There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
December 20, 2005
Cell Phone Inquiry
Ok, I need to know something. What cell phone services are y'all using? What network and plan and whatnot?
The family here's starting a cell phone plan investigation to see if something would suit our needs.
We're using some sort of T-Mobile plan. Well, we as in me. Because you can totally call any other T-Mobile phone in the world (or something) for free. At least, that's what my mom told me.
Most (if not all) the networks have the unlimited in network calling. My experience is out West Verizon has the best geographic coverage, of course you aren't a westerner, but we have already forgiven you that fact (mostly).
Verizon. I've been with them for 1 1/2 years, and their service has *never* (and I mean NEVER) let me down...I was with Sprint for a year before I switched over, and had all sorts of problems.
T-Mobile! T-mobile definitely has better coverage out East.
I was looking at the coverage maps, T-mobile doesn't have asin the West as does Verizon, but T-mobile is building lots of towers there right now, and considering the places that you frequent, T-mobile and Verizon cover you equally. So go for the plan with the better price.
So here are the base plans:
On Verizon, you get 700 minutes for 2 phones at $70 a month. If you go over your minutes, it will cost you $0.45 per minute. Each extra phone you add to your family plan is $10. The activation fee is $35 for the two first (two phones required for a family plan) lines of service with an activation of $35 for each additional line on a 1-year contract, or else $25 if on a 2-year contract. The early termination fee is $175 per line. There is a monthly regulatory and administrative charge of a total of $0.45 per line (subject to change). Text messaging is $0.10 for each message received or sent.
On T-mobile you get 700 minutes for 2 phones at $60 a month. If you go over your minutes, it will cost $0.40 per minute. Each extra phone you add to your family plan is $8. There is an activation fee of $35 per line of service. The early termination fee of $200 per line. Regulatory and administrative fees are $0.86 per line. Text messaging costs $0.05 for every message sent or received. You also get free AOL Instant Messaging on your cell phone.
Both plans have free nights and weekends (Weekends meaning that it is free all day on Saturday and Sunday) starting after 9:00 P.M., but on Verizon, it stop being free at 6:00 A.M. while on T-mobile, it stops being free at 7:00 A.M.
If you buy a new plan online right now, T-mobile has three different phone types that you can select from and receive for free, while Verizon has only one phone type offered for free. (Yay for promotions.)
Of course, after all of this you have to consider taxes on each plan, which may add another $10-$20 dollars on the end of your bill, depending.
I meant to say, "I was looking at the coverage maps, T-mobile doesn't have as much coverage in the West as does Verizon." But still. Towers are actively being built. ;p
The lower priced option isn't always the best one.
There's a saying, "You get what you pay for", and with Verizon, the cost might be a little more, but their coverage area and customer service are well worth the extra $$$ spent each month.
But let me add a bit more to this discussion: Ask your *neighbors* what they use, since your parents will be making most of their calls from the St. Louis area. With your dad's mobile occupation, though, I can already confirm that Verizon has superb nationwide service for his needs (based on my cell phone usage during the cross-country trip I took earlier this year)
Well, my dad has a cell phone issued to him from work, but that's not really for personal use.
We're mostly looking to get the kids outfitted with phones. The problem there is that with all three of us possibly going on missions in the near future, committing to a two-year plan seems a bit rash.
8 comments:
We're using some sort of T-Mobile plan. Well, we as in me. Because you can totally call any other T-Mobile phone in the world (or something) for free. At least, that's what my mom told me.
Verizon
Most (if not all) the networks have the unlimited in network calling. My experience is out West Verizon has the best geographic coverage, of course you aren't a westerner, but we have already forgiven you that fact (mostly).
Verizon
Verizon. I've been with them for 1 1/2 years, and their service has *never* (and I mean NEVER) let me down...I was with Sprint for a year before I switched over, and had all sorts of problems.
T-Mobile! T-mobile definitely has better coverage out East.
I was looking at the coverage maps, T-mobile doesn't have asin the West as does Verizon, but T-mobile is building lots of towers there right now, and considering the places that you frequent, T-mobile and Verizon cover you equally. So go for the plan with the better price.
So here are the base plans:
On Verizon, you get 700 minutes for 2 phones at $70 a month. If you go over your minutes, it will cost you $0.45 per minute. Each extra phone you add to your family plan is $10. The activation fee is $35 for the two first (two phones required for a family plan) lines of service with an activation of $35 for each additional line on a 1-year contract, or else $25 if on a 2-year contract. The early termination fee is $175 per line. There is a monthly regulatory and administrative charge of a total of $0.45 per line (subject to change). Text messaging is $0.10 for each message received or sent.
On T-mobile you get 700 minutes for 2 phones at $60 a month. If you go over your minutes, it will cost $0.40 per minute. Each extra phone you add to your family plan is $8. There is an activation fee of $35 per line of service. The early termination fee of $200 per line. Regulatory and administrative fees are $0.86 per line. Text messaging costs $0.05 for every message sent or received. You also get free AOL Instant Messaging on your cell phone.
Both plans have free nights and weekends (Weekends meaning that it is free all day on Saturday and Sunday) starting after 9:00 P.M., but on Verizon, it stop being free at 6:00 A.M. while on T-mobile, it stops being free at 7:00 A.M.
If you buy a new plan online right now, T-mobile has three different phone types that you can select from and receive for free, while Verizon has only one phone type offered for free. (Yay for promotions.)
Of course, after all of this you have to consider taxes on each plan, which may add another $10-$20 dollars on the end of your bill, depending.
So there's the research for ya.
I meant to say, "I was looking at the coverage maps, T-mobile doesn't have as much coverage in the West as does Verizon." But still. Towers are actively being built. ;p
The lower priced option isn't always the best one.
There's a saying, "You get what you pay for", and with Verizon, the cost might be a little more, but their coverage area and customer service are well worth the extra $$$ spent each month.
But let me add a bit more to this discussion: Ask your *neighbors* what they use, since your parents will be making most of their calls from the St. Louis area. With your dad's mobile occupation, though, I can already confirm that Verizon has superb nationwide service for his needs (based on my cell phone usage during the cross-country trip I took earlier this year)
Well, my dad has a cell phone issued to him from work, but that's not really for personal use.
We're mostly looking to get the kids outfitted with phones. The problem there is that with all three of us possibly going on missions in the near future, committing to a two-year plan seems a bit rash.
Post a Comment