Cell Phone Plans

[Quantum673]

Want to share some info that may save some guys some money. I have been in the cell phone industry for the last 25+ years. I am not an expert in all things cell phone but I think I can save some guys some money.

If you are a veteran let your carrier know. Most give a great discount to veterans.

For those that are not eligible for special discounts. Look at the carriers prepaid service. It is usually almost half the price of the post paid brands.

Verizon - Visible and Total are their prepaid brands.

ATT - Cricket

T-mobile - Metro

All of these use the same network as their big brother but charge half the price. There are some very subtle differences usually data speeds. Hypothetical example: Big Brand has speeds of 30gb per second. Little brother has 10gb per second. Unless you are a power user the difference is negligible. Everyone’s situation is different. Lots of savings to be had if you look around.

 

[Smawgunner2]

Just the information I’m looking for. If I switch from Verizon to visible and later down the road, I need a new phone. How does that happen since they don’t have a brick and mortar store?

 

[Outdoorsfellar]

I use Puretalk which runs off of At&t and am very happy with it. Half the price of at&t services.

 

[5Cent]

Thoughts on Mint? I'd love to cut our Verizon phone bill in half, and I feel Ryan Reynolds is a smart business man and wouldn't associate if not a stand up company/service.

 

[Outdoorsfellar]

I tried Mint even after I had puretalk. Mint didn't have the coverage as claimed, so I reverted back to PT.

 

[jagermeister]

I’m sure a lot has changed over the years… But 8-10 years ago I tried the whole “same towers and service as Verizon” company switch and it really bit me in the ass. Service was absolute trash and then, worst of all, I couldn’t get my number back when I went back to Verizon. Had to start all over with my contacts.

 

[Quantum673]

To answer a few questions I saw.

How to upgrade is going to depend on the company. The ones that do not have brick and mortar stores usually are carried in some big box stores where you can buy a phone off the shelf. Others use online only for upgrades. Metro, Cricket, and Total have physical stores.

There is a difference between a lot of the smaller brands. They usually have agreements with one of the big 3 to use their network. This usually only includes their specific network and does not include any roaming agreements. So if you have Consumer Cellular on Verizon it is only going to work on Verizon’s network. An actual Verizon customer not only uses Verizon network but also uses any roaming agreements that Verizon has in areas they do not have coverage. The consumer cellular plan will not use those roaming partners. Mint mobile falls into this category as well. That is one of the advantages with using the Prepaid brands that are owned by the big 3 like Metro, Total, Visible, or Cricket.

If you do a substantial amount of international traveling I also recommend staying with Verizon, ATT, or T-mobile. Most prepaid carriers do not offer international traveling. Not as big a deal now a days since you can still use WiFi to call or text when traveling.

 

[Quantum673]

I’m sure a lot has changed over the years… But 8-10 years ago I tried the whole “same towers and service as Verizon” company switch and it really bit me in the ass. Service was absolute trash and then, worst of all, I couldn’t get my number back when I went back to Verizon. Had to start all over with my contacts.

You should be able to take your number back and forth as many times as you want. Back 8-10 years ago I do not remember if there were any limitations. Certainly could have been. Now though you can go back and forth.

Yes how others use the network has changed a lot over the last 10 years. The big 3 used to really limit others that used their network. They still do today for the prepaid brands that they do not own. But not as much as they used to. Just enough to keep a competitive advantage.