The Daily Jolt - Smith Cell Phone Guide
Forum Jobs Marketplace Food Guide Getting Around Concerts TV Listings Movies $$$ for College
Super Ride Board Alumnae Forum Procrastination! Pictures Shops & Services Course Reviews

Smith Cell Phone Guide

Okay, so, now that Smith does not provide long distance calling as an option, the jolt has set this page to help you in making a decision to either buy a cell phone or change your service, the Smith Jolt is going to set up a guide to the carriers that are available to students. But we need your help!

We're looking for stories from Smithies who currently have cell phones. You can write to us at smith@dailyjolt.com and tell us about your carrier and your experiences. Please include the following information:

  • The name of the carrier.
  • Which of the five main areas (the Quad, Upper Elm, Lower Elm, center campus, or Green Street) of campus you live on, or if you live off-campus.
  • The quality of your reception in your house out of five stars (five being the most consistent and clear).
  • The quality of your reception around campus out of five stars.
  • The quality of your reception off campus (in the surrounding area) out of five stars, if applicable.
  • Your rating of the company based on its customer relations and customer service, out of five stars.
  • The value of the service you get -- is it worth the money? -- out of five stars (five being the best value).
  • Would you recommend your carrier or plan to any other Smithie?
  • Any stories, tips, hints, or experiences you'd like to share?

With enough contributions, we will be able to set up a meaningful and helpful guide to which cell phone carriers are the best overall and which are the best for Smithies. So please share your wisdom with us!

Explore the carriers:
[AT&T] [Cingular] [Nextel] [Sprint] [T-Mobile] [Verizon] [Virgin Mobile]

AT&T
Reception
--Upper Elm: *** (2)
--Lower Elm: **** (2)
--Green Street: N/A
--The Quad: N/A
--Center Campus: ***** (1)
--Around Campus: *** (3)
--Off-Campus: **** (4)
Customer Satisfaction With Company: *** (3)
Value: *** (3)
Recommended: Yes (3) No (1)
Comments:
"They will change your contract (duration, services, you name it, it''ll change) without telling you, will not send you a copy of your contract at any time, and will not send you authorization forms or anything else unless it is your bill or their junk mail."


CINGULAR
Reception
--Upper Elm: N/A
--Lower Elm: N/A)
--Green Street: ** (1)
--The Quad: * (2)
--Center Campus: ***** (1)
--Around Campus: *** (4)
--Off-Campus: **** (3)
Customer Satisfaction With Company: **** (3)
Value: *** (2)
Recommended: Yes (2), No (1)
Comments:
"Don't get Cingular if you live in the Quad!"
"Like all companies, they try to sneak additional charges on your bill so you have to read each charge carefully and call them if there is something wrong."
"My ring doesn't work well. It rings for literally five seconds and goes to voice mail. I miss a lot of calls."


NEXTEL
Reception
--Upper Elm: N/A
--Lower Elm: * (1)
--Green Street: N/A
--The Quad: N/A
--Center Campus: N/A
--Around Campus: ** (1)
--Off-Campus: **** (1)
Customer Satisfaction With Company: ***** (1)
Value: *** (1)
Recommended: Yes (1)
Comments:
"I love Nextel despite the crappy reception I get on campus. The phones are pricey but awesome and extremely high quality. I love the Direct Connect walkie-talkie feature. They take excellent care of their customers. I honestly have never come across such helpful and friendly customer service before!"


SPRINT
Reception
--Upper Elm: N/A
--Lower Elm: ** (2)
--Green Street: N/A
--The Quad: * (3)
--Center Campus: ***** (1)
--Around Campus: *** (5)
--Off-Campus: *** (6)
Customer Satisfaction With Company: *** (6)
Value: ** (6)
Recommended: Yes (2), Maybe (1), No (2)
Comments:
"Service is mostly poor in my house, and calling Customer Service incurs a fee. (You also have to wait 20 minutes on hold every time.) There are some perks if you sign up for a 2-year agreement, though: nights starting at 7PM, and free calling to other Sprint customers."
"If you want the internet on your phone, I think its the best since as long as I have a signal from Sprint I can connect to the internet. Also, I can hear the person I'm talking to crystal clear even if I only have one bar of reception."
"The quality of your reception depends on the phone you get. Make sure it uses both analog and digital signals."
"If you'd like to experience getting hung up on by a customer service representative, this is the carrier for you."
"Sprint is better in the Midwest than out here."
"Stay away! I don't think the service is very good at all. I use the person-to-person calling, which is free, but they seem to have all these clever problems that exist with this program. For example, I call my boyfriend and a recording tells me his phone is out of service. For awhile this really confused me, and then I realized that if I just call right back, it works perfectly fine. It's like they want us to NOT use this free service."


T-MOBILE
Reception
--Upper Elm: N/A
--Lower Elm: ***** (2)
--Green Street: ***** (2)
--The Quad: * (1)
--Center Campus: N/A
--Around Campus: *** (5)
--Off-Campus: ***** (5)
Customer Satisfaction With Company: ***** (4)
Value: ***** (4)
Recommended: Yes (4), No (1)
Comments:
"I get great reception everywhere except for inside Gillett. T-Mobile costs quite a bit less than many cell-phone competitors."
"They have great plans for tight budgets!"
"If you are able to sign up for the family plan, you can enjoy mobile-to-mobile minutes on top of outside minutes, which is a huge money saver!"
"I can't make phone calls from my room, meaning I have to use the room phone. I am switching to Verizon as soon as my plan runs out."


VERIZON
Reception
--Upper Elm: **** (2)
--Lower Elm: *** (3)
--Green Street: ***** (1)
--The Quad: *** (5)
--Center Campus: **** (1)
--Around Campus: **** (12)
--Off-Campus: ***** (12)
Customer Satisfaction With Company: **** (12)
Value: **** (12)
Recommended: Yes (11), Maybe (1)
Comments:
"I would recommend Verizon to anyone who has many friends or family members with Verizon phones because the mobile-to-mobile feature rocks my socks."
"I get really clear calls. I love the mobile-to-mobile feature because it's so cheap. Customer service can be a pain, though. Also the plans can be pricey, but make a great substitute for the room phone."
"Reception is jumpy, so my phone cuts out sometimes in the house. Also, twice it has gotten no signal at all for a few days in a row. The second time, I discovered that taking the battery out and putting it back in fixes this."
"If you plan on being in a city a lot, I would recommend getting a cheaper service. But Verizon is really good for out of city use."
"I had some problems with my phone, but Verizon was good about it, replacing it within the hour and at no charge."
"I seem to get reception wherever I go in the country."
"I've only gotten roaming charges in really remote places."


VIRGIN MOBILE
Reception
--Upper Elm: *** (1)
--Lower Elm: N/A
--Green Street: N/A
--The Quad: N/A
--Center Campus: N/A
--Around Campus: ***** (1)
--Off-Campus: ***** (1)
Customer Satisfaction With Company: N/A
Value: **** (1)
Recommended: Yes (1)
Comments:
"This plan is for people who don't want contracts or who travel all over (like me), because there is no roaming. Look into other pay as you go plans though; I heard that Go has free weekends. I wish I had that."