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Vetl82 · 03-18-2016, 09:58 PM

We have AT&T but our contract is up in April, and we have 5gb with two iPhones 4s and it cost us 143.00/ month. Is there any better service and cost from other Carriers that anyone would suggest?
We are considering Straight Talk but I don't know if ST has good coverage when RV'ing , any suggestions folks?

RV Vagabond · 03-18-2016, 10:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vetl82

We have AT&T but our contract is up in April, and we have 5gb with two iPhones 4s and it cost us 143.00/ month. Is there any better service and cost from other Carriers that anyone would suggest?
We are considering Straight Talk but I don't know if ST has good coverage when RV'ing , any suggestions folks?

I have Sprint with unlimited data for $70 a month. And I connect my phone to my computer with a cable so I can surf the internet on the computer.

smiller · 03-19-2016, 12:32 AM

I use T-Mobile due to their Binge On feature (unlimited video streaming of Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, HBO, YouTube, and a couple dozen others) and consumer-friendly policies (data rollover, no overage charges, free roaming in Canada/Mexico, etc.)

The mantra has been that only Verizon has good rural coverage and while that probably was once true I'm no so sure it is anymore. I'm in the middle of a trip through the southwest and up the California coast where I've constantly been in out-of-the-way places (so far out of the way in fact that often there was no coverage from any carrier) and I've been comparing two phones, one with T-M and one with Verizon. Data performance has been essentially the same in urban/suburban areas and to my surprise I am finding them roughly equivalent to rural areas as well. In very dead areas neither had coverage and in rural areas where there was a difference I found a few cases where Verizon had coverage where T-M didn't and a few cases where T-M had coverage but Verizon didn't, meaning either could be considered superior depending on were you happened to be. Given this I would have a hard time justifying Verizon's much higher rates and consumer-unfriendly polices (overage charges, no data rollover, etc.)

This comparison is only good for where I've been of course (other areas may show a larger preference for one carrier over the other) but objectively it's what I can report so far. I'm on my way up to Alaska and will continue to report what I find.

paz · 03-19-2016, 04:26 AM

The most important thing about cell service is coverage. It doesn't matter how inexpensive the plan is if you can't connect. All the cell service providers have maps showing coverage so check them out to make sure you will have coverage at home if you're not a full-timer and at places where you are likely to travel.

We're full-timers and travel all over the country. Verizon isn't the cheapest by any means, but they are most likely to have service anywhere we go so that's who we have.

Pepper2 · 03-19-2016, 07:28 AM

We also have AT&T. They have a customer retention program so you may want to call them and re-negotiate a price/plan. When our contract ended we went from $120 to $80 a month.

smiller · 03-19-2016, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paz

All the cell service providers have maps showing coverage so check them out to make sure you will have coverage at home if you're not a full-timer and at places where you are likely to travel.

I also have to note that in my travels (outlined above) I have been checking accuracy of coverage maps and have been very disappointed in the accuracy of Verizon's maps, finding them to be very optimistic in fringe coverage areas. T-Mobile's maps aren't as impressive but they are at least accurate. When projecting coverage in fringe areas I no longer trust Verizon's maps at all as they have in many cases indicated coverage in areas where there was none, or was so poor as to be unusable.

fisher99 · 03-19-2016, 11:12 PM

We switched from Verizon to Republic Wireless and are now paying $30/mo for 2 Android smartphones. It's not for large Data users though. And minimal phone model selection. But still, $30 fur 2 smartphones is amazing. Rides on Sprint network. And they are supposed to be adding more phones, and possibly T-Mobile as an alternate carrier soon.

Harry B · 03-20-2016, 12:41 AM

We switched to Consumer Cellular, which operates on the AT&T network. We were with AT&T prior to that. So coverage is the same as before but we now pay $70/mo with 3GB of shared data and two phones instead of $130.

fisher99 · 03-20-2016, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry B

We switched to Consumer Cellular, which operates on the AT&T network. We were with AT&T prior to that. So coverage is the same as before but we now pay $70/mo with 3GB of shared data and two phones instead of $130.

How does Consumer Cellular handle roaming data? Will it allow you to use data on a different carriers network if AT&T coverage isn't available but, say, Verizon or Sprint is?

SrFox · 03-20-2016, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vetl82

We have AT&T but our contract is up in April, and we have 5gb with two iPhones 4s and it cost us 143.00/ month. Is there any better service and cost from other Carriers that anyone would suggest?
We are considering Straight Talk but I don't know if ST has good coverage when RV'ing , any suggestions folks?

To answer your question; ST uses the AT&T towers so you will have the same reception you had before. We have two phones on ST and they Cost $45 per month each with 5 Gig of data on each phone.
I hope this helps.

ssignor · 03-20-2016, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vetl82

We have AT&T but our contract is up in April, and we have 5gb with two iPhones 4s and it cost us 143.00/ month. Is there any better service and cost from other Carriers that anyone would suggest?
We are considering Straight Talk but I don't know if ST has good coverage when RV'ing , any suggestions folks?

Check out this site. They do a lot of research and are full timers

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