Voicestream (T Mobile) is Serious about dominating the Wireless market
Written: Jul 30 '02 (Updated Dec 16 '02)
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Pros: 3000 anytime minutes for $49.99. Who even comes close?
Cons: Coverage is not 100% yet and no roaming available period.
The Bottom Line: Voicestream has come a long way and have broken new ground with their phenomenal HUGE anytime minutes plans. The other guys are shaking in their boots.
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| turbohawk's Full Review: T-Mobile Phone Service in Austin |
Time for a timely posting on Voicestream
After reviewing the handful of epinions and noting that only one of them was posted this year (2002), I had to post a current epinion. In September, Voicestream will officially be T-Mobile here in Texas. They have already made the change on the west coast. Jamie Lee will be gone and Catherine Zeta-Jones is their new spokeswoman. T-Mobile is a giant European wireless provider (another name for Deutsche Telecom?) and they have very deep pockets which I hope means they expand their coverage and service quality even more than they obviously have.
To me, It's all about the ANYTIME minutes
My brother signed up with Voicestream about 8 months ago with a plan that has to be the best minutes-per-dollar there has ever been to date: 3000 ANYTIME minutes for under $50!!!!!!! And like Jamie Lee says, "It's the ANYTIME minutes that count...Who wants to have tuesdays conversations on the weekend?" I have been watching and asking him how "goes it?" on a weekly basis as to how Voicestream coverage/service is working for him. He spends a lot of time visiting with clients all over Texas and he has had nothing but good to say about the service, even in the many dinky little towns he finds himself in.
Having had a nightmare year with AT&T, and noting that NOBODY currently comes close to offering a plan as good as this one (3000 anytime minutes!), I took the plunge and signed up. I was fortunate to find, through Amazon.com, a free Motorola V60g offer (after rebates) and jumped all over it.
Note about phones: One thing I have learned over the years with cellular - never settle for the cheap phones! Your wireless service is always only as good as your phone! If you have a crappy phone, how can you honestly expect to have good service? Every phone manufacturer offers bargain phones and then good phones. Very rarely are bargain phones anygood.
I have had Voicestream before.
Back in 1999 I had signed up with Voicestream using the bargain Nokia 5195 "brick". Signal strength and overall service was great in urban areas, near major highways, etc., but service seemed lacking in rural areas, and we were aware of this from the beginning. Everything was fine until they were bought out by Deustche Telecom and there seemed to be the usual confusionary period when one company buys out another. Soon after this there were billing errors and uninformed customer service people to go with it. When my contract expired, I was ready to go with another provider. So when I had heard my brother signed up with them, I said, "Uh oh..." but my remark so far has been unfounded. And who can argue with 3000 anytime minutes for under $50? Especially in this cellular market where all the bigboys are price gouging, changing night minutes to much later in the evening, taking away perks like free incoming calls, etc., this offering by Voicestream is great.
Voicestream after 2 months of service in this year, 2002
It is now almost August and I have had nothing but good to say about Voicestream service. It works where they advertise it works, it doesn't where they also show it won't. I know that within the last 2 years the coverage area has increased dramatically. And with AT&T and other companies switching over to GSM technology (Voicestream has been GSM from day one), this should speak volumes.
I have not had to call customer service ever since I received my phone, it's worked flawlessly. I did call customer service a few times prior to signing up with them to ask about coverage in a specific area and I can tell you that compared to 2 years ago, they have improved dramatically in just about everything.
One thing to point out about the 3000 minute plan: Nationwide long distance is NOT included. You can call to and from anywhere in your regional area toll free (very large region too, covers all of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkanas, Kansas, Missouri!). Since we have 2 cell phones, the other is Sprint (read my review) which I'll use the very few times I need to call outside this region. Please note that Voicestream does offer many nationwide plans, but the 3000 minute plan shines brightly for me.
I must reiterate that the quality of the phone you buy is so important to the overall quality of the service you will experience with your cell phone. I've learned this lesson all over again recently and I must say that Motorola's higher-end phones (V60's and V120) seem to be the ticket.
I'll do a six month update, which may have some important info with the T-Mobile change and all.
In Conclusion
Voicestream is NOT the start out company it was a few years ago. It has matured and increased it's offerings. It's now a major player and is undoubtedly going to influence the other companies (hopefully bring prices down). Competition is a wonderful thing and makes things better. Research carefully the finer points of the plans and make sure you understand the limitations of coverage, study the maps carefully. I would recommend Voicestream to my family and hope they continue to offer the great service I've experience thus far. Be sure to always get a GOOD phone.
Six month Update
I can honestly say that I have had nothing but good to say about Tmobile this year. They have expanded service areas tremendously, which is very remarkable when you consider that ALL of the other guys are cutting back and reducing towers to help with costs. I have had ZERO dropped calls while in town and most people think I'm on my home phone, which due to the generous plan minutes, it practically is. It's real nice to make a call when I need to without needing to know what time it is... Anytime minutes are where it's at and the ONLY plan that comes close to beating Tmobile is At&t's unlimited plan. But, since it is $99/month AND requires a 2 year contract, I just don't want, need or trust them. Tmobile also now has a 5000 minute nationwide plan for $99. This is a LOT of airtime.
Bottom line is I trust Tmobile a lot more than I would At&t, ever. Read my review on AT&T service for more info.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 50/month
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Epinions.com ID:
turbohawk
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Reviews written: 20
Trusted by: 3 members
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