I pay too much for my wireless service. I know....hard to believe, right? I honestly paid more for wireless the past few years than for my last car! That is ridiculous!
Well, no more!
I have taken control of this bill and kicked Verizon to the curb! I'm not longer afraid that only the fullest coverage will do! No more fear! I'm not going to take it any more!!!!!
What!?!?!
Okay, that was a bit dramatic. I think we are all paying too much for what is basically a utility. Its just voice and Internet for goodness sake! The magic of mobile is now common place. Its 2015 and there are now real options!
In the mid-2000s you had to rely on the Big Four. Not today. Everybody has been expanding networks. Competition has gotten fierce. And growth has stagnated for the providers. It seems everyone has a smartphone because pretty much everyone does.
Let's take advantage of that!
Location! Location! Location!
Those are the three most important things about wireless. If the network is not available where you are commonly, there is no point.
We had been faithful customers of Verizon Wireless for at least a decade. We only had a handful of issues over the years. We were happy with the service. We had added our kids. The bill quickly became as big as a new car payment....just for talk and Internet service. Something had to change!
I spent a lot of time analyzing the wireless providers. There are basically four: Verizon (Big Red), AT&T (Death Star), T-Mobile (the Uncarrier), and Sprint (works only near NASCAR tracks.) In Stark county a lot of friends complain about coverage with Sprint and T-Mobile. That's shame because I really like the Uncarrier's philosophy. We spend a lot of time in Stark and the area south so we need coverage there. That left only Verizon and AT&T as viable (expensive) options.
Consumer Reports recommends checking out an MVNO. These are companies that lease excess bandwidth from the four primary providers. Some examples are Virgin Mobile, Consumers Cellular, and Straight Talk. Unfortunately, nearly all of these lease from T-Mobile or Sprint.
That's where Cricket Wiresless is different.
Cricket was recently purchased by AT&T. They have since converted all new service to AT&T towers. Their prices are also much better than Verizon and AT&T with few limitations.
Local Coverage
After two weeks I have determined that coverage has been excellent where its important.
My coverage has been excellent around Akron, Canton, and Massillon. In fact some of the known Verizon dead spots are not AT&T dead spots. Coverage in Massillon is MUCH better on Cricket. Cricket also has good coverage in Dover and New Philadelphia in Tuscarawas county.
Around Atwood Lake and Mineral City, I do lose coverage. I'm not sure how those locations fare on the Verizon network..
Data
Cricket Wireless uses 4G LTE. That is currently the fastest technology on the consumer market. There is a catch though. It is throttled to 8 mb/s. In my experience that is plenty fast. Its fast enough to watch an HD video.
I could get much faster in some locations with Verizon. At my house, my Cricket speed is double Verizon's.
Phones
Cricket offers several phones. We opted for the cheapest. They offered a $1 Nokia Lumia 635 if you transfer an existing number. The Nokia is a good phone and gets the job done. It uses Windows Phone 8.1 which is a good operating system, but the available apps pale in comparison to the Apple or Android version. This particular model does not have a good camera.
Cricket also offers several Android and Apple phones at various price points including the latest iPhones and Samsung Galaxy S models.
I have read that you may use any AT&T or Go Phone without issue. All you would need to purchase is a new SIM card. Generally, Sprint and Verizon phones only work with their respective networks. Note: Some global models of the other providers may work if you get the provider to unlock it.
You will pay an additional one-time $25 activation fee per line. Two years ago we paid Verizon a $30 or $35 activation fee per line.
Most wireless provides can now "port" your existing wireless number to your new service. Cricket was able to port ours in a few hours.
Most wireless provides can now "port" your existing wireless number to your new service. Cricket was able to port ours in a few hours.
Cost
Cost was the primary driver for our switch from Verizon. I cut my bill by nearly 60%! I also increase my minutes to unlimited. I also added an extra half GB per line. And the kicker: I added a fifth line!
Five lines: $100! That's it. Out the door. No extra taxes. No extra fees. No surprise charges. Each line gets 2.5 GB of data. When you hit the max, it slows to 2G speeds which is about double a dial-up connection.
Customer Service
I left the Cricket store with my new phones and a surprisingly low first month of service paid. The next day I checked my account using the My Cricket app on the phone and they had my next payment listed way higher than I expected. Using the chat feature, I worked with a rep named Saul. He quickly explained that we were signed up for the next tier plan (5 GB per line). He corrected it without any issues. It took about a half hour, but everything was squared away without issue.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Much lower cost!!!!!
- Similar coverage to Verizon.
- You must purchase your own unlocked GSM phone.
- No contract!
- Essentially unlimited data if you can tolerate 2G speeds
- No new phone number
- You must purchase an unlocked GSM phone, AT&T phone, or Cricket phone.
- Verizon does have better nationwide coverage, but AT&T is a close second.
- 4G LTE data speed is limited to 8 mb/s down.
- Your phone cannot be a Wi-Fi hot spot.
Conclusion - CHOOSE FREEDOM!
For two weeks we have been very happy with the service. After this experience, its amazing so many people still sign up for post paid contracts from the Big Four providers.
If you are contemplating switching providers, consider the following:
- Determine where you will need coverage most often
- Using the four primary providers coverage maps, determine the best for your needs. Keep in mind that there are different coverage maps for voice and data coverage. You may not need data coverage in all locations where you would need voice coverage.
- Find the MNVOs on the best provider network for you.
- Compare limitations of the MNVOs
- Is data speed throttled? Can you tolerate this slower speed?
- Is data capped at a reasonable limit? Any overage charge?
- Do you need to use your phone as a Wi-Fi hot spot?
- Does it offer an appropriate number of minutes? (Unlimited is very common now.)
- Check if the MVNO can use your existing phone or if they offer a phone that you desire.
- If you are switching providers, call your current provider:
- Check that you are not on a contract.
- Ask to have the phone unlocked (worth more if you sell it unlocked.)
- Switch and stop sending cash to someone else!!!!
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