Anybody know what the best prepaid phone deal is?

[raggie33]

i love vrgin mobile

 

[sunspot]

Anybody understand the "20¢ / MINUTE Basic Rate" or the "10¢ / MINUTE all the time for $6.99/month" plan they have listed under "other rates"? Are there any minutes included with these?

You pay a monthly fee os $6.99 per months and under that plan, tour calls are charged .10 per minute. With the .20 per minute, there is no monthly fee. All calls are a flat .20 per minute.

 

[barkingmad]

I live in the UK but am visiting the US for a few weeks and wanted to use 3G data on my phone / USB modem.

Using a UK SIM 'abroad' is ridiculously expensive - so are there any pre-pay deals that let you use 3G 'data'??

I have a SIM free (tri-band) phone and USB modem - so that should be compatible.

 

[K A]

I live in the UK but am visiting the US for a few weeks and wanted to use 3G data on my phone / USB modem.

Using a UK SIM 'abroad' is ridiculously expensive - so are there any pre-pay deals that let you use 3G 'data'??

I have a SIM free (tri-band) phone and USB modem - so that should be compatible.

I am not aware of prepaid SIM cards in the US myself. It's more prepay phones like Tracfone and the like you see. Not actual SIM cards.

Though a quick google search did turn up www.myworldphone.com to have prepaid SIMs. Though the descriptions don't mention anything about 3G data usage.. might just get Edge data with it or the lowly GPRS. AT&T is the major player in GSM in the US and depending on where you go they may or maynot have 3G coverage there. Check AT&T's Coverage online for their 3G data areas.

Tmobile also does GSM. You might want to check their coverage viewer to see what kind of data coverage they have.

One more thing. What bands does your triband phone have? AT&T uses mostly 850mhz with some areas being 1900mhz. Tmobile I think only uses the 1900mhz spectrum.

So if your phone does not have 850mhz you might miss out on coverage in some areas.

 

[barkingmad]

... the problem is the cost of roaming data - typically we get charged about £3-6 (~$5-12 per megabyte) to use a UK SIM abroad - when I am sure people in the US can get unlimited US 'data' for something like $30-50 per month?

I know of people who have run up bills of £300-1000+ in just a week - would be cheaper to get a US mobile contract for data for a year than pay that.

So just wondered if anyone know if any of the US carriers offered pre-paid data or a month-by-month tariff without having to sign up for a year.

It is quite common in the UK - anyone could walk into various mobile phone shops and get a 3G pay as you go SIM and pay either just a few pounds per day or about £10-15 for a whole month of usage.

 

[K A]

... the problem is the cost of roaming data - typically we get charged about £3-6 (~$5-12 per megabyte) to use a UK SIM abroad - when I am sure people in the US can get unlimited US 'data' for something like $30-50 per month?

I know of people who have run up bills of £300-1000+ in just a week - would be cheaper to get a US mobile contract for data for a year than pay that.

So just wondered if anyone know if any of the US carriers offered pre-paid data or a month-by-month tariff without having to sign up for a year.

It is quite common in the UK - anyone could walk into various mobile phone shops and get a 3G pay as you go SIM and pay either just a few pounds per day or about £10-15 for a whole month of usage.

Yah you can get unlimited data for about that much per month.. while under a regular voice contract. Most US carriers are all about contracts. Gotta have that guaranteed revenue stream ya know. The prepaid SIMs just are not very big here with the carriers.

You can try going into an AT&T store and see if they will sell you just a SIM for one of the prepaid GO phones. That has an option for unlimited media net for $20. Does not mention if it is 3G/Edge/GPRS. I am unsure if this will work though. Usually the GO phones are prepackaged cell phones (sim/phone/charger) just like tracfone. I do not know if they need special software on the phone to allow it to connect.

If they DO sell it to ya. Be aware that AT&T's prepaid coverage footprint is smaller than a normal voice contract footprint. It does not allow you to roam onto other networks.

The US just is not like Europe when it comes to cell phones/plans/etc.

Only other thing I can think of.. If you want to buy one of the laptop connect cards (around $200) and then see if a store will activate it without contract. Thats another $60/month + taxes.

Or try emailing myworldphone and inquire about those prepaid SIMs I linked to earlier.

 

[nerdgineer]

Another vote for T-Mobile to go. 1 year expiration for minutes (after you buy first $100-1000 minutes) is much easier to remember than the 3 month deals where their business model is to hope you forget and lose all your unused minutes. Once you've bought your first $100 of minutes, then any additional minutes you buy, even small amounts, will last 1 year and extend your unused minutes through that year. I check mine twice a year (summer and winter equinox) and add whatever I need.

Works fine in the areas I've needed it.

 

[Dave_5280]

I like T-Mobile because before the end of each year you can buy 1,000 minutes for $100 and they roll over your old minutes for the next year.

But Net 10 has a good deal for short term use when we need phones for vacations. Walmart sells them for about $30 including 300 minutes for 60 days. You have to look for them on the shelves because some of them have a label that is a bonus minute deal instead of the 300 free minutes.

 

[NeonLights]

My wife and I both had Virgin Mobile phones for almost two years. We live out in the country though, and have very poor coverage with the Sprint network, one bar usually at best. Wasn't a huge deal for us since we had a home phone, and usually used the Virgin phones away from home. We always paid the $20 minimum every three months, and never used all our minutes. I was pleased with the Virgin phones and service, and would probably still use them if we had decent coverage.

 

[NA8]

Just checked out T-Mobile and Virgin's coverage maps for San Francisco. Virgin has almost 100% signal strength all over while T-Mobile is much more fragmented in signal strength. Be sure and check out the coverage maps for your area.

 

[Wits' End]

Why a cell contract when...?

Was going to start a new thread but thought an add-on here would work about as well, plus I can put my 2¢ in on other pre-paid services

My question is...Why should I pay about $50/month for contract service(450 anytime min. + unlimited nights and weekends), from Verizon, when I can get Straight Talk service for $30+tax and 911 fees (1000 minutes, no free minutes, + texts and web)? Looking at my usage I have never gone over 900 minutes total, so the 1000 is good. I can always upgrade for 1 month if needed to Unlimited for $45+taxes. My coverage, remote rural and larger city, with the ST phone has been as good or better than my VZ cell. So are there advantages to the contract phone that I've not used or am unaware of? Thanks in advance for thoughts.

On other pre-paid. We live beyond the phone land-lines so our cell phone (VZ) stays mostly there, except when someone is traveling. Then we use a TracFone at home, occasionally use it for travel when many calls are unlikely. So I wanted a phone I could roll-over minutes on but also not worry about recharging, minute-wise, monthly. So we have used TF for several years and been happy with their service. Last time I replaced the phone, they tend to be lower quality, they had, still have, get a phone with double minutes for life. So buying a 400 minute card, with a 'coupon' for 200 free gave me 1000 minutes for about $80 IIRC. I transfered over my number and service time from my dead TF and have about 4-500 days service .
My son who was doing lawn service and handyman work this summer needed a phone for several months he went with Net10, buy a phone and service for $20, then to get the same service it is $30 for 300 min and 60 days IIRC. He ran over his phone on a riding lawn mower , he bought a new one and transfered his minutes and service time. He was happy with service.
I bought a ST phone when I worked temp. for the Census, great service and it left the family phone available for family. Never thought I'd use the web time but did do some email checking. I'd probably get a better phone from ST if I went to them solely, and use some of the texting and web time
My daughter is going to be in Colorado for about a year. We'd like her to have a phone as a back-up way of getting in touch. We are planning on a TF as she won't need a lot of time but needs a year. So a double minute phone with 400 min. card (1000 minutes) should last her the year.
Hope those thoughts help.

 

[leeholaaho]

Any T-Mobile prepaid users out there? Opinions?

T-mobile to go - best deal in town

Go to Target - they have 10 dollar t-mobile togo phones on sale, at least last week they did

Once you spend 100 bucks your minutes roll over

Like 100 bucks gets you 1000 minutes good for a year

If you use 500 minutes for the year, you buy a 10 dollar card that gets you 30 minutes

But, now you have 530 minutes good for another year

If you only use around 30-40 minutes a month the phone will only cost you less then 5 bucks a month

phone 10 bucks
1000 minutes year 1 - 100 bucks
30 minutes year 2 - 10 bucks
30 minutes year 3 - 10 bucks

get it - best deal in town - used it for years

there are also web sites where you can buy minutes cheaper and not pay sales tax

After having it for 4 years I figure I pay less then a buck a month