 Simba7I Void Warranties
join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT | Still not a good deal.. Especially with Straight Talk's $45/mo unlimited plan, which already includes 2GB of Data.
at&t and VZ really need to get with the times. |
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| Net10 is offering a similar plan as their sister company. Pretty soon all TracFone companies most likely will- especially since they already have a business side of the company. |
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 IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA
 ·Comcast
 ·Verizon Broadban..
| reply to Simba7
Straight Talk may be good for price but not for customer service. Hopefully you'll never have any issues. My former neighbor has a TracPhone and he says they may be good on price but the customer service is not the best.
I had a problem with the 4G connection on my newly purchased iPad Mini and a quick call to customer service resolved the issue. They had me power down the device, remove and insert the SIM card (which was a pain in the butt as they now use those nano SIM cards, which are hard to handle with my large hands) and the CSR (who was a tier 2 tech support representative in a US-based call center) changed a few provisioning settings on VZW's end and problem solved.
I don't even think MVNOs have access to their host carrier's network settings past activation/deactivation. And the tier 1 carriers can address network issues better. |
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 BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | reply to Simba7
said by Simba7:Especially with Straight Talk's $45/mo unlimited plan, which already includes 2GB of Data.
at&t and VZ really need to get with the times.
Well let's see Straight Talk uses At&t, Verizon's and Sprint's networks and have ZERO infrastructure costs. Gee I wonder why they can offer unlimited everything or $45 a month? |
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| said by BF69:Well let's see Straight Talk uses At&t, Verizon's and Sprint's networks and have ZERO infrastructure costs. Gee I wonder why they can offer unlimited everything or $45 a month?
Unless you believe those providers are selling room on their networks at a loss, which seems unlikely, the MVNOs are paying for those infrastructure costs in what they pay those providers for space on their networks.
Jim |
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iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 Reviews:
 ·Verizon Online DSL
·RoadRunner Cable
·Comcast
| reply to TBusiness
Nah; normal Tracfone is a standard pay-per-minute prepaid offering, with lower-end phones. You can get similar phones on Net10 or Straight Talk with the unlimited plan if you want, but they key differentiator between TF and Net10 is that you can get smartphones on Net10 and Straight Talk (unlimited plans only), whereas that doesn't happen on TF. |
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iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | reply to IowaCowboy
You're right; Tracfone customer service is poor. However you can do most things online. And is it worth $45 per month to get good customer service from your wireless carrier? |
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iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | reply to BF69
You forgot T-Mobile.
Also, they have smaller (but still existent) infrastructure costs...and they pay the big carriers per minute/text/megabyte wholesale. So it isn't like they're getting a free ride. |
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BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | reply to jseymour
said by jseymour:said by BF69:Well let's see Straight Talk uses At&t, Verizon's and Sprint's networks and have ZERO infrastructure costs. Gee I wonder why they can offer unlimited everything or $45 a month?
Unless you believe those providers are selling room on their networks at a loss, which seems unlikely, the MVNOs are paying for those infrastructure costs in what they pay those providers for space on their networks. Jim Yes space which SHOULD be used for THEIR own customers. I wonder if at&t and Verizon could still offer unlimited or at least higher caps if they weren't FORCED to sell precious space and use precious spectrum on these companies. Which then turn around and get customers by telling you how much more expensive at&t and Verizon are. |
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BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | reply to iansltx
said by iansltx:You forgot T-Mobile.
Also, they have smaller (but still existent) infrastructure costs...and they pay the big carriers per minute/text/megabyte wholesale. So it isn't like they're getting a free ride.
The cost accompany like Straight Talks pays to use the major carriers pipes is FAR cheaper than if they had to build out their own network. FACT. And if they had to build out their own network they would NOT being offering unlimited everything for $45 a month. |
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iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 Reviews:
·Verizon Online DSL
·RoadRunner Cable
·Comcast
| ...and if the major carriers that Straight Talk wholesales from had a problem with that, they wouldn't be reselling their service to ST cheaply enough for ST to make a profit.
Also, Page Plus Cellular resells VZW's network for $55 per month for unlimited everything except data (2GB). No 4G though. |
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BF69Premium
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN | said by iansltx:...and if the major carriers that Straight Talk wholesales from had a problem with that, they wouldn't be reselling their service to ST cheaply enough for ST to make a profit. Carriers are forced to sell to companies like Straight Talk and they are limited in the amount they can charge. |
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iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Golden, CO
kudos:2 | What forces them to do this? Federal regulation? What's the regulation? |
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