Help me figure out an MVNO for my Verizon HTC One

[Sonorous Epithet]

I have an HTC One M7. I bought it from Amazon under contract with Verizon back in March 2014.

Amazon had a 6 month early cancellation fee, which I'm past. (I guess I have to go 6 months before Amazon gets its commission.) I contacted Verizon and my ETF would be $260 if I dumped my phone in January. If I save ~$17/mo from switching, I've broken even compared with sticking out my contact. That shouldn't be too hard.

I currently pay $78/mo, which includes an employer discount. My usage in the past 6 months averages 42 min, 90 SMS, and about 1GB of data (Verizon only bills in full GB, very unhelpful). I'm sure I can cut down on data quite a bit with more more disclipline; I usually have Wi-Fi access whenever I want to do anything data intensive but can be lazy connecting since I have a 2GB plan. I can probably also cut down on SMS simply by getting my fiancee (my main SMS conversant) to also get Google Hangouts or a similar program. (She has an AT&T Go Phone account; I bought her a Moto G for Christmas.)

My question is:

1. Which MVNOs can I go to?
2. Any recommendation on MVNOs I SHOULD go to? (Yes, I've read Son of the Superguide).

I believe my HTC One M7 is a dual-band, so I think I can take it to CDMA or GSM networks (so any of them, I think). But I don't want to find out the hard way that I'm somehow locked out of GSM. Since it's a closed-body phone, the normal tricks for determining what my phone works on don't seem to work.

[Shade00]

Easy answer - Page Plus - Verizon LTE - $29.95 plan with 1200 minutes/3000 texts/500mb of data or $39.95 plan for unl talk/text + 1gb of data. You can find these plan refills at 10% making them ~$27 and about $36.

Most Verizon LTE handsets can be used on AT&T or TMobile but generally only at HSPA+ speeds (no LTE). Not sure if the One is similar.

[Daley]

Odds are, you could easily get by on a barebones AT&T MVNO based PAYGO account (Airvoice/Jolt or PureTalk) if you get your data in check (which it sounds like it should be easy enough). $15/month with PureTalk would get you the Simple 80 plan plus 400MB of data (given it's a wildcard), which would just cover your average usage with very little wiggle room. That margin could be opened up further using XMS, Kik, Hangouts, etc. as you pointed out. Otherwise, you might be able to get on board the Airvoice $10/month plan with sufficient data discipline, which would also give you rollover credits. And of course, P'tel is always an excellent option if T-Mobile coverage suits your needs.

The only problem may be the phone itself. The GSM slot is carrier unlocked as Shade pointed out, but Verizon might have gimped the firmware to prevent you from setting GSM APN data settings on the thing. If they did, it'll likely require you to stick Cyanogenmod on it to get the functionality back. Of course, if you could get by without mobile data this would be a moot point.

Otherwise as of currently, if you want to stick with a Verizon MVNO, your only option right now is Page Plus given it's an LTE handset. It also means you have to commit to at least $30/month, which is ridiculous overkill for your needs. Selectel should be getting the ability to do LTE soon, but it's unknown if they'll be permitted to activate LTE handsets on their cheaper plans or not.

[Thegoblinchief]

I can't help you on the technical details of whether you've got full GSM functionality or not, but my usage was very similar to yours, and with data discipline (and switching SO conversations from SMS to Hangouts) I'm averaging below $15 on AirVoice's pay go plan.