Verizon wireless - Re: Unlimited voice AND data for only $99 come to a GSM network starting 2/21/08

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Re: Unlimited voice AND data for only $99 come to a GSM network starting 2/21/08

Todd Allcock

2008-02-26, 10:33 pm

At 26 Feb 2008 10:39:05 -0800 SMS wrote:

> If you compare the plan minutes at different price points, using one of
> the comparison engines for wireless, the prices for peak minutes of
> voice are very comparable at AT&T, Sprint, & Verizon.

Here we go again... That's a loaded comparison, since Sprint's nights
start 2 hours earlier, and AT&T's minutes rollover, both of which give more
effective minutes than the comparable number from Verizon, but of course,
that's Verizon's intent- to make us believe they offer and equal number of
minutes for the dollar.

> T-Mobile gives you a lot more peak minutes for the price.
> See "http://www.myrateplan.com/wireless_plans/". With Sprint you can
> get SERO rates which don't show up of course in the plan comparisons.

To be fair to other carriers, however, T-Mo doesn't include M2M in their
non-family plans. (Arguably, since they're the smallest carrier of the four,
more peak minutes is better than free M2M as your friends and family
members are less likely to also be T-Mo subscribers!)

> For unlimited, T-Mobile is cheaper because it includes text messaging,
> though the savvy consumer that wanted unlimited would port their
> number to PagePlus and get unlimited on the Verizon network for
> significantly less, around $75, versus what will be about $115 after
> taxes and fees on Verizon or AT&T or T-Mobile.

True, unless they want data. An unlimted tal, text and data plan on T-Mo
would be $106. ($120 on PDAs/Blackberries.)

> For data, Verizon is comparable to AT&T, even though they have a
> much larger 3G network.

PDA data on Verizon is $40, vs. $30 on AT&T.

> Sprint is cheaper, if they cover the places you expect to need 3G.

You're assuming a separate data account with a PC card, rather than a
tetherable-data add-on.

Elmo P. Shagnasty

2008-02-27, 10:33 pm

In article < 47c5f924$0$36346$742
ec2ed@news.sonic.net>,
SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

> AT&T's rollover does not give you more effective minutes. It's the same
> average number of minutes each month. If you purchase a plan too large
> for you then you end up racking up massive numbers of rollover minutes,

A couple of years ago I bought the lowest plan I could from
Cingular--450 minute family plan, offered only to corporate discount
partners. After discount and taxes, it came in right at about $47/month
for the two of us.

I gave that up at the end of December, at the end of my two years. I
had 3000 or so rollover minutes.

And of course, by the time my two years was up, they didn't have
anything under a 700 minute plan for more money--just like Verizon and
Sprint.

I could have stayed on that plan, but the 3000 rollover minutes showed
me that I had no need to pay $50/month ongoing.

So it wasn't that I bought a plan too large for me--it was the lowest
plan offered. I should have been on prepaid from the beginning...

M.L.

2008-02-28, 10:33 pm

>> AT&T's rollover does not give you more effective minutes. It's the
>
> A couple of years ago I bought the lowest plan I could from
> Cingular--450 minute family plan, offered only to corporate discount
> partners. After discount and taxes, it came in right at about
> $47/month for the two of us.
>
> I gave that up at the end of December, at the end of my two years. I
> had 3000 or so rollover minutes.
>
> And of course, by the time my two years was up, they didn't have
> anything under a 700 minute plan for more money--just like Verizon and
> Sprint.
>
> I could have stayed on that plan, but the 3000 rollover minutes showed
> me that I had no need to pay $50/month ongoing.
>
> So it wasn't that I bought a plan too large for me--it was the lowest
> plan offered. I should have been on prepaid from the beginning...

Your experience mirrors mine very closely. I'm on the T-mobile prepaid
gold now.

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