I got my first cell phone back in 1996 through Cellular One, mainly because they had much cooler phones than Bell Atlantic Mobile (now Verizon). Sprint and AT&T were pretty much non-existent at the time, so my choices were few.

I was always happy with Cellular One. I got great phone service, and their customer service bent over backwards to retain their customers. I stayed with them for 4 years and never had any problems.

Less than a year ago, Cingular took over Cellular One. Since my service changed over, it's been all downhill (possibly because Cingular is a national chain rather than a local one)

In the past month, I've had 7 people complain that they received "All circuits are busy" messages when trying to call me at various times during the week. I've also received the same message when attempting to access my voicemail from a landline based phone. This probably results from the influx of existing Cingular customers to the smaller Cellular One infrastructure.

Regardless, I can no longer rely on my phone to be there when I really need it, which is why I got a cell phone in the first place.

If unreliability is not an issue, here are a couple of "kicker" points.

1.) I drop more calls in cell-to-cell conversations than
any of my friends/associates on non-Cingular systems.

2.) Due to the technology used within the network, I usually lose reception indoors faster than non-Cingular customers.

3.) Cingular plans are on average, $10 higher per month than a comparable Verizon or Sprint plan. and

4.) Cingular outlets in the Philadelphia region only offer a choice of 5 or 6 phones. 3 of the choices are the "free" Ericssons or low level Nokias, one is the black Startac (the one that's been around for years), and the remaining two are the Nokia 3300 and Nokia 8820. That's it - techheads need not apply.

Please note that I'm not randomly bashing this company. One of the reasons I'm so upset is because right before Cingular took over, I renewed my contract with Cell One for another two years (even if I couldn't get the "newest" phone) because I was very happy with the service to that point.

My advice - Go with Verizon in this area, their plans are cheaper, they have a huge selection of phones, including the newest and greatest, and based on Verizon-user opinions, they have much more reliable phone service than Cingular.

FYI - I'm currently paying $56/month for an East Regional Plan with 550 anytime minutes and no roaming on the Eastern Seaboard. The same plan at Verizon is $45, with 3000 free night and weekend minutes a month for life (for a limited time). I've done my homework, because I'm shopping for new service

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): $20-$60 mo.