I used my Sprint phone when I was there in December on a cruise.

I used my Sprint phone when I was in STT in December on a cruise.

Yes, there is Srint service on STJ. I had excellent non-roaming coverage in the Cruz Bay area and at the north shore beaches; only roaming service in the Coral Bay and east side, however.

I believe Sprint includes the USVI in their Nationwide Plan - so there shouldn't be romaning, I don't think. If you encounter roaming charges, I would seek credit for those.

Cingular's Nationwide Plan also includes the USVI. I've encountered roaming through them with calls from a home on the Northside of Peterborg were picked up by a BVI tower. I was credited (after much hassle when they told me I must have made the calls from the BVI - not).

Sprint and Cingular customers should expect standard calling plan included billing without roaming and should seek credit for anything else. It is easy for erros to occur in the VI.

I probably should clarify - by "roaming" coverage, I really meant "no digital coverage" (it was analog roaming; my plan is digital only). While in analog raom, use of the phone will incur additional charges, so I made sure to use the phone only when I had regular digital coverage (which was most of the time since we spent most of our time in the areas I mentioned previously). Consequently, I didn't get charged a penny more than I would have at home. I found the coverage to be exactly like it is here in the states - some places are better than others. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised.

ccasebolt-

I see what you are saying. Thanks for clarifying.

I think the key is to ask Sprint if the USVI is part of the digital plan. If they say yes, and their cell tower coverage in the Coral Bay area isn't adequate enough to support that, that's their problem. I don't agree with customers being forced to not use their phones in certain areas just because the towers aren't adequate and they switch to analog roam. If they say they cover the VI with digital, then they should keep you whole if their network isn't able to accomodate that.

Just my .02.

Something else to consider - if you call them, have them make a notation on your account comment screen...and make a note of who you talked to. When I moved down here, I got lots of runaround from a different company about "yes, you're covered" and "no you aren't" - but a $2k phone bill later....was all credited back because notations were on my account.

Better safe than sorry.

Sprint and Cingular are sold as new phones here - so you should be just fine. Verizon - TMobile...forget it =)

The USVI is included in Sprint's nationwide plan, but coverage can vary depending on location. This is no different than the way it is here at home. I live outside Boston and pass in and out of regular digital coverage on my way to work. If I happen to be on the phone when this happens, the call will drop. There are no extra charges for that - just annoyance! The only time I would be charged for a roaming call is if I were to make or answer a call while roaming. My phone is set to prompt me with a reminder that I must manually OK before the call goes out or is answered, so it can't happen without my knowledge. This was exactly my experience in the USVI as well (STT has non-roaming digital coverage in the CA area too, BTW). It is also entirely possible that the east side of STJ has better service now, as I am speaking from my experience over a year ago. Either way, I found Sprint to be very reliable in the Cruz Bay and north shore areas.

Careful on the backside of STJ - Sometimes you will lock on to a BVI tower and the cost become international. When that has occured with Cingular I have called and they have removed the charges.