I chose Sprint PCS in January of 1999. I primarily chose them because of their add-a-phone plan, a rarely advertised feature that lets two phones draw from the same pool of minutes on plans $50 and higher. At the time, the add-a-phone was $15 a month, but that has increased to $20 a month with their new pricing plan (as of 5/00). Also, Sprint had the best rates and a good selection of phones to choose from. The free long distance was also a nice perk.

Overall, I've had a good experience with Sprint PCS. They have good coverage throughout most of Cincinnati, and are getting more and more coverage through major insterstate routes. I'm very excited about the Wireless Web that we just had turned on: I can now read my email from my phone! Sound quality is superb: I have had comments from callers on how well the phones sound. Digital is definitely where it's at.

The add-a-phone plan is great for couples that need to be in touch. It's a lot cheaper than keeping two open accounts. If you sign up for a year service, they'll knock $10 off of the add-a-phone deal, bringing the two-phone, 500 minute deal to around $60, which is pretty good.

The wireless web is good for geeks like me who now feel isolated if they can't check their email or get a weather forecast on-demand. You can choose wireless web as your free option (instead of long distance), or as a $10 option if you enlist for a year. The web gets you Yahoo! (for email, contacts, and calendaring), Amazon, and others. You can hotsync Yahoo with your desktop, so you have your calendar, contacts, and email with you wherever you go.

I also signed up for Short Messaging Service. This works sort of like an alphanumeric pager: you can send mail to <myphonenumber>@messaging.springpcs.com and send a message directly to my phone. Good for those discrete messages during a meeting, or emergency emails from work.

Sprint also includes the standard stuff most PCS services do: voice mail, caller ID, three way calling, etc. The caller ID is terrific: no more being caught off-guard with the cell phone.

Another side benefit is that you can sign up for $.07 a minute long distance through Sprint for your land line if you are a PCS customer.

Sprint always has a wide selection of very good phones. Current models include ultra-portable clamshell designs, a PalmOS based organizer, a large-screen web-oriented phone, and several other stylish devices. Prices range from $40 for a refurb model to $800 for the Palm device. Most are around the $150 - $200 mark.

I've gotten very spoiled by the Sprint service. I can go to almost any major city in the US and dial like I was at home, at no extra cost. Since the minutes are so cheap, I wind up using the PCS phone due to its convenient dialing features over the wired line that I have in front of me. I am available at any time to my wife or friends: it's like being a kid with a Walkie-Talkie again!

The Sprint PCS stores are also nice to have around. The Mason store (near Biggs and Staples) has been a real help in getting my new phones and in answering questions that I have. You can also try out all of the phones there and see what you like. There is also a store near the Tri-County mall, in the strip mall across the street from the auto dealerships.

One unfortunate drawback is that we do not have PCS service in our house. My phone works out in the yard, but the signal it totally blocked inside. We are in an eastern suburb of Cincinnati, right on the edge of the service area. There are also several other spots, some much nearer to the heart of Cincinnati, that I experience service dropouts on: Montgomery road, near where it crosses Lebanon (near the Hyde Park Chophouse) is the one that immediately comes to mind. The 275/71 interchange is also troublesome. I think Sprint needs a few more towers.

The other downside is that the phones we selected, both Qualcomm units, only lasted about a year before they both broke. Our old analog Motorola lasted 5 years. I hope this isn't a sign of things to come.

Note that although per-minute rates are low, analog roaming rates are very high, as well as over-plan usage. So, make sure you get a plan that will accomodate the minutes you will use, and make sure that you will primarily be operating in a PCS are before purchasing. You can always get drop to a lower plan if you end up not using the minutes, but if you run over, it will hurt. If you do a lot of back-roads travel, this isn't the plan for you: check out the Airtouch Digital Service.

Overall, I recommend the service to anyone who lives in the Cincinnati area, but only if you call withing the Sprint PCS area. There's a 30 day money-back guarantee, so check it out and return it if you roam much.




Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 50