OT: I have read the cell phone threads but have a question.........

[msudeltadawg1971]

I am changing jobs and will be traveling in LA, AR, MS, AL, GA, FL, my phone is paid for by the company. I am already with Cellular South, but was wondering if coverage would be better with Verizon, they have the HTC Thunderbolt 4G which they say is the tops, they also have the Iphone 4. If I stay with CS I will upgrade to the Galaxy after reading the threads here. To make it sports related, I know if I keep CS I will be able to call out on game day in Starkville.

 

[pDigital32Dawg]

I was able to do the same things I do at home everywhere I went. 3G was reliable outside of the cellsouth coverage map

 

[weblow]

From my understanding. When out of the Cell South calling area, you are on Verizon towers anyway. I would pick the phone and plan you want and see which company that is with.

Usually Cell South has the best plan, that is how they have stayed so strong.

 

[msudeltadawg1971]

I think I will just upgrade to the Galaxy, save the new company a little money for a cheaper plan.

 

[dawgnautique]

Tell you that the HTC thunderbolt on Verizon's 4g network is unbelievably fast. A buddy of mine just got an iPhone4 and we were both on Verizon...me 4g with thunderbolt and he 3g with the iPhone and we did a speed test with an identical speed test app. My Thunderbolt blew his iPhone away....I mean blew it away. The thing to think about for you would be how much time will you spend in a 4g area. Also, if you do decide on a thunderbolt....you must get the extended battery...on 4g....4 hours of battery life..max if you are surfing etc. I will tell you this, I had an iPhone previously and it was nice....now...I wouldn't trade my thunderbolt plus $200 for the iPhone now.

 

[FlabLoser]

Cell South only covers MS, Memphis area, the AL coast, and part of the FL panhandle. Everything else is Verizon and/or Sprint via a roaming agreement. Its all transparent to you. You'd never know you aren't on a Cell South network.

 

[greystreet81]

Cell South only covers MS, Memphis area, the AL coast, and part of the FL panhandle. Everything else is Verizon and/or Sprint via a roaming agreement. Its all transparent to you. You'd never know you aren't on a Cell South network.

Except if you use more than 30% of your minutes in a given month outside of Cellular South's cozy little coverage area. Then, without warning, they hit you with big fat roaming charges.

 

[vocaldawg7]

I've heard it was 50 % but i could be wrong.... I have also been told that i would not be hit with any charges but I would recieve a letter asking me to change services. They just want to make sure if you get the all unlimited plan, that you are actually a resident in the local area and use it mostly here. But as others have been saying, i travel quite a bit and have NEVER had a problem with whatever network CS has its contracts with. Never lose service anywhere i go.... CA, FL, VA, MD, TX, MO, AR, etc.

 

[Xartox]

It's called the Fair Usage Rule, or the 50/50 rule. At least 50% of your usage for the month has to be on CS home network. You don't get the roaming fee until there is a consecutive monthly pattern.

 

[downwarddawg]

I've been all over the place, Vegas, California Mojave Desert, Iowa, Missouri, Floridaetc... I've never had a coverage problem using CS and I've never been charged roaming fees. Of course, I don't stay on the phone all day either but when I needed it I had no problem.

 

[FlabLoser]

Nearly all my minutes are in MS. But when I travel out of state, I use my HTC Hero like a garmin. It constantly shows a map, directions, estimated time to destination, etc.

 

[FlabLoser]

Copy & pasted below.

In my case, I suppose the thing to do is stream Pandora all day to make sure more than 50% of my usage is in-state (or on their network).

I'm curious how this is actually implemented. Would they fuss at someone who had 6 minutes out of network and only 5 minutes in-network? I have seen dumber things from them.

<h3>IMPORTANT INFORMATION:</h3>

Customers participating in this plan
must reside in the Regional/Primary Area which is defined as the
Cellular South Network in MS and generally in and surrounding
Memphis/West Memphis, AR/nearby West TN; Mobile and Baldwin Counties in
AL; and Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton Counties in FL.</p><p style="display: block;" class="more">There
are no additional long distance charges when roaming. "Nationwide"
includes the entire United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands. Text Messaging, Call Waiting, Conference Calling and Call
Forwarding are included with each Smartphone Unlimited and Smartphone
Unlimited (Second Line) Plan. Voice Mail is available upon request.</p><p style="display: block;" class="more">
The following features cannot be added to the Smartphone Unlimited or
Smartphone Unlimited (Second Line) Plans: Nationwide Long Distance
Minutes, Nationwide Travel Minutes and Unlimited Nationwide Long
Distance.</p><p style="display: block;" class="more"> With a
subscription to the Smartphone Unlimited Plan ($79.99/mo.), one
Smartphone Unlimited (Second Line) Plan ($39.99/mo.) can be added to
another user on the same account. Only one $39.99 Smartphone Unlimited
(Second Line) Plan is available for every $79.99 Smartphone Unlimited
Plan on a single account. The Smartphone Unlimited (Second Line) Plan is
not available as a stand-alone plan or in conjunction with any other
plan.</p><p style="display: block;" class="more">Fifty percent (50%) of
all usage must be in the Regional/Primary Area. In the event that 50% of
total usage for a two (2)-month period is outside the Regional/Primary
Area, Cellular South reserves the right to move customers to another
plan with reduced geographic coverage. Nationwide Travel Minutes may not
be added to these plans.</p><p style="display: block;" class="more">Calls
terminating outside of the United States, Puerto Rico or the U.S.
Virgin Islands will incur international long distance charges. Calls to
Canada or any area that is part of the North American Numbering Plan
(10-digit dialing) can be dialed directly and placed without requesting
access. Calls to Canada will also incur international charges. Calls to
all other international locations will be blocked at activation unless
access is requested by calling 1-877-CSOUTH1 (276-8841) or 611 from your
Cellular South phone. Learn more about international calling.</p><p style="display: block;" class="more">Participation
in third-party text messaging contests or promotions, and the purchase
of third-party content may result in additional charges on your bill
above and beyond standard messaging rates. The Smartphone Unlimited and
Smartphone Unlimited (Second Line) Plans are for PDA/Smartphone devices
only. The Web (for Mobile Phones) feature will only work on devices that
are BREW®/Mobile Web capable. The Pics feature will only work on devices that are BREW®/Mobile Web capable and have cameras, or on MMS-capable PDAs/Smartphones with cameras.</p><p style="display: block;" class="more">Please
note that this information is specific to the Smartphone Unlimited and
Smartphone Unlimited (Second Line) Plans and may not apply to other
products and services we offer.</p><p style="display: block;" class="more">Unused
minutes do not roll over to the next month. Airtime is billed in
one-minute increments with partial minutes rounded up to the next full
minute from the time the call is placed until the call is terminated in
our system. All pricing listed for calling plans and service
enhancements are monthly fees unless otherwise noted and are promotional
prices that are subject to change. Monthly access charges are not
refundable. A Plan Activation Fee and Early Termination Fee may apply.
New activation and promotional offer contract may be required for
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area only. Certain restrictions, taxes and/or fees apply. See Tariff,
Customer Service Agreement and User Guide for complete details of terms
and conditions. Actual wireless coverage may vary due to atmospheric
conditions, customer equipment or system limitations.</p>

 

[msudeltadawg1971]

I may have to rethink thisbecause although I will live in MS, I will do a lot of travel outside the CS coverage area, FL, GA, Carolina's, AL, MS, AR, LA.

 

[mredge]

The 4G in New Orleans was extra nice.