This needed to be updated.
T-Mobile is the 4th Largest cell phone company in the U.S. followed by
AT&T - Formerly
Cingular,
Verizon Wireless, and Sprint-Nextel. It is currently a major supplier of
Android phones (G1, Nexus, MyTouch, etc.). Their signal as of 2010 is not that bad, but lets be honest... What cell phone company actually gives you coverage everywhere you go? Yes AT&T may have coverage in some areas T-Mobile doesn't, but likewise T-Mobile has coverage in areas AT&T doesn't. Outside of metro areas and far into the rural areas, you do start noticing T-Mobile has a small
footprint but today's plans allow you to use
AT&T's network (known as roaming) for free. That's usually for calls anyways. They may charge roaming for Data but that may be in the plan details themselves. Usually though, most networks offer coverage in the same areas in this day and age.
T-Mobile is the one of the 2 major cell phone companies in the USA to use
GSM technology, the other being AT&T. So it is very common for iPhones to be used on T-Mobile and G1s being used on AT&T, provided you did
a SIM Unlock.
T-Mobile also offers wireless internet. They have hot spots (T-Mobile Hotspots) which are found in Starbucks, FedEx
Kinkos, airports and other business locations. They also offer Internet service through a USB stick that you connect to your laptop. It is not the fastest nor the cheapest, but it is sold for the businessman who cannot access a hot spot.
Example:
T-Mobile does not suck like many people are told they do. Yes they have a small
footprint for a major cell phone company, but they usually let you roam for free if it has to be. Most people are not affected by it though as T-Mobile has excellent service in metro areas.
Most of their plans are cheaper than
Verizon and
AT&T. They are also the only company besides Cricket to offer post paid no contract service, which is known as Even More Plus.
Their customer service is one of the best compared to many companies in and outside of the cell phone business today. They are not asses like Verizon or AT&T.
The only way you can get a better deal than T-Mobile is Cricket but they are a
Metro PCS network with a VERY small footprint.