Which cell phone provider to go with in the United States?

Artashes

Artashes

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Staff member
Guys, I need your advice on this.

I will be travelling to Florida in February and will stay there for about a month. I need a cell phone with data plan with all the usual bells and whistles, but I don't need or want a contract, or a handset (if possible). I will need it quickly upon arrival and I want to avoid going to all the stores, asking a million of all the same questions.

Are there any solutions in the United States for people who travel to the country for 1-3 months who'd like to get on any of the networks with an unlocked phone in their hands?

I have found Consumer Cellular (http://www.consumercellular.com/) to be one of the options.

If you are aware of any of the contract-free/prepaid options, I'd highly appreciate some information with a link to pricing and sign-up info.

Muchas gracias, muchachos! <-- that's me preparing for Florida.
 
Have a great trip to Florida - and you're right. There are some places there where it's really beneficial to know some Spanish. Sorry, no phone recommendations.
 
I am not worried about dropped calls. I am looking for a specific solution if you re-read my original post. It looks like Sprint doesn't offer it.
 
Have fun while you're here, February is a great time to be in Florida (not too hot or humid out). :D

As for your question.. I'm not really sure since I've always had a plan (Sprint atm). :( However, I think http://www.metropcs.com/ has pre-paid plans without contracts but I don't know if you can use your own phone, though.
 
Much appreciated, Juan, I will look into MetroPCS and their pre-paid plans.

I remember AT&T had some pre-paid or pay-per-use (pay as you go) kind of plans, but not sure if those lock you into anything... When I travelled in Europe it was so easy - just walk into any store, buy a SIM card and off you go. Can't believe there is nothing similar in the United States. At least not something that's so easy to find.
 
Yeah, Europe really has it nailed down pretty good in that market of things. You can land at an airport (or go to a train station) and pick up a phone very easily.

I used to use a service that allowed me to buy the phone and only pay when I used the minutes.. I'll need to find my information on that.

Meanwhile, check out t-mobile. They offer no contract SIM inserts and pay as you go services - http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans
 
Mobal is who we used.. very handy when jumping from country to country.

The other place I just saw was "onesimcard.com" but at $0.45 per call it's not exactly cheap, and of course, no data setup.

I have used a few throwaway phones with Virgin.. $35/month unlimited (includes data).

Also, don't forget your Skype or Google Voice options - if you have access to a wifi network, these could be good candidates too!
 
Conor, thank you so much for the leads.

I think what you might refer to (pay per use) is AT&T's-like "Prepaid GoPhone® Plans" program when you pay either $2 per day when your phone is used or just $0.10/minute. Something I found on their site. Something I am definitely considering. I like AT&T the most for now because I believe they are a GSM-based network, so some of the unlocked phones I have will work with their SIM card. They also appear to be most flexible in terms of adding a data plan and an international calling plan on top of it - 250 minutes back to Canada for just $10 - not a bad deal. Here in Canada if we travel to the U.S. I'd pay $25 for 40 minutes of airtime if I want to call back home.

Thanks for the T-Mobile lead - definitely looking into it, quite similar to the AT&T in their offerings and a well-known brand for sure. Is T-Mobile CDMA or GSM? I'd prefer to use my own device and really don't want to buy an additional one.

Bookmarked onesimcard.com. All I needed in France and Italy was just data (no minutes) and I remember getting a SIM card for just $15-20 Euros that lasted me for the whole week of active Internet use. Brilliant. I want the same here in North America!

At home and over WiFi it is definitely all Skype. ))


EDIT: Really starting to like T-Mobile. Straightforward, generous plans (relatively) and seems like they are GSM-based! Yay, thank God for options!
 
Artashes said:
Conor, thank you so much for the leads.

I think what you might refer to (pay per use) is AT&T's-like "Prepaid GoPhone® Plans" program when you pay either $2 per day when your phone is used or just $0.10/minute. Something I found on their site. Something I am definitely considering. I like AT&T the most for now because I believe they are a GSM-based network, so some of the unlocked phones I have will work with their SIM card. They also appear to be most flexible in terms of adding a data plan and an international calling plan on top of it - 250 minutes back to Canada for just $10 - not a bad deal. Here in Canada if we travel to the U.S. I'd pay $25 for 40 minutes of airtime if I want to call back home.

Thanks for the T-Mobile lead - definitely looking into it, quite similar to the AT&T in their offerings and a well-known brand for sure. Is T-Mobile CDMA or GSM? I'd prefer to use my own device and really don't want to buy an additional one.

Bookmarked onesimcard.com. All I needed in France and Italy was just data (no minutes) and I remember getting a SIM card for just $15-20 Euros that lasted me for the whole week of active Internet use. Brilliant. I want the same here in North America!

At home and over WiFi it is definitely all Skype. ))


EDIT: Really starting to like T-Mobile. Straightforward, generous plans (relatively) and seems like they are GSM-based! Yay, thank God for options!
Click to expand...

I'm assuming you're taking your Nexus which is already an unlocked phone and compatible on a GSM based network? If so, I'd recommend you contacting your current carrier and see what options they have for you. Especially if you're going to be paying both bills for the month it might be an option just to double your carrier bill for the month that you're down there with a ton of roaming add-ons.

I do know that most carriers have an international text message bundle that goes for 20 dollars and will be only added to your account for a month duration. Data, you can add a 10 dollar bundle which will bring your rate down from 3 dollars per MB to 1 Dollar per MB. In regards to talk you may want to discuss this with your carrier.

I found it to be a total pain when trying to find a provider in the U.S. that was willing to activate the thing for only the month and allow me to cancel without penalties.

Best of luck, and I know you'll enjoy Florida!
 
Sorry! Hate to do this but I just found an awesome plan which is actually through Virgin Mobile. I'm actually working Part-Time at BestBuy Mobile in Canada here and know a ton about the Canadian carriers but when it comes to the U.S. I have no idea... After taking a peak at our benefits I see that VirginMobile offers some wonderful pre-paid options and you can pay with "Cash, Credit, Debit, and PayPal".

Check this out:
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phone-plans/paylo-plans.jsp#

Hope that's more of something you're looking for.. and for the price you can't go wrong.
 
TannerG said:
I'm assuming you're taking your Nexus which is already an unlocked phone and compatible on a GSM based network? If so, I'd recommend you contacting your current carrier and see what options they have for you. Especially if you're going to be paying both bills for the month it might be an option just to double your carrier bill for the month that you're down there with a ton of roaming add-ons.
Click to expand...

Correct, Nexus Galaxy it is, although I haven't checked yet if it is truly unlocked. Bell told me on numerous occasions it was locked and that I need to pay $75 to unlock it, but as I read online, people said it is basically not true cause it is an authentic Google phone and they force it to keep unlocked for developers.

I will check actually later on today on a completely different network (Rogers) and report back here.

As for roaming plans, this is the last thing I want to do as I plan on using the phone relatively actively (both minutes and data) and Canadian mobile fees being among the most expensive in the world, it'll cost me an arm and a leg. Especially if in future I stay in Florida for 2-3 months at a time during the winter. I have no problem with paying two bills (actually it will be 3 during that time since I also carry a Blackberry), since just paying for an American-based tel line will be definitely cheaper than roaming on Canadian handset.

TannerG said:
Sorry! Hate to do this but I just found an awesome plan which is actually through Virgin Mobile. I'm actually working Part-Time at BestBuy Mobile in Canada here and know a ton about the Canadian carriers but when it comes to the U.S. I have no idea... After taking a peak at our benefits I see that VirginMobile offers some wonderful pre-paid options and you can pay with "Cash, Credit, Debit, and PayPal".

Check this out:
http://www.virginmobileusa.com/cell-phone-plans/paylo-plans.jsp#
Click to expand...

I haven't even thought of checking Virgin USA! Thank you, I will investigate into their prepaid plans.


Thanks guys for being so helpful.
 
I highly recommend Verizon (live in a small town in Florida) and I get signal all over Florida when I travel, even in the middle of the woods.
If I remember correctly, Verizon does have pre-paid plans but I don't know how well their phones are for those plans.

If you are looking at MetroPCS, unless they have improved their towers in the last 6 months, only the cities and towns have signal. (Most of the highways do not have signal)


As for the no contract, I haven't really looked for many that don't require a contract.

I will let you know that if you are planning on being around the Jacksonville area, Sprint has been having problems with text messages (if you are a texting person).
 
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Leslie, thanks for your input. Being connected on a highway is certainly important if you travel around. :)

I took a look at Verizon, seems like the deals are similar to the ones offered by T-Mobile and Virgin.
 
Artashes said:
Correct, Nexus Galaxy it is, although I haven't checked yet if it is truly unlocked. Bell told me on numerous occasions it was locked and that I need to pay $75 to unlock it, but as I read online, people said it is basically not true cause it is an authentic Google phone and they force it to keep unlocked for developers.

I will check actually later on today on a completely different network (Rogers) and report back here.
Click to expand...

Forgot to check in back on my little test. I removed the Bell SIM-card from my Galaxy Nexus, inserted Rogers SIM-card, turned the phone on and ta-da! Worked like a charm. Network read Rogers name on it, data worked as well. This, folks, is an unlocked (by default) device. Kisses go to Google and shameful looks to Bell for trying to falsely squeeze 75 bucks to unlock an unlocked phone.
 
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