Help with Cell phone plans

Silound · 03-09-2010, 01:13 PM

On providers:

I have Verizon and love it. Both AT&T and Verizon have good coverage down here, but when Katrina hit, I had AT&T and was without service for almost 3 weeks, and then VERY spotty poor service after that. Family was on Verizon and had NO problems, so I switched and haven't complained ever. I'm not a smartphone person, I look at my phone as talking, occasional PDA functions, and occasional texting as the only things I do. Smaller regional providers may offer better options, but generally I would stick to one of the big ones because they have more infrastructure to support with.

Verizon has one other nice feature that I prefer. If you lose your phone, you can go online and enter the serial and MAC address of a new one and be using it within 5 minutes. If you lose an AT&T phone, you have to go get a new SIM card, which is an utter PITA.

On phones:

If you aren't going to fork out for a data plan (they're expensive) then your best option is to get a low end family plan that suits your needs and two free phones with it (never mind the two year commitment, that will go by real fast).

Some other pointers:

I get cell coverage at home, so I don't have a landline. I use my cell phone to make all of my calls simply because it's cheaper and I still don't burn 750 minuets a month because a lot of my calls are during free calling hours or are same-network calls. Also, the free long distance thing is nice, compared to landline rates.

Anyway, just some opinions for you.

larryinlc · 03-09-2010, 01:41 PM

I was on Altel now Verizon pay as you go. I quickly dumped it due to the double dialing required. I live in a roaming area and since it's pay as you go, they charge for roaming. It was not the money issue for me, but being required to dial the number, then dial it again with a few more digits so they can bill you annoyed me to no end. Couldn't even store numbers in memory because of this. I suppose not all pay as you go plans are like this though. I now use Sprint contract service with free roaming and it makes it much simpler.

Larry

View Poll Results: Which do you use?
Verizon	20	35.09%
AT & T	18	31.58%
Sprint	10	17.54%
T-Mobile	7	12.28%
US Cellular	3	5.26%
Tracfone	2	3.51%
Boost Mobile	0	0%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 57. You may not vote on this poll

03-09-2010, 01:13 PM	#1
Silound ex-CS Swamp Gorilla Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Somewhere in a swamp, south of sanity Posts: 802 Trading: (15)	Re: Help with Cell phone plans On providers: I have Verizon and love it. Both AT&T and Verizon have good coverage down here, but when Katrina hit, I had AT&T and was without service for almost 3 weeks, and then VERY spotty poor service after that. Family was on Verizon and had NO problems, so I switched and haven't complained ever. I'm not a smartphone person, I look at my phone as talking, occasional PDA functions, and occasional texting as the only things I do. Smaller regional providers may offer better options, but generally I would stick to one of the big ones because they have more infrastructure to support with. Verizon has one other nice feature that I prefer. If you lose your phone, you can go online and enter the serial and MAC address of a new one and be using it within 5 minutes. If you lose an AT&T phone, you have to go get a new SIM card, which is an utter PITA. On phones: If you aren't going to fork out for a data plan (they're expensive) then your best option is to get a low end family plan that suits your needs and two free phones with it (never mind the two year commitment, that will go by real fast). Some other pointers: I get cell coverage at home, so I don't have a landline. I use my cell phone to make all of my calls simply because it's cheaper and I still don't burn 750 minuets a month because a lot of my calls are during free calling hours or are same-network calls. Also, the free long distance thing is nice, compared to landline rates. Anyway, just some opinions for you. __________________ Back in black, and better than ever! You can't keep a good gorilla down! LSU Geaux Tigers!

03-09-2010, 01:41 PM	#2
larryinlc Angry Packer Fan Join Date: Feb 2009 First Name: Larry Location: Starvalley Posts: 325 Trading: (15)	Re: Help with Cell phone plans I was on Altel now Verizon pay as you go. I quickly dumped it due to the double dialing required. I live in a roaming area and since it's pay as you go, they charge for roaming. It was not the money issue for me, but being required to dial the number, then dial it again with a few more digits so they can bill you annoyed me to no end. Couldn't even store numbers in memory because of this. I suppose not all pay as you go plans are like this though. I now use Sprint contract service with free roaming and it makes it much simpler. Larry