Cell Phone provider.......

[yogitunes]

just though I would throw this out there, in case anyone would be interested....

I have switched cell phone companies, only because of price.....most of them bickered back and forth over nothing of interest to me.....a lot of you guys may be into data and texting, I have no interest in it, just wanted basic service, and am happy with that.....

but at what cost.....and service to service....they are all the same....one is no different.....in the past I have had Nextel, Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon....and they only are talking nickles and dimes of savings among themselves.....

funny part, I was at the Verizon store, looking at new phones and contracts.....and this salesman is who turned me on to ConsumerCellular, because he has one, and yet works for Verizon.....what does that tell you!

so I went with www.ConsumerCellular.com ...like I said, the others were talking chump change in prices......this company was talking savings of major dollars.....my bill just dropped in half!.....its only been one day, but everything is comming thru loud and clear with no problems...

check them out and see if you guys can save as well....worth a shot....there is NO contract to sign....drop or make changes anytime....no fee to activate!...use your own phone, or purchase one of theirs....not a big selection, but for the ones they dohave, its still a lot cheaper.....

you can add home landline service to this as well.....

hope this helps someone save some cash as well....

http://https//www.consumercellular.com/

 

[liamy1]

Cell service

I'm in the UK, our best cell service provider is without a doubt - O2.

 

[wayupnorth]

Trac-phone is my choice

I have had a trac-phone for several years and have zero complaints. I dont use it alot but it always works where and when I want it to. I refuse to text and only use it to make or receive calls. The best feature is my plan only costs $9.95/month, not the hundreds some people I know are paying for their contracted plans and the fanciest in technology.

 

[danemodsandy]

I Second Tim!

Another Tracfone user here, and it's working well for me. Excellent coverage (Verizon is the carrier they're contracted with here), and as Tim says, as little as $9.95 a month.

If anyone gets interested in Tracfone, the phones are in a lot of drug and discount stores. Be sure that the phone you buy has the "double minutes" feature on it, meaning that for the life of the phone, you receive two minutes for every one you buy. Some of their higher-end phones have triple minutes.

Phones go all the way from basic, with talk and text, at about $10. Or you can go to a higher-end phone for more money, with Web or smartphone capability. The most expensive Tracfone I know of is only $50, a smart-capable unit with triple minutes.

You can buy minutes any time - from the Web, from the phone itself or from a minutes card available at almost any drug, grocery or discount store. Your minutes are good for a stated period of time, which varies according to the number of minutes you buy (minimum is 30 days). If you don't buy more minutes before that time, you'll lose your minutes, but at $9.95 for another 60 minutes (30 purchased minutes, doubled to 60) and 30 days, it's not a problem. Tracfone does send you text reminders that your days are almost up. Also, you can sign up for "Minutes Protection." If you forget to buy more minutes, Tracfone will hit your credit or debit card for $5.95 and give you another 30 days. They also have "automatic" plans where minutes and days are added each month automatically.

You can upgrade your phone any time just by buying another; Tracfone lets you transfer your number and existing minutes and days by 800 number or on the Web.

Very good, low-cost, flexible deal. It wouldn't work for everyone, but for those who like their cell service simple and cheap, it's great.

P.S.: If you're traveling and are locked into roaming charges on your contract phone, you can buy a Tracfone anywhere you go and use it locally for cheap. When you're leaving town, pitch it into recycle, give it away or donate it. You don't even have to give Tracfone any personal info to activate and use a phone, though you can sign up for a customer service account on their Website if you want to be able to buy minutes or transfer them to another phone online. It can be a "disposable" phone or your regular one. [this post was last edited: 10/25/2013-19:25]

 

[mich]

You know...

If you already own, or know where to source a cheap Verizon phone, PagePlus is an amazing deal for those looking for the simple basics. It's a prepaid carrier, that tags on the Verizon network, and imo there plans are very reasonable. 

 

 

 

[whirlcool]

We dropped Verizon a few months ago because the bill was nearing one hundred dollars per phone for just unlimited talk time. I think our last bill was $93.89 per phone.($69.95 & $20.00 in government taxes & fees plus sales tax on top of that).

One thing that aggravated me to no end with Verizon was every single time you talk to them before they will talk to you that HAVE to ask the question "While we are talking may I renew your contract for another two years?"

I was in a Verizon store last summer and was asked that even though I told the salesperson I didn't want to hear it. I really let into him, the staff and the store manager. I just told them why do they have to renew my contract for me to just to ask a simple question?

They called a friend of ours last March and told her that her Verizon contract was running out soon and that if she wanted no interruptions in service she would have to renew her contract NOW! So she went ahead and renewed. Later she looked at her last bill and found out that her contract didn't expire until Septemeber and the person from Verizon never told her she could still have her phone (operational no less) without a contract.

So we switched to the Walmart phone, which is MyFamilyMobile. We paid $29.95 for the first month and each month afterward has been $21.86 for unlimited talk time.
It can send/receive text but we don't use that. We also don't play on the internet from our phones. It's a phone darned it, TALK!

We did check out those $9.95 phones, but you usually have to be on welfare or food stamps to qualify. Those are the Obama phones, aren't they?

 

[yogitunes]

Verizon was trying everything to get me to stay....but only could drop my bill about 40.00....with less minutes and coverage.....

I haven't had a contract with them for over a year.....

with ConsumerCell, my bill has dropped 90.00 for better minutes and service...I even got smart phones....

it pays to shop around....

 

[danemodsandy]

Nope!

"We did check out those $9.95 phones, but you usually have to be on welfare or food stamps to qualify. Those are the Obama phones, aren't they?"

There are plenty of free-market phones available with prepaid and other plans starting at $9.95 per month, including Tracfone and Consumer Cellular.

The so-called "Obamaphones" (phones for low-income people, subsidized by a surcharge on all paying phone subscribers rather than taxpayer dollars) are free for qualifying individuals, with 200 free minutes per month. And the right wing's scurrilous "Obamaphone" sobriquet to the contrary, the program, called SafeLink, began during the Administration of George W. Bush, building on groundwork begun during the Administration of Ronald Reagan.

Here are a couple of links debunking the "Obamaphone" myth. The first one is FactCheck.org:

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/10/the-obama-phone/

And one from ABC News:

http://fusion.net/american_dream/story/myth-obama-phone-11578

 

[whirlcool]

Oh hell yes the phones are paid for with taxes! You pay the tax every time you pay your cell phone bill. Just because it's not a IRS item doesn't mean you aren't paying a tax. It's just like the network fee, or the 911 fee, etc. I believe the fee is $3.00 paid 12 times a year for a total of $36.00 per person per phone. That's quite a large amount of money.

With myfamilymobile, you only pay sales taxes and not another penny more.

 

[verizonbear]

Dropping Service and going with another provider

So I have a vested interest here obviously, however keep the following in mind.

Verizon has the most redundancies in place for disaster situations

You can still talk to a DOMESTIC customer service person

You get access to the best network and the latest devices

 

[yogitunes]

Phil, I have all the respect in the world for you....and not looking to get into a heated debate....

first I thought it was me or my phone only, but others around me have the same issues as well....dropped calls, lost connections, or calls simply not comming thru, and receiving voicemails days later....

but don't lecture me about Verizon and best network service around....been there, and its crap....Customer service left plenty to be desired...actually you have my number, and access to my files....too many continuous problems....their only best option was for me to buy a new phone myself off Amazon.com, despite I have a warranty contract, and they would activate/program it from there....who in their right mind pays for a warranty on a phone, and then told to replace/buy it myself when it fails....

price alone was reason to choose someone else, but they all tend to be the same....

with CC, there is always person from the US to talk with....never another country, or language, or computer generated voice....

I just have had enough of Verizon's bad service...mainly when my phone broke, under the extended warranty, and the piece of cheap plastic they replaced my expensive phone with, that had even more problems and dropped calls than the last one...

even today they tried to get me to stay....they offered a replacement to my broken phone, but I would have to pay for the battery and back cover out of my pocket!

sorry, they had their chance to do better....for any other company out there, they can't get any worse!

 

[rp2813]

And Then There's AT&T

If you think Verizon is bad, at least you can get a signal from them pretty much anywhere.

 

AT&T can't even come close to the signal footprint that Verizon has nationwide, and people are constantly complaining about it.  Yet AT&T claims just the opposite in their advertising. 

 

The thing that pisses me off about both of these telecom giants is that they force you into bundling that jacks your bill way up, and the alternatives they provide can cost you just as much if you exceed usage limitations.  Both of these companies are taking advantage of the general public's reliance on wireless devices, which they fostered because they both so passionately want to get out of the consumer land line business, which has never, ever been profitable for them.  They are already petitioning to end land line service as we know it and replace it with wireless, while allowing unsuspecting land line customers to continue using their home telephones thinking they have the same 9.9999+ reliability of the tried and true copper and fiber networks. 

 

Telecommunication has taken a huge step backward when it comes to transmission quality.  These days, dropped calls, choppy conversation, and asking "Can you hear me?" or "Are you still there?" or "Did I lose you?" are accepted by, if I may borrow a term from a fellow member, "the sheeple" who can't live without a phone in their pocket, purse or hand 24/7.   Who'd have ever thought that in 2013, with a technologically advanced 21st century communication system we'd have transmission quality on par with that of 1913, and that we'd just put up with it?

 

Wireless service is profoundly cheaper to provide than land lines, and as a result the telcos have made it their cash cow, charging far, far more than it costs them to maintain a network of switches, copper and fiber strung on poles or through underground conduit. 

 

The consumer is getting screwed like never before, and the amount of regulation with regard to wireless service is laughable compared to that of wireline.  And I mean laughable, as in all the way to the bank.

 

My final position with AT&T was in the wireless division.  I had worked previously in a project management position for various systems used by land line customer service reps which included a POS (Point Of Sale -- but it was a major Piece Of Sh*t) system developed by Cingular/Bell South.  Even though it was only one of several systems I supported, it virtually monopolized my time, was poorly designed, despised by all who used it, and a major headache and source of exasperation for all involved, trying to turn things on a dime to match the latest competitor's offering.  There was never a situation that wasn't urgent.  It was hell on wheels -- and so was the Cingular I.T. team.  I was recognized for my efforts and got a raise and a bonus that year when my co-workers got nothing, but I was thrilled when I was able to hand support off to another group.

 

A few years later when I heard that as a result of one of the many, many reorganizations that ensued after the cowboys of SBC took over Pacific Bell, I'd be moving into the wireless division, I wasted no time in securing a prescription for an anti-depressant.   Already having had a taste of the wireless environment even as a relative outsider, I knew the chaos that was in store.  Little had changed, other than the amount of plans and equipment that was being offered.

 

It can only be worse today, with more than just the early smart phones, text and data options that existed when I was there.

 

Bottom line:  Both AT&T and Verizon are guilty of questionable business practices driven by hard selling and the related incentives for sales personnel, as well as bundling that favors high usage, but gives moderate to low usage customers more than they need for more than they want to pay, and no reasonable alternative. 

 

With land lines, state public utilities commissions control rates as well as products the local exchange providers can offer.   In a notorious post-divestiture (1/1/1984) case, Pacific Bell was ordered by the California Public Utilities Commission to cease and desist from placing extra features customers never ordered on their land lines.  Service representatives were under such serious pressure to meet quotas that they had to resort to such practices to avoid disciplinary action.  Consumer complaints flooded into the CPUC, and they took action.  There is no such PUC authority when it comes to wireless, and as a result we are all impacted by the comparatively lawless, wild west atmosphere that exists in this industry.

 

Both Verizon and AT&T have ceded the cable TV business to Comcast and have stopped building out their fiber networks, and Comcast has ceded voice service in return.  Everybody hang onto your wallets.  If you like to watch TV or talk on your cell phone and your service is provided by any of those three, get ready to take out a loan.

 

 

[this post was last edited: 10/26/2013-02:34]

 

[mattl]

Ting. Ting. Ting

I switched to them and could not be happier. They charge based on how much you use, small, medium, or large for talk, text and data. They are based on Sprint, and you can use any phone marked Sprint, or buy one from them. If anyone is interested let me know....

 

[danemodsandy]

Allen:

The idea behind SafeLink is that people who might not otherwise have a telephone, like unemployed or low-income elderly, can have one. An unemployed person stands almost zero chance of gaining employment without a phone. An old person is at great risk without one.

Whether you call the funding for SafeLink a surcharge or a tax, the idea that people who are well able to afford niceties like a Samsung Galaxy S4 and unlimited service help those less fortunate to have better access to jobs and emergency care appeals to me. This is America, and we help others.

 

[whirlcool]

I agree with the basic premise of Safelink, you do need a phone to get a job and an elderly person does need contact with doctors, emergency workers, etc.

 

[yogitunes]

not sure if other phones or carriers provide this option.....

but one thing that the DORO phone provided, especially for the elderly, and I got one for my mother...is the 'panic' button.....

pressing this button three times will alert any number you program into it, wether a family member or the Police for an emergency....very similar to 'life alert' system!

 

[jamiel]

Yogi, that is not quite correct...the 3 pushes to get to the specified number ONLY works if you have minutes or subscription on the phone. 911 will connect even if you've used up minutes/subscription, but you have to keep the subscription up to get through.

All depends on your area which provider is better...some carriers have the original 850 megahertz networks (the original carriers from the 80s), others started with only the 1900 mHz (Sprint/T-Mobile); and there are other bands now available (2100 mHz; 700 mHz). You will generally get better signal availability from the carriers in an area with more and lower spectrum (they've been around longer, if for no other reason). That means that there ARE cities where Verizon is less good than AT&T; and vice versa (AT&T is not great in northern Ohio (Cleveland/Toledo), but is fine in most of the rest (Youngstown/Columbus/Cincinnati/Dayton), although if you drive through rural Ohio you're out of luck in some areas with AT&T or T-Mobile (and any reseller on them). Conversely; in central and west Texas you're far better with AT&T than Verizon; but they're relatively comparable in Houston.

 

[NYCWriter]

But can you use Grindr ...

... on these cut-rate phones??

 

[travis]

Sandy,

 

I think most of us agree with the basic premise of Safelink.  What I disagree with is the tents all over the poor areas of the city basically pushing free phones on anyone who may qualify.  I would think by now that everyone who qualifies has one, so put the tents away.  I personally don't like the constant reminder that I am paying for free cell phones.  I don't consider cell phones or even air conditioning a basic necessity.  Therefore, I don't want to pay for for anyone to have either.  Someone will soon make the case that internet and satellite tv will be basic necessities.  It's coming, just wait.

 

Sorry for my detour on this thread.