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NFT: What's been your experience with "off-brand" cellphone co's

GiantCuse : 2/9/2018 10:15 am
How's the reception and how much are you paying? Any iPhone 8/X deals?

I'm on AT& T, and mine and my wife's iPhone 6's are on the way out. AT& T wants $700 each for the iPhone 8, plus $120/month for unlimited phone + data (w/ free HBO) + fees, I expect that to be like $150/month.

We live in the sticks, and AT& T service is way better than Verizon at our house, but still only 2 bars out of 5, not sure which towers the smaller companies use, but definitely need strong service at the house.
most use the towers of the big 4  
giants#1 : 2/9/2018 10:23 am : link
For example, Ting uses Sprint's network.
I have T-Mobile which is cheaper than ATT.  
dk in TX : 2/9/2018 10:25 am : link
I can't vouch for the strength of their connectivity in your area, though.
My wife and I currently have  
Someguy1978 : 2/9/2018 10:32 am : link
AT&T and are paying $190 per month. We're moving the phones to Cricket (They use AT&T towers) and for the same plan will pay only $80 per month.
I have Google Project Fi  
GMENGianni : 2/9/2018 10:37 am : link
and my wife an I pay $75 a month, we barely use 4GB of Data a month. So cheap for people who use minimal data and have access to wifi most of the day.

Let me know if you're interested, I can set you up with a referral.
We use Straight Talk.  
fivehead : 2/9/2018 10:57 am : link
Between the phones in our household, some use Verizon towers, and some use ATT towers. No reception problems. $50 per line per month for 10GB data each.
We have Cricket  
AnnapolisMike : 2/9/2018 11:27 am : link
I believe it is owned by AT&T. So basically it is a slowed down version of ATT. We pay $100 for 5 phones. We buy our own phones and if you sell the previous editions of your phone/iphone...the cost differential is not that bad. That said...I am past the need for the latest and greatest. I can't fathom paying 800-1000 for a phone.

My daughter has an iphone 6s+, son and wife have One Plus devices and I have a Nexus 6p.
RE: I have Google Project Fi  
BigBlueDownTheShore : 2/9/2018 11:32 am : link
In comment 13827482 GMENGianni said:
Quote:
and my wife an I pay $75 a month, we barely use 4GB of Data a month. So cheap for people who use minimal data and have access to wifi most of the day.

Let me know if you're interested, I can set you up with a referral.


Looks like they got sued today.
Google’s Project Fi Sued For Billing Wi-Fi Usage - ( New Window )
RE: My wife and I currently have  
GiantCuse : 2/9/2018 12:16 pm : link
In comment 13827477 Someguy1978 said:
Quote:
AT&T and are paying $190 per month. We're moving the phones to Cricket (They use AT&T towers) and for the same plan will pay only $80 per month.


Yup, we are paying $190 for 2 lines we well. So with the Cricket plan, Is that plan going to come with the capped download speeds? If it's owned by ATT, there's got to be a catch, right?
Works great...  
Chris in Philly : 2/9/2018 12:31 pm : link
when I'm slinging rock on the corner...

Have been on Republic Wireless for a long time...  
Dan in the Springs : 2/9/2018 1:02 pm : link
on the Sprint network, so spotty service sometimes, but they default to Wifi whenever available which for us is > 90% of the time. Used to have 4 phones for $60 and if I bought extra data they would credit back what wasn't used. They've since modified plans and so I switched my daughters over to Total wireless which has been great. They are on the Verizon towers so service is much improved and they share 15 GB of data for $60. I'd move myself and my wife over but our phones aren't compatible right now. If I did, I'd go for their 4 phone plan which is $100/mo with 25 GB shared.

And they give an additional discount of 5% if you use your card to enroll in auto-pay.

Not a bad price for the best service in my area.
Cricket  
GerryL : 2/9/2018 1:17 pm : link
Cricket caps the download speed at 8Mbps. I have my kids on Cricket and they don't notice.

If you want Verizon towers, use PagePlus. They resell Verizon. They are a little more pricey than Cricket, but close.
RE: RE: I have Google Project Fi  
GMENGianni : 2/9/2018 2:18 pm : link
In comment 13827560 BigBlueDownTheShore said:
Quote:
In comment 13827482 GMENGianni said:


Quote:


and my wife an I pay $75 a month, we barely use 4GB of Data a month. So cheap for people who use minimal data and have access to wifi most of the day.

Let me know if you're interested, I can set you up with a referral.



Looks like they got sued today. Google’s Project Fi Sued For Billing Wi-Fi Usage - ( New Window )


Interesting, hopefully this works out in my favor.
I went with Consumer Cellular  
BronxBob : 2/9/2018 2:45 pm : link
Bought an inexpensive ($125 total) Android from them that was a generation back from what was current - and is farther back now. Their costs are nicely staggered - at least for my low level of usage of all types. They set subscribers up with either T-Mobile or AT&T for service delivery -- but all the billing and rates are CC's. Presumably, if AT&T is strong where you are, they would be your provider through CC. No contracts. OTOH, if you tried them and it didn't work out, you'd be back to square 1. Discounts through AARP if you qualify.
Sprint  
TyreeHelmet : 2/9/2018 3:02 pm : link
I switched to Sprint for a year and hated it. Terrible voice quality and never had service. Happily switched back to Verizon. Pay 145 for 2 lines and 32GB data.
if you're over 55  
Alan in Toledo : 2/10/2018 12:37 am : link
Wife and I pay $60/month flat (not a penny more) for unlimited everything (charged automatically to a credit card)

T-Mobile ONE Unlimited 55

FYI  
mrvax : 2/10/2018 2:43 am : link
MetroPCS charges $115 per month for 2 lines unlimited and you get 30GB of data before they throttle you back. Even throttled, the data flow is pretty good.



Usually a Google search can show you cell towers in your area for your provider.
I've got to start lookibg at new carriers  
Matt M. : 2/10/2018 7:59 am : link
I'm on T-Mobile, which is cheaper than AT&T was for us. But, i pay over $100 per month for 3 phones, one is a flip phone. We have 2 gig of data for each and almost never approach it. I need a better deal, but it will cost me to switch right now.
What you're talking about is called an MVNO  
Gary from The East End : Admin : 2/10/2018 9:32 am : link
They basically re-sell the services of one of the big four.

I use Ting, which uses either T-Mobile or Sprint towers, depending on what phone you buy and which SIM card you install.

You have to buy your own phone. They do have a store or you can get one on eBay or Amazon or Swappa.
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