User: dionosaur

The US cell phone system is a joke

On: Verizon Drops Opposition To Cell-Number Portability

I just moved back to the US after living in Europe for 2 years. The pay in advance system there is so much easier. You go to the store, pick a rate plan that you like. (The rate plan is listed on the back of the phone box, as well as the phone number.) You pay for the phone and you are done. They usually come with a $25 credit, when that runs out, you get a text message telling you when your credit gets below $5, you go to the ATM, put in your bank card, type in your phone number and select how much money you want to put on your phone. I was paying approximately .07 a minute to call the US. And local calls were like .03 cents a minute. Text messaging just works and so does voice mail, you don't have to pay extra for all that stuff. The only time you have to do anything special is to get roaming turned on for outside of the country, but even that only required a a billing address. And the coverage was a lot better too. I didn't realize how much better it was until I came back and had to get a new cell phone.