[Old School D]

I have to get a new cell phone, what's the best service there in Lynchburg? Last fall I had Cingular, but couldn't get any service in the dorms or most of campus, I'll be living off-campus this next year. Anyone know what works the best there?

[LUconn]

I used to have sprint but there seemed to be a lot of dead spots all around town. Especially where I tended to linger the most. They have since merged with Nextel so it might be better, I don't know. Right now I have Alltel and I get service everywhere. I really like it except my free phones are now seriously outdated. Lots of people I know have Ntelos and really like it to.

Thanks for the heads up on Cingular. I was thinking about switching to them but based on their coverage map, I was a little concerned.

[Libertine]

In and around Lynchburg, US Cellular has the most towers.

[SuperJon]

I have Alltel and either Smoothie or SCAR does too, I can't remember which one. It works great in Lynchburg. I used to not like Alltel but they've seriously started getting a lot better. Their customer service is always good too. If a phone stops working they'll replace it without charging you. I'd say go with Alltel. Plus, they have that new Your Circle thing where you can put ten people down and call them for free no matter the service. Calls to Alltel customers are already free.

[givemethemic]

Alltel hands down, I will never change providers, they offer to many good things for me to change... Smoothie can back me up on this and so can SJ and FSN32, heck even Hurricane Fan could have a little say in this

[SuperJon]

Oh yea, I forgot you had Alltel too.

[Rocketfan]

I live out in forest right next to a tower and i have had zero problems with service. Nextel and Sprint are a mess and Cingular comes nowhere close that Suncom deal (unlimited everything for like $60 that i used to have). The new 10 phone numbers is sweet and i had a problem with a phone as well and just got a new one.

[LUconn]

Here's whats stupid about cell phone providers:

They treat their noncustomers better than their customers. I would like a new phone since mine is pretty old. But Alltel isn't going to give me a free one to retain my business. They'll only do that with folks that are currently with another company. I have to go with somebody else to get one. It just doesn't makes sense to me.

[Hold My Own]

Sprint! I never drop a call and they are better then ALL the other services when it comes to customer service. I'm getting 40% off my bill each month, and when I hinted about switching services they gave me everything they could for next to nothing. Not to mention the website www.sprintusers.com where you can find all the tricks on how to get your bill next to nothing in the forums section, you cant beat their plans

[Sly Fox]

Don't you guys have Verizon, T-Mobile or Cricket?

[LUconn]

Cricket?

Verizon is pretty good around here. I just don't know anybody with it who lives here. I'm not sure if we have T-mobil. I think I've seen a T-mobil store.

[givemethemic]

yeah we have T-mobile but I am not a big fan of it here... it's better up North

[TIMSCAR20]

I have T-Mobile and it is ok. I have found few people who are happy with their phone service in Lynchburg regardless of the carrier. I am really surprised to hear on this board how everyone is pushing their company. Maybe they are trying to trick us because they are stuck? Just kidding. I am ok with T Mobile except on route 29 north. Not much coverage from anybody on 29 north towards Charlottesville though. I am ok with it in Richmond and Northern VA though.

[Sly Fox]

Cricket is a new carrier they has no contracts. You buy your own phone and its all month-to-month. They have been an instant hit here in Houston.

And yes, I have a feeling most people want to believe the service they have is great. I have Verizona and home and Cingular at work (after having Nextel & Sprint PCS int he past). Wuith all of the towers these days, there really isn't much difference between the services here in Houston. That may be a little different in Virginia but I had great signal while I was there this spring. The only place I had trouble was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike (which may be the most horrendous freeway in America ... and they make you pay to drive it).

[LUconn]

I liked sprints services when I had it. I never had to worry about extra charges or anything no matter where I was while everyone else was scared to use their phone. But it just always seemed like there was a dead area where ever I lived. (in my dorm and even in my house in CT). It was annoying.

Alltel seems like I always get a signal where ever I am. It is kinda pricey for the low amount of minutes I get. But when I signed up, it was a good deal because of all of the free junk they throw at you. Right now they're selling a $149.99 phone with a $149.00 rebate with a 2 year agreement. It's a nice phone too. I just called them up and they said it was only for new subscribers. I got myself tranferred to the "upgrade" department and there's nothing remotely that good. Maybe I'll just cancel my service and then try. I don't want to lose my number though. I guess I'll just have to find a new provider.

[bigsmooth]

ALLTEL. they now have a deal that the 10 most used numbers you dial, you are not charged, as long as your plan is $59.99 or more. i have been with alltel for over 10 years. excellent customer service and great coverage.

[TIMSCAR20]

Remember Luconn, you can keep the same number now even if you change subscribers. Now if you cancel without rolling it over to a new carrier it may go back into the pool. Not sure how that will work. Maybe you can cancel and re-up in the same transaction. It is dumb business to make you have to do that but common sense is not always common in corp America.

[El Scorcho]

First and foremost, let me say something that applies to all cell carriers, regardless of where you live: Buy a good phone. I have friends complain to me all of the time about how their signal sucks with this carrier or that one, but none of them ever bothered to read a review on their phone before they bought it. The model of phone you buy can make all of the difference. C|Net usually has great phone reviews. All I'm saying is, don't expect spectacular call quality with the $0.99 special you got when you signed your contract.

Now, Alltel operates in place of Verizon in the Lynchburg area, since the both operate on the same time of signal. I've been using them since January of 2004, and when I've had good phones, I've had no complaints. Currently I have a Motorola V710, and it's been fine. I'll likely be switching to a UT Starcom PPC 6700 soon. This is in anticipation of Alltel rolling out EVDO coverage in the area. I'm dying for EVDO.

In addition to that, I had a Sidekick2 with T-Mobile for about a year and a half. For the first year I just had data services, and it was great as long as I had a data signal. The problem is that T-Mobile and Cingular's GSM signal (they share coverage in this area) stops at the city limits. If you're outside of town, even just a little, forget it. That last 6 months I had phone and data from T-Mobile on the Sidekick2. Never had a problem with the voice service as it roamed fairly well, just wish the GSM data signal had better coverage. Service aside, the Sidekick2 was absolutely my favorite phone ever. Were I not getting the UT Starcom, I'd have kept my T-Mobile service and tried the new Sidekick3 that came out last week.

Lastly, I think Sprint probably has the second best coverage to Alltel in the area. Unfortunately, they don't offer a lot of great phones so you have to be kind of picky. They also tend to lose coverage if you end up out in the sticks, or at the lake for instance. Additionally, they're not rolling out their EVDO coverage here anytime soon, which sucks. They'll still sell you the fancy phones with all of the high-speed EVDO-dependant features, though. No problems there. My wife has had Sprint for three years, and we have no plans to switch her to another carrier. Besides her Samsung A900 is hot. I get jealous of it.

[LUconn]

First and foremost, let me say something that applies to all cell carriers, regardless of where you live: Buy a good phone. I have friends complain to me all of the time about how their signal sucks with this carrier or that one, but none of them ever bothered to read a review on their phone before they bought it. The model of phone you buy can make all of the difference.

Another way to check on this is to simply ask the guy at the store. Most of them will be able to tell you what other people have said about the phone, without pushing you into getting an expensive phone. My brother had Alltel before me and he lost his signal a lot. When I got a deal on Alltel the guy at the store pointed out that particular phone as one that didn't get a very good signal. So I got one that he said people had good luck with. And it's worked great for me.