2 edits | reply to Killersaurus
Re: Switched to Virgin Yep. You have to be a fool (or wealthy) to pay well over $130 for most with 2 or more services.
I use straight talk unlimited everything at $45 per month. |
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Reviews:
 ·Callcentric
3 edits | European plans:
Three UK
$26 USD~ per month buys:
600 minutes*
5000 texts*
All-you-can-eat data.
$40 USD~ per month:
2000 minutes*
5000 Three-to-Three minutes*
5000 texts*
All-you-can-eat data
Cheapest - $11.40 USD
200 minutes*
5000 texts*
500MB data
TMOBILE UK
$35 USD~ per month
Unlimited - talk, texts, data
* Unlimited Incoming calls and text.
~ The price also includes taxes, fees etc; as the price does in every other developed country but us. |
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| Yeah, the US gets ripped. This is well known, yet people rarely do anything about it. I think the Virgin Mobile plan is about as cheap as you can get. For $35 you get:
-300 minutes (I don't come close)
-unlimted text
-unlimited data (up to 2.5 GB before they start to throttle) |
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Reviews:
·Callcentric
| said by Killersaurus:Yeah, the US gets ripped. This is well known, yet people rarely do anything about it. I think the Virgin Mobile plan is about as cheap as you can get. For $35 you get:
VM comes close but what I absolutely hate about them is their ridiculous NO BYOD policy. In addition, they offer no option to roam for voice.
The issue with value carriers here is that rather than learn from the European and Asian model, they prefer to price close to the large carriers but just offer unlimited.
Like most people, I don't want or need unlimited and would like a plan like the ones above. |
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| reply to Killersaurus
I have 2 lines on AT&T with unlimited data*, 450 minutes of voice + n/w, and we don't use TXT (too old school). and pay $94/month after taxes/discounts. |
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Rob_Premium
join:2008-07-16
Mary Esther, FL | Does Virgin use Sprint or do they have truly nationwide coverage? I'm on boost and there's no service in ft walton beach.
-Rob |
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Reviews:
·Callcentric
| reply to en103
said by en103:I have 2 lines on AT&T with unlimited data*, 450 minutes of voice + n/w, and we don't use TXT (too old school). and pay $94/month after taxes/discounts.
$130 is the minimum today + taxes, fees, BS profit generating charges etc etc. |
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Reviews:
·Callcentric
| reply to Rob_
said by Rob_:Does Virgin use Sprint or do they have truly nationwide coverage? I'm on boost and there's no service in ft walton beach.
Much like Boost, Virgin uses Sprint only - no roaming. |
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Reviews:
 ·Frontier Communi..
| reply to Telco
said by Telco:* Unlimited Incoming calls and text. This bit is key. European callers to wireless phones pay a premium, because they use a caller-pays model. That's why I can call my friend in Finland for $0.029/min if I hit her landline, but it costs $0.169/min to call her mobile.
Many Europeans also may a premium to text people on other providers, because the providers charge each other hefty peering fees to exchange text messages. In the United States such fees are minimal to non-existent, and people would find it outrageous if they had to pay extra money to text their best friend on a different carrier.
The grass is not always greener on the other side.... |
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openbox9Premium
join:2004-01-26
japan
kudos:2 | reply to Killersaurus
Come to Japan if you think you pay too much for your wireless service. |
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| reply to Telco
The Boost and Virgin Mobile brands are both owned by Sprint. So of course they use Sprint's network. |
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 KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little GuyPremium
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK | reply to Telco
No surprise, really. Costs more and get less in the USA when it comes to everything communications related. Since the big carriers hold sway over the Government regulators too it will never change, and continue to grow worse.
--
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini
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 tiger72SexaT duorPPremium
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO
kudos:1 | reply to Telco
said by Telco:European plans:
Three UK
$26 USD~ per month buys:
600 minutes*
5000 texts*
All-you-can-eat data.
$40 USD~ per month:
2000 minutes*
5000 Three-to-Three minutes*
5000 texts*
All-you-can-eat data
Cheapest - $11.40 USD
200 minutes*
5000 texts*
500MB data
TMOBILE UK
$35 USD~ per month
Unlimited - talk, texts, data
* Unlimited Incoming calls and text.
~ The price also includes taxes, fees etc; as the price does in every other developed country but us.
Those plans are pretty unique to the UK. What I find funny is that not only are the UK networks inherently smaller, their coverage is STILL lacking in many areas. For whatever reason, people conveniently "forget" that it costs more money to build a larger network in a MUCH larger country. Our population is 3x larger, but the land area where we demand coverage is... a bit more than 3x larger than the UK, etc.
For an example of other countries, have a look at »www.t-mobile.de/iphone?device=iphone4s . To get unlimited SMS, minutes (to landlines, mobile-to-mobile, as well as other mobile networks) and a whopping 2GB of data you need to spend 100EUR/mo (~$130US). This is for a network the size of a single state, which does not offer any roaming within the country. And even to this day you'll find that much of the country is still covered with 2g. Considering far more people in Europe live in small towns and villages, that makes many European networks more appalling than US networks, considering more people live day-to-day with GPRS/EDGE or generally mediocre coverage than in the United States where our cities (and thus vast majority of population) is well covered.
Not all of Europe has low prices like the UK. Moreover, when you compare 3g rollouts in the United States to European networks, even smaller networks like T-Mobile and Sprint have more square miles covered with 3g than most European countries do.
See: »www.vodafone.de/privat/hilfe-sup···ung.html
Meanwhile, I'm paying $30US for 5GB of DC-HSPA+ data, 100 minutes, and unlimited texting. My wife is paying $45 for unlimited voice, unlimited texting, and 2GB of HSPA+ data.
Either way, anyone spending $100 for a single cell phone is a complete idiot.
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"What makes us omniscient? Have we a record of omniscience? ...If we can't persuade nations with comparable values of the merit of our cause, we'd better reexamine our reasoning."
-United States Secretary of Defense (1961-1968) Robert S. McNamara |
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| reply to Killersaurus
said by Killersaurus:Yeah, the US gets ripped. This is well known, yet people rarely do anything about it. I think the Virgin Mobile plan is about as cheap as you can get. For $35 you get:
-300 minutes (I don't come close)
-unlimted text
-unlimited data (up to 2.5 GB before they start to throttle)
Virgin Mobile sucks the biggest a** of any wireless service I've ever used. Actually, it wasn't even me using it, but my kid. Will NEVER touch that company again!!
My Boost cost me $35 a month for unlimited EVERYTHING!!!!
Any one spending $100 for wireless phone, unless it's some massive sharing plan, is an absolute pickle, in my mind.
From what I've ever seen with anyone using the newest gadgetry on phones, most of them don't have a clue what they're doing and only bought it because they think they're cool! Most don't have any concept of value for the dollar or common sense, basically. 
--
The Firefox alternative.
»www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/ |
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Kevin_
join:2003-12-10
Marietta, GA Reviews:
 ·Comcast
| reply to Telco
Giffgaff here:
$16~/month:
250 minutes
Unlimited text
Unlimited data
$24~/month:
400 minutes
Unlimited text
Unlimited data
$32~/month:
800 minutes
Unlimited text
Unlimited data
$40~/month:
1500 minutes
Unlimited text
Unlimited data
It runs on O2's network, and I've only gotten bad coverage when out in the rural areas or going underground on the train.
It's SIM only, but it's so much cheaper in the long run. I'm floored with how much Americans and Canadians pay for their wireless service and that they have to pay for incoming call and texts. There would be a huge protest if any UK carrier tried to charge for incoming calls and texts. |
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| reply to Telco
Most prepaid in the US, excludes roaming Ting would be one exception I know of, that's why I choose to go with Straight Talk and an AT&T sim, their network is much bigger than T-mobile or Sprint so not having roaming isn't as big of a deal. |
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Reviews:
·Callcentric
| reply to Crookshanks
I've used both and would much rather have their model. Why should I pay when someone else decides to to call me? Likewise, why should I pay if someone decides to text me.
You are correct about the carrier differences. However, the going rate for texts here is now 20 cents. Therefore, if a person decides to send someone without a text plan 100 messages, that's $20 to receive texts that literally cost a carrier nothing. |
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Rob_Premium
join:2008-07-16
Mary Esther, FL | reply to Telco
Now that TMobile has ul data, maybe they can start using their service. I don't understand why the prepaids use sprint. I lose service in town!
I hope that TMobile's prepaid will offer ul data in the future, 5 gigs for $70.00s is more expensive then their 69.99 value plan (one penny)
-rob |
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