For years, customers have been trying to decide which carrier will be the best for them.

Firstly, when you are considering buying a new cell phone (and new service to go with it), there are a few major principles you should seek in your new carrier. These include cost, service, customer support, and worldwide use.

CDMA Networks (including Verizon and Sprint) are mainly ONLY featured in North America. There are a few exceptions, however most CDMA phones will not work overseas. Therefore if you are a frequent traveller to Europe, Asia, Africa, or South America, you should seek another company.

GSM Networks (including Tmobile and Cingular) are featured everywhere. GSM networks are the largest networks in the world, therefore if you plan on travelling overseas, these are your best choice.

Individual notes about the different carriers:

Verizon

I am currently with Verizon. While many people are with Verizon and have no issues with them, I have had a few in the past two years I have been with them.

The good about Verizon:
The network is HUGE. Verizon is currently the largest provider in the USA.
Calling others on the massive network is free of charge
The online website for Verizon is very well laid out and easy to access
Service (Reception) is the best you will find on a US carrier within all 50 states.

The bad about Verizon:
For the most part, don't plan on using your phone overseas. What is the largest company in the USA is by no means the largest in the world
There is a very high cost compared to other carriers to be on the Verizon network
The customer service (going from personal experience) is terrible. Users are often found on hold for excessive times and customer service reps are often misleading

Cingular

I personally have only been with Cingular for a few months. However, my father has been on Cingular for a while now, as well as friends. Honestly, while Cingular is a GSM network and it does feature the Apple Iphone, Cingular is the worst company that I have had to deal with.

Cingular is also known as ATT (they were acquired a few years ago)

The good about Cingular:
The network is GSM. Therefore you can use your phone overseas.
Cingular offers the prestigeous Apple Iphone
The prices on Cingular plans are decent

The bad about Cingular:
The customer service with Cingular is by far the worst I have had to deal with. The customer service reps are very frequently misleading, and hold times (at least for me) have always been extremely excessive
Cingular often has poor service (reception) in frequently travelled areas
Many customers, during the switch from ATT to Cingular, had several issues with the switch and from personal experiences, Cingular was never very helpful in the merger.

Sprint

I have never personally been with Sprint. Therefore I can not point out the flaws and pros of this service. However, Sprint is a CDMA network, meaning don't expect to use your phone overseas.

Tmobile

Tmobile is the best carrier I have ever been with. This network is a GSM network, meaning you can use your phone overseas. Tmobile is also a very large company overseas. Many people within Europe are also members of Tmobile.

The good:
Tmobile has the best customer service people that I have ever had to deal with. I often found myself waiting on hold for extremely short moments of time (the longest I ever spent on hold with Tmobile was a total of 1 minute, 43 seconds). They have won awards for their customer service
Tmobile phones can easily be used overseas
Prices for the Tmobile network are very reasonable
Tmobile plans for Blackberrys are very reasonable in cost and very reliable

The bad:
Tmobile is the newest (large scale) network to start up in the USA. Therefore their network is not extremely developed. Their service (reception) can be at times poor, however when I had tmobile, I never had issues with signal

Therefore, with all that being said, chose the carrier which will suit your needs the best. Keep in mind that you will be stuck with whatever carrier you chose for at least a year, or in most cases, two. So take the time, do research and ask people in your area which carrier they have and how they feel about it. Getting out of cell phone contracts is the hardest situation to get out of (as quoted to me by a lawyer). Fees to cancel your contract early are usually excessively high. So shop around, and decide wisely.

Remember to ALWAYS pick a carrier before a phone. (Case in point - the Apple iPhone). Make certain that the carrier will work for you before jumping on a carrier because of a specific phone.

Also keep in mind that most carrier's websites can pull up a street specific map for signal - so check it out before you sign a contract! Try your frequently travelled areas to insure you can get signal where you need to.

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