Both the US brand of "Virgin Mobile" and "Boost Mobile" are owned and operated by Sprint.
The biggest disadvantage is that they do not allow roaming on the Verizon network when native Sprint coverage is iffy.
Normal Sprint accounts do (or did) have a roaming agreement, which makes Sprint's coverage seem better than it actually is.
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Both the US brand of "Virgin Mobile" and "Boost Mobile" are owned and operated by Sprint. The biggest disadvantage is that they do not allow roaming on the Verizon network when native Sprint coverage is iffy. Normal Sprint accounts do (or did) have a roaming agreement, which makes Sprint's coverage seem better than it actually is.