I believe that if you hack an iPhone onto T-mobile, they don't recognize the iPhone as a smart phone. That way, you can get away without getting a data plan on your iPhone and making the costs cheaper. If you can live with only using free WiFi when available, this is the route I would choose.

If I was paying for 3G, I would just choose the carrier with the best coverage for my area.

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Whoever gets real with data costs. I have AT&T in the states and am grandfathered into unlimited, but I would like to tether. In Germany I have 5 gb per month for 20 Euros with unlimited tethering and great coverage. ATT doesn't do too well in the mountains.

Perhaps AT&T if the signal improves. Perhaps Sprint if I can get a signal at home.
Who Knows at this point. I'm gonna make a choice in a couple of weeks (Or sooner)

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

Here's how it breaks down so far....


If you’re buying an iPhone 4S, which network should you pick? That really depends on your priorities:

If you care about speed the most, AT&T is your best choice.
If you care about simultaneous talking and web surfing, AT&T is your best choice as well
If you’re very price-conscious, Sprint is the way to go.
If you care about unlimited data, Sprint is the only one that offers a new plan.
If your concern is network reliability, you need to test the different networks in the areas you visit most.
If you travel a lot and want constant 3G access, Verizon is your best bet.
In a few years, we’ll have to revisit this issue as 4G networks become more mainstream. But for right now, iPhone users have more choices than ever.

Edit: More news regarding the Micro Sim for Verizion and sprint.

a new wrinkle that potentially makes the international-roaming experience better on Sprint and Verizon iPhones than it is on AT&T. Sprint plans to sell the iPhone 4S with its micro-SIM slot unlocked; Verizon’s will be initially locked, but if you’ve been a customer in good standing for 60 days, you can call Verizon and ask for an “international unlock.” (A Verizon spokesperson told me that this is Verizon’s standard policy for all world phones—it’s just the first time it’s manifested itself on an iPhone.)

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

Ok; by this time you iPhone 4S users might have some feedback re: carriers.
Let's hear some opinions.

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

See if you could get FEMTO, called Airave 2 free from sprint. That should solve the problem. Just got 4S their customer services are horrible, bad English, took me 2.5 hours and 3 phone calls just to process my credit cards.

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BMW The Ultimate Oil-Leaking Machines!

If I go by what you say I will "NOT" be getting sprint.....

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

I had some TERRIBLE customer service when I was with Sprint. They had been using call centers in the Philippines and not only was there a language issue but the connections were awful with most calls sounding like they were under water. Before I bailed on them my calls to them were much better. I thought they switched to all North American call centers. I do know their retentions call centers are in NA.

The bigger issue for me is the horrible reception I get with Sprint in my area. The Airave 2 suggestion is good and it does work but it goes to show you that it is a typical thing with Sprint. A friend of mine lives near the base of some small mountains and he gets nothing from Sprint there. His wife has VZ and she's just fine on reception.

As you know, I went with VZ.

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Will it's final (so far) I bought a 64GB black At&T device. MY 3G took a vacation day last Saturday. Left it in the CEO's car connected to the iPod connector on Friday. Saturday morning It was dead as a door nail and no matter what i tried to use to charge it it was not having it. Sunday morning at 6AM after being on the charger all night it woke up.

Reception at my house which has been a problem using the 3G for phone calls so far has improved a great deal. Even with one bar i'm having no problems making calls at home. The rest is just icing on the cake. Now I gotta find a case that will do the job without looking like it's doing the job.

I'm happy with the purchase haven't scratched the surface with regard to how to use it but buying this thing took up a substantial amount of my retirement fund and it the price of this thing is any indicator of what things are going to cost in the future i may have to find a food bank and start begging some of you folks around here to help out this retired bum.

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….