On Mon, 08 Jan 2007 15:58:19 -0800, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote:

>It's a huge advantage, though once Cingular turns off their AMPS
>network, part of the advantage will disappear. It's rather amusing that
>as a Verizon customer I can make calls on Cingular's network, in areas
>where 95% of Cingular's customers can't use the only available Cingular
>network, i.e. in the Florida Everglades.

This is VERY true! Surprisingly when I was there 2 weeks ago, my phone
roamed on SID 24 (Cingular analog) and the call did go through. It
bounced between Stinkular and Verizon (SID 4152 or 4192).

Florida is not that great for Verizon considering all native coverage
is in the PCS band Some areas of the Keys aren't that great
(Sugarloaf Key is one example) but places like Key West and Key Largo
are just fine.

>A few minutes ago my nephew called me from Gainesville, FL, reminding me
>to watch the BCS game at 5:00 p.m. PST. He was calling from his cell
>phone, and I could barely decode what he was saying the quality of the
>call was bad. I told him, "let me guess, you have Cingular." He laughed,
>and told me that he was changing soon, to either Alltel or Verizon, as
>the Cingular coverage in Gainesville is terrible.

In Florida, I'd go with Alltel if it were available, since it roams on
Verizon in the rest of the country and is in the 800 MHz band in
Florida.

Like I've said before, VZW is the best IMHO, but Alltel is a close
second.

Dave