Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Branches New England Who's the best Cell Phone Service provider for NH?

Hey guys. Man, it's been a while. I haven't posted in forever! I think the last time I posted, I was dissing the Yankees on the Northeast pages right before Grady Little left Pedro on the mound, and the rest is history! Needless to say, I inserted my foot in my mouth and left with my tail between my legs! Didn't make any friends that day!
Anyway, I have a question. I have just moved to Portsmouth, NH, and my wife just got a new job as a Sales Representative for the entire state of NH. We need to get a new cellphone service that will cover as much of NH as possible. Sprint Sucks for anywhere north of Concord, and she'll be spending alot of her time in Central and Northern NH.
I really want to try Nextel for their direct-access phones, but their service map looks weak in north and west NH. I hear Verizon is the best possible for NH coverage, but they're not cheap. Any ideas? Thanks for your help.

In terms of coverage, I don't think you can beat Verizon Wireless.

However, and this is really important for more rural areas, make sure you get a Tri-Mode phone, and not an All Digital phone. There are rare times, but times none the less, that I'll get only an analog signal, and its better than nothing at all.

I have friends with all different carriers, and I can count on one hand the number of times they've had a signal and I haven't.

Good Luck.

Verizon is the best for signal coverage overall, although other companies are catching up. I personally have Cingular GSM and rare is it that I have no service (except in my hometown ). I even got as far as Augusta ME and still had coverage - Sprint stopped at Portland.

I heard something about Sprint that nowadays you can sign up your phone to use off other provider's towers or something, it's like a $5 or $10 option added to the bills. I dont' know the details, but it might be something to look into. I was pretty satisfied with Sprint's customer service overall when I had it.

My friend gets the runaround whenever he has to call Cingular (mostly for automatic bill payment, they done everything from not charging him and then sending him a fee for unpaid bill all the way to charging him $120 then, after several calls to customer service, only crediting it for the coming six months rather than giving him back the money ... every time something like this happens he has to straighten it out which takes forever). So if you do get Cingular, I highly recommend against the automatic bill payments. I heard from people that Verizon is not the best for customer service either.

Thanks. I'll take all into consideration. I currently have Sprint, and have for four years now. Its not really an option. Their NH coverage is pretty bad north of Concord. Anyone have any Nextel experience?

Nextel service is pretty brutal up in the Northeast. Its great as long as you're near an Interstate or major city. After that, it is a little rough.

My Dad is a salesman and had Verizon. Their company decided to save some money and switch to Nextel. The service was significantly worse! Actually, he's finally accepted the change, and in some cases doesn't mind it because people can no longer reach him at home. LOL.

As for Verizon customer service, I've always had excellent experience. However, this may be due to my long service history with them (over 5 years). I'm sure with any major company, everyone hears about the horror stories. As for me, I've received significant discounts on cell phones (got a StarTac back in the day for $50 when it retailed for $200), never have a problem with excessive charges, and they've always been pleasant to me. Heck, if I'm ever disconnected while talking to them, they call me back!

One more thing with whoever you decide.

I've noticed alot of companies are moving to an all digital network. While this is fine for most urban and suburban areas, you still may need analog coverage in some rural areas. For this reason be sure to get a Tri-Mode cell phone, and not an All-Digital phone.

I've noticed about 1/2 of Verizon's new cell phones are now All-Digital.

Thank you all so much. I think it'll have to be Verizon based on what you are all saying and from the research I've dont. One more thing, anyone have any experience with their new 'Push to Talk' (their version of Nextel's Direct Connect)? I'd really like something like that.....

don't get AT&T, they are shutting their wireless operations and their customer service sucks!! I have verizon and its indeed the best, they offer you good phones at a cheap price and their coverage for me is great rest is all up to

Sorry it took me so long to post. I sold Verizon Wireless for over 3 years so I am a little biased. But I would say that they are your best bet for coverage. They are not the cheapest, but are well worth the money in my book! I've been out of the bixz for a year and a half now, but I'm still staying were I am. Ask if you need more help!

I have verizon, and have had it for almost 2 yrs now....
I also spend alot of time north of concord............................
Camping in the summer, snowbording in the winter ..
pretty much all service plans have limited access N. of concord.... I have found that I usually have service when the people i travel with don't.......

But again the service is very blotchy up north and cervice is not gauranteed.....