Important Precursor: I list the carriers below in the order I would recommend them to a friend asking for new service. There truly is no "best" carrier for everyone and everyone's needs. It all depends on where you want to use your phone and which services you care about. Even the "Best" carrier in Oregon may have terrible coverage where you need it. Get information from friends and neighbors, and make good use of the 14 day trial period where you can quit without penalty. Note, some carriers may have a longer trial period, but be sure to check before you buy.

What Does Dan Care About? I give the best reviews to carriers who deliver a high reliability of service within their advertised coverage area. I also care more about the basic features of being able to place and receive calls than advanced data services. In other words, all data services are only important after the carrier is delivering good phone service. Some cannot believe I like T-Mobile so well given their limited geographic coverage. Since most of my friends are city dwellers who don't expect their phone to work "in the boonies," they care more about quality of service in-town than service in the "middle of no where." I'd rather pay more for high quality of service than save a few bucks and have mediocre service.

Outside of Oregon, who do I think is best nationally? 1) Verizon, 2) Cingular, Tied for 3) are Sprint and T-Mobile. All of them can be good depending on your needs.

Verizon - CDMA/analog- Excellent provider with great coverage although much of geographic coverage in the state is provided by roaming partners. Note that verizon recently added massive amounts of data roaming coverage in Oregon and Washington. They also have data roaming in many other locations. Verizon allows you to force analog at your discretion. Excellent customer service. Coastal and ski area coverage. Verizon has restored actual coverage maps (Hurray!). Verizon provides the best customer service of the carriers I've used. Excellent coverage for the UO Campus provided by towers both on the east and west side of campus. I have never heard of anyone having problems reaching Verizon customer service, which is why I have promoted them to #1 in my rankings. In my personal experience I have *never* waited more than 2 minutes to reach customer service, this appears to be better than any of the other carriers. Verizon now has a real store in Eugene across from the Oakway mall. Phone selection, while often numerous, doesn't have some options the competition has (this is improving with new phone types in 2006). Verizon seems to do great network monitoring. They do a better job of anticipating demand and building out before it becomes really bad than anyone else. Verizon has started to introduce more "junk fees" for services that used to be included. Their data prices are too expensive for personal/limited use. Verizon appears to have recently added data roaming in much of Oregon via US Cellular. This makes their data services much more competitive with Cingular which also enables data usage while roaming. Some claim Verizon has become "arrogant" like they know they are #1, and therefore don't mind charging you more, and treating you like they don't need your business. For new service, I've had best luck in their stores. Here in Eugene, my favorite Verizon store for customer service is actually inside Circuit City at the Gateway mall. Verizon can be more expensive than other options, but in my experience their network is worth it. Verizon and Cingular have very similar coverage areas, and Verizon roams on virtually every other carrier in the area including Ramcell, US Cellular, Sprint, Inland Cellular, etc. I prefer Verizon's roaming coverage in Oregon to everyone else. Coverage in much of the state is available to digital-only phones. Some coastal and some mountain areas have coverage if the user has an analog capable phone (and not otherwise). Oregon is one of the last remaining places where analog is useful (but not necessary for most urban minded folks).

T-Mobile - T-Mobile has very limited geographic coverage in Oregon. My experiences with them have all been excellent. Study T-Mobile's coverage maps which are some of the best in the industry. If their coverage area works for you, then they are a great option. The thing about T-Mobile is that where they say they have coverage, they really do an excellent job. This means very high quality of reliability. i.e. Less dropped calls. A tower on the top of the PLC building at the University of Oregon makes them more appealing to students here in Eugene. Limited coastal and ski coverage in Oregon. Still a good provider for coverage in-town. If you travel internationally, T-Mobile has some of the best roaming options and rates. They have a good selection of phones including small antenna less"cool" looking phones. Although T-Mobile's roaming has improved greatly over time, they still lack significant rural coverage (especially in Oregon), so again study their maps before choosing them. Outstanding customer service. T-Mobile has some unusually good prepaid options, like a "side-kick" data plan that doesn't require a contract.

Sprint - CDMA/analog - Sprint has native coverage in cities, and interstates. Sprint tends to have "whisper thin" coverage along interstates but modern rate plans include roaming. Calls will drop when one travels from a native Sprint area to a roaming area, so if your commute lies along one of these boundries, it can make Sprint a horrible choice for one's personal situation. They lack rural coverage in Oregon, but they do have roaming fall-back. In Sprint's "Native" markets, they have rate plans that include free roaming. In affiliate markets, and some plans (older), roaming can be added for a fee. Off-network roaming option allows up to 50% of your usage to be off-network, or a set number of roaming minutes in affiliate markets. This enables Sprint to provide truly nationwide coverage. The addition of this option makes Sprint a much more attractive option in a general sense. Sprint currently has limited native coverage at the Oregon coast (Coos Bay and Tillamook), and none in the Ski areas unless you roam. Some services are not available when roaming. Sprint provides actual coverage maps on their website. Sprint has good family plans. Sprint has a new store here in Eugene Oregon located on 7th street near downtown. Sprint is known to "make deals" for long-time customers via their retention group. Their fair and flexible plans effectively limit overage charges. Sprint's customer service is one of the worst of any carrier that I have used. Sprint, by default, uses "Slot Cycle Index 2" which is unusual. The slot cycle controls how many seconds the phone waits before checking the paging channel for an incoming call. A setting of 2 can mean 2-3 rings heard by a caller before your phone actually rings (albeit at a savings of battery life). Sprint's voicemail has an annoying automated female voice that instructs callers how to leave a message (long) which cannot be disabled. NOTE: While this voice cannot be universally disabled, the caller can press "1" at any time to skip the rest of the message. Sprint has no support for conditional call forwarding *92, even if you are willing to pay for it. Sprint really does have great data services, complete with EVDO service in Eugene. Sprint's EVDO data will suspend automatically for incoming calls. It's more important with Sprint than with other carriers to "choose the right phone." Some of their phones perform poorly on their network which seems more "finicky" than any of the others I've used. The LG 225 is an example of a good performing phone, with analog fallback support. Sanyo's tend to generally get good reviews. Check phonescoop user comments before choosing. Sprint's handsets often support firmware updates over the air, and can load third party java software through the built-in browser. Sprint's phones are "less crippled" in terms of bluetooth and other features than Verizon's. Sprint charges $35 for an in-warranty phone replacement (which Verizon does not). Sprint seems to be the choice of the "value consumer." Sprint often can save you some money for a package of services over other carriers. Sprint's roaming is often touted as "the best" when in fact, Sprint does not roam on Ramcell (which Verizon can). A Sprint phone with analog support (becoming rare fast) can roam on Cingular, but this buys you almost nothing in Oregon because Verizon and Cingular's native footprint in Oregon is extremely similar. Oh, one last thing: There isn't even one place in Oregon where Sprint has added CDMA coverage to a Nextel tower, and no signs of this coming soon. In other words, logically you might expect to get Nextel's superior coastal footprint soon because of the merger. My sources tell me this is way out in the future if ever, and the two companies (Sprint and Nextel) are effectively being managed like separate entities for foreseeable future. It's unclear if Sprint will ever make CDMA push-to-talk work well enough to converge the networks.

Cingular - GSM (and TDMA/Analog)- Cingular is one of the original "big daddy" 800Mhz carriers in Oregon (Verizon being the other). Cingular has one of the largest geographic coverage areas of any of the carriers reviewed here. I have personally experienced exceptionally poor customer service in many of my interactions with this company. If I were to rate them on customer service alone, they would be one of the worst. They are an extremely popular carrier with more than 50 million customers. Coverage is good, phone selection is good. They tend to be expensive for entry level plans, but better for folks who spend more money per month given their roll-over minutes. Transparent roaming, including for data, is their "killer" feature. Here in Oregon, I contend folks will still benefit from an analog capable phone which is almost unavailable from Cingular at this time. The TDMA/analog network, once king, seems to be suffering. Cingular appears to be "forcing" folks over to the new GSM network by allowing the quality of service on TDMA/analog to dwindle. Cingular's quality of service in Eugene, OR, even for GSM, has been below average (i.e. dropped calls, ability to place and receive calls etc). I suspect they are over-sold given that the old TDMA/analog system was one the best historically.

Nextel* - iden -> CDMA in the future- Plans are not very price competitive for personal use phones. Merged with Sprint. Their claim to fame is "direct connect" which is a walkie talkie like feature used by contractors/builders/etc. who don't have hands free to pickup the phone. They are said to have excellent coverage and customer service in the areas they provide service. Nextel does not roam (at all) so you don't even have the option to pay more to make calls outside their coverage area. Note new coverage at the northern Oregon coast and for Coos Bay and Bandon. This is nice to see. Literally every Nextel customer I've ever talked to *loves* the service. It's a good option for those who desire their unique features and don't mind the lack of rural coverage and the lack of analog fallback & roaming. Note that for the moment, nothing has changed with Nextel.

Qwest* - CDMA/Analog - Qwest is now a Sprint network-airtime reseller. They have a unique feature that enables you to share the same phone number for your home line as your cell phone. If you need Sprint's coverage area, and prefer not to deal with Sprint directly for some reason, Qwest is another option. See "Sprint" description in #4 position for more information.

Cricket* - CDMA- Cricket doesn't compete with normal cell phone companies. They feature unlimited local calling, from a very specific and small coverage area (in town only, no roaming, expensive long distance). This tends to be the teenager needs a million minutes option. Has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy reorganization in the past.

AT&T Wireless - Acquired by Cingular. See Cingular in #2 spot. Recent rumors indicate Cingular may start using the AT&T Wireless name again (smile).

-- Rural Oregon Options -- (Please do send me feedback on these)

US Cellular* - CDMA/Analog - These guys actually have a massive rural coverage area which the traditional cellular carriers roam on. Recently they have upgraded much of their footprint to CDMA digital so they've greatly improved their service. They directly compete with Unicel. I have no direct experience using their services (other than my phone roaming on their service). Verizon and Sprint customers can roam on US Cellular. US Cellular customers can roam in the larger cities (probably on Verizon). US cellular is a B side carrier in Eastern Oregon, and they are A-side in southwestern Oregon. Users may have to manually select the A-side to roam on them in southwestern Oregon. They have really extensive rural coverage. At this point, I'd think US Cellular one of the best options for the rural areas that they service. Of course, price plan and features play a role as well, and their competition may offer something similar or even better depending on your needs. Verizon can roam on US Cellular for data features.

Unicel formerly Cellular One (NW)* - TDMA/Analog/GSM - These folks are licensed to service rural Oregon including places like Bend, Roseburg, and Medford. I believe they are a good option for the areas they cover, including some nice price plan options for local coverage. I have no direct experience using their services (other than my wireless phone roaming on their service). I do know they are usually the A-side carrier with GSM/TDMA/analog service. Cellular One customers roam on Cingular when in larger cities. Cingular users can roam on Cellular One in these areas. These folks recently completed their GSM overlay, so Cingular GSM customers can now roam even in some pretty remote areas. These guys are probably also a good option for the areas they cover. Note that US Cellular has a larger coverage area depending on your location and if you care.

Edge Wireless* - TDMA/Analog/GSM - Great provider for southwestern Oregon. Digital service where they have service, with all common features. Cingular phones roam on Edge when in these areas, and presumably, Edge wireless customers roam on Cingular when outside their home region. In some places both Edge and Unicel compete. It's unclear to me whom is better. Unicel is the only choice is some non-coastal areas (i.e. Edge doesn't have Eastern Oregon coverage). Edge may be a better choice for the southwestern Oregon coast.

Ramcel of Oregon*- CDMA/Analog - "Mom and Pop" cellular provider in southwestern Oregon. These folks are the traditional provider for the area. See their coverage map here. While they recently updated to digital in some areas, little of their Oregon coast coverage is digital. I doubt these folks are the best option for the areas they serve (i.e. Cellular One or Edge would provide more digital coverage). My experience with Ramcel is purely from roaming on them with my Verizon phone. Ramcell recently upgraded their inland I5 coverage to digital, and became a preferred provider for Verizon roamers in the areas they service. This actually degraded roaming service for Verizon users as we now see more analog than before with US Cellular or Sprint. This is probably the only rural provider I would not choose-- unless of course, they're the only option where you need coverage.

Snake River PCS* - CDMA/Analog - I have no experience with these folks who serve Eastern Oregon at La Grande, Baker City and Ontario. See their coverage map. That section of Oregon is almost more part of the Idaho basic trading area than Oregon due to its distance from larger western and central Oregon cities.

-- In General --

Ask your friends and neighbors who they use and how they like them.

-- Regarding International Roaming --

Most/some service providers will lease you a GSM phone for international roaming (albeit at high prices). If you have a GSM phone in the US you have an advantage for roaming-- you simply need a tri-mode GSM phone to put your SIM card into and to enable international roaming before you go. T-Mobile may have the best roaming capabilities and rates for international travelers. Some carriers now offer a CDMA (US) and GSM (International) phone as an option.

"*" Indicates I have not been a customer of this cellular company. My opinion of these carriers is from friends and other indirect experience including reading newsgroups etc.

Who do I use and Why?

I have a Sprint plan with data included. My Sprint plan allows me to roam without additional fee (typically on Verizon). Verizon is superior in my market, but their data prices are in my opinion ridiculous. Sprint's saving me a little money, but they aren't my favorite. I would recommend Verizon and T-Mobile without reservation to my friends here in Eugene. I have a PPC6700 smartphone, and an LG 225. I also have a series of prepaid phones for testing: Cingular TDMA/Analog, and GSM, and T-Mobile. I have a year or more post-paid personal experience with AT&T (Cingular), Voicestream (T-Mobile), and Verizon. I have about 9 months experience with Sprint as a post-paid user, and years of experience with all of the above via occasional prepaid phones used for testing. I also wanted to try Sprint simply because I had never been their customer for regular service before.