Hunting for a Cell Phone Plan...

[Pbartender]

...but have never owned a cell phone, and so have no experience with them. I could use some advice on which carriers were worth looking at.

Ideally, we're looking for a family plan for me, my wife and two junior high school kids. Reliability and affordability are our two major factors.

The four major carriers in our area are AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon. Please, share your opinions, and enlighten me.

 

[Umbran]

Are you looking for just phone calls, text messaging, or full data plans?

My understand is that, especially for data plans, AT&T's coverage is not all it is cracked up to be - more dropped calls and data than others.

 

[Artur Hawkwing]

T-Mobile is now part of AT&T and will eventually disappear, so don't bother there. AT&T and Verizon are looking at dropping their unlimited plans as well. I switched from T-Mobile to Sprint when it became clear that AT&T was going to win the bidding war.

I will give you one piece of advice. Go to Radio Shack. Talk to their Cell person. Usually the carriers will give Radio Shack access to deals that they won't offer you in their own retail locations. I have a single person Sprint contract (free LG Optimus S Smartphone) with unlimited text/email/data plan (and like, 400 or 500 minutes I'll never use) that would have cost me 79.99 a month for around 66 bucks when fees and such are added because of the deal from Radio Shack.

When it comes to accessories, hit your local shopping mall and look for a cell phone case cart. They usually have the best selection, widest range of colors and fit most major phones. I got my blue case and my wife got purple from the cart/kiosk in our local mall.

There's my two cents, you can send my change C.O.D.

 

[fba827]

While any of those providers may cover your area, there will be regions where signal strength is not as good... and if one of those poor signal areas happen to be a place that you frequent (such as your home/office/etc) then it would become frustrating very quickly.

So, ask people who work with you what provider they have and what sort of reception they get at/near the office (see if there is a pattern). While phone type also makes a difference, if you find that all/most of coworkers who have one provider have weak signal at the office, it could just be a weak spot for that provider.

Similarly, do you have friends with cell phones that come to your house? If so, ask what provider they have and see how strong their cell reception is (how many bars show up on their phone).

As any example, i live in the washington dc area. those 4 same providers also have a presence around here and say they "have coverage in my area."
but sprint and tmobiles signals are so weak at my house that any friends who come over to my house (in the suburbs) can not use their service at all. verizon on the other hand gets "okay" service at my house. and at&t gets good reception at my house.

conversely, at my old office, sprint and tmobile and at&t were okay while verizon was strong. and also (if i used the subway around here this would be a huge factor) verizon has antennas in the subway tunnels making them the only provider in DC that works on the subway when its at underground stations (though i don't use the subways often enough for that to be a deciding factor for me - but just explaining that this is the sort of thing to think about in terms of where do you spend a lot of your time, etc).

Aside from signal strength, make the decision if you want a dataplan or just phone or just phone and text
(though, warning, you said you have two junior high kids - make sure their expectations on what and how much they're allowed to use is determined -- if their friends text a lot or send pictures etc then it will mount up very quickly)... because the thing with data and/or text, it's all "available" on the PHONE even if not part of your "service plan," thus it can still get used and becomes an extra charge on your next bill. if it's just a once in a blue moon sort of thing, then no big deal but at a certain point if it gets used a lot it would be cheaper to consider having it as part of the service plan.

but deciding phone only, or also text, or also data changes the costs and phone types you are looking at.


having said all that ...

my family has at&t's family plan. we don't use data service at ALL (though we do use text messages once in a while even though it isn't a prepaid part of our service plan, but our level of use on them is not enough to justify upgrading the plan to include text).

we chose it because of the providers it has the strongest reception by our house (else we would get very frustrated if we had dropped calls at a location where we spend a lot of time). also in-network calls (to other at&t cell users in the US) don't use up minutes on our plan and as it happens we have a lot of other relatives who also use at&t so that worked out as a little side bonus for us.

We've never really had any complaints about the service, but then, we don't really expect much of the service as it is just "a phone" to us.

We did try verizon for a year in between as they were offering us a better rate. but for our neighborhood the reception was just okay. and on top of that, when it came time to renew, our price jumped up (for some reason that i don't fully understand as i was not part of that process) to a level that we considered unreasonable, so we switched back to at&t -- mind you, that was 10(-ish) years ago at this point, i'm sure their plans and policies are much different now.

As a general point, I'll add in ...start with a conservative plan (in terms of what you think you'll need for minutes and so on) and then upgrade if you find it's not enough... because (generally) it's easier to get an upgrade on your service if you need more than it is to get a downgrade if you're over paying.
(Of course, clarify before signing "what is the process if i decide two months from now that i want to increase my plan?" in case there is some specific that would make upgrading more difficult)


as someone who has kids to take care of, i'll also toss in the usual soapbox speech that i give to my brother for his kids ...if this is the kids first personal phone, make sure they remember it's not a toy (just because it's there next to you all the time doesn't mean you have to use/fidget with it all the time), to take care of it (what are the house rules if they damage or lose the phone - do they pay the repair/replacement themselves, etc), no talking on the phone while driving/biking/skateboarding/etc, not to be rude on the phone when other people are talking, and so on.


this turned in to a really long ramble -- sorry -- but hopefully there was some useful tidbit of info in there, somewhere.

 

[Janx]

fba has a lot of good advice.

don't listen to the "our network is bigger" hype. the only relevant facts are how is reception at your house, work, and other places you go. You will need to consult with real people, mainly taking note of what phone and provider they have and how good their signal tends to be when they are standing in the places you plan to be (like your house, office)

your cell plan will probably come with 200 or so free texts/month. Tell your provider to REJECT any more messages. They will wallet rape you (and yes it is wallet rape) if you go over. recieving texts counts against you, so since every msg is probably going to get a reply, you only have about half that.

if you get the data plan, tell your provider to STOP or warn if you are about to go over limit. Once again, they will wallet rape you if you go over. I think telcos make the most of their money on overages, and it is usually not that simple (or even accurate) to track usage yourself.

Basically, you can formally withdraw permission for them to "allow" you to continue using your device when the limit was reached. it's the same scam where banks consider it a feature that they process your debits when you've overdrawn. Odds are good, most of us would rather have had it rejected, so we could pull out our credit card instead.

another thing to consider with providers, is which has a majority in the people you plan on calling. If most of your peeps are Verizon, that should weight you towards them so that your calls are free. Your minutes should be going towards calling real phones, etc.

also consider who all really needs a cellphone.
I didn't used to carry mine (it was a hand-me down from my wife). But when my car died on the way to work, it had some value. Instead, I ended up waiting until a tow truck coincidentally drove by. I started carrying mine then.

On the other hand, folks thinking "what if there's an emergency?" Fact is, most people have cell phones. Accidents on busy roads and in busy places get called in MULTIPLE times. You don't need a cell phone to call 911 when odds are good everybody else has beat you to it.

I say this, as somebody who grew up without a phone in the house. Just as the OP has gotten along just fine without a cell phone. Something to consider when you contemplate adding 2 kids for $10 a piece, and they are GOING to burn your minutes and texts (especially text). Kids do NOT really need a cell phone. Technically, in TX it is illegal for them to carry them inside a school. Generally, it's accepted that they stay off in a locker.

 

[Pbartender]

Are you looking for just phone calls, text messaging, or full data plans?

So, my wife is the main driving force behind this... she works at a retail outlet (one of those big warehouse stores), where it is customary (for reasons of speed and efficiency) for the employees to communicate with each other via text messaging. She's the only one working there without a cell phone. So, she needs a lot of texts.

Our two kids will both be in middle school this fall, and will be riding the bus there and back for the first time. She wants them both to be able to contact us directly (and vice versa) in case of an emergency or scheduling change. Also, my daughter is getting to the age where she likes to talk with her friends on the phone -- a lot. I don't necessarily have a problem with that, except that it ties up our home phone line. She'll want a lot of minutes and messages, likely, whereas my son is a little autistic and so won't use the phone unless it's an emergency or we call him.

I work at a big (25 sq. mi.) lab. Much of the time I'm not near my workbench, and without a cell phone, It's hard to get a hold of me away from my bench. Plus, I'd like to replace our home's long distance with the cell phones.

After a first look, it's seems much cheaper for us to get a single four-phone family plan, rather than to cherry pick individual plans for each of us. And for how we're likely to use the phones, unlimited talk and text seems the way to go. Data plans would be nifty, but are unnecessary.

I will give you one piece of advice. Go to Radio Shack. Talk to their Cell person. Usually the carriers will give Radio Shack access to deals that they won't offer you in their own retail locations.

I'll have to check if there's any Radio Shacks around here anymore.

While any of those providers may cover your area, there will be regions where signal strength is not as good... and if one of those poor signal areas happen to be a place that you frequent (such as your home/office/etc) then it would become frustrating very quickly.

So, ask people who work with you what provider they have and what sort of reception they get at/near the office (see if there is a pattern). While phone type also makes a difference, if you find that all/most of coworkers who have one provider have weak signal at the office, it could just be a weak spot for that provider.

Yup... Already did... General consensus seems to be Verizon = Good, AT&T = Teh Suxxorz, Everyone Else = Okay.

Aside from signal strength, make the decision if you want a dataplan or just phone or just phone and text
(though, warning, you said you have two junior high kids - make sure their expectations on what and how much they're allowed to use is determined -- if their friends text a lot or send pictures etc then it will mount up very quickly)... because the thing with data and/or text, it's all "available" on the PHONE even if not part of your "service plan," thus it can still get used and becomes an extra charge on your next bill. if it's just a once in a blue moon sort of thing, then no big deal but at a certain point if it gets used a lot it would be cheaper to consider having it as part of the service plan.

but deciding phone only, or also text, or also data changes the costs and phone types you are looking at.

Yup... As I said above, we're thinking that unlimited talk and text would be ideal, but data is unnecessary.

also consider who all really needs a cellphone.
I didn't used to carry mine (it was a hand-me down from my wife). But when my car died on the way to work, it had some value. Instead, I ended up waiting until a tow truck coincidentally drove by. I started carrying mine then.

This is pretty much what precipitated the decision for us... My kids and I were traveling from Chicago to Minnesota to visit grandma. Halfway through Wisconsin, the car threw a rod. There we were, stuck on the side of the interstate, practically in the middle of nowhere, and three's hours' drive away from anyone we knew. For two hours cars drove right by us. Despite my frantic waving and signalling, none would stop, and seemingly no one called for help (evidently presuming that I'd already called for help on a cell phone I didn't own).

It was a bad day.

 

[Janx]

Here in houston, vw and att = good. I have both, so i know. Tmobile leases towers, friends with them have deadzones, delayed delivery of texts and voicemail (that we sent on our way to their house because they didnt answer and then they arrived an hour after we got there).

Ditch your land line, that will get you some money towards the cell plan.

I've been on cell only for like 7 years and been fine through 2 hurricanes. It'll be fine.

 

[Pbartender]

Ditch your land line, that will get you some money towards the cell plan.

We can't completely ditch it... We've got DSL for our internet, and so still need the phone line. Local + long distance + internet only costs us about $60/mo. And getting rid of just the long distance only saves us about $6/mo.

We'll probably keep it as is for now.

 

[Janx]

We can't completely ditch it... We've got DSL for our internet, and so still need the phone line. Local + long distance + internet only costs us about $60/mo. And getting rid of just the long distance only saves us about $6/mo.

We'll probably keep it as is for now.

It's always up to you, but you should be able to get DSL from your provider WITHOUT actual phone service (dial tone) from them. SBC used to charge $40 for a basic land-line. I killed them and rolled that money into the cell phone bill when we went all cellular (and that was pre-texting/data plan days).

also, check what your other internet options are. Speed vs. price, etc. Cut that $60 bill down to $40 if you can. That $20 covers the 2 kids.

You have wisely deduced that you will need unlimited texts. Around here, here's the parts list AT&T charges on a family plan:
$10 per additional phone line
$30 per dataplan (despite that you are sharing a data limit as well)
$15 for 1500 texts/month
$30 for unlimited texts
$50 (approx) for 700 minutes
$70 (approx) for 1400 minutes

Sounds like you jus need 3 additional lines ($30, and unlimited text $30) and then choose the right amount of minutes to cover your outside of Network calls. Expect that your kid will burn your minutes as thats what everybody I know with a kid and a cell phone found out.

On my plan, 1400 for 2 people, we find we use just over 700 a month, but the problem is, they don't have a plan in the middle. Roll-over is absolutely useless, because if you buy a big enough plan, you will NEVER use your current minutes to hit your roll-over.

If you don't buy a big enough plan, you will pay an unfair rate for overages. that's how the telco's make their money.

from what I can tell, Verizon's pricing is comparable to AT&T. mainly becuase those two are direct competitors with everybody else nibbling at the edges.