Cellphone carriers

Although located in an area which many would consider rural, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is served by all major cellphone carriers, including Sprint, Verizon, Cingular and T-Mobile. There is a cellphone tower located on campus, so on-campus coverage is good with all carriers. Coverage in the surrounding neighborhoods and towns of Amherst, Hadley, Sunderland and Northampton may vary.

On September 1, User:GMorehou posted a poll in umass_amherst about the major carriers. Respondents were asked to rate carriers they had personally used in the area on a scale of 1 to 5 for quality of coverage and quality of customer service.

The poll and user comments are located here.

Results posted in this article were last updated October 9, 2006.

If you add a testimonial, please sign and date it by using four tildes at the end: ~~~~

Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Average quality 1.2 Specific carrier data 1.2.1 Verizon 1.2.1.1 Testimonials 1.2.2 Cingular 1.2.3 Sprint 1.2.3.1 Testimonials 1.2.4 T-Mobile 1.2.5 Nextel 2 Local businesses 2.1 Best Buy Hadley 2.2 IT Wireless

[edit] Overview

Verizon Wireless (46.5% of respondents) was the most popular carrier. Nextel (4.7% of respondents, before the merger with Sprint) was the least popular.

[edit] Average quality

Here the carriers are ranked by the average of the coverage quality and customer service quality scores. Please note that the scores less popular carriers (those with fewer ratings) are more subject to being "pushed" in one direction or another by a low or high rating.

The range is from 1 (worst) to 5 (best).

• Verizon Wireless (40) - 3.87
• Cingular (33) - 3.74
• Sprint (15) - 3.30, before Nextel merger
• T-Mobile (16) - 2.82
• Nextel (4) - 2.55, before Sprint merger

[edit] Specific carrier data

[edit] Verizon

• Coverage:
  • Mean: 4.37 Median: 4 Std. Dev 0.72
• Customer service:
  • Mean: 3.36 Median: 3 Std. Dev 0.92

[edit] Testimonials

Very strong service throughout the Amherst area. Though their map shows coverage barely covering the Sunderland area, you shouldn't have any problems around the Squire Village, Cliffside, and even Rolling Green apartments. They tend to be a bit pricier than other companies, but the general consensus is that in this case, you get what you pay for. --Strict9, 26 August 2005

[edit] Cingular

• Coverage:
  • Mean: 4.00 Median: 4 Std. Dev 1.21
• Customer service:
  • Mean: 3.48 Median: 4 Std. Dev 1.02

[edit] Sprint

(Before the merger with Nextel)

• Coverage:
  • Mean: 3.47 Median: 3 Std. Dev 1.04
• Customer service:
  • Mean: 3.12 Median: 3.5 Std. Dev 1.32

[edit] Testimonials

As a Sprint user for all my time in Amherst, I've been quite satisfied with coverage. There are very few dead spots. Customer service has never been Sprint's strong suit, but they offer decent plans at decent prices (if you don't need data) and $5 and $10 add-ons for 500 text messages and earlier nights. Overall, I'd recommend Sprint. --GMorehou^(talk) 14:55, 9 October 2006 (EDT)

[edit] T-Mobile

• Coverage:
  • Mean: 2.83 Median: 2.5 Std. Dev 1.57
• Customer service:
  • Mean: 2.81 Median: 3 Std. Dev 1.38

[edit] Nextel

(Before the merger with Sprint)

• Coverage:
  • Mean: 2.60 Median: 3 Std. Dev 1.50
• Customer service:
  • Mean: 2.50 Median: 3 Std. Dev 0.87

[edit] Local businesses

This section contains information on local businesses where cellular phones and coverage can be obtained.

[edit] Best Buy Hadley

Best Buy at the Hampshire Mall in Hadley (Across from Wendy's, next to Target) has a great selection of phones from Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T/Cingular. Great low prices, and a non-commissioned sales staff. 413-587-4011 x2271

[edit] IT Wireless

Stop by IT Wireless on 383 College Street (across from Pizza-Rama and Spirit Haus) in Amherst for all your Verizon Wireless needs. Call (413)259-1220 if you have any questions.