The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: KurtBikes on January 20, 2014, 11:37:10 AM
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I am switching from Verizon to Republic Wireless in February. I am going with their $10 monthly plan as I don't care to check email or log on when away from the office (besides, I have a fancy work phone if I really need to check something online). Has anyone here switched to Republic Wireless in NYC? I am curious what the fees will be on top of the $10/month plan. I pay about $10-$15 in monthly service charges and NYC taxes with my current Verizon plan.
Thanks,
Kurt
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Oo, I would be interested in this too. There's so much wifi in the city but so much of it is password-protected or is through a protected portal. I'd think you'd spend a lot of time convincing the phone that, no, you actually need cellular coverage, no matter how much its wifi senses are tingling.
It looks, from googling, like fees are 5-6 bucks in nyc.
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Ah, yes, good call. I wonder if the phone would read all the wifi as usable. I have wifi at home and in the office so I'm good there. Does anyone out in the forum use Republic in NYC?
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Curious. Why are you choosing Republic Wireless?
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The reviews are pretty great and the monthly charges are about 20% of my current charges with Verizon.
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It doesn't just try to connect to any open wifi, you have to prompt it just like any other phone. It will of course save wifi networks, but that's normal & helpful.
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Before you buy, you might want to read IP Daley's Super Guide. I quote from it here:
"...Additionally, you mentioned Republic Wireless. There’s a funny thing about your stating, “after they come out with improved phones,” in your message. That’s a lament I’ve read from users since they launched, “The service is always going to be better once they iron out the bugs and launch the next generation of smartphones.” It’ll always be better next time.
Here’s the truth: VoIP technology is mature. Wireless telephone service is mature. Android smartphones are mature. Republic uses all three, yet still provides dodgy service. What gives?
The reason why Republic isn’t that great is because it’s the worst possible combination of all three packaged up with a pretty little bow punching your greed button with the promises of “unlimited” “wireless” service, and it will never get better than it is because their implementation is fundamentally flawed with the weaknesses of all three technologies playing off each other and exacerbating the issue and silently tethering you to home usage anyway to keep the service costs low. "
http://www.techmeshugana.com/2013/07/ask-daley-communications-in-southwest-colorado/
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IP Daley has his reasons for disliking Republic and I can't argue with some of them, namely that the phone itself is expensive and has, at this time, no resale value. However, the new Moto X phone has in fact resolved the most major of the issues that were experienced with the Defy. It's not perfect for every user, and I encourage you to read their forums before buying to see if the potential pitfalls outweigh the benefits. But, I personally appreciate the simplicity of an unlimited plan and have been very satisfied with my experience so far.
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Thank you for the additional information. Just to put the idea out there for the OP...I switched to AirVoice Wireless, and I was able to use the phone I already had. I pay $10/month.