Question about Verizon and Sprints network

Ok, so I am on the fence about whether to choose Verizon or Sprint (I'm leaving AT&T). I was in a Sprint store the other day, and the sales representative said that Verizon and Sprint essentially have the same exact network because they have an agreement with each other to roam off of each others towers. My main concern is having a network that will not drop that amount of calls that AT&T did for me. That is why I am leaving them. Soo.. if this is true that Verizon and Sprint share their networks with each other, Sprint is a little bit cheaper and may be the better option.

I find it extremely hard to believe that this is true.. especially with Verizon’s new "There is a Map for that" commercials coming out. I don't mind spending the extra money with Verizon IF I will be getting better service with them then I would Sprint.

Thanks... and sorry if this question is stupid.

[vzw fanman]

Hey unregistered guest, your question is not stupid. If you want to be apart of the almost 90 million customers with a company that will keep growing and have endless possibilities then choose Verizon. If you want Sprint and are happy with their coverage for where you travel then Sprint is for you.

That's not really my question...

[DonLouie]

Don't let these vzw subs and employee try to sway you with the number of subs they have. I would suggest Sprint because of my personal bias of saving money, I will say that vzw has more rural coverage but with the roaming agreement in place it's negligible. Use both carriers coverage check and plug in the zipcodes you frequent to give you an idea of how you'll fair. On a side note, with certain Sprint plans 250M numbers are free calls and after 7pm all are

its kinda tru what that sprint rep said. sprint actually roams off verizon towers not the other way around. honestly if your looking for the internet and email, verizon has the best 3G coverage for that but also the biggest difference will be the customer service. if you want to save the extra fw bucks for sprint but deal with being transfered for 30 mins until you get mad and hang up then go with sprint. if you want a company that will try and help go with verizon.

I carry both a sprint and a Verizon phone and I have to say from personal experience my Verizon is much better. Reception is a heck of a lot better. I am a heavy data user and it just seems like my EVDO connection is so much faster and consistant with Verizon. Ive had multiple sprint phones (blackberry and non-pda) and the data experience was the same with all of them, were it seems like when using EVDO the connection will start and stop sparatically and I would sometimes have to reload pages or apps to "kick-start" the data connection (or just wait a long time for it to load). Ive rarely had an experience like this with my Verizon phone.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I carry both a sprint and a Verizon phone and I have to say from personal experience my Verizon is much better. Reception is a heck of a lot better. I am a heavy data user and it just seems like my EVDO connection is so much faster and consistant with Verizon. Ive had multiple sprint phones (blackberry and non-pda) and the data experience was the same with all of them, were it seems like when using EVDO the connection will start and stop sparatically and I would sometimes have to reload pages or apps to "kick-start" the data connection (or just wait a long time for it to load). Ive rarely had an experience like this with my Verizon phone.

Sprints customer service is also a nightmare and a half, were Verizons is much much better.

[DonLouie]

Take one for a test drive and determine for yourself because you won't get an unbiased answer here. I personally think both networks are very capable, more than the GSM counterparts, it all comes down to what works for you. I think anybody posting sour reviews but not registered is doing so with ill intent. I would suggest you post this same question on howardforums in their vzw and Sprint forums and see what the results are. On a side note as long a service is good. why would yopu need to talk to C.S. which is nowhere near as bad as made out to be

[dandirk]

I am a verizon customer... Many of my co-workers are sprint customers.

I would agree that if you are mainly interested in urban usage, either will be good for you. My coworkers don't complain about internet speed, neither do I but yet we haven't done a side by side test...

Verizon probably does have better coverage but this will probably show mainly in rural areas like a lake or cabin if you have one. Even this is subject to the actual phone. My BB gets 1-2 bars at my cabin, whereas my girlfriends "standard" phone roams and sometimes can't even compete a dial (both on same verizon acct).

I would leverage the 30 day policies, try verizon first then return the phone. Then try sprint. If saving the cash is worth more then the different service ability then stick with sprint. If sprint seems horrible then go back to verizon.

Most of my co-workers on sprint rarely ever have to even deal with customer service except for every 2 years when getting a new phone.

I work for Verizon but have had Sprint for over 5 years because of family. I will tell you this, Sprint is cheap, yes. They offer a pretty good variety of handsets, yes. They have a roaming agreement with Verizon, yes. BUT, even in the areas where they have an agreement, your phone doesn't work NEARLY as well. I have a Sprint BB and I cannot get a signal in areas that I can with my LG Verizon phone. Not only that, but the data coverage on Sprint is pretty crappy too. I can pull up VZW's Mobile Web and surf on my LG in a lot of places faster then I can on my Sprint BB.

So, what it comes down to is this. If you think saving $20/month is enough to outweigh the multiple times your Sprint service will be outperformed by Verizon... then go with Sprint. But... the fact that you are going away from AT&T means that you are not happy with your coverage most likely, which means you won't be happy with Sprint's network either (most likely).

[DonLouie]

People always come with the I have multiple carriers and Carrier A outperforms Carrier B and assume that will be the case everywhere. There are plenty of spots in the country where the roles are reversed, stop generalizing