[larsonec]

I'm wondering on the consensus as the best carrier in chicago/milwaukee area if you have a blackberry. I'm with AT&T now and it looks like basic family plan is the same price if I switch to t-mobile or verizon. t mobile is $20 for unlimited data whereas ATT is $30, so I might pick up a little savings with t-mobile. What I like better is that I can get wifi on TM. I guess my real question is whether it is worth the hassle to switch from ATT? (ie, is there really a price difference in the end between the different carriers when all the secret taxes/costs/fees are added in?)

[zerog46]

All in all they are very close in price all over. If I were you I would get the one with the best service in your area.

[vZwire]

Verizon, of course...But I guess my opinion is biased.

[mark0341]

I would go with Alltel.com - Official site

Unlimited Data
7pm nights
Unlimited N&W
Unlimited Text
My Circle
500 anytime
$90

[Dubdub]

Look at where you will use the device, where you live, work, travel and play. That should be the determining factor, not what someone else has for a carrier.

[artur]

Originally Posted by mark0341

I would go with Alltel.com - Official site

Unlimited Data
7pm nights
Unlimited N&W
Unlimited Text
My Circle
500 anytime
$90

Thats a terrible deal.

Tmobile:
Fav5 plan
1000 for non fav5 users
+wifi
+unlimited blackberry
+ripoff warranty
+400 sms
+taxes
$104

tmobile works at least as good as any other carrier in chicago. had plenty of problems with att, and this is no worse.

[orbitz]

I am in the western suburbs outside Chicago and have my 8830 on Sprint...I also have a Curve on AT&T and a 8700 on Tmo. I don't normally make it up quite as far as Milwaukee, but probably within 40 miles or so just running around. On Sprint, my coverage is excellent with the exception of one intersection 3 blocks from my house...it is a complete dead spot. In my office, which is in the basement of my house, I get good reception on Sprint, ZERO reception on AT&T and limited reception on Tmo. Outside of reception issues in my home office, I have found AT&T and Tmo to be pretty much equal in terms of coverage and call quality...though I will say Tmo's customer service is much more pleasant to deal with for me at least. Neither of them have the call clarity that Sprint has...and I use about 8k-10k minutes per month as a reference. I have also used Verizon and they are equal to or better then Sprint in the Chicago area.

[mark0341]

Wirelessly posted (8830 WORLD EDITION (ALLTEL): BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/106)

Originally Posted by artur

Thats a terrible deal.

Tmobile:
Fav5 plan
1000 for non fav5 users
+wifi
+unlimited blackberry
+ripoff warranty
+400 sms
+taxes
$104

tmobile works at least as good as any other carrier in chicago. had plenty of problems with att, and this is no worse.

The 500 anytime are nation wide. Plus you have 3G speed on alltel.

[midwestguy2007]

I have a a bb8830 thru us cell 49.95 unlimited data/not the fastest bis...so i went with a hosted BES service---worth the extra bucks

[Keebler]

I would say over all TMO and AT&T will be close. Our TMO works great

[tsac]

About now you get the idea that everybody has the best service for the carrier they picked. I would suggest you try one of the major carriers and see if they will cancel the service if it turns out to be a bad choise or try to talk to people you know in the area.
I could tell you I have a few people who work for me in Chicago and middle Wisconsin and ATT works well but I would still ask around.