My wife established our cellular service with VoiceStream while I was out-of-town. We kid about her inability to make good consumer decisions, so it was a pleasant surprise to see that she did very well in selecting a cellular carrier.

Most important, the coverage area of it's Seattle/Tacoma service has always appeared incredibly reliable. Unlike other markets where I've had cellular phones, the signal seems to be minimally affected by large buildings with fluorscent lighting. Unfortunately the "heart of downtown" Fort Lewis is outside the reach of the nearest cellular tower, and you will receive a very poor signal at best. I've spoken to customers of other providers, however, and they all say their reception is equally poor.

The service plan we currently have provides us with 600 minutes available anytime day or night (additional minutes billed at 25 cents/min), 1000 weekend minutes, caller ID, conference calling, call waiting, call hold, caller ID restriction, call forwarding, itemized monthly bill, text messages (50 free or 500 messages for an additional $2.99/month), and voicemail. The contact is for one year, billed at $39.99 a month.

The home service area (the places you can travel to without incurring annoying roaming charges) is much larger than I've experienced with other providers. It includes the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming.

Quite possibly the best part of service with VoiceStream is the ability to make long-distance calls without being charged additional fees, assuming it's part of the included 600 anytime or 1000 weekend minutes. The worst part of the service is that your minutes are ticked away even when receiving incoming calls and making tollfree outgoing calls.

The VoiceStream website is a little buggy, but generally very functional. You can view your current charges as well as pay your bill, email customer service, download ringtones for a fee, and send a text message to another VoiceStream user.

I've honestly never dealt with customer service, but then again I haven't had to. I suppose it really doesn't matter how great the reps are if you never have a reason to call them.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 39.99