Yes i think you need to check out all the major carriers, and their coverage maps. And then make your decision. The reason people like T-Mobile is because first it's budget-friendly, secondly because it has plenty of money-saving perks like Mobile-Mobile, plenty of texts (Unlimited for $14.99 i think). And so on...
and yes GSM is much much better. GSM allows you to use your cellular device anywhere in the world; whereas, the CDMA operates on a specific bandwidth and frequency. i think. :D
so what are you trying to say? That I talk too much?
a lot of other service providers give you mobile to mobile. I’m not sure about the txting plan though. At&t is really expensive if you pay per txt instead of getting a package.
T-mobile used to have the 19.99 plan when I had it about 2 years ago but i guess it is phased out now. The 300 minute 29.99 plan isn't bad either.
Coverage, i believe, also depends upon the phone. AT&T, back in the day, was good but I don't think any wonder have happened after its acquisition of cingular...
GSM's only "advantage" over CDMA is that you can take your device/SIM to other countries and do roaming or simply use the device in some other country with their local SIM. This limitation is only for US cell phones as generally US reserves different frequency spectrum for cellular services from rest of the world. Now many devices have dual frequencies so that will allow CDMA roamers to go almost anywhere.
Get T-Mobile FlexPay. No contract and same plans as the ones that are available to post-pay customers with contract. I have never been happier. With flex pay, you don't get deals on the phones like u do when u sign up a contract (i.e. free phone). Rather, you get to buy a phone from them at a regular price. All the better if you already have a tmobile phone or any unlocked GSM phone.
stop it you 2…this isnt cafe! 
with rogerz and bell