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meaningless - exactly. there are zero people going to the store and buying that iphone 5s.

That's a goddamned lie.

https://www.boostmobile.com/#!...

Next excuse?

I just did a web search for "unlimited data plan". Let's see what we find...

http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-p...
https://www.metropcs.com/cell-...
http://www.boostmobile.com/sho...
https://www.virginmobileusa.co...

Yep, every one of them describes the plan as "UNLIMITED" in big bold letters. Of course, it you search really carefully, you'll sometimes discover some tiny text at the bottom of the page explaining that "unlimited" doesn't actually mean unlimited at all. It's just what they call "false advertising".

You seem to be misinformed. I haven't had any trouble in the 10 years or so I've had Boost, and their web page confirms it:

http://www.boostmobile.com/sho...

So now that you know the salesman lied to you and you're paying extra for nothing, are you done wasting your money? Perhaps it's worth it to you to keep paying the extra $40 / month so you can pretend you were right. No skin off my nose either way.

There are a few smaller carriers that lease AT&T's GSM network.
Boost (They seem to cater to people with bad credit)
Cricket($55 unlimited everything but data is throttled after 2.5GB.)
Consumer Cellular(Great if you just make phone calls, data costs an arm and a leg)

$4/month / $0.10/minute = 40 minutes / month
boost does 20c per minute http://www.boostmobile.com/shop/plans/pay-as-you-go/ for new customers
t-mobile does 10c per minute if you buy 1k minutes(1 year) at once time http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/pay-as-you-go-plans

Verizon and Boost, among many, offer prepaid minutes that will not expire for 90+ days.

How long is the +? I checked Boost's web site, and just like Virgin, Boost's page says "Recharge at least once every 90 days to keep your account active (after 90 days any credit balance will expire)." Verizon doesn't even last that long. From its page: "Once activated, account balance will expire based on initial payment or in 60 days, whichever is longer."

But you *did* get a job eventually I'm sure.

In order to get the job I have now, I had to get the state to bring in a job placement service specializing in disabilities such as my (professionally diagnosed) mental disorder. Without the employment consultant explaining my disability to my employer, I likely would have been rejected for some of the mannerisms that my disability caused during interviews. But vocational rehabilitation is a social(ist) program, and its funding could be cut at any moment.

some unemployed will start their own businesses

To what extent can a minor seeking to pay for his own cell phone plan do this?

Undercut people

How does one undercut free?

Indeed, how do Americans fall for this stuff while people in other nations seem to be able to get better deals? Are we really just that dumb?

No, only you are.

My "cable TV" is netflix streaming + free OTA HD network channels + hulu. It is easy to get a smartphone for (eventually) $35/mo for unmetered talk/text/web (I don't use the term "unlimited". It defies the laws of physics). I don't do this, because I like newer phones. I'm on a 5-line smartphone plan from Sprint that works out to just over $40/mo/line.

Any more stupid mistakes you're making? I'm always happy to help people save money.

Actually there are a few smaller ones that have sprouted up recently(ish). I have no experience with them but their prices seem more reasonable.

http://www.boostmobile.com/
http://www.mycricket.com/

Yes, but it's extra. If you need free international calls than the phone I use wouldn't do you much good. If there was someone overseas I wanted to call, then I would need it.

Boost Mobile. I bought the phone (Motorola i776, $106) and plan at Best Buy (cash purchase, no tracking, one time $50 activation, again cash) and pay the $50 monthly phone bill by buying a card at any convenience store (with cash) like you would buy minutes for a NetTen. I hear congress is trying to outlaw my anonymity and make me identify myself (Hi, I'm Osama Bin Laden and this is my brother, Al Capone)

The phone's browser sucks, but other than that I've been happy with them. I didn't want to name them for fear people would think I was astroturfing or shilling. Another downside -- they advertise "unlimited" and although I haven't yet run across any limits yet (even letting Amy use it, and boy can she abuse a phone), I looked to see if I could tether it to my netbook and not only is that forbidden, their "unlimited" plan actualy has limits, but they're not saying what "unreasonable use" is.

I was using Net Ten (voice only) before I got this phone, and regularly ran up $100/month, more f I let my lady friends use it (especially Amy).

Now I'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to get a Sprint backup phone so I can at least have phone service at home...

Try Boost Mobile. They're (now) a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sprint, but use their (Nextel) iDEN network. Sure, not a sexy as the 3G network, but you buy the phone and the service is all prepaid and they have a $50/month unlimited voice/text/web plan, all with web/phone access to reload up to $300 in advance. Can sign up (and buy the phone) online or at a Sprint store...

Aren't most of the Fav5 plans within about $20 of the unlimited plan from the phone company?

Looking, Alltel starts friends and family at $40 (for a local plan) and it look like a mostly unlimited national plan is $90.

Boost mobile has unlimited for $50:

http://plans.boostmobile.com/monthlyunlimited.aspx

But I don't think they have quite the same coverage as the networks (I know they use Sprint's network, but I'm not sure if they have any roaming agreements with Verizon; if they do not, they would not have equivalent coverage to Sprint).

This will never happen because the low cost cellular market is starting to heat up. Take a look at Boost Mobile, http://www.boostmobile.com/ which offers a $50 a month unlimited plan as an example. T-Mobile will soon be following suit. There will be consumer back lash against exhorbitant cellular service costs. For years now, cellular service has been way overpriced and I am thankful for Boost dropping the boom on it. While I do not use Boost, I am a T-Mobile customer and T-Mobile is already in serious consideration of matching Boost's service. When this happens, I will pretty much be a T-Mobile customer for life. While their coverage might not be as good as other GSM carriers, their customer service is outstanding.

http://plans.boostmobile.com/unlimited.aspx

Check that out. TBH, it's an extremely good deal at $55 a month for unlimited talk, text and wireless web. Definitely not gouging.

Easier said than done when none of the competitors offer anything w/out a contract.

Shake's 12 minute commercial for Boost Mobile!

OK, so they were taking a shot at product placement in TV shows, but still, damn. I hope everyone at Williams Street got some free phones.

Business tools? Let's don't forget that revolutionary new division of Nextel, Boost Mobile.

For me, any of the pre-pay plans are cheaper than a land line. I don't use enough minutes to exceed $20 every three months. You know a log of local providers willing to sell you a phone line for $7.00 a month?

That isn't everyone however. My daughter can easily eat through $50 a month on pre-paid, so for here it would be cheaper to get either a land line, vonage account, or if she needs mobility, a $39.99 a month plan, once she figures out how to manage her minutes so she isn't going over whatever limits that plan has.

My son can also work within the pre-pay limits, though he does go through more minutes at a time than I do.

How expensive your plan is depends upon how much you use the service, and what that usage will cost. It does vary from person to person.

For pre-pay plans I happen to like Virgin Mobile http://www.virginmobileusa.com/ (for US users, other urls for Europe) or Boost Mobile http://www.boostmobile.com/. Boost Mobile is a sub-division of Nextel, so they do have the PTT feature Nextel provides, though that's an additional $45 a month (on average).

Since with Pre-Pay plans you buy the phone up front, there can be a significant front end cost. Anywhere from $59 on up to over $200 for highly feature full phones. However as noted, month to month may cost you significantly less.

-Rusty