Verizon Wireless vs. AT&T

[Tim M]

See the link, watch both ads, which one based on the ads alone won you over?

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93188?fp=1

My thoughts below.





















































That's all AT&T could come up with on their ad? Grasping for straws are we. To get additional people on their network, two of their selling points are "Most Popular smartphones" and "over a 100,000 apps" What?! Oooh, let me be the cheerleader in the most popular group in school Wow, expected a better punch from them than that.
Yes, I work for VZW and very proud of the network we have built. That happens when you spend over $4,000,000,000 (yes, BILLION) on your network each year.

 

[A Snake]

I don't rely on TV adds for my purchase decisions, for most anything. Matter of fact I love TiVo so I can skip them.
Geographic location for cell service is most imprtant to me..most bang for my buck.
I had Verizon for over 6 years and couldn't get reception in my podunk little town. Switched to Alltel so I could use my phone locally. Verizion bought Alltel..still have the Alltel service which is good.
Who knows who owns who in todays environment.
I also get tired of all the telemarketing calls at work and home from he phone companies..most are not representing the parent company, but instead are trying to convince you they are part of Verizon and/or At&t.
If Verizon(my carrier) has a better program for me(read as cheaper) why don't they just do it.

 

[TOM KEISER]

To me VZW clearly has the better add, the best dig at the competition and better coverage. If I was a big phone and application user, I would go with Verizon for sure. That said, I don't use my phone all that much so it's all about cost. I have 2 phones with 1,000 shared minutes a month for $50 (plus tax, fee's, title, license, wire wheels and all of the other hidden charges that they all add) from T-Mobile. I'll go anywhere that will give me a decent basic deal and never screw up my billing like AT&T used to do when I had them.

 

[Tim M]

ASnake - want to know something funny? Yes we did buy Alltel, yes you are now a Verizon Wireless Customer, but we didn't retain ANY of the Alltel towers in your market. So, your coverage is off of towers that were always there (ours), maybe a few new one's and improvments to existing have helped your coverage. We sold off the Alltel towers and market in Southern Illinois to our competitor due to regulation and kept what we had built there. Tom, that's how most casual users feel, and I can't hold that against anyone in these economic times.

 

[STL Mark]

Verizon's ad is far better. Actually kinda neat the way they play off - "We have a Map for that" - wasn't it Apple iphone that said "we have an app for that"? So they are kinda sneaking in the message that although they don't have Apple - they do have far better coverage - really cool. I'd like to se Droid when it comes out - I may be upgrading.

 

[Phoenix]

All I know is that AT&T is SCREWED UP!

We have AT&T package for DSL (lowest priced one -- SLOW) and home land line and three cell phones (wife, two children.) My cell is a work phone. We don't use the land line much, but want to keep it. DSL is our only high-speed internet option since there is no cable in the area and Wildwood hasn't implemented Wi-Fi. Wouldn't want cable anyway -- just another can of worms. No satellite TV or anything like that. Just an antenna.

Our monthly bill from AT&T was $475 two months ago and $375 last month after my wife spent almost an hour rearranging items in our plan to optimize or minimize our charges. Their plan options, like their bills, are about as easy to interpret as the new 4 million page health reform plan.

When my daughter graduates, she will need to get her own cell contract. I'm ready to give my son the boot, so he can have his own cell contract, too. Then my wife will move to my work plan. What can be done to eliminate our DSL? The cell charges are the lion's share anyway.

I think these carriers are about as out-of-control as the insurance, medical and drug companies. They think they can charge whatever they want for something that costs them next to nothing. Want more profits? Simple - just charge your customers more! Dumb sheep won't know what hit them. I know, Purple, your company just spent 4B, but that is probably what they make in a month.

No way what used to cost $100 a month is suddenly worth three or four times as much. Greed, pure and simple. It is the new American Way!

 

[Tim M]

You're kinda right Karl. Greed is what drives business and ultimately makes my bonus bigger so I can buy more parts for my car However, Verizon does invest much of it's money back in to the network. The following - Profit rose to $1.65 billion from $1.64 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 11.6 percent to $26.59 billion - is from http://www.mobiledia.com/news/69624.html

So, we're not making as much money as you think. Sure, 1.65 billion is a lot, but not near as much as the oil companies' $42 billion profit.

I talk to much, and I really think AT&T is scrambling to save all the customers that we are getting from them. The Droid Mark - is complicated. If you are a techy the Iphone and Droid are for you. I personally need a phone that when I hit send it is a reliable signal and places the call. So, it isn't for me, and probably not for you. Working for the company I see a lot of test phones come through. I personally like LG's phones. Better than average reception and the phones are usually pretty tough.

Karl, I have the AT&T U-verse and love it. Not particularly loving the monthly price ($240/mo for Internet, Phone and TV) but I really like the DVR, the speed of internet and since we rarely use the landline, no troubles with it either.

 

[A Snake]

Most comapies strive to acheive 10%(profit to gross revenue)
Looks like Verizon was at 6.2%
The oil company was at 8.5%
The reason the 42b # looks so large is thier gross sales were up due the price oil(which translated to higher pump prices)