Community Forums

Stillwater · 07-02-2016, 03:57 PM

I just came across a new website for Millenicom. I was customer until they disappeared a couple of years ago. I was quite happy with their service. I did the chat thing with a CS rep and he said they relaunched yesterday. I didn't get a lot of info about coverage etc. but their plans look good. He did say they are not on Verizon as before. It would be good to know who they are piggy backing on. They may have gone GSMA now. I know there was a lot of RV customers so if anyone finds more on this new venture please let us know. I am an unhappy Verizon customer right now so have been looking for a better alternative. The rep said they are doing a "soft launch" and intend on emailing former customers that they are back.
This could be good news. It looks very much like T Mobile plans
http://millenicom.com/

MtnTrek · 07-02-2016, 04:46 PM

Hi,
Interesting. Yeah I'd read that they are re-appearing soon.
Judging from the preferred use of (*The best for our service is either the ZTE Z915 or the ZTE Z917) which are T-Mobile LTE-GSM modems makes me agree.
They're most likely reselling the "binge on" packages.
Time will tell huh?

Happy motoring.

vsheetz · 07-02-2016, 07:25 PM

Interesting. I was a satisfied customer. Would be open to going back.

I moved to Verizon when they stopped service after being squeezed out by Verizon.

Tried Karma (Karma changed their program just as I bought in, returned the device months ago, still no refund... scammers IMHO).

Stillwater · 07-02-2016, 10:42 PM

I chatted with Millenicom again and they said the are on T Mobile so the coverage is the same. T Mobile has been very aggressive and has really improved their coverage in the last couple of years. Millenicoms new plans are much better than Verizon and on par with T Mobile but offer a couple of advantages by being able to start and stop the service without penalty for as long as need be with only a $20.00 reactivation fee. This works well for snowbirds that only need it for 5 or 6 months. Verizon and T Mobile only let you suspend for 90 days with a $ 10.00 a month fee. As soon as I can get myself unwound from Verizon I will be going back to Millenicom.

Jim2 · 07-03-2016, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stillwater

..... Millenicoms new plans are much better than Verizon and on par with T Mobile....

not better if you're in one of the many areas where T mobile still has no 4G LTE coverage. its easy to hate Verizon, but no denying they have the best LTE coverage, especially in the western US. If your RV travels take you from one remote area of the west to another, having a cell/data plan that mostly covers cities and interstates is not very useful at any price.

Stillwater · 07-03-2016, 09:14 AM

If you note I said their "plans" are much better, not coverage. I would like to know more about T Mobiles coverage. They have improved but how much difference is there between them and Verizon now. We do like the coverage we have enjoyed with Verizon but right now they have changed the plan we are on significantly and it won't work for us.

smiller · 07-03-2016, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stillwater

If you note I said their "plans" are much better, not coverage. I would like to know more about T Mobiles coverage. They have improved but how much difference is there between them and Verizon now. We do like the coverage we have enjoyed with Verizon but right now they have changed the plan we are on significantly and it won't work for us.

The answer to your question regarding T-Mobile's coverage is a vary large 'it depends.' As noted earlier T-Mobile has been building out like crazy over the last few years, including their new 700 MHz spectrum which improves in-building and rural coverage. But as always the quality of any carrier's coverage will depend on where you are, in many markets T-Mobile is quite competitive or even superior to Verizon but there still are some rural areas where Verizon and AT&T come out on top. One thing that is for sure, T-Mobile has vastly superior terms of service, i.e free uncapped/unthrottled roaming in Canada/Mexico, no overage charges, data rollover for up to a year. free video and audio streaming (that's a biggie on the road), even free worldwide coverage as reduced speeds, etc. You will hear the old saw 'if there isn't coverage where I need it then it's no bargain' but there is also the other side of the coin... if there is coverage where you need it then Verizon alternatives are usually a much better deal. I recently traveled across the west and up through Canada/Alaska comparing two phones, one on T-Mobile and one on Verizon and for the most part performance was generally similar, plus I enjoyed the free coverage in Canada and excellent service in Alaska (T-Mobile has a reciprocal agreement with GCI and coverage was seamless.) That said, when we dropped down through Montana and the Dakotas Verizon coverage was superior (about the only region where there was a marked difference), they did have coverage where T-Mobile didn't and that is not uncommon throughout the intermountain region (well, T-Mobile does have coverage in those areas under a roaming agreement with AT&T and there is a data cap.) Bottom line, I'm not sure T-Mobile will ever have quite the same 'middle of nowhere' coverage as Verizon as that isn't even their goal so if extreme rural coverage is critical to you then you will just have to pay up for Verizon or AT&T. Having the two phones actually worked pretty well for us, we used T-Mo most of the time (data rates are much less expensive) and still had the Verizon phone for the once-in-a-while times when we needed it.

If Millenicom is moving to T-Mo then I'll guess we'll hear soon enough how well it works for people. Given that T-Mo's rates are already pretty good I'm not sure how much value an MVNO can really add, but I guess we'll see.

powderman · 07-03-2016, 02:45 PM

[QUOTE=smiller;3143823] I enjoyed the free coverage in Canada and excellent service in Alaska (T-Mobile has a reciprocal agreement with GCI and coverage was seamless.) /QUOTE]

A friend has T mobile and when he got into Canada, he lost his data . then about 6 hours later he heard a chime and his data was on. Is it normal for such a time lag? Other than that he said the service worked well.

smiller · 07-03-2016, 02:57 PM

Don't know what caused the time lag, when I cross the border I get an automated 'Welcome to Canada, you have free roaming' SMS message from T-Mo and it just starts working. One possibility is that sometimes a phone will see the the 'wrong' carrier first (as an example, Bell Canada where the US carrier has its roaming agreement with Telus) and lock on. In this case you simply need to manually select the preferred carrier from your phone's menu and you will be good to go from that point. This is not an uncommon occurrence with any cell phone the first time you register when roaming in a foreign country.

MtnTrek · 07-03-2016, 04:06 PM

Great explanation smiller.
Our experience would mimic that of smiller having traveled with ATT, T-Mob, and Ver. plus experimenting with OnStar (ATT) also.

Happy motoring

smiller · 07-03-2016, 07:35 PM

From the web link provided in the OP it is clear that Millenicom is now using T-Mobile and it is interesting, I've never seen an MVNO offer full native T-Mobile benefits (Binge On free video streaming, data rollover, free international roaming, etc.) What's also curious is that Millenicom's data-only pricing is exactly the same as a postpaid T-Mobile Simple Choice data-only plan. Given that the Simple Choice plan is also no contract I wonder what added value Millenicom provides for a hotspot plan, meaning why not just go directly to T-Mobile? Millenicom does provide a decent discount from T-Mobile rates for their smartphone plans however so if you want both voice and data service it does seem like the only way to get a discount with full native T-Mo benefits. In that way Millenicom is a much better deal than even MetroPCS (T-Mobile's discount MVNO.)

Smitty77 · 07-04-2016, 08:10 AM

We have ATT iPhone 5S with Unlimited Data, but no HotSPot. My DW's phone, and a family plan for her, daughter and MIL.

I went with Verizon, running a Samsung S6, also Grandfathered Unlimited Data, and have the HotSpot. This is our primary source of data feed while traveling.

The DW's phone still provides us with service in locations not covered by Verizon, but from when we started this 10 + years ago, the areas where one carrier has coverage and the other does not, has dropped by I'd estimate 60% +. Usually travel West of the Mississippi, with a great deal of time in the Dakotas on over to the North West.

We're traveling to Canada thru starting mid July, mostly Canadian Rockies and down over to West British Columbia. I'm also a former Millenicom Verizon customer, and when I found out they're back with T-Mobile, I researched more. Found out that T-Mobile has an agreement with all Canadian carriers, so you can get the best coverage possible, as you're not locked into a specific Canadian Carriers towers. I went ahead and signed up for the Data only plan, went with 22GB for now, and we'll use this while in Canada. But with Pandora, and Binge On type data not being counted, suspect we'll not need this much. Have a VPN access back to the States, slows things down some, but at least will not be blocked as much.

Millenicom always provided us with good service in the past, and the start up has been this way for us. (Went with a ZTE Z917 HotSpot.)

I see this as just another tool in the tool box in regards to cellular data. Millenincom being no contract, will allow me to use this when needed, starting and stopping monthly as required.

Best to all,
Smitty

Beau388 · 07-04-2016, 08:34 AM

If you use the cell phone as only a phone, then Verizons seniors plan is hard to beat.

smiller · 07-04-2016, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beau388

If you use the cell phone as only a phone, then Verizons seniors plan is hard to beat.

Does anyone still use a cell phone as only a phone?

Anyway, Millenicom (the main subject of the thread) is generally known as a solution for those who are looking for a cost-efficient data/hotspot plan. And dedicated 2G/3G UMTS 'voice' service in general is slowing going away, replaced by VoIP and VoLTE. I haven't had traditional voice service in quite a while, I use a data-only plan and Google Voice for phone calls on my smartphone, as easy to use as the native phone app and much better features and audio quality. Within the next several years the distinction between 'voice' and 'data' will pretty much disappear entirely in terms of what is actually happening on the network.