New Wireless Provider Recommendations, Pros/Cons, Etc.

[Nobody]

I've been a very loyal Verizon customer for 12 years now. I have 3 wireless lines through them, my house phone through them, internet through them, and tv through them. Never once have I been late or missed a payment. So much for loyalty.

Today, I was in the middle of sending a text, and my screen went black. I still have a dumb phone, so it wasn't a technology or software issue. Everything else worked fine. I had sound, backlight on my screen, and I could still place and receive calls. But with no screen, it was like having a cordless phone. I had a similar problem in the past, and when I took it to the Verizon store, they fixed it in store for $25. Not anymore. I went in, told them about my dilemma, and asked them to repair it. I was informed they quit doing repairs 2 years ago. Since I just upgraded my phone less than a year ago, a replacement phone would be full price. I told him I had insurance on the phone, and he said it wouldn't be covered, because technically it still worked. Before the thought of going home and breaking it crossed my mind, he informed me that since he witnessed that it still worked aside from the display, not to get any ideas because he was making notes on my account.

Needless to say, I told him to go ahead and cancel every service I have through them, because they aren't the only game in town. I hate dealing with Cox Cable, but for internet they are my only other option, so I am going to go ahead and get tv through them too.

For wireless service, I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on a smart phone. For the 3 lines I had with Verizon, I was paying $130 a month. I'm looking to keep within a reasonable range, but I realize that with smart phones comes data and more cost, but I still want to stay under $200 for all 3 lines. I'm looking at Sprint as my best option so far, but in the past I heard so much negative about Sprint, have they gotten better? I tried to look at AT&T, but when you try to order online, they only give you the monthly price for the basic nothing package, and want you to commit to order before they show you what the monthly rate will be. I see that as shady, so I'm not even considering them. I don't need an absurd amount of minutes (we've been getting by fine sharing 1400 minutes, and have never gone over 900) and I would only need up to around 2 or 3GB of data.

Who should I check out and who should I avoid? Pros/Cons?

 

[Burgundy Burner]

I am not a good guage of how you should go about doing this, but here goes.

I have been with AT&T wireless since 1994. They love getting customers from Verizon and could give you a good deal. The smartphone (highly recommend you get one) that I have is the Nokia N900 - but I get these free from a family member who works for them.

However, try to negotiate with any carrier on getting smartphones for the family and with a good plan, you can get them for peanuts. AT&T doesn't care for me having my own smartphone, but they don't hold it against me either.

Shop around and compare. Good luck with it.