# Best Cell Phone Carrier Month to Month? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 21, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505 "2013-03-21T00:28:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pauly1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a8b319/32.png) [@pauly1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pauly1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/1 "2013-03-21T00:28:53Z")
Is it virgin mobile in terms of cost? Mine is 38/month with 300 minutes and unlimited text and internet. Is it true t mobile has an unlimited everything plan for 50 per month? ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/2 "2013-03-21T03:13:24Z")
IMO Virgin Mobile is by far the best month-to-month provider. I believe T-Mobile has a bandwidth cap. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/3 "2013-03-21T03:35:07Z")
Let’s move this to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/4 "2013-03-21T04:30:30Z")
“Straight Talk” is a Wal-Mart product. It’s $45 for 30 days of unlimited talk, text, and data. It uses the AT&T network so make sure you have a phone that will work. You can order a SIM card off of the Wal-Mart website for like $15 and have it set up and your number ported within a couple hours of when you receive your card. It is a month to month non-contract plan. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/5 "2013-03-21T05:01:15Z")
First you have to find out what underlying carriers have the best coverage in the specific area you want to use it. It does absolutely no good to find out about a plan for a carrier which has lousy or no reception in the local area you live, work and shop in. The second question is exactly how much data, messages, minutes you use in a month. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/6 "2013-03-21T05:05:31Z")
> [@pauly1](#): > > Is it virgin mobile in terms of cost? Mine is 38/month with 300 minutes and unlimited text and internet. > Is it true t mobile has an unlimited everything plan for 50 per month? No. They have an unlimited everything plan for $45 per month! (or even $35, if you don’t mind slow speeds) To quote myself from another thread, so I don’t have to type it again: > [@Ditching my cell phone - options?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ditching-my-cell-phone-options/650940/12): > > For those who want an unlimited plan, they’re (Tmobile) calling their newly branded plans [GoSmart Mobile.](https://www.gosmartmobile.com/compare-prepaid-cell-phone-plans) > -$30 Unlimited Talk/Text (no web) > -$35 Unlimited Talk/Text/Web (Slow, “2g” Web) > -$45 Unlimited Talk/Text/Web (unlimited 4g/HSPA/LTE HIGH-speed web for the first 5gb a month, then unlimited Slow, 2g web if you go over) ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/7 "2013-03-21T05:27:35Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > IMO Virgin Mobile is by far the best month-to-month provider. I believe T-Mobile has a bandwidth cap. Tmobile prepaid, like most other prepaid (and even contract) services, has monthly usage caps, after which they throttle the bandwidth. Most Tmobile plans place that usage cap at a very ample 5GB, during which you can get blazing fast data 4G/HSPA speeds, IME. If you somehow exceed that ample amount, they never charge you more, they just slow you down. Without checking, I’m almost positive that VM has an even lower data usage limit (I’m thinking it’s 2GB… they’re not as upfront about it as Tmobile) before they start throttling your bandwidth, and their typical unthrottled speeds are nowhere near what Tmobile is typically capable of. And from the last time I checked, there’s also the issue with the limited phone choices which are usually one generation behind the curve. And since they’re just reselling a Sprint signal, and I have had bad experiences with \*actual \*branded Sprint service in the past, I wouldn’t personally ever even consider VM. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/8 "2013-03-21T05:36:27Z")
Ok, looked it up. VM’s data throttling takes place after 2.5GB/month. So, contrary to what you seem to think, Tmobile is twice as good as VM, in just that one aspect. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/9 "2013-03-21T06:43:51Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > No. They have an unlimited everything plan for $45 per month! (or even $35, if you don’t mind slow speeds) > > To quote myself from another thread, so I don’t have to type it again: That $35 plan looks very attractive to me… you gave me such good advice when I was phone shopping before, so do you know: will the LG Optimus T work with the GoSmart plans? I’m currently using the $30 unlimited data/text + 100 minutes T-mobile plan. But I’d be very interested in trading down bandwidth speed for unlimited minutes. Will GPS work well over 2g? My phone’s only capable of 3g speeds anyway, and I don’t do significant browsing on it. Mostly just GPS, text, and talking. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/10 "2013-03-21T13:30:11Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > That $35 plan looks very attractive to me… you gave me such good advice when I was phone shopping before, so do you know: will the LG Optimus T work with the GoSmart plans? I’m currently using the $30 unlimited data/text + 100 minutes T-mobile plan. But I’d be very interested in trading down bandwidth speed for unlimited minutes. Will GPS work well over 2g? My phone’s only capable of 3g speeds anyway, and I don’t do significant browsing on it. Mostly just GPS, text, and talking. Yeah, your phone will work fine, but I’m almost positive you’ll need a new SIM card activation kit, which I believe usually go for $8. (Sadly, not 99 cents like the older plan SIMs.) As for GPS, the actual GPS positioning signal comes from public/military satellites and doesn’t use data, but the maps that your position is superimposed on DO need data. Luckily, Google Maps and other nav programs lets you “cache” some preselected areas’ maps ahead of time by downloading them while you’re on wifi and saving them to the memory card. It’s a good idea to cache the maps for your commonly traveled areas for performance and reliability reasons, even if you have unlimited data speeds. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/11 "2013-03-21T16:39:40Z")
My partner and I have T-Mobile family plan: $45 each for unlimited text, talk and 2 gigs of data. Plus, for an extra $10 we can make unlimited international calls - important, as we call Germany a lot (and I make the occasional call to New Zealand). If you get that extra international plan, do NOT call anyone in Germany with a “handy” (German word for cell phone) as that costs extra - way extra - only call if they have a landline - that is unlimited for the price of $10. So for the two of us, $104 or so (plus tax) per month. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/12 "2013-03-21T17:12:32Z")
Metro PCS also has unlimited talk/text/data, month-to-month plans at the $40 price point. Most of my family uses it and are pretty pleased. The network continues to expand and, even if you are on roaming for talk, you can still text for free. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/13 "2013-03-21T17:29:10Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Metro PCS also has unlimited talk/text/data, month-to-month plans at the $40 price point. Most of my family uses it and are pretty pleased. The network continues to expand and, even if you are on roaming for talk, you can still text for free. The self-quoted excerpt from a previous thread that I posted up-thread was in response to a similar message from you in that older thread. Now I guess I’ll self-quote the whole post in response (again). > [@Ditching my cell phone - options?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ditching-my-cell-phone-options/650940/12): > > Be aware that Tmobile has bought-out/merged (whatever) with Metro PCS and with the much better plans/coverage/speed/phones at Tmobile, they will soon begin coaxing Metro users to switch over. > > Sometime around 2015 the last of the CDMA-based phones designed for MetroPCS will be cutoff completely. The combined networks of the two companies (in the limited areas where Metro PCS currently operates) will be used for some blazing fast LTE coverage that will knock the socks off anyone who currently uses MetroPCS’s data service. Tmobile customers with LTE capable phones in former MetroPCS markets will also see improvements with the combined spectrum and bandwidth, but since we’re already relatively spoiled with “4G”/HSPA+ it won’t always be quite as noticeable. > > But to see those eventual data speed gains, current MetroPCS users will need a GSM phone, preferably one that’s LTE capable (though they’d see some gains just by switching to Tmobiles current network), and the right plan. > > For those who want an unlimited plan, they’re calling their newly branded plans [GoSmart Mobile.](https://www.gosmartmobile.com/compare-prepaid-cell-phone-plans) > -$30 Unlimited Talk/Text (no web) > -$35 Unlimited Talk/Text/Web (Slow, “2g” Web) > -$45 Unlimited Talk/Text/Web (unlimited 4g/HSPA/LTE HIGH-speed web for the first 5gb a month, then unlimited Slow, 2g web if you go over) > > For those who don’t need unlimited everything, the regular [Tmobile monthly/no-contract](http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/monthly-4g-plans) plans still have some attractive options. > > Someone who wants a new smartphone, for a good price, that will function at optimal speeds now, and optimal speeds on the new combined “T-Metro” network, would be well advised to consider the [Google’s Nexus4.](https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=nexus_4_16gb) So, yeah, the network will “continue to expand” as Tmobile transitions it into their network. But if someone were to buy an expensive phone designed for MetroPCS today, it will be a paper-weight in a couple of years. Much better to just go with Tmobile in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/14 "2013-03-21T17:42:07Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Yeah, your phone will work fine, but I’m almost positive you’ll need a new SIM card activation kit, which I believe usually go for $8. (Sadly, not 99 cents like the older plan SIMs.) > > As for GPS, the actual GPS positioning signal comes from public/military satellites and doesn’t use data, but the maps that your position is superimposed on DO need data. Luckily, Google Maps and other nav programs lets you “cache” some preselected areas’ maps ahead of time by downloading them while you’re on wifi and saving them to the memory card. It’s a good idea to cache the maps for your commonly traveled areas for performance and reliability reasons, even if you have unlimited data speeds. Thanks! Might nab the sim kit now and change over when my current billing cycle expires. It’s only an extra $5 a month for unlimited minutes, and I really don’t care about web speed. Thanks, as always, for the phone tips! ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/15 "2013-03-22T20:52:29Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > The self-quoted excerpt from a previous thread that I posted up-thread was in response to a similar message from you in that older thread. Now I guess I’ll self-quote the whole post in response (again). > So, yeah, the network will “continue to expand” as Tmobile transitions it into their network. But if someone were to buy an expensive phone designed for MetroPCS today, it will be a paper-weight in a couple of years. Much better to just go with Tmobile in the first place. Good enough. I didn’t see your response to the previous thread (I don’t even remember posting to the previous thread!), but even given your info MetroPCS is still a cheap option. In cell phone technology 2 years equals 2 generations (or more) in advancements. A large portion of consumers replace their phone within 2years, even if not under contract. Used phones are available for pennies on the dollar. Plus, if previous mergers are any indication, 2 years is optimistic at best. I’m guessing it will be more like 4-5 years. Anyway, we give options, it’s the OP’s job to determine which fits best. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-cell-phone-carrier-month-to-month/653505/16 "2013-03-22T23:32:18Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Good enough. I didn’t see your response to the previous thread (I don’t even remember posting to the previous thread!), but even given your info MetroPCS is still a cheap option. In cell phone technology 2 years equals 2 generations (or more) in advancements. A large portion of consumers replace their phone within 2years, even if not under contract. Used phones are available for pennies on the dollar. Plus, if previous mergers are any indication, 2 years is optimistic at best. I’m guessing it will be more like 4-5 years. > > Anyway, we give options, it’s the OP’s job to determine which fits best. Yeah, I’m not saying you shouldn’t recommend MetroPCS at all, just that people considering that option should be made aware of the impending switchover to Tmobile and the currently planned obsolescence of MetroPCS phones. I think the sort of people researching, and making their buying decisions based on reading a thread like this, are much more likely to buy a phone and keep it for as many years as possible. They might be unpleasantly surprised if they went with Metro and were _forced_ to buy another phone in around two years. (It might even be sooner, I don’t know.) I bought my used phone over a year ago, and at the time it was just over a year old, and I hope to keep it for at least another couple of years, since it serves me well and does everything I need it to do. With someone buying the Nexus4, which I recommended in that post, there’s no reason whatsoever that that phone shouldn’t last them a good four years, or maybe even more, as long as they don’t break or lose it. Not everybody always feels the need to constantly upgrade to the latest and greatest, as long as their current phone does everything they need it to. ETA: No way will the merger take 4-5 years. There’s way too many good reasons to get it done ASAP for Tmobile, MetroPCS, and all of their customers.