Low-cost smart phone plans

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Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by WiseOne » Wed Jun 05, 2013 2:58 pm

I remember that a while back there was a discussion of how to get smart phone service without paying the exorbitant monthly fees charged by the major carriers.  In one of the joys of free market capitalism, we now have some new or upcoming options.  Has anyone checked these out??

Republic Wireless:  Unlimited talk, text, data, and cellular roaming for $19/month.  No contract, but you have to pay full price for the phone.  The idea is that your phone uses Sprint's network for cellular, and automatically switches to wireless internet when available.  Because this requires a software modification to the phone's OS, the company has only one specific 3G Motorola phone that you can use, and it will likely never happen on the iPhone.  Supposedly they'll be adding some less dowdy Android phones to their lineup soon, though.

FreedomPop:  They offer a $39 mobile 4G hotspot device with free usage up to 500 Mb/month.  There is a strange catch:  if you use < 5 Mb in a given month, you are charged $0.99.  Still not a bad deal.  According to the website, they're about to roll out a free or low cost smartphone plan (can't find details though).  They also use Sprint's network.

These both look like really good alternatives to paying $100/month.  I checked out reviews on CNET and Amazon that were very positive.  Has anyone tried them, or know of other, similarly appetizing potential deals?
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by l82start » Wed Jun 05, 2013 3:03 pm

i have been using Ting https://ting.com/ and have been very happy with them so far, good price, paying for only what i use and the most surprising and odd experience with them so far....  i called the company for clarification and assistance and ..... a real person answered the phone!!!!!!

ps i forgot to mention, its month to month no contract...
Last edited by l82start on Wed Jun 05, 2013 4:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by Pointedstick » Wed Jun 05, 2013 3:53 pm

My personal favorite is the carrier that my wife uses: AirVoice Wireless. They are an AT&T MVNO, which means that any AT&T phone--locked or not--will work with them. They have pay-as-you-go plans that can be as cheap as $3.30/mo (!!!!!) and monthly usage plans that go from $10 to $40.

Right now my wife uses a pay-as-you-go plan with data and pays $10/mo. This is perfect for someone who doesn't talk a huge amount, texts primarily to other iPhone users (free using iMessage), and mostly uses data while at home, connected to a WiFi network. Every once in a while, she pays $20 during a period of heavy data usage away from the house. This compares extremely favorably to the $70 she used to pay through AT&T!

Same coverage, same network. 1/7 the price. It's awesome.

Mr. Money Moustache wrote a great write-up here: http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/10/ ... one-plans/
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by foglifter » Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:08 pm

Pointedstick,

I looked at the Airvoice Wireless website and it all does look quite interesting. I couldn't find any details about their data speeds though, would you mind sharing your experience? Do they provide 3G or 4G speeds?
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by Pointedstick » Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:17 pm

They just use AT&T's network, so the 3G/4G coverage is the same. Don't know about LTE though. I believe one restriction is that there's no roaming on competing GSM networks liks you could have with a plan through AT&T itself. In practice, we've never found it it be a problem, and you can see their coverage map here: https://www.airvoicewireless.com/support/coverage-map/

In general though, if you're a big data user, AirVoice isn't for you. Their data rates are expensive. Ting--or better yet, Republic Wireless--are the better options for people who use a lot of mobile data. You could also get a free mobile hotspot from FreedomPop and use that to project a WiFi network for your phone whose service is through AirVoice, but while that would be a fun money-saving hack, it would be kind of inconvenient.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by Pointedstick » Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:25 pm

Also, my wife tried Ting for two months before switching to AirVoice. It's a great idea in theory, but we got off to a rocky start with activation woes on the phone, which is made more confusing due to the fact that they only support CDMA phones that lack SIM cards. It makes the whole process more cumbersome, and we had several calls to tech support, although as l82start mentioned, a human always answered. A native English-speaking American, even! :D

Another downer is that they don't support iPhones. She eventually went with Airvoice since she already had the iPhone, so it was a simple matter of paying the early termination fee on the contract and popping in an AirVoice Sim. Didn't even need to unlock the phone! It winds up being cheaper anyway since the least expensive Ting plan is $6 + taxes and fees before you even add any minutes, texts, or data. She was paying about $17/mo for the Android phone before; now it's $10/mo for an iPhone! Much better deal IMHO.
Last edited by Pointedstick on Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by Tyler » Fri Jun 07, 2013 11:50 am

Last December I switched to Virgin Mobile and have been pleased so far. 300min voice + unlimited texts and data costs a flat $30/month for my iPhone.  The only catch I've seen is that they're usually a generation behind on iPhone models and the data network is only 3G (neither bother me - hedonic adaptation and all). 
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by flyingpylon » Fri Jun 07, 2013 1:43 pm

Ting supports LTE in addition to CDMA.  While it's true that they don't currently offer the iPhone, they have been making some noise about it coming "soon".
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by foglifter » Fri Jun 07, 2013 1:57 pm

Here's the Wikipedia page with the list of all MNVOs (kudos to Pointedstick) - I thought it would be helpful for others who is exploring cheaper service options.

There is one important point that those traveling abroad should keep in mind: Europe and Asia are mostly on GSM standard, so any CDMA phone (Verizon or Sprint) would be useless there - unless of course you are happy to pay $$$ for international roaming. But usually it's much cheaper to buy a local SIM card and insert it into your phone. Relying on WiFi is another option, but if you need data connection at all times local SIM is the way to go.

There are only a few phones offered by US CDMA operators that are marketed as "world" phones and support both GSM and CDMA (like iPhone 5 or Droid 2 Global on Verizon). But even these phones would work on GSM only when you're outside the US and you've unlocked your GSM band in advance. I can't use my fully paid for D2G on T-Mobile or AT&T because Verizon blocked the US GSM bands (unlocking costs $100 and I would have to ship the phone to some obscure company). This is the reason I am considering going to ditch Verizon and switch to either T-Mobile or AT&T or any of the smaller operators that use GSM standard. I want my phone to be usable no matter where I am - be it in the US or overseas. I want to be able to buy a phone wherever I want and use it on any GSM provider. T-Mobile started their "UnCarrier" revolution and I hope this will be a good push for others.   
Last edited by foglifter on Fri Jun 07, 2013 2:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by slk23 » Fri Jun 07, 2013 3:49 pm

I use what I consider a moderate amount of data (~1.5 GB/month).  For a user like me it doesn't appear that any of the GSM alternate providers offer a significant savings over AT&T.  Still, I'd like to dump AT&T for threatening to throttle my data access when I exceeded 2 GB one month with my "unlimited" plan.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by murphy_p_t » Mon Nov 23, 2015 2:38 pm

freedompop with google voice works great for me...most calls done over wifi (including incoming)...since its free when used under airtime limits...no taxes too!
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by AdamA » Tue Nov 24, 2015 6:58 pm

l82start wrote: i have been using Ting https://ting.com/ and have been very happy with them so far, good price, paying for only what i use and the most surprising and odd experience with them so far....  i called the company for clarification and assistance and ..... a real person answered the phone!!!!!!

ps i forgot to mention, its month to month no contract...
+1.

Ting is great.  I use an iPhone 6 Plus with it with no issues at all. 
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by stuper1 » Sat Dec 05, 2015 11:12 am

Can anybody recommend a low-cost smartphone to buy and use with one of these low-cost plans?  I just need it for very basic service -- calls, texts, and very little data.  The cheaper, the better, as long as it won't fall apart.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by MachineGhost » Sat Dec 05, 2015 4:38 pm

stuper1 wrote: Can anybody recommend a low-cost smartphone to buy and use with one of these low-cost plans?  I just need it for very basic
service -- calls, texts, and very little data.  The cheaper, the better, as long as it won't fall apart.
http://www.ringplus.net/

Speaking of smartphones, 1.5 billion will be shipped this year, just 9 years after the introduction of the iPhone when 85 million non-iPhone smartphones were shipped the previous year (and Apple sold almost that many iPhones this year in just one quarter alone!).  That is 3x faster than the Internet was adopted and 10x faster than the PC.  I to got to tell you back in the day when having a PC was a weird, geeky, nerdy hobby, I never could have imagined this day.  Of course, it has its downsides, but I digress.  I'll just be happy if having a PC goes back to being that weird, geeky, nerdy hobby.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by Pointedstick » Sat Dec 05, 2015 9:38 pm

MachineGhost wrote: I to got to tell you back in the day when having a PC was a weird, geeky, nerdy hobby, I never could have imagined this day.  Of course, it has its downsides, but I digress.  I'll just be happy if having a PC goes back to being that weird, geeky, nerdy hobby.
I think it will. PCs will remain useful for content creators and power users, while most people will have only a multitude devices oriented for easy consumption and communication. You'll see the dichotomy of app writers owning PCs to create apps and not much using their mobile devices that run their work, and most people glued to their mobile devices barely ever touching a PC.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by Reub » Sun Dec 06, 2015 4:33 pm

How are you paying $100 for 5 phones when I'm paying more than that for 2 phones?
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by Pointedstick » Sun Dec 06, 2015 4:36 pm

Reub wrote: How are you paying $100 for 5 phones when I'm paying more than that for 2 phones?
You're using the wrong plan and/or using the phones a lot more while out and about.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by Reub » Sun Dec 06, 2015 4:38 pm

I think that I'm near the beginning of a 2 year agreement with AT&T so I might be stuck with them. Any way to get out of it?
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by Pointedstick » Sun Dec 06, 2015 4:47 pm

Reub wrote: I think that I'm near the beginning of a 2 year agreement with AT&T so I might be stuck with them. Any way to get out of it?
Sure, pay the early termination fee. :P It may actually be worth it if the projected savings over time exceed the price you would pay with AT&T over the term of the contract.

But barring that, just call them up and ask for a lower rate. It works. I've done it.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by Pointedstick » Sun Dec 06, 2015 6:14 pm

MangoMan wrote:
Pointedstick wrote:
Reub wrote: I think that I'm near the beginning of a 2 year agreement with AT&T so I might be stuck with them. Any way to get out of it?
Sure, pay the early termination fee. :P It may actually be worth it if the projected savings over time exceed the price you would pay with AT&T over the term of the contract.

But barring that, just call them up and ask for a lower rate. It works. I've done it.
Lucky you. I tried that, and they told me to take my 5 lines and pound salt.
Were you prepared to terminate your contract? Without that, you don't have any leverage and that's generally the response you'll get. There is definitely a trick to it.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by MachineGhost » Sun Dec 06, 2015 7:02 pm

MangoMan wrote: tl;dr version is that ATT and Verizon are expensive as hell, and you can get much better deals through virtually anyone else, without necessarily having to compromise on quality. Especially in a large metro area like NYC.
Verizon has the best overall network. 

Verizon has a MVNO at: https://www.pagepluscellular.com/

AT&T has a MVNO at: https://www.consumercellular.com/

The downside is usually the sucky phone choice compared to FreedomPOP, Ting and RingPlus where you can BYOD.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by blackomen » Sun Dec 06, 2015 10:27 pm

I use T-Mobile's $30/mo plan with 100 minutes and 5 GB of LTE data per month (in the US.)  This works on any modern unlocked smartphone.

You may need a Skype unlimited account (for about $3/mo) if you make a lot of calls.  I tend to use Skype to make all of my outgoing calls and save my 100 minutes solely for incoming calls.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by foglifter » Sun Dec 06, 2015 11:34 pm

blackomen wrote: I use T-Mobile's $30/mo plan with 100 minutes and 5 GB of LTE data per month (in the US.)  This works on any modern unlocked smartphone.

You may need a Skype unlimited account (for about $3/mo) if you make a lot of calls.  I tend to use Skype to make all of my outgoing calls and save my 100 minutes solely for incoming calls.

+1. T-Mobile rocks! I was with Verizon for 12 years until I finally switched to t-Mobile 2 years ago. I'm glad they disturbed the US wireless market which, unlike the rest of the world, was ridden with contracts, bad plan structures and high fees for years. T-Mo has been adding customers at a crazy rate for the last couple years. You can bring ANY unlocked GSM phone and use it with T-Mobile. I have a family plan and with taxes it comes to $33 per line. Unlike MNVOs T-Mobile gives you worldwide coverage and data roaming, no roaming fees, unlimited music/video streaming from all major services (Pandora, Spotify, etc.). I believe the latest change in their "uncarrier revolution" is adding data rollover to the next month and bumping the default 1GB of data allowance to 2GB. I was in Europe and Mexico lately and didn't even care about WiFi - I always used mobile connection from whatever local provider my phone connected to. It was fun getting a text message from T-Mo saying "Welcome to <counry name>, free unlimited Web and text, calls $0.20/min" every morning as our ship arrived at a port. Google Hangouts worked like a charm - calls to US were FREE (unlike Skype).


As to phone selection, I used to use cheap smartphones and got tired of sluggish performance and lack of memory. I used to buy Samsung Galaxy line, but they stubbornly refuse to sell compact models in the US. I understand that they're trying to make money selling those huge bricks on the most lucrative market but I'd appreciate having a choice - I'm one of the smaller group of consumers who prefer the phones that can be comfortably used with one hand. I bought Sony Xperia Z3 Compact at the Sony store (they matched the Amazon price). It's an international unlocked version free from provider's crapware. It supports ALL LTE bands and will work in any country.


A side note: Sony's marketing could be better - I don't understand why these great phones aren't available anywhere except Sony and Amazon.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by blackomen » Tue Dec 08, 2015 1:20 pm

foglifter wrote:
blackomen wrote: I use T-Mobile's $30/mo plan with 100 minutes and 5 GB of LTE data per month (in the US.)  This works on any modern unlocked smartphone.

You may need a Skype unlimited account (for about $3/mo) if you make a lot of calls.  I tend to use Skype to make all of my outgoing calls and save my 100 minutes solely for incoming calls.

+1. T-Mobile rocks! I was with Verizon for 12 years until I finally switched to t-Mobile 2 years ago. I'm glad they disturbed the US wireless market which, unlike the rest of the world, was ridden with contracts, bad plan structures and high fees for years. T-Mo has been adding customers at a crazy rate for the last couple years. You can bring ANY unlocked GSM phone and use it with T-Mobile. I have a family plan and with taxes it comes to $33 per line. Unlike MNVOs T-Mobile gives you worldwide coverage and data roaming, no roaming fees, unlimited music/video streaming from all major services (Pandora, Spotify, etc.). I believe the latest change in their "uncarrier revolution" is adding data rollover to the next month and bumping the default 1GB of data allowance to 2GB. I was in Europe and Mexico lately and didn't even care about WiFi - I always used mobile connection from whatever local provider my phone connected to. It was fun getting a text message from T-Mo saying "Welcome to <counry name>, free unlimited Web and text, calls $0.20/min" every morning as our ship arrived at a port. Google Hangouts worked like a charm - calls to US were FREE (unlike Skype).


As to phone selection, I used to use cheap smartphones and got tired of sluggish performance and lack of memory. I used to buy Samsung Galaxy line, but they stubbornly refuse to sell compact models in the US. I understand that they're trying to make money selling those huge bricks on the most lucrative market but I'd appreciate having a choice - I'm one of the smaller group of consumers who prefer the phones that can be comfortably used with one hand. I bought Sony Xperia Z3 Compact at the Sony store (they matched the Amazon price). It's an international unlocked version free from provider's crapware. It supports ALL LTE bands and will work in any country.


A side note: Sony's marketing could be better - I don't understand why these great phones aren't available anywhere except Sony and Amazon.
I got the 2013 Nexus 5 which wasn't a cheap phone back then but I figured Google will continue to roll out updates for it so I figured it's a decent long-term "investment".  It was running Android 4.4 when I first got it and now has been updated to 6.0.

My wife, on the other hand, uses a 2nd gen unlocked Moto G which was about $200 at the time, one of the cheapest unlocked phones I've found that'll run Android 5.0.
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Re: Low-cost smart phone plans

Post by Cortopassi » Tue Dec 08, 2015 3:15 pm

We use Republic Wireless.  $10/month per phone, unlimited calls/texts, data only when on wifi.  Wifi is pretty much everywhere except a car.  Service has been working great for >1 year.

I got the Moto g phones on sale at $99.  ~$36/month with tax for 3 phones.

https://republicwireless.com/phones/
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