What cell phone/plan do you use?

February 8, 2008 9:09 PM

Ok, Seriously. What is the best US cell phone plan/company/phone/method of doing business?

I read on Consumerist all the time about cell phone companies being horrible monsters who lock you down with contracts and swindle you with features and accessories. What does the hivemind do when it comes to having a cell phone? Do you have a contract because of the discount on phones? Do you buy your phone outright in order to not have a contract? What is your strategy?

posted by idledebonair to travel & transportation (28 comments total)

One word: Prepaid. I use PagePlus on my old verizon phone, and my wife has a T-mobile phone. If you need to talk and talk and talk and talk on the cell, it's probably not your best value, but I get all the cell phone the 2 of us use for cheap. $25 every 120 days on PP, hers is one payment away from costing $10/year (t-mo Gold Rewards). You just have to be willing to accept a phone that just makes calls, and isn't a web browser/music downloader/mobile tv/twitter posting mini computer.
posted by Steve3 at 9:29 PM on February 8

I deal with the contract - mostly because the all-cell-companies-are-monsters thing means that there's no real incentive to switch, provided you're satisfied with the coverage your network provides. I picked AT&T for a nearly-Verizon-level network and rollover minutes, shrugged, and signed a two-year contract to save on the phone. Sure, the contract kind of sucks in theory, but it's not like Verizon was any better to me in the past, so I don't anticipate wanting/needing to change any time soon.
posted by Tomorrowful at 9:36 PM on February 8

Contracts suck, but if you're looking to buy a phone anyways they will save you some cash in the short-term. If you do get a contract, make sure that as soon as it finishes, call up the carrier and ask to cancel your plan. Don't worry – they won't let you off the hook easy. Tell them you're switching to another carrier and they will immediately offer you a better deal, more minutes or services or whatever. Keeping you as a customer is important to them, so get the most out of it.

Personally I use an unlocked phone I purchased online (because I didn't like the ones my carrier was selling when I was looking to replace my old one) on a month-to-month plan, for which I have accumulated many free extras over the years.
posted by patr1ck at 9:50 PM on February 8

What about metro pcs? They seem to have very competitive rates...
posted by zia at 10:06 PM on February 8

I love having an unlocked phone on tmobile with their cheap data plan. Their customer service is amazing (like, are these people always so damn nice?). And with an unlocked phone, although you don't get it for free, you get a very nice phone that you can do whatever you want with without a carrier overhead thing. There's also the ability to switch in overseas sim cards and whatever else. But really, it's my damn phone. I don't want crappy limitations on it. (Only AT&T and T-Mobile let you use unlocked, I believe.)

I get the shortest contract that I can with the best deal I can swing. Month to month, you pay a premium. Especially if you don't need a phone, you can cut great deals.
posted by Gucky at 10:09 PM on February 8 [1 favorite]

I got a GSM phone through T-Mobile. Because it was subsidized, it locked me into a contract ... but it was only a single year. (And they even unlocked the phone with no hassle or arguments when I needed to travel internationally, before the year was up.) I've stayed with T-Mobile since then, without re-contracting, because I think they have a good service and offer it at a not-unreasonable price. Given that they're a business and not a charity, I think that's about all one can expect.

I have a lot of friends who are on ATT/Cingular, with mixed luck, but frankly I don't have much desire to switch. In the past I've used Verizon and they're quite terrible; sort of the Microsoft of cellular. Because they're the only ones who offer service in some areas, they treat you like shit and expect you to love them for it. Well, I didn't love them, and I dropped them the first second I could.

Bottom line: I'm happy with T-Mobile, and would recommend them if you live in an area where their service is good, but that basically means metro areas and major interstate corridors.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:12 PM on February 8

T-mobile prepaid for me. I don't like the idea of being stuck with a particular phone, and one that doesn't work overseas. So I want GSM so I can switch to a different phone or temporarily replace my SIM card with a foreign one.

T-mobile has the cheapest/best prepaid plan last time I checked. Unused minutes roll over as long as you buy more before that batch expires. If you achieve their "gold" status, which you can get by buying $100 worth of minutes, you pay 10c per minute. Not achieving gold and buying smaller increments gets you higher per-minute rates once you do the math. Texts are 10c to send, 5c to receive, I believe. If I remember, that even beats some of their contract plans.

Their customer service really is pretty good. I was surprised. I remember thinking, "What do these people tell their customer service agents that's different than what the other people tell theirs? Why is this person being so nice and helpful? It's almost like he wants to help me." I rarely ever need customer service, but it's a nice perk when I do.

I like prepaid because there are no bullshit fees involved, and no restrictions. I'm not a big chatter, and so I like that I only pay for what I use. Even the plan with the lowest number of minutes (pick your carrier) is more than I'd use in a month. I like not buying what I don't need. For me it comes out cheaper to do it this way.

You can use any GSM phone with T-mobile (or AT&T for that matter). Just buy the cheapest T-mobile prepaid phone at Target or on their site ($20), take out the SIM, sit that phone on the shelf as a spare, and go stick the SIM in whatever phone you like. Maybe you can just buy a prepaid SIM? Looks like that might be an option on their site. I don't know. The cheapo phone really isn't necessary if you can avoid it. Just need the SIM.

The drawback that I'm aware of is that you show up as "unknown caller" when you call someone, unless they have you in their phone's address book that is. Doesn't bother me too much, as I'm either calling someone I know, in which case I'm in their book, or a business, who has to answer. Worst case is someone waits for the voicemail once in a while.

I've never had a problem with coverage except out on an island, and only on part of that island. I think most of us are in urban or semi urban areas or on the corridors between them. And if so, we're covered.
posted by Askr at 10:46 PM on February 8

I second Kadin2048 with T-Mobile. I've been with them for years and it's been pretty smooth. I always opt for a 1-year contract even though it usually means a higher price on the phone. They don't generally advertise the 1-year contract but it's always been available when I asked. However, I dislike the high price for internet, especially for the slow network speed.

Personally I think it's better to stay with one company if it's feasible because they do treat you better on the phone if you're a long-time customer. At least, T-Mobile has for me.
posted by cabingirl at 10:47 PM on February 8

I was a very happy T-Mobile customer before I got an iPhone (and I love my phone, but I am not nearly as happy with AT&T). Good customer service, good signal, no dropped calls, no bullshit, and you get more minutes for cheaper than anywhere else. Contracts suck in theory but I don't object to them in practice; they make the majority of phones cheap or free, and I'm not planning on going anywhere.

Prepaid is obscenely expensive. If you only use it for emergencies or whatever, I guess it can work, but I don't have a landline, I use my phone for work and paying 30 cents a minute is not going to happen for me.
posted by streetdreams at 10:52 PM on February 8

It depends how much you use it, and what you use it for. So, idledebonair, how much do you want to be able to use your phone, and what do you use it for other than normal phone calling? (texting, camera, PDA, internet?)

For me, Virgin prepaid is great because I basically never use it except on trips to say "we're delayed, will be there around 2:00." I have the simplest phone I could get, no camera, no PDA features, and I'm very happy with that.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:57 PM on February 8

I have experience with two of the major providers - T-Mobile and Sprint.

About 4 years ago I was with Sprint. Their customer service was shit then and is shit now. Their cell phone service is pretty good though (Greater Phoenix Area). Their choice of cell phones was also one of their better qualities. Their plans were so-so. After having major billing issues though, I determined that it was time to find a better provider. Let Sprint know I was moving to BFE (somewhere they do not provide service) and they canceled my contract with no charge.

Enter T-Mobile. T-Mobile had/has great customer service, whether you are in their store or calling their customer service/technical support. Their phone choices were 'ok.' I loved my Sidekick 2 when I had it. Their service on the other hand, was not all that great. Living on the outer edge of Phoenix, I would find myself making calls from a certain spot in the kitchen or garage and still I would drop calls like crazy. This gets annoying fast. So two years goes by with T-Mobile, and I am relatively happy. But after those two years, I need a new phone. I really liked my friend's Pocket PC (through Sprint - eek), so I go to T-Mo looking for something similar. Nothing. Now they have the Touch, which is a cousin to the PPC 6800 that I have now (read on). Ok, so at this time T-Mobile has no phones that meet my criteria and their service is sketchy to boot.

This is about the time I heard of the SERO program with Sprint - Sprint Employee Referral Offer! So, if an employee of Sprint were to refer me, I could get cell phones and plans for a special price. Sweet! But I have to have the email address of the employee that referred me and I don't know anybody that works at Sprint. Google knows a few Sprint reps, and I know Google. Entering any of those @sprint.com email addresses into the SERO website gets you into the order page. Some phones are half the price of what you would pay without this program. But honestly... the best part has to be the plans. I pay $30 a month for 500 anytime minutes (unlimited between 7PM and 7AM), unlimited text, unlimited data plus another $7 a month for insurance on a $550 phone. $37 a month. Their customer service is still shitty, but I will happily deal with it for that price.

Do you have a contract because of the discount on phones?

Yes, and the plan.

What is your strategy?

Cheap Plan - Good Phone - Good Service

I guess customer service doesn't matter that much to me after all - maybe I am just jaded on that end with the lack of decent customer service in a good amount of businesses today.

posted by B(oYo)BIES at 11:44 PM on February 8 [2 favorites]

I am with AT&T (previously Cingular (previously AT&T Wireless)). I used to have a contract, but it ran out, and I avoid a new one by not getting a new "free" phone.

My phone broke at some point, and I just replaced it with the same model, used, that I bought on eBay. It cost $30, and I now have a spare battery.

AT&T is by far the best for me, because rollover minutes make up for any usage irregularities. Other plans have their own perks, but this one involves the least effort -- none. It is virtually impossible for me to go over my minutes.

I've also added a second phone to my plan for an extra $10/month. Together, it works out to a little over $60/month -- $30 per person. We have underused the plan for over 4,000 minutes in the last year (that's how many rollover minutes have accumulated), so I think this would work for all but the heaviest cell phone users.

Watch your bill carefully the first couple of months. I was overcharged three times in a row for the first three months, and had to call them to straighten it out every time. It was an annoyance, but the customer service was decent, and it got taken care of every time without much hassle.

I think this is a decent deal. I can't complain about the signal coverage with AT&T; It works in most places, with a few dark spots here and there.

I recently started paying an extra $5/month for a cheap text message plan (200 messages per month). They're just too convenient to pass up, and people just assume that I have them.

If you work for any kind of big employer, chances are that you can get a slightly better deal through a loyalty program through your employer. This is a good idea not because of the savings (they are miniscule, in my experience), but because you will be treated as a business customer, and as part of a larger bargaining group. You may even have a separate, prioritized customer support number.
posted by qvtqht at 11:54 PM on February 8

I've had ATT, Sprint, and now T-Mobile for about 4 years. Pretty much as all have said, the customer service and billing nightmares of the first two were endless and awful. T-Mobile has provided excellent customer service (mostly, but they do try and you can always reach a human being in a few minutes). Coverage is not as good, for sure (NYC) but always improving.

All of the contract plans are designed to screw you. But if you need a lot of minutes because you live on the phone, you haven't got much of a choice. Service really matters, as does coverage.

Avoid getting locked into contract renewals if possible, however. BUY your phones from eBay or Amazon; used open/unlocked GSM phones are cheaper than the discounted new ones that come with 2 year contract extensions. After your contract w/ a provider is up, you are in the driver's seat. You can negotiate almost any reasonable concession with the company by threatening to switch to another provider these days if they don't have you on a contract that will cost you $300 to leave. It's an amazingly powerful feeling to call up and say "I'm thinking of switching providers" and get transferred up to someone who has power immediately. In fact, I've been given a discounted new phone *without* a contract extension with that ploy.

They are screwing us. No reason not to screw them back.
posted by fourcheesemac at 5:34 AM on February 9

PS - Esp. Sprint, which is bleeding customers.
posted by fourcheesemac at 5:35 AM on February 9

2nding Sprint's SERO deal. I'm pretty sure there's a blanket Sprint e-mail address out there so you don't need to feel shady about using some random one you found off Google. See this wiki entry at HowardForums (probably the best cell phone related site online).
posted by pete0r at 5:36 AM on February 9

The universal sprint SERO address is [e-mail] .
posted by Steve3 at 6:01 AM on February 9

The biggest question is how much you'll use the phone.

Lately, I run about 3,000 minutes a month on my cell phone (and I also use it for data) so obviously I'm on a plan.

I use an unlocked GSM phone because I travel internationally enough that I like being able to swap SIM cards. If I didn't travel much, I wouldn't care about the locks.

I use t-mobile because I've quit off of Sprint, Verizon, AT&T Wireless and I finally got sick of trying to find the best company. Basically, I realized that they all suck, and I just have to deal with that. It's not very fierce competition (at least for the moment).
posted by Tacos Are Pretty Great at 7:31 AM on February 9

To echo a couple previous posters, the best choice for you depends entirely on how you use it.
posted by box at 7:38 AM on February 9

Because everyone seems to have really negative things to say about Sprint and their customer service, I'll just say their retention department has always been incredibly friendly and accommodating to my family and I. We're long time customers and purchased a family plan with unlimited internet, text, pictures probably about 5 years ago (continuously renewing the 2 year plan) and have been given amazing discounts on phones and upgrades on the plan because of our loyalty to the company. I think it's worth it.
posted by harrumph at 7:41 AM on February 9

Another vote for Sprint's SERO plan. Cheaper than anything comparable by a long shot.
posted by entropic at 7:47 AM on February 9

askr, PagePlus is a good deal cheaper than T-Mobile. You have to get your hands on a Verizon phone - which you can easily do at Wally World or Target in the prepaid section for under $40, or you can use one off of eBay (or even if a friend has recently dumped Verizon and has an old cell phone they're getting rid of.) A $25 card gets you 300 minutes, which is 8.3 cents a minute. You can get an $80 card, which gets you 1400 minutes (5.7 cents per minute.) I've been with them for 3 months now, and it's worked flawlessly. (They'll even throw you 100 minutes when you sign up.)

For contract plans, Alltel was good to me when I had them; my sis has them now and is very happy with them. The My Circle plan becomes a godsend if you have family spread out across the country.
posted by azpenguin at 8:14 AM on February 9

I've had experiences with two companies: Cingular (before it merged with AT&T) and Verizon.

Cingular can suck my ass as far as I'm concerned. I went to one of their offices to get my phone fixed because I broke the antenna. They looked it over and didn't have any of that particular antenna in stock. They said that they would have to send it out to their factory somewhere else in the US. Said it would be about 2 weeks.
At around week 3, I called the store to find out what had happened to my phone. They claimed they had never even sent it out. I went down to the store to get some goddamn answers about where my phone was. They refused to give me back the damaged phone and wouldn't tell me who else I could contact to find out what the fuck was going on.
My father ended up cancelling our service with them on the spot and filing complaints around the fucking world.

Verizon has been much better. The main reason we went with them instead of one of the other local companies was because they have the best service in Metro. They had simple enough phones for my folks and a relatively plain phone for me (I just wanted a camera, no internet or anything else like that). We have the shared family plan minutes, and all calls to other Verizon Wireless numbers aren't counted against the minutes. No long distance or roaming charges, and adding extra lines is only $10 (or $20)/month. Our contracts are 1 year each. Text messaging is only $10/month.
posted by sperose at 8:36 AM on February 9

Something about cellphone companies and service: the plural of anecdote is not data. And judging based on the most extreme outliers (such as, for example, people who feel sufficiently motivated to post angry rants to consumer websites) is even less reliable. For every cellphone company, there are hundreds of customers, or ex-customers, with horror stories that would make your head spin. And each company also has hundreds of happy and thoroughly satisfied customers who are thrilled with the level of service.
posted by box at 9:29 AM on February 9

It really depends on you and your needs. If you talk a lot, you might need to consider one company. If you seldom use it, you should consider another one. If you don't want to be locked into a contract, then you need yet another one. There is no absolute "best company" or "best service" or "best plan" out there.

Now that said, as far as listening to customer's wants and needs, T-Mobile seems to routinely win that hands down. For pricing? MetroPCS probably has the best total unlimited plans (but is only available in very few select areas and if you travel, forget it) and there are absolutely NO contracts. For connectivity, in a recent issue Consumer Reports said AT&T, and I believe Verizon, are tops.

The best thing to do is make a list of what services you'll need and prioritize them. Then look through service plans and see which ones best fit your need.

When I was shopping for a new service, I actually did up a personal spreadsheet to compare services. I listed all the services, features and even customer service ratings for the various companies I was looking at.

As for my personal experiences, I've used Sprint, MetroPCS, Cingular and T-Mobile. Sprint and Cingular were just plain awful. Sprint wins as being the worst of them all, hands down. If suddenly they were the ONLY cellular company in the world, then I'd just never have a cell phone again. It's that bad. Cingular had a horribly expensive plan with way too long of a contract. Plus the customer service was just too much to bear. I ended up spending more time waiting for help than actually using my phone.

MetroPCS was very good and I would likely still be with them were it not that I moved out of their area. The downfall is the lack of customer service, but I saved a tremendous amount of money using them, so price won over service.

I'm presently with T-Mobile and am very happy. Their customer service has been amazing so far, and my plan is cheaper than other services, except for that of MetroPCS.

Good luck! ♣
posted by magnoliasouth at 10:29 AM on February 9

B(oyo)bies: I owe ya one bud...thanks for the heads up! I just got me a phone using the link you posted the SERO program.... super deal...

Unlimited data and text-Free
Unlimited Sprint to Sprint-Free
Phone-A Razor $250 phone for $49
1200+ minutes
$49 a month

Thanks again!
posted by ~Sushma~ at 1:46 PM on February 9

@ ~Sushma~

Don't forget to call in and report dropped calls if you get any. You can get up to $10 in credit a month, dropping your $49 plan to $39.
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 1:50 PM on February 9

For now, new subscriptions for SERO are set to expire February 16, 2008 (although it likely will be extended).
posted by nickyskye at 10:01 AM on February 10

Thanks for the great answers, everyone. Currently I am on Verizon and I do notice I get better reception than my friends. Really though, I'd like to have an internet machine strapped to my wrist. I am ready for my phone/watch/computer/blender to be the same object. That sort of limits me to the super expensive $400+ phones I think, and I need a full keypad, because T9 and iTAP are rather irritating to me.

I don't every go over my minutes, as I do far more texting/pixing than actual talking. I guess my strategy is to threaten Verizon with leaving and see if they can cut me a break.

Otherwise, I might check out SERO.

Thanks again.
posted by idledebonair at 12:04 PM on February 12