AT-T wireless service - Re: PagePlus, the Prepaid Service Few People Know About even though

Author

Re: PagePlus, the Prepaid Service Few People Know About even though

SMS

2007-09-23, 10:33 pm

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> In article < 46f6f23c$0$27170$742
ec2ed@news.sonic.net>,
> SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:
>
>
> OK, so do you want to point to actual documentation, say on their web
> site, where they say any of this?

http://www.telecomservices.net/cgi-....tam?tcon=21130

You'll get no argument from me that their web site is very weak and
uninformative, and that it's strange that you have to buy activation
kits from eBay if you have no resellers in your area.

It may be that Pageplus doesn't seem to want to compete with their
resellers, so their web site is very limited, I don't know.

The frequently asked questions are whether unused minutes roll over, and
how long cards last:

-Minutes do roll over as long as you re-up prior to, or at 120 days
-All cards extend the account for 120 days

I once had time expire and called them and they put back everything
(about $50). They didn't have to do this, it was my fault, but they were
pretty nice about it.

Their home coverage area is the same as Verizon's native coverage, and
in some cases includes Verizon extended coverage. You know if you're
roaming because you have to enter the phone numbers twice.

The big advantage of PagePlus, besides the low rates, is that you get
coverage that is unavailable with most other MVNOs, most of which are
GSM on AT&T, or CDMA on Sprint. In the west anyway, Verizon coverage is
far, far better than Sprint or any of the GSM carriers. Check Consumer
Reports for coverage surveys for your area.

The biggest annoyance of PagePlus, IMVAIO, is that the only way to know
when your 120 days are coming up is to call them. I keep track of it on
a calendar, but it's kind of a pain to not be able to check this on-line
or from the phone via an automated system.

They just seem to be a very low budget operation, not really set up to
sell direct to the end user, preferring to use resellers even at the
expense of having to pay commissions. And no, I'm not a reseller, just a
customer with two accounts.

They've been around since at least 2002, longer than most MVNOs. Some
big name MVNOs have come and gone during that five years, leaving their
customers stranded, i.e. Amp'd Mobile and ESPN Mobile.

SMS

2007-09-23, 10:33 pm

Dennis Ferguson wrote:
> On 2007-09-24, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:
>
> How do you know how many minutes you get from this seller's cards?
>
> The reason I'm asking is that right now on eBay there's a seller
> who advertises his $50 cards as getting you only 425 minutes, here
>
> http://tinyurl.com/3ycav5
>
> which seems to suggest that not all $50 cards are necessarily equal.
>
> This seems more than a little bit screwed up.

I don't know why he's charging that much, but I think that used to be
the number of minutes for $50 cards last year.

It's complicated because you pay in dollars, but are credited in minutes.

The proper prices are the following:

An $80 card is good for 1400 minutes worth 12¢ each or "$168"
A $50 card is good for 700 minutes worth 12¢ each or "$84"
A $25 card is good for 300 minutes worth 12¢ each or "$36"
A $10 card is good for 83 minutes worth 12¢ each or "$10"

Some sellers discount the card's retail price slightly.

I don't know why telecomservices.net doesn't list the minutes you get.

SMS

2007-09-24, 10:33 am

Elmo P. Shagnasty wrote:
> In article < 46f71359$0$27197$742
ec2ed@news.sonic.net>,
> SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:
>
>
> That's not PagePlus's web site, that's on a reseller's web site.
>
> No phones, no documentation about the rollover thing, nada. Just
> minutes for sale.
>
> BTW, this particular reseller has a funny on this page: "Your IP
> Address and Physical Address have been recorded." hehehehehehe Yeah,
> my physical address. Ummmmm...guess what. Not mine. And a cellular
> reseller of all people should understand that concept...
>
>
>
>
> What happens when Verizon dumps analog?

Very little. First of all, most of the AMPS that isn't coincident with
CDMA is in rural areas where Verizon is not the carrier, and where AMPS
will not be turned off. Second, CDMA coverage, even without AMPS is
still much better than GSM coverage.

I will miss coverage in some places that will lose coverage if AMPS is
turned off even in areas where there is no digital coverage. These
include areas of the San Mateo Coast and the Santa Cruz mountains. But
many of the areas with no CDMA or GSM coverage are covered by rural
carriers that have no incentive to turn off AMPS.

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