<p>I’m an international students coming to bryn mawr this year so I’m quite confused with all these different cell phone companies. Which company do most students use at Bryn Mawr and how is the reception for each one? What kind of cell phones do most students use? Some girls might join a family plan with me to save money…is there any suggestions for this? like whether it’s doable, other ways of saving money etc.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>I’m in the same situation… during the admitted student chats and on Facebook, I’ve asked about both T-Mobile and AT&T and girls that were with the two carriers seemed to be fine with them. I’m not interested in Verizon and Sprint because they’re using CDMA networks - I want to be able to just swap SIM cards and not have to use two phones if possible (my passport country is Singapore). </p>
<p>I plan to go with T-Mobile because it’s more value for money to me (I’m bringing an unlocked Motorola Defy with me) and because AT&T is widely known for poor customer service. Not usually a factor for me but I do think their network is overloaded with way too many iPhones and this may or may not affect Androids.</p>
<p>Anyway, that’s just my two cents. Like I said, I’m not a current student, so hopefully someone else might be a little bit more helpful.</p>
<p>A few years ago I was totally find with AT&T on campus, I never remember having reception issues. This was pre-smartphone era, so I don’t know if it’s changed or not in the last few years.</p>
<p>If you are interested in a family plan, you can probably team up with other students at ISO. It would be convenient if one of you had a social security number; else you would have to go to a store and pay a security deposit (which could be as much as a full year of contract fees). </p>
<p>Recently Virgin Mobile (operating on the Sprint Network) has become very popular with their $25/month pre-paid plans. You can even cancel and reactivate the plan at any time, so you wouldn’t have to pay contract fees while you are out of the country. (Summer break is 16 weeks long…)</p>
<p>All major carriers have good reception on 98% of the campus, with minor variations. For example, Sprint’s signal is rather weak in Brecon but it’s the only provider that gets reception in Erdman basement, which is basically a concrete bunker. AT&T’s network is said to be congested at peak times, due to the popularity of the iPhone.</p>