Talk Is Not Cheap
Written: Oct 19 '99 (Updated Feb 08 '00)
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Pros: Very reliable, high signal quality, good customer service
Cons: Expensive
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| artdeco73's Full Review: AT&T Mobile Phone Service in Washington/Baltimore |
My goal was to have a wireless phone as my only phone (yes, just like those AT&T billboards). I am located in Washington, DC, and have a family member in Phoenix, AZ with whom I talk almost daily, having averaged $80-$100 telephone bills in the past. I work from a home office a significant amount of time, requiring the ability to be on line and on the phone with out-of-state clients simultaneously. Finally, I travel out of state at an average of a few days per month. These circumstances dictated my search for a comprehensive, all-inclusive wireless plan and I found myself faced with a choice between AT&T Digital One Rate and the Sprint PCS 1000-minute plan. AT&T won on all counts except price (it is $20 per month more than Sprint).
First of all, Sprint was unable either to provide information or to close the deal over the telephone. They required me to go to a PCS store, at a great inconvenience, and talk to a salesman who was trying to serve three people at once. AT&T placed no such restrictions; I was able to get most of the information from their Web site, the rest from a service rep on the phone, and the telephone got delivered to my doorstep in a couple of days. The service rep promised to waive the $25 activation fee, and when it showed up on my first bill and I complained, it was taken off without further ado. Since then, I have experienced no problems with billing or any other paperwork.
The phone service itself is likewise very consistent and reliable. Occasionally (probably about 1% of the time), the system is unable to patch the call through and the phone emits a nasty low-pitched tone. Re-trying the call several times in rapid succession usually solves the problem. I can remember a significant service outage (about one hour during a storm) only once. Very occasionally (also about 1-2% of the time), I experience echo problems where the phone appears to repeat things to me in my own voice about a second after I say them. Hanging up and redialing always solves this.
Obtaining a signal in large urban areas is never a problem (Washington, New York, Phoenix, etc.). I have also successfully placed calls from the following unorthodox locations: Raton, NM; rural stretch of I-95 in Delaware, rural stretch if NY-17 in Steuben County, NY and Boulder, CO. It is worth pointing out here that the plan includes both long distance and roaming in the price, i.e. you do not pay extra for either. It simply ticks off the minutes. On the other hand, I am consistently _unable_ to place a call from any station in the Washington or the New York City subway systems.
The telephone that I received when I signed up for the service was an Ericsson KH-668 (US$99.95 minus $30 rebate) which has since been discontinued by Ericsson. My understanding is that it was not a particularly successful model for them.
In conclusion, I will say that although $120 per month is not cheap (plus about $15 per month in taxes), I think it is worth it if you do a lot of long-distance calling and/or need the flexibility of using two telephone lines simultaneously. The reliability, the signal quality and the customer service have all been above average for close to a year now.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 120/month+taxes
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Epinions.com ID:
artdeco73
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Member: Tony
Location: Washington, DC
Reviews written: 82
Trusted by: 60 members
About Me:
"Books do furnish a room" --Anthony Powell
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