's on then).
My emergencies would probably revolve around cycling; if I was in trouble.
Ring tones drive me nuts. Who wants to hear someone's stupid music in public? It's not that I am screening calls. It's that I am perfectly happy waiting until I get home to make plans or talk to a friend. And, I do not call them on their cell phones, either.
I know this is a generational thing, although many of my friends seem to be obsessed with their phones.
I am not the norm, I know. I am generally a technology philistine who believes we would all be a lot better off being so connected.

[vinbek]

I've had just about every service there is - I am now back to Verizon. It was the only carrier with service at our mountain home and we don't have a land line there. I didn't want to go up there without having a phone. It probably depends on where you live and what coverage you need. Verizon is the only service in the Bear VAlley area. Bekki

[OakLeaf]

I am sorry this is infuriating to you, but NO ONE has my cell # except my husband and kids. I think my dad might have it. So, who would call me? My kids are grown, and if they couldn't reach me, they would call the house.

What YOU do doesn't infuriate me. What my husband used to do, and my parents still do, DOES.

This is the hypothetical call I'm talking about. "Mr. Oakleaf, this is the hospital. Your wife Oakleaf was in an accident and she was airlifted here. Your number was listed as ICE in her phone (and her driver's license). We need someone to make some decisions about her care, and it would be helpful to her recovery if someone she knows were present."

Maybe you'd be fine waiting til you got home to get one of those calls about your spouse or child.. Maybe they'd be fine with you not receiving it. But one of the things I believe about my family is that it goes both ways, and that they should be available when I need them, to the same extent that I make myself available to them - and to the same extent that they make emergency help available to themselves.

[bmccasland]

I have Alltel. When I was looking for a cell phone a few years ago, they had better national coverage than the other companies. "All digital all the time" often meant no coverage in the wide open spaces of the west. I haven't bothered to change out of pure laziness. My phone works when I need it. I have discovered that I don't get coverage in the marshes of the coast, but I really don't care either. I don't know about the other companies, but after Hurricanes Katrina/Rita and Gustav/Ike, Alltel did forgive going over my minutes.

As for reaching me... that's what my home phone is for, and it has an answering machine. My cell is my secondary phone, not my primary phone. I'm one of those people that really really doesn't like being forced to listen to other people's one sided conversations, like in restaurants (yesterday). I think too many people have taken multi-tasking to a new extreme.

Just because the phone rings, doesn't mean you have to answer it. We have the power over the phone, not the other way around.

[vinbek]

I think its a personal choice. I have a cell phone for emergency use only. I don't like to talk on the phone. I don't feel obligated to be available to anyone. I have a land line at home with an answering service. This summer I took my son to a boy scout sleepover on the USS Hornet. There was not any cell service in the belly of this huge metal boat. On Sunday Morning I went up on deck to call home to get messages. There was one from my husband, who needed help. He had almost completed the Climb to Kaiser and was 10 miles from the finish and fell and broke his clavicle. Someone stopped and gave him a ride to his car. He drove home all bloody and with the use of one arm. I left my son with the scoutmaster and drove home and took my husband to the hospital. It all worked out fine. If someone dies, there isn't anything you can do - but wish you had known earlier. I learned many years ago that the only person you can control is yourself. And you can choose to act or react to other people's choices. Bekki