I’m in the US and have a typical, no-frills plan. It is for nationwide coverage and allows 700 anytime minutes and unlimited nights and weekend usage, as well as, unlimited in-network usage. Four phones/month costs me $105 total. If I wanted to receive text messages or data, there would be additional charges. The $105 breaks down as follows:
$60 for the primary phone and 700 minutes
$30 for additional 3 phones ($10/phone)
$15 for tax/fees.
The 700 anytime minutes are shared over the four phones and are plenty. We always have minutes left over because nearly all of our calls are in-network. I’ve heard that text messaging is included in the basic plans in other countries. I’m curious as to how services and fees are generally setup elsewhere.
Unlimited nights (starting at 9) weekends & holidays
Unlimited in network calls
Unlimited non-smartphone web access ($5 extra per month)
$39.22 a month after a 15% discount (via my employer) which pretty much just covers the taxes. (It’s a $39.99 plan, plus the web access.)
I pay for text messaging by the message, though, and quite a bit for photo messages, whether I receive or send. I have had to tell people to stop texting me and especially not to send me silly, unnecessary pictures.
For 2 phones: 69 a month for 500 or 700 minutes (I forget which - we never hit the limit), unlimited evenings etc. This is with a bit of a discount through work. Additional phones would be 10 bucks each, though we opted to go for prepaid for the kids (neither of whom ever goes anywhere near their 10/month “allowance”). Texts not included. So far we’ve never done enough texting that it’d be worth even a minimal texting plan.
I was under the impression that iPhone service was super expensive, but that doesn’t seem too bad. What’s internet access like? Can you actually surf or is it more for the convenience of looking up a business number or two?
I was really hoping some international dopers would chime in too. I am curious whether most international users do pay-as-you-go or monthly service and how it compared to the services in the US.
Our plan is like 49.99 plus 10 dollars for another line (family plan) plus 14 dollars for a simple text plan, and after taxes it comes to about 105 bucks a month. I have ATT and we have the lowest plan that has rollover mins.
Mine is a $30 plan with
[ul][li]500 anytime minutes[/li][li]Free Nights/Weekends from 7 pm[/li][li]Data[/li][li]Texts[/ul][/li]The cost with taxes and fees ends up being about $34/mo.
We have a land line, so only wanted a phone for my wife and one for me in case we had an emergency, a car problem, or occasionally wanted to call each other. I trolled all the cellphone companies for the absolutely least expensive, basic plan. Alltel gave us one for $9.99 a month for each phone with 20 minutes free, and a free phone if we signed a two-year contract. This was probably 8-10 years ago.
Since then we have never had to renew our contract. Only once or twice didvwe ever exceed the free 20 minutes.
So, even with taxes and extra nonsense, we pay $26 each month for two phones.
I’d be astonished if anybody could find a deal like that now, but we’re happy.
Not many would want a deal like that. Anyway, the “Trak phone” type things they have with no contracts can be similarly inexpensive.
Our cell phones ARE our landlines in this family. I don’t personally “get” the whole anti-cell phone attitude where people like to brag that they are luddites, but I guess it takes all kinds to make the world go 'round.
I pay about $50/month, plus tax, which breaks down as follows:
Voice plan ($40):
Unlimited calls to 5 people of my choice, anytime
300 additional minutes per month to be used in the daytime on weekdays
Unlimited weekend minutes
Unlimited weeknight minutes
Text messages ($10):
1000 domestic messages
My cell is my only phone; I don’t have a landline.
I have an iPhone, too. My bill is basically like Munch’s, except I don’t work for AT&T, so no employee discount. Web browsing over 3G is pretty nice. Sites like the SDMB load reasonably fast, alhtough typing with the virtual keys can be quite a chore except for short replies. Many sites such as Wikipedia have a mobile version that actually works better for the iPhone, as they’re formatted for a smaller screen size. There are apps for streaming radio and video and even sites where you can watch full episodes of shows like The Office or the Tonight Show. Although you presently can’t use Hulu with the iPhone, they’re even rumored to be coming out with an app soon. I have a second generation iPhone, so although I have 3G, it’s not as fast as a 3G S. I usually put it on my home wi-fi network when I’m at home. It runs faster for me and eats up less of the battery than being on 3G. If you get a new 3G S, though, speed and battery life should be less of an issue.
I pay nothing, unless I make calls (between 5 and 15 pence a minute, depending on destination, network, etc) or send text messages (10 pence each).
Last month’s usage came to a couple of quid, but the phone is to me much more a means of being contacted than making calls. I don’t pay anything for incoming calls.
$39.00 =
450 Anytime Minutes (rollover)
5000 Night/Weekend Mins
Unlimited Mobile to Mobile
$30.00
Unlimited 3G Data Package (includes full internet surfing, email, visual voicemail, downloading of all kinds of media, itunes and apps; basically anything and everything)
$5.00
200 Text Messages (MMS)
So, about $75 total, not including tax.
All this is more than adequate for my needs, and think it’s pretty reasonable, considering the very robust features and user experience of the iPhone.
Well, I know several people who are not enamored with cellphones, and definitely want just a minimum program for emergencies.
I was not bragging, just answering the OP, so don’t put words in my mouth. I like my landline setup as it is a part of my Cox internet/TV/analog phone, and costs no extra. As we don’t have a compulsion to spend most of our time jabbering away incessently on a phone, there is no need for a cellphone except for what I outlined.
I’m hardly a Luddite as I’ll bet I have more computers and tech toys than you can imagine.I got my first computer in 1981 and have built several since. I posted just what was asked for by the OP and see no reson to be insulted. Nor do I get the attitude of people who are smitten by and like to brag that they have only cellphones.
As Epimetheus said, the prepaid can be very inexpensive - cheaper than that, in fact - if you’re a very casual user. Don’t go with Verizon though (their prepaid is NOT competitive for our needs).
I bought two prepaid T-mobile phones for the kids. I think a call is 20 cents a minute, a text is 10 cents outbound and 5 cents inbound (or thereabouts). A 10.00 refill is good for up to 3 months or until you use it up. Making 20 one-minute calls, that’s 4.00, which is cheaper than the 10 dollars you mentioned. We do refill 10 dollars a month, though after 3 months I don’t think the kids have even used the first 10 dollars; I might offer to pay them each 10 cash next month in lieu of their refill card.
Anyway - just a data point; at some point your phones will wear out (we’ve found the battery is the limiting factor and it’s hard to find replacement batteries for an older phone), and a cheap prepaid is a good option then.
I always thought that our cellphones were expensive here in Japan but it seems to be not so bad? We pay between 100 and 150 dollars depending on my husband’s usage, and it covers four cellphones. My kids’ two phones are locked so they can only call us, each other and their grandparents, plus whoever we allow in (one friend each so far) which I am sure helps immensely.
My biggest peeve is that my husband’s job absolutely requires him to have a cellphone as he is on call 24/375 but they neither provide one nor subsidise the one he has. And everyone uses their phones for work calls because everyone’s constantly on the move and not usually at their desks. Pisses me off, it does.
I plug in $100 a year on AT&T’s prepaid plan, so it works out to about eight bucks a month. My actual consumption at 25¢ a minute is more like three or four bucks a month.
As for not replacing the landline, I’d be an idiot to do so as cell reception at our house is wretched at best, and often just plain rotten.
I’m on a plan with 4 other people and a 10% discount from mom’s work. We all share minutes, and share a “My Circle”, call each other for free and have unlimited texts so we never ever go over minutes.
When we break it down it’s $30-31 a month for each person.
