Why I'm Not Leaving AT&T Once The Verizon iPhone Arrives

Posted by on August 14, 2010 in iPhone | 1 comment

By now everyone has probably heard about the Verizon iPhone allegedly coming in January (if you haven’t then you’re not a real geek).

Many of my friends are planning on ditching Ma Bell for the red V after suffering many years of horrible signal (at least the urban warriors).

Not even the ETF (aka Early Termination Fee) is enough to scare them away (despite the expense).

So why is this iGeek refusing to leave despite the fact that my ETF is much lower?

Because if I switch to Verizon I will:

  • Lose the ability to simultaneously place a call while reading an email attachment, Google Maps, etc.
  • Lose roll over minuets which allow me to use the basic call plan without having to pay for unlimited minuets every month
  • A faster 3G speed. Verizon’s is much more stable, however it’s very slow when compared to AT&T’s (it reminds me of EDGE sometimes).
  • A global phone. Verizon uses CDMA which is as useful as an Old English yard stick in Europe, Asia, etc. (GSM is the “metric” system of the world

While I would love to see a Verizon iPhone (mainly so my siblings & cousins would finally join), I will refrain from joining the masses and defecting towards the red V (the other V for you scifi freaks!).

Oh, and there is one more reason why I wouldn’t leave AT&T:

Once the masses crash Verizon’s network, AT&T will be the party scene as their network will no longer be clogged by data hungry users. ;-)

  • bradleyf81

    When I get back to the US, I'll probably be going with AT&T, mostly for the reasons you said. By that time, hopefully, Verizon will get an iPhone and the network strain that is solely AT&T's will be divided up between them.

    Well, that and I had an issue with Verizon. When I left the US over two years ago, I made sure that my account with them would be closed properly. After I was already out of the country, they decided they wanted to try to bill me ETF fees after assuring me that I wouldn't have to, because I had provided evidence of the move (a 1500 USD one way ticket that costs more than the ETF would have). Anyhow, since they decided to try to charge me ETF fees on two lines, I sent them some angry letters and when they wouldn't change their position I told them they could take my bills and stuff them up their butts. I stiffed them for their ETFs that I shouldn't have had to pay, and went ahead and stiffed them on the last month's payment too. Oh well.