Cheapest Cell Phone Plan

[lbpeninsula]

Thank you MonkeyMama. My next question would be why are some Moto G's compatible and some are not? Also how would Ting know the phone is compatible before it's even taken out of the box? Please excuse my ignorance.

[feh]

Thank you MonkeyMama. My next question would be why are some Moto G's compatible and some are not? Also how would Ting know the phone is compatible before it's even taken out of the box? Please excuse my ignorance.

There is a number on the outside of the box that uniquely identifies that phone. Before you activate w/ Ting, you can enter that number on their web site and they'll tell you if it will work or not.

And yes, that link I posted was for the first generation Moto G.

I am not a shill for Ting, but if you sign up using this link, you'll get $100 credit toward their service, and I'll receive $50.

https://z7s8c63gke8.ting.com/

PS - for the $100, you'd need to activate the phone before December 2nd

[Leo]

For those who uses "small" carriers, how is the signal?

I know being frugal is good, but smartphones are part of our lives now. It is important to have a quality cellular signal all the time especially if you're in an emergency.

I have T-Mobile and had one of their grandfather plan, 2 phones unlimited talk and text plus 2GB LTE data for about $92/month after taxes. Not bad in my opinion. We need data for GPS maps, etc.

[hamchan]

I live in a major city, and there is no difference between my service with Ting and my service when I was with Verizon or ATT.

[feh]

For those who uses "small" carriers, how is the signal?

I know being frugal is good, but smartphones are part of our lives now. It is important to have a quality cellular signal all the time especially if you're in an emergency.

I have T-Mobile and had one of their grandfather plan, 2 phones unlimited talk and text plus 2GB LTE data for about $92/month after taxes. Not bad in my opinion. We need data for GPS maps, etc.

Go to wikipedia and look up "MVNO" for an explanation of how they work.

In short - you're using the same infrastructure as the big 4. I get the same coverage w/ Ting as I would if I were a Sprint customer. When I was a Tracfone customer, I had the same coverage as Verizon customers.

[JulieAlbright]

For those who uses "small" carriers, how is the signal?

I know being frugal is good, but smartphones are part of our lives now. It is important to have a quality cellular signal all the time especially if you're in an emergency.

I have T-Mobile and had one of their grandfather plan, 2 phones unlimited talk and text plus 2GB LTE data for about $92/month after taxes. Not bad in my opinion. We need data for GPS maps, etc.

In the United States, nearly all of the "small carriers" lease network space from the "large carriers." I use Republic Wireless which leases access to the Sprint Network with roaming to Verizon. My signal is pretty much exactly what I would get if I had service through Sprint directly. I live in a large metropolitan area so I'm not sure I've ever actually had to roam, and my call quality is just fine.

Other MVNO (pre-paid plans) lease from other networks and a few (like Straight Talk) have access to more than one and the phone or Sim Card you buy will determine which network you end up using.

[MonkeyMama]

For those who uses "small" carriers, how is the signal?

I know being frugal is good, but smartphones are part of our lives now. It is important to have a quality cellular signal all the time especially if you're in an emergency.

Yes, that is why we chose Ting - we wanted quality customer service and good cell quality. As others said, the small carriers just use the big networks.

[97guns]

consumer cellular top rated with pcmag and consumer reports

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2454822,00.asp

http://www.today.com/money/which-company-offers-best-cell-phone-service-2D11632717

[lbpeninsula]

Has anyone had experience with Consumer Cellular? Anyone switched over from AT&T? My Iphone 4s which I currently use with AT&T is suppose to be compatible. According to the reviews in Consumer Affairs (I can't post links because I have not met my 15 post requirement just Google: Consumer Affairs Consumer Cellular Review) it seems like there have been some issues switching over and questionable billing on data usage being charged vs. actually being used. Also once you become a customer the customer service becoming undesirable.

[Ashcroft]

I live in a major city, and there is no difference between my service with Ting and my service when I was with Verizon or ATT.

[kennySang]

consumer cellular, plans for $10, $20 and $30 a month on AT&T network

[lbpeninsula]

consumer cellular, plans for $10, $20 and $30 a month on AT&T network

Kenny have you used Consumer Cellular? I'm looking for someone's feedback regarding their experience. Thanks.

[suite001]

OF course, before you do anything, see how much you would spend monthly on Ting,

[lbpeninsula]

Nobody has experience with Consumer Cellular? If so feedback please.

[amarowsky]

I used to use straight talk. But recently switched to t mobile. We did a four line plan with unlimited everything and 10gb of shared high speed lte for 100$ per month no contract. Really hard to beat for the quality service and great network speeds. Plus unlimited high speed data for streaming music. Plus no additional charge to use phone as Wi-Fi hotspot. Which is critical for my school. Other carriers charge as much as 20$ a month for that feature. The plan is bring your own phone, so I just bought a one plus one phablet and love/recommend it!