Originally Posted by
Kagthul
As for T-mobile "sucking" - I'm on Metro PCS (which is a wholly owned T-Mo subsidiary now and runs entirely on their network) and i get signal just about everywhere. There are a lot of places where i only get "3G" - but on all but the most boondocks of areas that means HSPA+, which is still getting me on average 12 down and 5 up. In areas where i get LTE (which is most major urban areas and a lot of places in between, along major roadways) i get 55 down and ~15 up.
Couple that with the whole 5$ extra i pay to roam on ATT's network, means i get signal everywhere, pretty much...
And my bill is 55$ a month for unlimited everything, (capped at 5GB of LTE data, and then unlimited HSPA+/3G data) AFTER taxes and fees and all that crap.... And my phone (OnePlus One/64GB) is top-end and cost 350$ brand new off contract and runs CyanogenMod as the default OS.
If you can swing it - get off of Verizon. The amount they charge, i cant believe people still sub to them. I mean, i guess at least they are using some of that money to keep their network in good shape, but my service on T-Mo/Metro hasnt been any worse (indistinguishable, really) and i pay about 40% less per month for the same or better features. And GSM phones (if you travel) can easily be used pretty much everywhere else in the world by simply buying a local SIM (internationally, you can usually pick up a local pre-paid SIM at the airport when you land for not a lot) - CDMA is pretty much only used in the US and only by Sprint and Verizon, meaning if you go abroad, you're stuck using WiFi calling (if you can even do that) or getting a temp phone.
I also cant rave enough about the OnePlus. Its a great phone for not a lot of money, and it runs CM11 (with a forthcoming OTA update to CM12) out of the box.