I ordered my phone and service online through Wireless Dimension, who gave me a $25 rebate. The normal $25 activation fee was waived because I ordered online. I then smooth talked AT&T to give me a service credit that equaled the price of the phone ($129), so I was essentially paid $25 to "buy" a phone and start my service.
I selected AT&T after several months of research into every available plan. I concluded that AT&T gave the best coverage but at a premium price. Their superior coverage stems from their use of "other" providers in areas where AT&T does not have their own network. For example, in San Francisco the actual service provider is Cellular One (I think) rather than AT&T, but my phone still picks up the signal and the service is included in the monthly rate. It's a seamless operation that's totally transparent to the user.
I started my service just before taking a trip around the United States. I had great coverage everywhere! The only places I had "no coverage" were in some remote stretches of Montana and Texas; otherwise I always had some sort of a signal. The phone automatically finds one of the three digital or analog signals it works on and selects the best available. There were a couple of remote locations in the country where I had a signal, but there was not a service agreement between the local provider and AT&T. In those instances the local provider asked for a credit card number before completing the call; I chose to wait and call later when I was in an area where AT&T had a service agreement, but I would have gladly given the cc # if it had been an emergency. I'm certain that other providers would have had no coverage at all in these areas.
In summary, AT&T has lived up to the research I did in advance: their nationwide coverage is definitely the best. They do have lower cost plans available for people who don't travel a lot. You can also reduce the cost of the digital one rate plan by using the cell phone instead of your home phone for all your long distance. AT&T also has a "western states" plan that you may find useful if your travel is primarily in the western US.




Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 90