So I took a leap of fate and switched from Verizon to AT&T Wireless during March. The motivation really was the constant pressure and lobbying I was receiving from my two girls who wanted nothing less than iPhones. AT&T offered the option of still getting the original iPhone for only $49 so I went for it. The mere suggestion of another phone would have made me the worst dad on the planet. So AT&T it was. We picked up 2 iPhones and a new BB for the misses.
Well, that's when the fun began. Seems AT&T hasn't quite finished building out its 3G network around Staten Island so the 3G tower that services my neighborhood won't be operational until the end of 2011. I mention this because the 3 ladies of the household were complaining of dropped calls and low signals when originating or receiving calls from within our house. I reported this twice to their Customer Support, who actually made an attempt improve the reception, but in the end their solution was to disable use of our 3G connections and use 2G only when in our home. So let me get this right, I'm paying for 3G services that we can't use. Oh, but the story continues...
So after having dropped over $500 beans for 3 new phones and insurance contracts, I then receive a bill a week later for another $300. Seems they forgot to deduct the activation charges I was promised by the salesman. Well, they finally adjusted the bill, but know that AT&T pro-rates use of their service, so you wind up paying for services before they are rendered. This somehow sounds illegal.
Interestingly enough, on a recent trip to DE all phones got much better reception - go figure! So now I'm were married to AT&T for the next 2 years. Based on the first two months of experience, the 2 years will probably start to feel like a lifetime. We can only hope they get their act together sooner than later.
I think there is a Frank Sinatra song that contains the lyrics, regrets, I've had a few. This about sums up my experience with AT&T thus far.
