[Powdah]

Those of us that are stuck using ATT or Verizon because of coverage issues, etc., should really look at going to prepaid. I have found that I can cut my bill by 20% for the same essential plan as I am paying presently for with a Verizon contract plan by just going to Verizon's prepaid program. Granted I can not go out of country, but that is solved by buying a prepaid sim card with Zoodo, among others. Perhaps if enough of us make this move, we can get Verizon and ATT to become more hospitable to us.

While I have 4 months left on 3 phones, I am continuing my research on better deals, while putting away monies to buy my next phones out right. This will let me move around with various carriers easier.

[Bonsaibo]

Those of us that are stuck using ATT or Verizon because of coverage issues, etc., should really look at going to prepaid. I have found that I can cut my bill by 20% for the same essential plan as I am paying presently for with a Verizon contract plan by just going to Verizon's prepaid program. Granted I can not go out of country, but that is solved by buying a prepaid sim card with Zoodo, among others. Perhaps if enough of us make this move, we can get Verizon and ATT to become more hospitable to us.

While I have 4 months left on 3 phones, I am continuing my research on better deals, while putting away monies to buy my next phones out right. This will let me move around with various carriers easier.

You know, when you are on a contract year after year after year, you forget that there might be other options. I've got three phones on my Verizon contract, but they all come due very closely, so I'm going to give this a good amount of research and see if I too can save some dollars.

[cgallaer]

I went prepaid (AT&T GoPhone) when I bought an unlocked Z10 last year from Shop BlackBerry and I haven't looked back. I cut my bill significantly.

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[AnimalPak200]

I went prepaid (AT&T GoPhone) when I bought an unlocked Z10 last year from Shop BlackBerry and I haven't looked back. I cut my bill significantly.

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The only issue with GoPhone and similar programs is that they are not eligible to "roam" on the extended network using other carrier towers (where AT&T network coverage is not available). I was also told that GoPhone users will get a lower priority of cell service if the tower is crowded (not sure how much that is true).

If you don't want to go the prepaid route, AT&T has no-annual contract post paid plans. Also, one should consider the MVNO route (straight talk, cricket, etc), which buy unused bandwidth from AT&T, VZW, etc in bulk and then re-sell it for cheaper (since they don't have the infrastructure costs). You're using the same networks, so coverage isn't really an issue (although I'm sure there are also roaming and or travel restrictions).

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[Witmen]

I've been on Straight Talk for just over 2 years now, and I'd never go back to post paid. I use AT&T's towers, save a ton of money and have had no problems with the service at all. Without out a doubt, going to prepaid was the best decision I've ever made when it comes to cell phones.

[Old_Mil]

The problem with prepaid plans in the United States is that they cannot roam onto other networks. This means that with the exception of Verizon and AT&T - and even with AT&T if you are west of the rockies - you are going to have serious holes in your coverage if you do any traveling.

If you can get a Verizon towers plan on straight talk or page plus that is the best option for prepaid. Sprint/Boost/Virgin Mobile is OK if you are in the Southeast US.

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[SlcCorrado]

I'm with ya. Never signing another contract with a carrier

[pfe1223]

I'm on Ting, an MVNO of Sprint. I get roaming on Verizon towers. The only problem is that the Q10 is the only BB device on Ting. Even then, it is not officially supported. However, my monthly bills routinely come in under $20 after taxes and fees.

[AnimalPak200]

I'm on Ting, an MVNO of Sprint. I get roaming on Verizon towers. The only problem is that the Q10 is the only BB device on Ting. Even then, it is not officially supported. However, my monthly bills routinely come in under $20 after taxes and fees.

Wow,.. that's crazy low.

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[pfe1223]

Wow,.. that's crazy low.

Posted via CB10

Yeah it is mostly because I am not on an LTE device. CDMA is so slow that I feel no desire to use cell data if the can avoid it. Otherwise the bill would be higher, but not too high.

[raino]

The problem with prepaid service, especially CDMA, vis a vis BBs is that not all phones work. Most prepaid carriers (and this is true regardless of CDMA or GSM) don't offer BIS. Many have tried to use BB10 devices with Page Plus (a Verizon MVNO) and it doesn't work. Then there's the MMS issue on Straight Talk, APN lockouts, etc.

[gunner-az]

Just changed this weekend to a 'mobile share' plan from ATT and it saved some good $. It includes unlimited texting and talk with a pool of data that my four family members can all draw from. Allows hotspot use of phones. So it?s a set cost for the plan plus $15/phone without a 2yr contract. Any phone upgrade through ATT increases the per phone cost to $40 for that specific phone. So by buying an unlocked phone we save $300/yr for each phone we purchase outside of ATT. As a result I bought a Passport for myself and a Z30 for my wife via Amazon and ShopBlackberry.com respectively. Total cost of the phones is $900 so over 2 years we save $300 vs upgrading through ATT. The new plan also saves us about $50/mo. Just an FYI, I'm not sure if this compares well to the paygo plans.

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[AnimalPak200]

Just changed this weekend to a 'mobile share' plan from ATT and it saved some good $. It includes unlimited texting and talk with a pool of data that my four family members can all draw from. Allows hotspot use of phones. So it?s a set cost for the plan plus $15/phone without a 2yr contract. Any phone upgrade through ATT increases the per phone cost to $40 for that specific phone. So by buying an unlocked phone we save $300/yr for each phone we purchase outside of ATT. As a result I bought a Passport for myself and a Z30 for my wife via Amazon and ShopBlackberry.com respectively. Total cost of the phones is $900 so over 2 years we save $300 vs upgrading through ATT. The new plan also saves us about $50/mo. Just an FYI, I'm not sure if this compares well to the paygo plans.

Posted via CB10

The closest prepaid GoPhone deal is the Walmart $45/mo card, unlimited text and call and 1Gb of LTE data (no hotspot). They have a $60/mo prepaid plan that gets you 2.5GB (and I think hotspot).

You can now get the value share plan for $40/mo with 3GB of data, but you need to add the $25 discounted per device access fee (if you have your device,.. which you would if you were considering prepaid).

So if it's only you then the prepaid route is pretty competitive. However if you can share data with at least one other family member, then the value share plans end up being a bit better (plus you get full roaming and international add ons when needed).

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[m1a1mg]

Have any of you ever tested side by side with contract phones?

My Son and I tried it. My Verizon (At the time) got twice the bandwidth as his Verizon pay as you go.

[AnimalPak200]

Have any of you ever tested side by side with contract phones?

My Son and I tried it. My Verizon (At the time) got twice the bandwidth as his Verizon pay as you go.

Not surprised, as I said above, one of the guys at AT&T told me they have a lower priority service for prepaid accounts when towers are busy (he wasn't trying to sell me anything as I had already completed the process).

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[raino]

Have any of you ever tested side by side with contract phones?

My Son and I tried it. My Verizon (At the time) got twice the bandwidth as his Verizon pay as you go.

Not surprised, as I said above, one of the guys at AT&T told me they have a lower priority service for prepaid accounts when towers are busy (he wasn't trying to sell me anything as I had already completed the process).

Not only prepaid vs. postpaid, there's prioritizing even within different levels of postpaid. TMO was rumored to "prioritize" limited data customer over unlimited ones (i.e. those paying for 5/10GB were getting better data speeds than unlimited customers.) Don't know if it's still happening. Their prioritization chart went something like limited data postpaid>unlimited postpaid>branded prepaid>MVNOs. Additionally, Verizon contemplated throttling their unlimited customers before there was a customer outcry and they backed off. AT&T is facing legal action from the FCC over it.

Prioritization is pretty hard to prove, given that there can be extraneous factors at play (phone antenna, channel congestion at test time, etc.) Plus, I don't think any carrier actually states in their ToS that they may prioritize in times of need (they can't do it for voice, but data and I guess texts is fair game to them.)

[howarmat]

att mobile share i think is the best deal you can get now. 2 lines unlimited talk and text and 3gbs data to share. Hotspot is included and its full speed and roaming. for singles straight talk is probably the best option.

[AnimalPak200]

att mobile share i think is the best deal you can get now. 2 lines unlimited talk and text and 3gbs data to share. Hotspot is included and its full speed and roaming. for singles straight talk is probably the best option.

That's what I'm using now with my wife (switched from VZW), it was a little tight with the 2GB but I figured the penalty for the extra gig wasn't too bad. Now with 3GB it should quite comfortable for our usage.

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[justen]

I'm on Ting, an MVNO of Sprint. I get roaming on Verizon towers. The only problem is that the Q10 is the only BB device on Ting. Even then, it is not officially supported. However, my monthly bills routinely come in under $20 after taxes and fees.

Although we don't officially support the Q10, it works pretty much flawlessly on Ting. (It's my primary device when I'm in the U.S., along with my Passport when I'm in Canada.) I wish we had a greater variety of BlackBerry 10 devices, but we're limited by the decisions Sprint and BlackBerry have made. And investing in the infrastructure necessary (i.e. BIS) for legacy BlackBerry OS devices at this point just wouldn't be feasible at this point.

[FunktasticLucky]

Well... I'm still on grandfathered unlimited data for my phone on verizon so I'm stuck with them for a long time. I use 10-16GB per month so I won't be switching. I just added a line to my account for my girlfriend and that's like 75 bux a month for unlimited text and talk and 2GB of data before my discount (15 percent for military) and taxes and stuff. I'm think now that I have her on verizon I'll be dropping my minutes and texts to nothing to save money on my plan. Still gonna cost me 60 bux a month though. 450 min and unlimited data. Then 10 cents a text on my plan. So we are looking at probably 135 bux for the both of us. Thank god for bbm voice and free verizon to verizon.

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[AnimalPak200]

Well... I'm still on grandfathered unlimited data for my phone on verizon so I'm stuck with them for a long time. I use 10-16GB per month so I won't be switching. I just added a line to my account for my girlfriend and that's like 75 bux a month for unlimited text and talk and 2GB of data before my discount (15 percent for military) and taxes and stuff. I'm think now that I have her on verizon I'll be dropping my minutes and texts to nothing to save money on my plan. Still gonna cost me 60 bux a month though. 450 min and unlimited data. Then 10 cents a text on my plan. So we are looking at probably 135 bux for the both of us. Thank god for bbm voice and free verizon to verizon.

Posted via CB10

For 10-16 GB/mo you should look into their (and AT&T'S) newer plans,.. they would probably work out better for you, especially if you're sharing with your gf. I mean AT&T gives you 30Gb/mo to share for $130+$15/device. They probably have a similar discount on the $130.

Posted via CB10

[FunktasticLucky]

For 10-16 GB/mo you should look into their (and AT&T'S) newer plans,.. they would probably work out better for you, especially if you're sharing with your gf. I mean AT&T gives you 30Gb/mo to share for $130+$15/device. They probably have a similar discount on the $130.

Posted via CB10

Well verizon is 100 a month for the data package alone. Then it's 40 per device. So that's 180 a month. I think at&t is 35 a month for the device IIRC but I would also have to buy 2 new devices for at&t. And if I'm doing that I'll wait for them to sell the passport. Besides. I honestly think at&t is crappier than big red. Big red is greedy but if you call them out on their bull**** they usually fix it. Atleast they do for me. I have been a customer with them since like 2002. Never had an issue with them yet other than them being on the expensive side and pushy as hell to get me off my unlimited data lol. Not gonna do it!

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[Prem WatsApp]

OT:

This is not in the US, but Australia. Yeah, I'm of the same opinion, outright + prepaid is definitely the go, especially here. It's now pretty much all GSM.

To max it out, I've got a grandfathered unlimited Optus prepaid plan (they have the inferior network) on 3G+ for data slurping ($60, runs hotspot on Z10), and a BOOST "UNLTD." (which uses Telstra's faster 3G network, $40) for my daily driver line where I need optimum coverage...

Boost have just send me a notification they upgraded the service to 2.5GB data. A few months ago they downgraded the prepaid plan from 3GB to 2GB. I had to limit my data use a bit and go on wifi, but 2.5GB might just be the sweet spot between my needs and their desire to drive profits...

Thanks BOOST! :-D

? ? ? Passposted via CB Chen ? ? ?

[AnimalPak200]

Well verizon is 100 a month for the data package alone. Then it's 40 per device. So that's 180 a month. I think at&t is 35 a month for the device IIRC but I would also have to buy 2 new devices for at&t. And if I'm doing that I'll wait for them to sell the passport. Besides. I honestly think at&t is crappier than big red. Big red is greedy but if you call them out on their bull**** they usually fix it. Atleast they do for me. I have been a customer with them since like 2002. Never had an issue with them yet other than them being on the expensive side and pushy as hell to get me off my unlimited data lol. Not gonna do it!

Posted via CB10

Yeah I was on the same boat. Just recently let go of my unlimited plan to get a Passport on AT&T. I used to use much more data a few years back but now I rarely hit the 1G, so I could only justify keeping it if everything else was ok, which it wasn't once it became clear they wouldn't have the Passport any time soon.

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[FunktasticLucky]

Yeah I was on the same boat. Just recently let go of my unlimited plan to get a Passport on AT&T. I used to use much more data a few years back but now I rarely hit the 1G, so I could only justify keeping it if everything else was ok, which it wasn't once it became clear they wouldn't have the Passport any time soon.

Posted via CB10

I feel you. I'm very disappointed with no passport. Maybe after at&t releases theirs VZW will announce it. But I doubt it. I would think it would have passed fcc by now. So probably not happening.

As for data usage. I stream music all day long and bbm voice chat my girlfriend a lot while out and about since we are separated while she's in school. I have just stopped using wifi at home now lol. Usage might drop down to 4 to 5 gb after she gets here and using wifi more. But we shall see. Reddit consumes a lot of time and data rofl.

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