[speakeasy]

I've been using Gosmart mobile for the past couple years. They are basically the budget arm of Tmobile. You can get a plan with unlimited talk, text and 3gb of 3G data for $40 a month including taxes and fees. $35/mo if you use less than 1gb of data a month. I've been using the $45/mo plan with 6gb of data but I'm about to downgrade as I don't even come close to using that.

I know they have all these advanced carriers with LTE that can stream at a rate of 20Mbps+ and rivals cable speeds. But I just don't need any of that shit. I don't watch movies on my phone, and if I did, I'd do it over wifi anyway. The biggest bandwidth resource I use is Spotify and youtube and both seem to work adequately over 3G.

There are some pretty good deals out there if you need data but aren't a data hog either.

[DJ-Matt]

Depends on which type of 3G:

CDMA/EVDO = Sucks ass
GSM/UMTS/HSPA = Speedy

[Dr. Howard]

I do, straightalk $45/mo. I use my phone for google maps, phone calls, texts and checking the weather

[MidWest]

I got Virgin Mobile. Bought their Samsung S3.

Pay 35$ a month,free texting and I think about 300 minutes or so and a combination of 3G/4G

I only call for important things and rarely use all my calling minutes. I'm generally happy with their service.

[Dr. Howard]

(11-05-2014 06:53 PM)MidWest Wrote:  

I got Virgin Mobile. Bought their Samsung S3.

Pay 35$ a month,free texting and I think about 300 minutes or so and a combination of 3G/4G

I only call for important things and rarely use all my calling minutes. I'm generally happy with their service.

good coverage?

[Cattle Rustler]

How can someone get 3G service? With the launch of most new phones it's either 2G or 4G.

I wish I had 3G. My current plan is unlimited 4G data/mins/texts and 5GB tethering/hotspot from tmobile for 80 a month.

I use around 40 gigs of data per month, cut off my home internet/cable service. Downloaded a hidden tethering to make my tethering usage seem like mobile usage for 5 bucks and I'm set!

[Suits]

I use a Nokia brick that cost me $20 new. I bought a SIM card on the street so that the government couldn't track me.

I may be using 3G. I don't know. I don't use any data services.

[DJ-Matt]

Straight talk has code words in their phone boxes when you go to buy:

CDMA-V = Verizon
CDMA-S = Sprint
GSM-A = AT&T
GSM-T = T-Mobile

If you're really wanting 3G service, most android phones have a setting that lets you force off LTE. However in many cases you don't want that. The only thing that makes AT&T usable in my town is having LTE. When we were on HSPA+ (faux-G 4G), it was almost like dialup especially downtown.

I did later find out that our market only has 5 mHz of spectrum for LTE, not sure what dumbass is responsible for that... Most markets get 10 mHz and are way faster, when I travel my Android device flies. Back to the topic:

There are also 2 types of "4G" on GSM networks, 4G doesn't always mean LTE unless they specifically say it. 4G on CDMA based networks always means LTE however (with the exception of Sprint's WiMAX which dies next year, avoid).

[Brian Shima]

Dj Matt do you know if Net 10 or Straight talk is faster and more reliable? I was under the impression that Straight talk only used Verizon towers until I put the sim card in my at&t phone!

[heavy]

(11-05-2014 10:21 PM)Suits Wrote:  

I use a Nokia brick that cost me $20 new. I bought a SIM card on the street so that the government couldn't track me.

I may be using 3G. I don't know. I don't use any data services.

The government isn't tracking you. Oh wait you're in China...I guess I'm not sure.

[Cattle Rustler]

For those buying straight talk, get the AT&T plan. AT&T has the largest coverage in America, it has signal even in bumfuck nowhere Texas.

[TheBulldozer]

Unlimited 3G in Vietnam: $5.65 per month.

[DJ-Matt]

(11-06-2014 08:04 AM)Brian Shima Wrote:  

Dj Matt do you know if Net 10 or Straight talk is faster and more reliable? I was under the impression that Straight talk only used Verizon towers until I put the sim card in my at&t phone!

Straight talk has gotten a little weird lately, the newer phones and SIM cards can be hybrids and will hop onto either network based on coverage. This only applies to the GSM providers, I don't think Sprint and Verizon are interoperable in any way yet.

The parent company for ST/N10 is America Movil out of Mexico, owned by Carlos Slim. He was the richest man in the world at one point. But AM does not own any infrastructure in the US, they are an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) meaning they lease the service from the big 4 US carriers. Since they are owned by the same company I'd expect ST/N10 to have about the same data speeds. It all depends on if you're being routed through the same gateway.

The bottom line is that ST might have you on any of the 4 networks they lease time from. As far as coverage and flexibility goes it'd be wise to buy an unlocked phone that has multiband support like a Nexus 5 or iPhone 5/6.

Beware however, that because ST is an MVNO, the data traffic is routed through a different gateway than regular customers, and they're famous for heavy throttling. It is clearly stated out in their TOS how much data you get (3GB ?) before they throttle now. But that doesn't mean your traffic isn't getting QoS'ed into lower priority over the carrier's big $$$ paying contract customers.

If you don't use much data and have T-Mobile coverage, Lycamobile is a good choice for infrequent users. I activated a SIM with them because it's only 2 cents a minute and it never expires provided you make a call every 90 days. Mine is a glovebox phone left in the car for emergencies. They have changed to a newer SIM type and plans recently though that appear to be changing these rules so you'll want to get an older SIM.

[BCien]

Page Plus still gives you 3G service it aint that bad it just depends on your handset, plus they've got great coverage.

[DChambers]

Deleted

[TigerMandingo]

why are cell phone plans so outrageously expensive in the US?

[Brian Shima]

Matt what is multiband support? I might have a look at iPhones after my current dies

[Monxp]

(11-06-2014 09:22 AM)MaleDefined Wrote:  

Unlimited 3G in Vietnam: $5.65 per month.

Unlimited 3G in Finland: $3.69 per month.

[MidWest]

(11-05-2014 08:39 PM)Dr. Howard Wrote:  

(11-05-2014 06:53 PM)MidWest Wrote:  

I got Virgin Mobile. Bought their Samsung S3.

Pay 35$ a month,free texting and I think about 300 minutes or so and a combination of 3G/4G

I only call for important things and rarely use all my calling minutes. I'm generally happy with their service.

good coverage?

That's the thing. I think it gets around 65% of coverage in urban areas and about 55% in rural areas. That is why its pretty cheap. For instance in Chicago its spot on and generally I have no trouble with coverage, but once I leave to my university in rural Champaign, Illinois I struggle with coverage from time to time. You get what you pay for I guess.

[speakeasy]

(11-06-2014 10:37 PM)Cunnilinguist Wrote:  

why are cell phone plans so outrageously expensive in the US?

That's true, US and Canada are the most expensive for some reason.

[TravelerKai]

I wish someone would flesh it out as to why. It's frustrating using cheap as fuck phone and data overseas then come back home and they want almost 200 dollars a month. I dropped ATT for that reason went t-mobile, then ATT gets pissed and drops their prices too.

I'm thinking about going to one of these smaller carriers, because I'm tired of large payments for a family plan. The invoice sheet is 16 pages in a PDF full all kinds of stupid taxes.

[Sourcecode]

It's expensive cause we are willing to pay for it.
I keep telling people to get plans like straight talk.
45a month, unlimited everything.
You can even get 4g.

[DJ-Matt]

I hate to defend the carriers here (Verizon is the greediest bunch of motherfuckers I've ever seen), but have you looked at the landmass size of the US? Cell towers aren't free. The countries that are cheap are tiny and have everyone concentrated in several areas.

I suspect Russian cell service is either non-existent outside of big cities, or really damn expensive.

[JohnKreese]

I strongly recommend Republic Wireless. I got it recently and have had nothing but good experiences.

Unlimited talk/text/data (over wifi) for $10!
Unlimited talk/text/data(3g) for $25 (my plan)

https://republicwireless.com/info/plans/

Granted, this is my first smartphone so I don't really have much to compare to, but I have been satisfied with my purchase (got the Moto G for $149, phones go as low as $99).

Also, technically no contract