It occurred to me that for a second, backup cellphone it might be good to use a major carrier other than my primary provider (Verizon). So next to Verizon, who of the other major providers is considered to have the widest coverage and reliability?

You might try a pay as you go service _ inexpensive and I think several of the major carriers offer them.

I think that AT&T has the next best coverage. Their 3G footprint is nowhere near Verizon, but for basic phone calls, text messages and lower-speed data, AT&T works practically everywhere Verizon does. Also, if you get a quad-band GSM phone from AT&T it will work in most foreign countries (but you'll pay through the nose if you don't unlock your phone and get a local SIM card).

Sprint, except for the old NexTel service, uses the same technology as Verizon, (CDMA), but the phones are not interchangeable (due to carrier lock-downs), and they do not seem to have cross-roaming agreements. Their coverage is nowhere near Verizon or AT&T. But I think that in 911 (Emergency Call) mode they will connect you via a Verizon cell.

Boost, Cricket, MetroTel and many of the more economical pre-pay carriers are reselling Sprint service, so the same caveats apply as for Sprint.

Note that NexTel, although a Sprint product, is a completely different technology (iDen) and coverage is limited to metro areas and major highways (and surrounding areas). Outside of this they are a paperweight.

T-Mobile also uses GSM, and you can interchange phones if you get them unlocked. But, in spite of their coverage map, T-Mobile's reliability is reported to be the worst of all (except NexTel) and although the phones use GSM there is no roaming agreement with AT&T.

I currently use AT&T and my kids and I are generally satisfied.

I've used AT&T, Verizon and Sprint and my observations are:

1. AT&T has the best nationwide coverage for voice calls.
2. Verizon has the best nationwide coverage for 3G data.
3. GSM, used by AT&T, is the global standard for cell phones.
4. CDMA, used by Verizon and Sprint, is rarely available outside North America and a few Asian countries.
5. GSM phones can be unlocked so you can just replace the SIM card to change carriers.
6. CDMA phones can not be interchanged between CDMA carriers.
7. As far as I've discovered, all the inexpensive Prepay Cellular Providers actually resell Sprint.
8. Sprint has the worst coverage and reliability (as of 2004) and the poorest selection of phones
9. Sprint has the worst customer service, but none of them are much better.

Coverage Maps:

• AT&T Wireless
• Verizon Wireless
• Sprint PCS
• NexTel Connect (click the Sprint PCS link then click the NexTel tab).
• T-Mobile (Note: Reports indicate real-world coverage is not as good as indicated on map.)

Pre-Paid ATT and Verizon vice/versa depending on what you have I think would be good.

Or, you could like my folks and pay the $10/mo for a verizon phone that shares my minutes... (With your friend/family of opposite carrier.)

-Todd

Here is Marty Focazio's info/breakdown on TracFone: http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.ph...true#Post153657

TracFone apparently doesn't have any towers of its own, it rents time on all the others, so you're usually within reach, but not always (I can't use it here at home).

Sue

I have had a good experience with TracFone for several years now - almost always a signal, with some service holes like near Susan's home. The available phones are pretty basic, although they recently came out with a couple models (Samsung?) that seem to have a few more features (web browsing etc), which I do enough of that I don't really want to do it from my phone, but whatever floats your boat... The tradeoff though is in runtime - I love that I can charge my phone once or twice a week. And the whole process of admining a phone account on the Internet is very slick, I have added #1 son and that has gone pretty well through a succession of lost or bricked cell phones, all son-induced...

I also have a second phone / account with Sprint, and my experience has been different than reported earlier in the post - good customer service, and great coverage at least in the PNW and other areas I travel. The phone (smartphone Palm Pre) I have mixed views on, its great for navigation (which I sometimes need driving to fire scenes), great for email access, pretty good for apps (e.g. I don't need an app for everything in life, so weather tracking / forecasts, and a few specialized ones are enough for me), poor for battery life.

Try Net10. It's the same company as TracFone, same coverage, minutes are cheaper (even after you add double minutes to TracFone), and it comes with 300 minutes.

Straight Talk is also worth looking into if you're going to be using it as a primary phone. It's by TracFone as well, through Verizon's network.

Remembering I am in this industry.....

Best to worst nationwide:

Verizon
ATT Mobility
T-Mobile
Sprint

Thats the top 4. I won't even get into all the smaller regional operators.

Excellent info; thanks everybody.

Desperado, I want to take advantage of your SME status. What do you think is the best way to go to get a backup cellphone using AT&T? I keep my primary (currently only) phone from Verizon on my belt, but I'm thinking of stashing a backup in my shoulder bag. I'm fine with a prepaid plan but I don't want to pay for minutes that melt away constantly.

Well I can't find any plans from Verizon or ATT where the minutes don't constantly expire if unused within a month or so. As a stopgap measure, I took my old Motorola Razr phone and stashed it in my 2nd-line shoulder bag. At least I can use it for 911.

Tracfone has plans where minutes won't expire for 90 days, or for a year, depends on how many minutes you buy - https://www.tracfone.com/direct/controller.block. 400 minutes for $99 yields 1 year of service.

Tis the price you gotta pay.

I've carried a Tracfone phone for two years now, for emergencies and urgencies ("They're out of Rocky Road. What flavor do you want?"). I am quite happy with it, since I don't "need" anything but a basic phone.

The $99 worth of time is good for a year, and rolls over when you buy more.

$8 per month is pretty good for a basic phone.

What network(s) does the TracFone run on?

They "use the nation's leading cellular providers to create a national footprint covering 99% of the U.S. population."

Their coverage maps are here.

[Standard disclaimer, I'm not affiliated, etc. etc. :)]

Nextel, and Boost, work on the iDEN network-independent of Sprint. I work for Sprint, so I can ASSURE you there is a network difference.
That being said, as a backup, I would also suggest a PAYG phone-either GSM or iDEN based, as the towers Verizon uses are the same ones Sprint does, and vice versa.