U.S. Cellular

Bottom line

U.S. Cellular (*Est. $40 per month and up) is a regional but still fairly large carrier, with about six million customers in 26 states spreading mostly southeast and northwest from Chicago, where the company is headquartered. If you live in one of these states, U.S. Cellular scores as well as -- and sometimes better than -- Verizon Wireless (*Est. $40 per month and up for basic phones; $100 and up for smartphones).

Plan pricing and flexibility

Good selection of competitive plans. U.S. Cellular offers a wide variety of plans at competitive prices. The standard plan offers 450 talk minutes per month for $40.  In addition, U.S. Cellular customers roam for free on the Verizon Wireless network. The standard 450-minute plan has one very important extra that other carriers don't have: free incoming calls, texts and picture/video messages, so you only get charged (or use minutes) for those you send. You can gain additional benefits by joining U.S. Cellular's rewards program, a free program in which you can earn loyalty points that can be used for various perks.

Performance

Top in the North Central United States. U.S. Cellular contracts with the Verizon network for roaming, so 3G coverage blankets the nation. U.S. Cellular rivals Verizon Wireless for nationwide coverage and call quality, with competitive prices and better cell phone plans. While Verizon Wireless ranks highest overall nationally, reviewers say U.S. Cellular is a particularly strong carrier in the 26 states it serves, mostly in the Midwest. It boasts the best call quality in its home area -- the North Central region of the United States -- for the 13th straight survey period at J.D. Power and Associates. U.S. Cellular's 4G network is being rolled out to select cities in several states.

Customer service

High level of customer service. Consumers lavish praise on U.S. Cellular's excellent customer service, and the carrier ranks at or near the top for customer service in expert reviews. PCMag.com's Ben Gottesman states that U.S. Cellular has the best customer support in the business, and the carrier earns a Readers' Choice award. The contributors to a major customer survey agree, awarding U.S. Cellular first place overall and the highest possible ratings for customer service, problem-free calls and value.

Phone selection

Not much of a choice. U.S. Cellular offers fewer handset choices than the national carriers -- although with the latest Android BlackBerry and Windows smartphones, it's no slouch, either. In PCMag.com's readers' survey this carrier ranks last for choice of handsets -- well below
average. It also earns the bottom place for phone selection in TopTenReviews.com's 2012 roundup of cell phone service providers. User contributors at Viewpoints.com agree that the selection is limited. Like Verizon Wireless, U.S. Cellular operates on a CDMA network, so its phones won't work in other countries.