T-Mobile vs. Sprint Unlimited

"I'm thinking about switching from T-Mobile to Sprint Unlimited. How is the Sprint service? Does Sprint get dropped calls? Is the data connection for Sprint Unlimited fast or slow?"

I'm also currently a T-Mobile customer and find myself thinking about switching to Sprint or virtually any other service. I wrote this summer about T-Mobile's lack of good data coverage across many states in the U.S. My Sprint data-only plan never let me down. This weekend, while sitting next to a friend with Sprint at an event in Half Moon Bay, CA, I was reminded about just how much better Sprint service currently is.

The Sprint data connection that's part of the unlimited package is a 3G connection. Sprint's 3G data plan is about the same speed as Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. As I pointed out this summer, compared to both AT&T and T-Mobile, Sprint seems to be better at providing data access in more places. As I sat in the hotel conference room at Half Moon Bay watching people next to me use Sprint Samsung Epic phones and iPhones to check email while my connection read Emergency Calls Only (with the exception of one side of the hotel), Sprint was definitely faster.

I can't speak to dropped calls. I don't get many on T-Mobile as long as I have a connection, but if there's no service available, you certainly can't make a call at all. Sprint wins in more places for service availability in my experience.

Keep in mind that if you get a 4G phone from Sprint, like the Samsung Epic, you will pay extra for the 4G data service, which is not included in the unlimited plan.