mayhemuk

In the UK this provider piggybacked on another network though I forget which.
Is it the same here or is it freestanding?

Have googled and can't find a conclusive answer.

md95065

Why do you care?

The problem with T-mobile in the US is that their coverage isn't particularly good.

Depending on where you are they simply may not be a viable option.

mayhemuk

The question is if they piggyback on Verizon or ATT then they might be a winner.
If they use Sprint then I'll steer clear.

Duncan Roberts

Why would it be a winner? You'll get charged out the wazoo if you use a UK phone here regardless of the network it uses. I believe my old T-Mobile phone picked up Orange in the UK and had an option to roam on the Cingular network here. Since cingular is now AT&T I would assume they use that network now for roaming.

Poppy girl

AT&T merged with Bellsnouth I believe

T.Mobile I can't see them merging with anyone I might eat my words but the I think they are free standing.

Going back to the coverage of T.Mobile I have a Blackberry thats TM and if I go to certain areas in CA forget it no bars and cuts out alot, if I turn my private AT&T phone on, I can get coverage anywhere anytime.

Sprint is a nightmare and not far of useless I don't know many folk with this service.

TracyTN

We're on T Mobile too. I wouldn't say my coverage is any worse than it was when I was on Verizon. Each had their 'dead zones' but generally not in the same place!

I'm getting narked, though, that now we're outside our 2 year contract time and are month to month - have noticed my bill increasing each of the last 3 months by .20 here and there. When I inquired, I was told it was 'fees' that the state tack on. I find it hard to believe that a state fee would increase each month, esp. as no one else with cell phone service here has complained about such a thing. Think we may switch carriers at some point if this continues.

Hubby leaves Sunday for the UK (2 week visit). I believe he'll be able to get on the Orange network there, but he'll more likely just get a pay as you go phone for the two weeks he's there (and Skype me when we want to talk).

md95065

They "might be a winner" for what?

If you want to use a GSM phone in the US there are only two choices: AT&T and T-Mobile. The other carriers like Verizon and Sprint are CDMA only.

So, the only network that T-Mobile could "piggyback" on in the US would be AT&T and in this case, to the best of my knowledge, they don't.

Hence, T-Mobile has significantly poorer coverage than AT&T. Whether or not this matters too you depends on where you will be using the phone.

Bill_S

So what exactly are you trying to do? Use a UK phone in the USA? Temporarily or on a permanent basis?

A brief, incomplete summary of US services:

T-Mob = cheap minutes, poor coverage.
AT&T = iPhone
Sprint = notoriously poor customer service
Verizon = best coverage, but most expensive.

For a permanent move, get a US phone.

SpoogleDrummer

I've got T-Mobile and hate it but I suspect it has something to do with my phone too. I never have a signal with my SideKick yet my wife usually does with her Samsung phone so it may not always be a coverage issue. I'm tempted to bite the bullet and get a Samsung Memoir and hope I get a better signal with it. Having said that I use my phone about as often as Stephen Hawking uses a treadmill so it's not too big a deal for me, probably why I'm more interested in the 8MP camera.

mayhemuk

Blimey - calm down guys!
I forgot I wrote this thread until I checked today.

In the UK I had Orange while living in London which was fine but when we moved to Cornwall it had many dead spots (not least where I was living at the time) I forget if T-mobile UK was attached to o2 or Vodaphone but they had decent coverage so they all three are potential suitors for my business.

Here in Southern Marin Sprint was satisfactory. Now that we're in the backwoods of Northern Marin(!) it is very much less so whereas ATT and Verizon are very good.

Hence the question. It is about coverage at the moment not costs since if the coverage is no good the rest is academic as what good is a cheap phone that doesn't work?

I don't know why I felt the need to provide such a detailed explanation for what I considered a fairly simple question but there you go.

Thank you all for your responses.

AdobePinon

UK coverage has nothing to do with US coverage. But my coverage increased about tenfold when I switched from T-Mobile to AT&T. I'm not sure who AT&T roams on (the phone never says when it's roaming), but my T-Mobile phone never roamed on AT&T. It did roam on some other random networks I've never heard of before or since.

md95065

Perhaps it is because you didn't ask the "fairly simple question" until now.

If you had asked about the coverage provided by different carriers in a particular area you might have got a more useful set of responses.

But, in any case, you seem to know the answer already ...

Sharron_

My Hubby has a Blackberry with TM too through his work and has the same problems. It's always cutting out and getting no signals.

We had AT&T before that was much, much better.

lisag8070

I know what your trying to say..it does depend on who is the strongest/biggest following network in your area..(where I was it was cingular), the phone should piggbyback on theirs.

if you want a detailed map of each networks coverage go to their web-sites and you have an option of entering in your zip code and seeing just how wide the coverage each one provides, then you can just compare.

Hope this helps

Kar98

Most Verizon smart phones are actually also quadband GSM phones (Blackberry and HTC, in general, and a couple others).