When GTE became part of Verizon, almost everything improved for GTE customers. Generally, Verizon offers quite a bit more for the same monthly rates. But, there are several changes San Francisco Bay Area customers need to be aware of, including significant changes in the local calling area.

Local Calling Area

Under GTE, the San Francisco local calling area (area within which there are no long distance or roaming charges) was huge. It included the coastal strip from Mendocino County south to Santa Barbara and inland across the San Joaquin Valley into the southern Sierra Nevada.

Verizon has split this local calling area into two pieces, and only calls within either of the pieces are free of long distance charges. Under GTE, a call from San Francisco to Bakersfield was a local call, but that isn't the case under Verizon. Because of the odd construction of the two local areas, a call from Ukiah to Bakersfield is still a local call. Check Verizon's new local calling area map for details.

Roaming

GTE used to charge 38 cents per minute for roaming within California and 50 cents per minute for roaming beyond our fair state. Verizon's southwest home calling area is huge. It includes all of California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, and there are no roaming charges within this area (of course, there may be long distance charges). Outside this home calling area, Verizon charges 60 cents per minute, 10 cents per minute more than GTE's rate.

Long Distance

Since the local calling area is smaller, Verizon customers will be making more long distance calls. Under GTE, long distance charges were 10 cents per minute within California and 14 cents per minute elsewhere. Under Verizon, all long distance is 15 cents per minute.

Sharing Plans

GTE's FamilyNet Share Plan has evolved into Verizon's Family SharePlan. Under this plan, you select a monthly service plan which can then be shared by a total of 5 lines. Under GTE, each additional line used to cost $10 per month, but Verizon charges $15 per month, which may or may not be a good deal. [See my opinion on the Family SharePlan for more details.]

Call Quality

In my experience, GTE/Verizon coverage and call quality are very good throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, although there are pockets where only analog service is available. Coverage seems to drop off only in some of the deeper valleys around my home, Santa Cruz.

Customer Service

The GTE service center continues to handle Verizon service in my area. I've found that service calls are answered quickly and that credits for billing errors are given immediately although sometimes the errors crop up again in a month due to billing process timing issues. The best way to get a billing problem solved definitively is to call as soon as you get your bill and follow up again the next month if the problem persists. I've never had a technical problem, so I can't judge their handling of such issues.

One problem with Verizon is that its component companies (GTE, Airtouch, etc.) are not yet fully integrated. We experienced the problems this can cause when my partner set up mobile phone service for her son in Albuquerque, but wanted the service to be billed to her in California. It was a few months before we realized we weren't getting the bills, and then it was very difficult to give them a change of address because the 800 number in the bill did not work in California. But, other than this odd situation, Verizon service has been better than average.

Special Deal

At the moment, Verizon is offering new Bay Area customers $10 off for the first three months of any new service activation. They haven't announced a cutoff date for this deal.




Recommended: Yes

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