 | | not surprised i do not know much about metropcs but do have a cell phone store that largely caters to cricket prepaid customers.
i will say that these customers tend to be extreme heavy data users with the emphasis on videos and music. also most of these customer do not have home and/or work wifi to fall back on.
this is quite different than the contract customers i know who tend to have and use a home internet connection via wifi and overall are much lighter consumers of streaming music and video from smartphones.
if companies like metro and cricket experience extra heavy network strain i is certainly no surprise to me, but they should really get rid of the 'unlimited' marketing and advertise the pre-throttle data allotment. | |
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mogamer
join:2011-04-20
Royal Oak, MI | Non-4G plans are still good enough. My wife and son have phones on their lowest tier plan and don't have any problems with unlimited texts, unlimited calling and unlimited web. Of course they use their phones as communication/data devices and not as entertainment hubs.
Cell phones aren't luxuries anymore. And being able to connect with email is a necessity for many people. But 4G streaming video and music are luxuries. We aren't talking about rural residents who need some sort of broadband here. Most people who have smartphones could easily find Wi-Fi hotspots to connect on. | |
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 | | | Re: Non-4G plans are still good enough. this change from unlimited to throttled should be illegel and punishable by death | |
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| | | | Re: Non-4G plans are still good enough. The alternative is no data at all. You interested? | |
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| Reviews:
 ·Frontier Communi..
| said by mogamer:Cell phones aren't luxuries anymore. Yes they are. I know it's hard to fathom for a lot of people who have grown up as members of the instant gratification generation but you CAN survive without being reachable anywhere in the world 24/7/365.
I went without a cell phone from 2003 to 2007 after I left the job that provided me with one. I only got one again because my current employer decided to pay for it. Guess what? I survived just fine with a landline phone and answering machine. It's actually somewhat liberating to know that you can venture out into the world and enjoy some solitude without being rudely yanked back to reality by the din of an obnoxious ring tone. | |
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| | mogamer
join:2011-04-20
Royal Oak, MI | Re: Non-4G plans are still good enough. said by Crookshanks:said by mogamer:Cell phones aren't luxuries anymore. Yes they are. I know it's hard to fathom for a lot of people who have grown up as members of the instant gratification generation but you CAN survive without being reachable anywhere in the world 24/7/365. I went without a cell phone from 2003 to 2007 after I left the job that provided me with one. I only got one again because my current employer decided to pay for it. Guess what? I survived just fine with a landline phone and answering machine. It's actually somewhat liberating to know that you can venture out into the world and enjoy some solitude without being rudely yanked back to reality by the din of an obnoxious ring tone. Try to find a pay phone. And don't say, you'll use someone else's cell phone in an emergency. I myself use a Tracfone. The phone itself isn't the luxury, it's all the extra stuff that people want that is. | |
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| | | Reviews:
·Frontier Communi..
| Re: Non-4G plans are still good enough. said by mogamer:Try to find a pay phone. And don't say, you'll use someone else's cell phone in an emergency.
Those of us who live out in the boonies where cell phones may not work have learned to prepare for emergencies without telecommunications. If we can do it I'm at a loss for why people who live in built up areas (worst case scenario: knock on someone's door and ask to use the phone) can't manage the same. | |
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| |  cdruGo ColtsPremium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
kudos:7 | said by Crookshanks:It's actually somewhat liberating to know that you can venture out into the world and enjoy some solitude without being rudely yanked back to reality by the din of an obnoxious ring tone. You can still be yanked back by the din of someone else's obnoxious ring tone, or if you're referring to your own ringtone, whose fault is it that it's obnoxious? | |
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| | Reviews:
 ·Verizon FiOS
 ·DIRECTV
 ·Optimum Online
·Cablevision
| They aren't a luxury for many people, myself included. I need to carry one for work purposes, they require that I have one.
Also with all of the payphones being basically abandoned a cell phone is fairly important should you get stuck somewhere and need to make a call, it's a matter of safety for many.
You may have a life that doesn't require a cell phone and if your happy without one that's great, but for many it's a neccesity.
Also it seems to me that peoples lives are much busier these days, between me being out and my friends and family being out I'd never connect with people and it would be a constant game of phone tag.
Also 4G is severely hindered by low caps, I happen to have unlimited LTE but still even with data caps, the smartphone experience just surfing web pages, downloading apps, reading emails and downloading attachments is much more fluid, things that I'd never do on 3G because of how long it took are near instantaneous on 4G, since the plans cost the same amount why not upgrade and if you avoid video and music streaming you can do the same things you did on 3G just faster for the same price. | |
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| | | Reviews:
·Frontier Communi..
| Re: Non-4G plans are still good enough. said by MovieLover76:They aren't a luxury for many people, myself included. I need to carry one for work purposes, they require that I have one. Then I hope they are paying for it.
said by MovieLover76:Also with all of the payphones being basically abandoned a cell phone is fairly important should you get stuck somewhere and need to make a call, it's a matter of safety for many. However did people manage to survive getting stuck before cell phones? What happens if you get stuck somewhere without cell phone service?
Cell phones might make it more CONVENIENT if you get stuck but they aren't NECESSARY to get unstuck. As I said in my reply to the other person, those of us who live in the boonies have to be prepared for emergencies where we can't count on summoning outside help. Frankly it's a good idea to be prepared regardless; if your plan for emergencies boils down to counting on someone else to bail you out then you have no plan at all.
said by MovieLover76:Also it seems to me that peoples lives are much busier these days, between me being out and my friends and family being out I'd never connect with people and it would be a constant game of phone tag. That doesn't make it a necessity, that makes a convenience. There is a difference. | |
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| | Unlimited's days are limited The bigger carriers learned their lesson from allowing an unlimited free for all. Now Sprint is the only holdout. But their network is slow as molasses so they really don't have much to worry about, LOL. | |
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|  redxiiPremium,Mod
join:2001-02-26
Sherwood, MI
Suddenlink
ISDN
Fiber Optic
Broadband Tweaks
/dev/null
| Re: Unlimited's days are limited Sprint will still disconnect you if they deem that you use too much. Over 5Gb can be too much, doesn't have to be 100s of GB. Their hotspots comes out to about $50/GB overage.
When someone points out how ridiculously low wireless caps are and overage charges all I see is snide "Well don't go over your cap then simple as that  " replies. 2-5GB ain't nothing and expect to compete with cable/DSL with their crappy networks.
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Moe, I need your advice… See I've got this friend named Joey Joe-Joe... Junior... Shabadoo.. | |
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 MikePremium,Mod
join:2000-09-17
Pittsburgh, PA
kudos:1 | Are they serious? $40 a month for 250 damn megabytes?
Didn't know we were a soviet era eastern-bloc country in 1997. | |
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| | | Re: Are they serious? no kidding,
I can have 300mb for $30 from att, and 5GB for $50. | |
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| |  tobyTroy Mcclure
join:2001-11-13
Seattle, WA | Re: Are they serious? it includes voice/text/data | |
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| | | | That's for data only, my friend. Add talk/text/MMS to that total. | |
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| Reviews:
·AT&T U-Verse
| said by Mike:$40 a month for 250 damn megabytes?
Didn't know we were a soviet era eastern-bloc country in 1997.
It also includs unlimited minutes and text. | |
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| | Sounds like metropcs is in the business.... of STAYING in business long term with these changes. Companies get absolutely crushed by consumers if they offer something out of step with the market (think slashdot effect, groupon effect) like unlimited LTE is, and also invites predatory consumer behavior. | |
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|  intellerSociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK | Re: Sounds like metropcs is in the business.... predatory consumer? WTF? no surprise coming from a Comcast domain.
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"WHEN THE LAUGH TRACK STARTS THEN THE FUN STARTS!" | |
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| |  The LimitPremium
join:2007-09-25
Greensboro, NC
kudos:2 | Re: Sounds like metropcs is in the business.... Unfortunately it's true. The laws favor collusion.
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Do or do not, there is no try! - Yoda | |
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| | | | When a customer tries to get the most from his PAID service he is labeled "predatory".
When a corporation tries to deliver as little service as possible under various "creative" excuses while continually raising prices/fees/whatever, they are just looking out for the "investor" and "increasing value" | |
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| | | | Consumers defraud companies all the time. I repeat - ALL. THE. TIME. | |
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| | |  totamakAnd they call me nuts?
join:2000-10-24
Los Angeles, CA | Re: Sounds like metropcs is in the business.... Making full use of a paid plan is not fraud by any stretch of the imagination. Fraud against a company is only true if the consuming party cheats said company by lying or otherwise falsifying information so they do not pay up. There is no fraud here. Yes, many people defraud companies, that is NOT the story here. The story here is MetroPCS is pushing an economically insane plan that makes their service more expensive than the Big Boys typical offerings. MetroPCS caters to urban folks, usually at the middle to low end of the economic ladder, which is why this plan makes even less sense. But still, no fraud. | |
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| | | | BiggA
join:2005-11-23
EARTH | Re: Sounds like metropcs is in the business.... Do they even have good coverage in the urban areas they do cover? | |
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| BiggA
join:2005-11-23
EARTH | They have to limit data, as they have, in Boston, for example, 10mhz of total spectrum. However, they need to keep the prices low, as that's all they've got to compete against the big guys. | |
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| | live like a pig, die like a pig watch demand dry upeven if they gave away the $300 & $400 handsets for FREE! there's no way this won't hurt metro pcs's growth by becoming like AT&T and Verizon on pricing, with an inferior network to boot. | |
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| Reviews:
 ·ooma
·Optimum Online
·Verizon FiOS
| Re: Metro price includes everything said by keason:They are probably getting closer to filling their spectrum. The $40 plan throttles after 250Mb, the $50 after 2.5, $60 after 5Gb, and $70 no throttling.
That includes voice/text/data. The $60 includes Rhapsody, and the $70 includes video service too.
Metro is still a bargain. The Verizon equivalent to the MetroPCS $50 plan (w 2Gb data) is $120+taxes or close to $140 for most people.
Honestly, I don't see why more people haven't ditched the major carriers if they live in a MetroPCS native coverage area.
$40, or $140, it's still a ripoff! Time for people to sit on their hands instead of buying the service so prices can reverse course! | |
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 Simba7I Void Warranties
join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT | Mmm. Straight Talk.. I'm still lovin' my Straight Talk SIM in my Captivate (running CM9). No issues here. | |
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| Rob_Premium
join:2008-07-16
Mary Esther, FL | Re: Mmm. Straight Talk.. Their coverage map sucks though.. why is it so limited? | |
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