Cell Phone Carriers

asechrest

asechrest

En-Route
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
4,588
Location
Tampa Bay
Display Name
Display name:
asechrest
I'm currently with Sprint, nearing the end of a two year contract. I have not been pleased with the voice and reception quality with Sprint. I am formerly of T-Mobile, and hate the customer service and billing side of that company with an unmatched passion. Though they did come out with enticing no-contract plans after I left them and swore I'd never go back.

I'd love to save some money on the cell phone bill, and I know there are low-cost carriers now making in-roads into the cell carrier market. I'm working on a list of pros and cons of the low cost carriers, but I wonder what carriers the folks here use, and what has been your experience?

I need a smart phone plan with unlimited texting, and at least 2.5G/mo of data per line, and good reception in FL.

Thanks.
 
i'm on Virgin Mobile, which uses the Sprint Network. HOwever, 5 hours of talk and unlimited text and data on my iPhone are only $30/month.
 
Nexus 5, unlocked, and cheap no contract plans on tmobile and AT&T has been the best. Side benefit, whenever I travel to other countries, I just pop in a cheap local SIM card for cheap data, text, phone rates.
 
https://republicwireless.com/ This is what I use. Cheap as all get out. I had wifi only data for a bit and could get by, but now splurge(25 bucks) for mobile 3G. Classic companies and 2 year contracts are nuts if you ask me.
 
I use StraightTalk over VZW towers. $45.00 / month. Unlimited voice and text. 3.0 GB data. On VZW, data was only 3G the last time I checked. I think you can get 4G on GSM, but I'd check first if that's important to you.

The service is marketed by Wally World, but actually provided by TracFone, which is an MVNO using several carriers. If you want ST over VZW, you buy a phone labeled "CDMA-V" on the box. For GSM, you'd have to ask someone in the store how that works. I think they use both TMO and ATT, but if you want one or the other, you have to initially activate the phone in an area that only has service from the carrier you want.

I've never had any problems at all with ST, but I'm also not exactly what you'd call a heavy user. I use my phone as a phone, not as a TV, radio, boom box, payment device, navigation aid, peripheral brain, toaster, toy, or vibrator. My average data use is less than 200MB / month. So the fact that I've never had a problem with ST doesn't mean that you won't.

On the other hand, there's no contract; so if it doesn't work out for you, you're just out the cost of the phone. It might be worth buying an el-cheapo phone at first to see how the coverage and service work for you, then buying a better one if you like it.

Rich
 
If you loved T-Mobile Customer Service, stay away from Sprint.
 
One big negative point with ST is you are denied the ability to use tethering / phone as a WiFi hot spot.
 
I appreciate the comments so far.

I took a look at Republic and don't like that I am tied to their tiny selection of phones. Straight Talk looks like a possibility. I might could hold my nose and try T-Mo no contract. Virgin Mobile looks interesting but since it uses Sprint towers I might have the same voice and signal quality issues that I am experiencing now.

Anyone tried Cricket?
 
Neal Howard said:
One big negative point with ST is you are denied the ability to use tethering / phone as a WiFi hot spot.
Click to expand...

I lost that ability when I switched from T-Mo to Sprint. Which is a bummer because I have the gen 1 Nexus 7 that I used to connect via WiFi hotspot from my phone.
 
Straight Talk with Nexus 5. I called the company directly and didn't go through any local providers. $30 a month.
 
tinerj said:
Straight Talk with Nexus 5. I called the company directly and didn't go through any local providers. $30 a month.
Click to expand...

Straight-talk doesnt own a single tower or antenna.
 
weilke said:
Straight-talk doesnt own a single tower or antenna.
Click to expand...

I believe that is true. But I'm getting unfailing cell service no matter where I land, unlimited voice, unlimited text, and more data than I've ever used, including lots of Netflix movies and other streaming. $30 a month. Whatever cell towers I'm going through doesn't matter to me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top