Choosing A Cell Phone Plan Provider
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For the past 10 years or so, my family and I have been Verizon customers, having three phones, three watches, and at one point even two tablets with their service. They were good, and everything usually worked well. But they were expensive. Very expensive. It seemed like there were always new fees, and I couldn't count on my bill being consistent from month to month. I needed to change providers.
Photo by Igal Ness on Unsplash
Recently I decided to look around to see what other options were out there. I stumbled across US Mobile. Although I'm not really a fan of the name or logo, they have a nice user interface for their site. It was easy to sign up, port numbers from Verizon, and then add watches. The hardest part was getting Verizon to let go of the numbers so I could port them over.
When choosing US Mobile, I selected an unlimited plan, like I had with Verizon. I understand that Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) take second priority over the primary operator's traffic, this really wasn't a concern of mine. I've used MVNOs before and have not experienced any problems. I might have a harder time if I'm in a stadium full of people, but why would I be on my phone then anyway? I should be watching the event!
Photo by Riley Crawford on Unsplash
The savings was significant. With Verizon, at one point I was paying about $330 per month! I found various ways to reduce that, such as by using a discount from my employer and even unlocking my numbers for porting - at which time Verizon will offer a $10 discount per line for a year. Then you simply lock them back up again and enjoy the discount. On the other hand, US Mobile has unlimited plans, that with frequent discounts, can be as low as $299 for a year. That works out to be about $25 per month. And that includes all taxes and fees. Ultimately, I was able to save my family about $255 a month, which made it an easy choice. US Mobile offers a 30-day free trial if you port over a number so you can try them out. And you can select which network you want your phone on, so if the signal is low in your area, you can choose the best network! Unfortunately, each network has a strange name, likely due to contract requirements that the MVNO must comply with to offer these services:
- Dark Star = AT&T
- Warp = Verizon
- Light Speed = T-Mobile
Cancelling service at Verizon was painful. I spent over an hour on hold at one point, only to be hung up upon when speaking with a live person. I also tried their AI-based phone tree, and all I succeeded in doing was to get a message telling me to use their website, and then the AI hung up on me. See Verizon? This is why people do not like you as a company.
Photo by Hitanshu Patel on Unsplash
I ended up trying all three providers under my plan, and I found Warp to be the best for my situation. Dark Star was almost worthless, even in a large city. I have no other connection to US Mobile, I just happen to like them. And I hope that this saves someone else some time finding a decent cell phone plan provider!