This Is Only Beginner-level Badass, but...

[oldtoyota]

I'm happy about it for now.

DH called our mobile phone company. Our story:

• We do not need to browse on our mobile.
  We're locked into a contract until Sept 2014.
  We pay $128 per month for two phones (yow).
• We do need some minutes--unlimited wld be great since I just cancelled the land line.

T-mobile has a new plan--unlimited everything for $80 but you buy your phone. To get out of our old plan would cost $400 right now. Ouch. We'd basically be buying our phones and paying them the difference.

If we wait until Sept 2013, then it'll only cost $200 total. We'll save $480 (difference between paying $80 vs $120 for 12 months) less the $200 we have to pay to get out of the contract.

So, the plan is wait until Sept and move into the unlimited plan. From there, we'll hang out until the contract is up and then explore AirVoice in 2014.

It's not great, but we'll save money and it seems about the best we can do right now.

It so surprising that it can take so long to save money. Contracts kind of stink!

[Arbor33]

I'm sure you've probably happened across Republic Wireless while doing your cell phone homework, but if not they're definitely worth a look.

I'm currently paying ~$24 after tax for one line and unlimited talk, text, and data. Granted, I can no longer send or receive picture messages but that's what my imgur app is for.

It uses Sprint towers and roams (at no charge) on Verizon towers.

Give them a quick google. They might be the right path for you.

If not, congrats on saving what you will with your plan of attack!

[oldtoyota]

Thank you! I will look into Republic. I will definitely want to find something else when our contract is over--unless T-mobile comes back with a realllly good and cheap plan.

[earlyFI]

I'm sure you've probably happened across Republic Wireless while doing your cell phone homework, but if not they're definitely worth a look.

I'm currently paying ~$24 after tax for one line and unlimited talk, text, and data. Granted, I can no longer send or receive picture messages but that's what my imgur app is for.

It uses Sprint towers and roams (at no charge) on Verizon towers.

Give them a quick google. They might be the right path for you.

Do you have to purchase a phone from Republic Wireless, or can you use the smart phone you already have? Does the phone drop calls when switching from wifi to towers?

[Daley]

Do you have to purchase a phone from Republic Wireless, or can you use the smart phone you already have? Does the phone drop calls when switching from wifi to towers?

Republic is a CDMA Sprint provider, and they're doing the old data/VoIP back and forth trick. There's a lot of gotchas with the service. You can duplicate the quality and cost of the service with any cell provider who has 10¢/MB data, 5¢/minute and a Google Voice account. As for Republic itself, you gotta buy their phones. I want to like Republic, but given the feedback I've read here and elsewhere and what I know of the CDMA marketplace, there's a reason why I steer others elsewhere who need both a mobile handset and a large bucket of calling time. If you want a Sprint MVNO with Verizon roaming, you're better off with Ting.

I'm happy about it for now.

DH called our mobile phone company. Our story:

• We do not need to browse on our mobile.
  We're locked into a contract until Sept 2014.
  We pay $128 per month for two phones (yow).
• We do need some minutes--unlimited wld be great since I just cancelled the land line.

T-mobile has a new plan--unlimited everything for $80 but you buy your phone. To get out of our old plan would cost $400 right now. Ouch. We'd basically be buying our phones and paying them the difference.

If we wait until Sept 2013, then it'll only cost $200 total. We'll save $480 (difference between paying $80 vs $120 for 12 months) less the $200 we have to pay to get out of the contract.

So, the plan is wait until Sept and move into the unlimited plan. From there, we'll hang out until the contract is up and then explore AirVoice in 2014.

It's not great, but we'll save money and it seems about the best we can do right now.

It so surprising that it can take so long to save money. Contracts kind of stink!

If you haven't already, take a good look at the Superguide, Oldtoyota. You probably don't actually need unlimited anything, especially if you get a VoIP service in the house, and even if you do it's possible to get the talk and text part done for as little as $30. There's also way more than just Airvoice out there, and some of the cheapest and best MVNOs available are currently on the T-Mobile network, like Platinumtel. These also might be of use for you:


http://www.techmeshugana.com/2012/10/dial-s-for-savings/
http://www.techmeshugana.com/2012/10/dial-v-for-virtual-network/
http://www.techmeshugana.com/2012/10/gotta-get-away/
http://www.techmeshugana.com/tools/wirelessroi.html (<- this tool might be especially useful for you)
http://www.techmeshugana.com/2013/04/voip-and-the-return-of-the-home-phone/

Given those numbers, even if you do need "unlimited" talk and text, you might be surprised to find out that you could save more money up front right now paying the $400 ETF, get your handsets unlocked, and switching to GoSmart's $30/month plan than you would waiting until September for the $200 ETF. Crunch the numbers yourself on the Wireless Plan Calculator I linked above.

As always, feel free to ask in the forums or PM me directly for assistance if you need help!

[Arbor33]

Hey I.P.

I don't have a fraction of the applicable knowledge you do on the topic of phones and networking, but I do need to point out some changes that have been made since your "elsewhere" feedback.

RW service is a bit quirky and the old adage "You get what you pay for" couldn't be more spot on. However, the company no longer has a maximum usage type stipulation. When they say unlimited, they mean it. Also, they have a dual band phone that they've released since the time that post was made and the optimus is no longer their standard. While the defy xt is nothing to write home about, it's better comparatively speaking.

For users who want picture messaging, large screens, customer support, unsegmented messages (when texting/receiving longer than a single sms), a great camera, and lots of built in storage; a different provider would better serve you. IMHO picture messaging and the storage are the only things that bother me but there's work arounds for each. I use imgur to send links to pictures and change the install directory to my SD to circumvent the storage issue. All things considered, I'm content with the device and service, and happy with the $23.86 it costs me monthly (not including the device).

All said and done, the service has a decent way to go before they'd be deemed acceptable for the general public. I'm no RW fanboy, but I couldn't find comparable service for cheaper so it's where my ship landed.

[oldtoyota]

IT Daley. Thanks! What is ETF in relation to phones?

I will crunch away. I'd love to save $$ sooner!

[Daley]

Arbor, the thread I linked over at HoFo highlights the flaws of the underlying implementation... the observations are still relevant with today's and tomorrow's devices from them unless they change how it works, as you've confirmed yourself.

I know they've improved their definitions of "unlimited" on the wireless end and they have new equipment, but the fundamental problems with the service will never go away. $25 after taxes also buys a lot of prepaid mobile service (about 6-7 hours) to combine with Google Voice and Talkatone or SipDroid (gives you about the same quality of service and limitations, too - and I don't recommend this approach, either, for the same reasons)... and it doesn't require a $250 buy-in for a proprietary CDMA $100 Android phone that you can't use with any other carrier.

As you said, though... you get what you pay for, and that money is still too much for what Republic's actually providing, IMHO. I've mentioned it before, but you throw around buzz words like "unlimited" and treat technology like its voodoo, and people's logic centers short circuit. If it works for you, great! Stick it out and get your money's worth as you're already invested in, but the money invested and spent in service through Republic for a good 90% of users can easily get better elsewhere for the same coin or less when you know what you actually need in relation to what they're basically providing: Google Voice + $18 worth of Ting service inelegantly stuffed into a single smartphone.

*snaps fingers* I just put my finger on my problem with Republic! They're the wireless equivalent of Ooma.

IT Daley. Thanks! What is ETF in relation to phones?

I will crunch away. I'd love to save $$ sooner!

ETF = Early Termination Fees. That's the cost you'll have to pay to break contract with T-Mobile and the phones officially become your property and not the carrier's. That's why GSM carriers like T-Mo and AT&T won't carrier unlock their phones for you typically until after you're out of contract or paid the ETF. Carrier unlocking is useful as that lets you take your phones to any GSM provider, but if you don't get them unlocked, your T-Mo handsets will still work with T-Mo based MVNOs like P'tel and GoSmart... but not Airvoice, as they're an AT&T MVNO.

[oldtoyota]

Hi IP Daley--

I used your calculator--thank you!--to look at Ptel. The story is definitely better if we switch now even though we have to pay the $400.

Can I assume that since Ptel is an MVNO using T-mobile networks that I'd be covered everywhere T-mobile covers me now?

Do you know if Ptel has setup or activation fees? I saw that asked for in your calculator and plugged in "0" because I could not find any mention of setup fees on the Ptel website.

GoSmart's website clearly indicates they do not have hidden fees, so I found that info okay. They are less expensive, and their coverage map looks good for me.

**Updating this because I finally found the Ptel coverage map. Tiny pink text on a black background in 10 pt font is not easy to find on a website! lol

[Daley]

GoSmart and P'tel have the exact same coverage maps, which is the T-Mo native tower map.

P'tel has the same sort of "setup" fee as GoSmart. Both require the purchase of a SIM card. P'tel costs $5 but frequently has coupon codes for free SIM cards with airtime purchase. GoSmart costs $8 for the SIM. No hidden fees otherwise. Disclosure: the Missus and I both have been P'tel customers for about three years now.

GoSmart is actually owned by T-Mo. They're "cheaper" on the unlimited bundles, but only because they don't bundle international calling discounts like P'tel does. You tack on that $5, they're pretty much identical. The biggest caveat with GoSmart is in their terms. You don't re-up in time, you'll lose your number pretty rapidly, whereas P'tel has a 60 day inactive window before closing your account out, IIRC. Always read the fine print with whomever you choose.

[oldtoyota]

If I can get DH to agree, we're moving to Ptel. Wow, it feels good to have this decided after all of the reading (mostly of your articles) that I did.

I would not even be considering moving this early if not for your calculator! THANK YOU (that is me shouting with happiness.)  =-)

[Daley]

If I can get DH to agree, we're moving to Ptel. Wow, it feels good to have this decided after all of the reading (mostly of your articles) that I did.

I would not even be considering moving this early if not for your calculator! THANK YOU (that is me shouting with happiness.)  =-)

You should thank Yolfer for the kick in the pants that made me make that calculator when he comes back tomorrow. Speaking of... the past few days had me turned around on dates, and I feel a bit foolish now spending all morning thinking it was Tuesday. Please be patient with me, I'll be back to answer any more questions in a day or so.