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As 4G Seeps In, Verizon Offers Cheap(er) No-Contract 3G Plans
jfruh writes "U.S. Mobile companies are working hard to get customers on fancy high-speed LTE plans with expensive smartphones. But Verizon is shrewdly working to eke out profit from its older infrastructure as well. The company is offering no-contract pay-as-you-go 3G-only plans, which might appeal to those who don't use a lot of wireless data and who might want to take advantage of the glut of older Android and iOS phones available on the market." It's good to see prices dropping from one of the biggest names in the industry, but it seems there are some cheaper options already around, especially for unlocked phones or for people who don't need data.
I wonder what this means for me? I've been a Verizon customer forever (well, for over 10 years). I keep waiting for them to drop my unlimited data plan, but they keep not dropping it. I pay $30 per month.
I had service with Verizon for quite a while. In the last two areas I've lived, they have the best coverage. About a year ago I switched to one of the prepaid services, and although the coverage wasn't as good, the far lower monthly cost made up for it in my reckoning.
A few months ago, I made the switch to one of the GSM prepaid providers, and I'm totally blown away by how convenient it is to have my plan tied to a SIM card rather than a phone. Broken phone? No problem, stick the SIM in an old iPhone 3GS borrowed from a co-worker. The same deal when I upgraded to a Nexus 4, just pop in the SIM card and go.
I can certainly see why this caught on in the rest of the world, and I can see why American cell providers like Verizon and Sprint are against it - I'm sure they make a good bit of money from selling you phones. In my case, I'll never go back to the "old way," regardless of how cheap Verizon might get.
You can get not just 3G but LTE (where Sprint has it) on Ting Mobile, with voice roaming to Verizon (Verizon's voice coverage is the main thing they have going for them if you're a light data user), for a lot less than $60 a month.
60 dollars for 500mb of 3g data. I suppose that's cheap for verizon, the king of overcharging you, but considering MetroPCS and TMobile give you unlimited 3g for significantly less (along with potentially not-unlimited 4g), that's still pretty hilarious. Why would anyone pay more for less? It's not like verizon has better customer service (hah!) or even significantly better coverage.
(That said, I'm actually using a much smaller provider called Ting. It's not unlimited anything, but I'm on target to spend a whopping 15 bucks a month on phone service, including data (because I don't use very much data, or very much anything else.))
Or, I can sign up with StraightTalk, for $45 a month vs $70 for the same or worse from Verizon. (And taxes/fees on ST are tiny. You know how you almost always pay $5-9 in "extra" fees - well not on ST. The regulatory and recovery fees are less than $1. So that $45 becomes something like $45.92 - not nearly $50.)
I don't know about their StraightTalks's plans on Verizon's networks, but on AT&T, I'm getting LTE - so I expect it's 4G on Verizon's network too.
Ahem. If this is "helping" me, please stop. I really don't need your "help" Verizon.
Somehow I'm not rushing out to pay at last $30 more to get 3G instead of 4G.
Can you say slashvertizement?
I get 2.5 gig data and messaging and 300min phone for $25 bucks. Of course that deal is not available now, it's gone up to $35. Oh yeah the phone cost $100.
I made the switch to one of the GSM prepaid providers, and I'm totally blown away by how convenient it is to have my plan tied to a SIM card rather than a phone. Broken phone? No problem, stick the SIM in an old iPhone 3GS borrowed from a co-worker.
Until the carrier sees the smartphone's IMEI and starts cramming a data plan onto your monthly bill, as we discussed yesterday.
When it comes to 3G data T-Mobile is the fastest.It is only in 4G that Verizon is faster than most.
Their data plans are all unlimited with only the 4G part of it being throttled. For $50 you should be able to get a plan cheaper than Verizon, a phone that will work internationally and faster data speeds.
Or if you really want to save money and can live on Sprint network, Virgin and Boost both are approx $40.
If you like the Verizon network, but don't want to pay Verizon prices, they've "rented" their network out to Page Plus for years now. All I use is voice service, and if purchased in $80 chunks, minutes are 4 cents, and the monthly fee to have a number is fifty cents. All you have to do is supply the phone; any 2G or 3G non-pre-paid Verizon phone will work. For the plans mentioned in the article, Page Plus has had essentially the same available for some time for far less money.
Otherwise they can go fuck themselves.
and 30 dollar recharge cards in every store.
Every so often, slashdot decides to uncheck the "Disable advertising" checkbox for me, and I have to go recheck it (after I notice, several days later, when an ad gets through adblock). All totally worth it for this moment: this very page has a banner ad at the top for me, wherein MetroPCS is advertising unlimited 4G-LTE for 60 bucks a month. (Which still seems a -tad- pricey, but then, I don't have 4G yet anyway.)
Get a contract with Sprint, who roams on the Verizon network. Best of both worlds.
Cricket offer unlimited talk, text and 2.5 gb before the Big Slowdown for $50.