I was in your shoes about a year ago. I had been a long time Verizon user and my discounted rate was $91 per month with my iPhone. Thanks to Mr. M, I discovered Ting and decided to take the plunge once my contract was up.
First let me say that nobody beats Verizon's coverage...at least for me in Northern California. That being said, I too am a low user...I text a lot and I use internet and calling much less.
Ting is an MVNO (mobile virtual network provider) that leases from Sprint. I had tried Sprint in the past and wasn't too pleased. But, I wanted to save money. After a year of usage, I can say Sprint's coverage is not quite as good in my area....but I love having a phone bill in the $15 to $30 range for an iPhone.
Some things you should be aware of: Ting charges you based on your usage. There are no nights and weekends, no friends and family who you can call for free, none of that. Instead you will pay for usage based on tiers. For example, if you use 100 or fewer minutes on the phone, you pay $3....if you use between 101 and 500 minutes you pay $9 per month....and it resets every month. It's pretty cool.
Like I said, I text a lot. Everyone I know uses iPhones....one cool feature of iPhones is iMessage. These "texts" are actually sent via data (very tiny bits of data.) I can make 1000 iMessages per month for very little data usage. BUT....if you are coming from Verizon and let's say you text a lot too but you and your contacts don't use an iPhone....you will be charged based on the number of texts you send and receive. Example: if you send/receive 100 or fewer texts you pay $3 per month. If you send/receive 1000 texts or fewer you pay $5. And again it resets every month. The important thing to remember is that coming from a plan where you get unlimited texting, Ting is a bit different.
To save on minutes, whenever I am at home on wifi I use the Google Hangouts app to make VOIP calls. It works brilliantly.
Ting is not for everyone. I don't think huge data users would benefit. Also, I feel data speeds were a bit higher with Verizon, but that could just be my area.
One final note....the best thing about Ting (and this is so ODD!) is when you call customer service a human answers. Every time! And not after inputting a few prompts...a human answers within the first few rings. They are very helpful and have always been able to sort out any questions I had.
No I don't work for Ting. I just wanted to share my two cents. I'd be happy to answer any questions.
Check them out here:
https://zds93l1p424.ting.com/