Need cheaper cell phone service

[jacks647]

Getting close to retirement and need to find a cheaper cell phone service that will work well all over the US. We need unlimited local and long distance service. Any suggestions? and how much?

[SarahW]

I'd say simply call Verizon and ask about the different plans. I think we pay about $150 a month for two iPhones, unlimited talk, text and 3 GB of data.

[Triker56]

Do you want email, Internet, apps on it also?

[myshaggydog]

My wife uses Straight talk for around 46.00 a month. You can get through Walmarts and they will auto charge your checking account. She made sure the phone she got was thru the Verizon system. It includes unlimited talk, text and data (but limited to 2 gigs and will slow down after that , not sure why they advertise unlimited data?). No contract. I use a tracfone with triple minutes so for $179 a year, I get 3,000 minutes/units.

We fulltime and will be looking into millecon for the Internet that gets you 20 gigs a month for around $90 and it is on the Verizon system.

Hope that helps and I am sure someone else will fill you in on other plans they are using. Best of luck on your search.

[missourijan]

We just switched last year after many years with AT&T. We wanted to upgrade our "flip phones" to smart phones with the mobile hotspot. We bought LG phones at Best Buy and signed up for T Mobile no contract plans. We have unlimited talk, text and 3gb of data for each phone, $60 per phone, which is plenty for us. We've had them from CA all the way to IN with good coverage.

[nothermark]

Check out TING - Sprint reseller with some nice options for payment but you have to buy the phone outright. www.ting.com

[450Donn]

Most of the resellers you will find have limited to no coverage once you get away from metropolitan areas or off the interstate highway system. If you want coverage in those areas go for any of the resellers. If you spend more time off the beaten path Verizon is your best option by far.

[jollyjim]

We have travel all over the US and up to Alaska. We get Verizon Service almost everywhere. All cell phone companies rip you off, but at least with Verizon you can keep up with your family It may cost a little more but it's worth it.

[EDALLSAILS]

We bought 2 phones from Wal-Mart. Straight-Talk that use the Verizon towers. Had Verizon and now paying 46 bucks a month for each with unlimited calling, e-mail and web. with Verizon we were paying over 150 per month and NO Web, No email. We've traveled from Fl to Texas and had service all the way without any problems. Straight talk is Trac-Phone owned. Apparently they have contracts with Verizon and or sprint. The sprint service didn't work for us in SW Florida. Wal-Mart swappwed the phones for ones that had Verizon service and we've been satisfied so far. safe travels..... ed

[n5pht]

I question the Verizon on Straight Talk? I have been told you can indeed get a straight talk with Verizon but it is a 2nd tier (prob not the correct description) meaning that "regular" Verizon customers come first.

Can anyone verify or refute that for sure? I have no references and don't remember where I read the above. I am also interested in Straight Talk. We have Verizon now and have unlimited talk/text with 2 smart phones and 6 gigs data and a wifi device - all together about $193 a month.

[opbart1]

ATT offers 2 lines with unlimited voice, text and 10g of data for $130 mth. Can use hot spot on the smart phone.

[wa8yxm]

It depends on what you want.. IF you want the lowest cost VOICE ONLY, contact AARP and they have a very attractive plan, I DO NOT, however know who the carrier is.

There are many companies, but only a few carriers

Verizon has the best coverage, Though for VOICE others are catching up fast.

T-Mobile has one of the better data plans but rather poor coverage

AT&T I cant tell you much about

Sprint/Nextel has the worst coverage, both Data and Voice, so much so that "Nextel" (The company that first had the Push to Talk option) used to be known as "No-Tel" by it's users, the way business was lost.

I am fairly happy with my T-mobile plan but it is 100/month. (Unlimited everything, though only 6.5 Gig of high speed data, then it slows down, which is way better than Verizon, which socks it to you with overage charges).

[mrnoyb]

Drop any land line service you may have to begin saving money. If married, plan on two cell phones. Use your current phones & obtain the most basic service available. No need for any data. Verizon prepaid wireless can be obtained for as little as $15 per mo including voice mail, caller ID, call forwarding, etc. Each call costs $.25 per minute local or long distance. Let callers leave messages and return calls or make lengthy calls using a free service like google voice. It's possible to reduce your expense to $30 a month for two cell phones.

[EDALLSAILS]

Many companies purchase wireless access for their phone plans. Trac-phone being one of the largest. As I said before they have contracts with both Sprint and Verizon. For our needs we get more bang or phone for the buck with Straight Talk. At home our service actually improved, we don't know why. We complained to Verizon about service to no avail. I called several companies and asked about levels of service. Both Verizon and sprint said they provide one level of service.. (sounds like bull to me). The bottom line is some companies have better service than others. some companies have better coverage than others. We have traveled for about 10 years from FL across the US, Canada and even Alaska. Verizon provided good service and we didn't have signals drop out. But, at what price? Twice the amount that is Now available. Before switching plans we spoke to many people and found after careful research than the Wal-Mart Straight-talk offered us the best value. One must select a plan that fits their needs and price. Safe travels.... ed