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The best service provider depends on where you are using the phone and what you are using it for. If you want to make an informed decision about which carrier you will choose, go to their web sites and look at their coverage maps. These maps will show you where their service works the best and where it doesn't. There are many areas where no cell phone service will work. Geography and distance from towers dictate these areas.

The major carrier service is nationwide. There are some localized services that only work in the state where you purchased it. Some of these local carriers have great service but they are limited.

The pre-paid phones, like the At&T Go Phone, Virgin Mobile, Trac-phone, etc. have improved a lot. They now work everywhere the post paid does except for the localized services. If your contract is expired and you don't want to be obligated for another 2 years, you can usually keep your post paid number and port it over to a pre-paid phone. With AT&T you remove the SIM card from the old phone and put it in the new one. The SIM card has all of your saved information like your contacts. The pre-paid card that you purchase is good for 60 days. If you don't use all your minutes within that time and don't want to lose them, purchase another card before the 60 days is up and they unused minutes will rollover to the new card. If you wait until the 60 days is up, you will lose any remaining minutes. Trac phones allow you to purchase a card that is good for an entire year. Be sure to get your new card before the time is up because it can take up to an hour and a half to re-activate them. I worked at a technology store and had to re-activate several of them. The process is a real headache for both the customer and the person who is helping them.

Verizon vs AT&T
I had Verizon service for 7 years. I was very happy with their service until I moved to my house boat which I kept at a marina in a covered berth. On cold, rainy nights, I had to walk up on top of the levee and stand behind the speed limit sign to get a signal. The berth itself was the problem. The roof and siding were sheet metal. At the time, I was working at a technology store and had an opportunity to take a Sprint phone home for the night to see if it got a better signal, it didn't. The next night I borrowed a AT&T/Cingular/AT&T phone. I got a much better signal out there on the boat. So I gave up my Verizon service for Cingular/AT&T. It's a little

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