<p>For what it’s worth, S is sticking w/ Sprint network. We attended May 29-30 and had no problems whatsoever throughout our time. Mind, we spent entire time up at Ferg; RCS; Engineering areas; Health/Rec center area, so not sure how things work further south & west of campus. Off campus, yes, not great coverage (esp far east of campus by Wingate, for some reason), but good coverage on highway corridor from T’Town to B’Ham.</p>
<p>Tx…where did you have trouble? </p>
<p>If it was deep within a building, then maybe all carriers would have trouble. </p>
<p>I know that when I’m in the back of Sams Club or Costco, I can’t get service (or not very well).</p>
<p>We had trouble when outside the campus…on campus, I think the wifi or a sprint booster took over…and this may be good enough. we will certainly check it out next time we visit but until then DD can stay month-to-month (her step-sis paid for the new iPhone so no new contract…just switched phones). We drop calls inside our house, so if sprint does n’t add a promised new tower soon, we will all switch.</p>
<p>I know AT&T is a University sponsor but I’ve always found Verizon to have the best service on campus.</p>
<p>I had no problems with Sprint during Bama Bound.</p>
<p>Bumping for any new thoughts on Verizon vs AT&T as must select a carrier for NMF iPAD by June 20th.</p>
<p>Will get DD new phone on selected carrier as Sprint was not “all that” in Tuscaloosa and pretty much stinks it up in north Houston as well.</p>
<p>We are all going to switch.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>My rankings through experience are:</p>
<ol>
<li>Verizon</li>
<li>AT&T
3/4: Sprint & T-Mobile</li>
</ol>
<p>I am not sure if AT&T has lit up their faster (LTE) 4G service in T-Town yet, but I know Verizon has. I would not count on the performance of UA’s WiFi network, as there have been times when that network has been so congested, it was faster to use cellular for my S.</p>
<p>Just as you might expect anywhere, no carrier is perfect. They all have dead spots, but I think the fewest are encountered with Verizon overall. I am fairly certain that Verizon and AT&T bring in COWs (portable trailers) on game days to augment the crush that occurs. My S has told me there are buildings on campus which are effectively like bunkers where nothing works.</p>
<p>Sprint is in the process of migrating from one 4G network technology to another, and they are behind the curve on top of it. So, I would avoid Sprint if at all possible. Even in areas of good coverage, the performance of Verizon stomps all over it. </p>
<p>In most parts of the Country, if you have an LTE phone with Verizon, you are going to enjoy the fastest network speeds available, on average. AT&T is getting there, but when I do side-by-side speed tests, Verizon always comes out on top.</p>
<p>Verizon is generally the most expensive carrier as well, but you do get what you pay for.</p>
<p>As a general rule, phones from one carrier are not inter-operable with another. If you are off-contract and have no particular loyalty to a carrier, for a student you might want to check out Republic Wireless. $20 a month with no contract and the “catch” is that you use a WiFi connection more than you use their network. That is how they keep the costs down. If we didn’t have grandfathered unlimited data with Verizon, I would have my S on Republic while he was in school (where there is decent WiFi coverage):</p>
<p>[Prepaid</a> Cell Phones - No Contract Cell Phones | Republic Wireless](<a href=“http://www.republicwireless.com/]Prepaid”>http://www.republicwireless.com/)</p>
<p>We are long time customers of AT&T. The only problem my DD ever had with AT&T were a few random dead spots in her dorm. She lived in RCW last year. Ironically, she would hit those dead spots when I needed to “chat” with her. Overall, we are very happy with AT&T and had excellent service in Tuscaloosa. Even in the stadium on gameday, she was able to call us and locate us (Find my Friend feature)…for more money. :)</p>
<p>Wow. We all may go Republic for phones. I am covered by a wifi almost all the time asvDD will be.</p>
<p>Looks like Verizon for iPad.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>THOSE dead spots. I think all carriers have THOSE dead spots!</p>
<p>We are on AT&T and have had no problem whatsoever here in Tuscaloosa. Even in areas I would think would be “black holes” in the bowels of buildings I have had no problem connecting. Even better, our texts to meet up and such have gone straight thru with no delays. </p>
<p>That is too funny about the service crashing at that school in Texas. Goofy aggies, can’t even get that right. 
Roll Tide</p>
<p>I have T-Mobile…I haven’t had any troubles getting service, even on gamedays (unless I was calling a Verizon or AT&T number…).</p>