What’s a MVNO and why you should know if you use a cell phone…

[dahlink]

What’s a MVNO? It stands for Mobile virtual network operator
You can read about it here on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_virtual_network_operator
Basically though, every carrier leases or lets another operator use their network to sell their service.  You have probably heard of boost mobile, virgin mobile, straight talk, etc.  These are all MVNOs that use the main four carrier’s services.  There are also ones you may have not heard of such as pagepluscellular and puretalkusa.  Some of these lesser know ones will allow you to bring your own device if it is compatible with their network.  You just need to find out what service they are an MVNO for.  Pageplus does Verizon, and puretalkusa does ATT.  Not every device can be brought over but you can check with them online and see what is okay. 
  Why would you want to do this?  Well, I was paying on average about 60-70plus tax on my plans with ATT then Tmobile.  Now with pageplus, I had a plan that is 29.95, and now have been using one that is $12(no tax or other fees) per month because when I am at home I am using my wifi to talk and text, and at work I can actually use google voice to text (they also don’t allow cell phones at my work).
So, in some rough math, the lowest costs I had with a big carrier was about 75 dollars after fees and taxes.  That’s about $900 a year.  Now, $12 per month is 0f course $144 a year.  Savings of 756 a year.  Now there are more expenses that should be considered.  I have been buying my phones off of eBay.  However, the costs are drastically  reduced and I have managed to recoup the money spent when I sell the phone on craigslist or eBay.  The only thing I am missing is insurance for my phone.  But you can buy that somewhere else too.  I don’t have experience on what to do there so please fellow mustachians feel free to shed light that one.  Thanks for reading and thanks to MMM for getting us all together.


UPDATE:  Another great thread that expands on MNVOs in depth and touches VOIP and other savings areas has been posted by I.P. Daley here--> https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/communications-tech-isps-voip-cell/

Please check it out as there is a lot of useful information.  This is such an important topic IMHO because so many are throwing away money with cell phones out of ignorance.  Fortunately with the MMM site, ignorance is retreating en masse.

[MMM]

Excellent info Dahlink - thanks!!

I'm currently an ATT user, but when my 2-year iPhone contract runs out in September, I would like to bring it over to pageplus. Can this be done by simply getting a new sim card for the phone?

Interestingly enough, I could easily live with 250 minutes per month. The data at 10MB would be a little iffy, but then again if you go over by 10MB, it's only an extra $2. I have wi-fi at home and many places around my town including the homes of friends, so the only heavy data use would be on US-based vacations (for foreign vacations data service is totally out anyway due to insane pricing so I use wifi only).

Here's the $12 plan: http://www.pagepluscellular.com/Plans/12%20Plan.aspx

I may have to write this up as a full article so all the readers can see it (less than 1% of us are here in the forum).

[dahlink]

Thanks for the quick reply MMM,

Basically, when I used puretalkusa, they had a deal to give a SIM card free for a new customer and the first month was also half off.  It will work in an ATT phone.  No unlock required as it is the ATT network.  And when or if you went over in data they would just charge you $10 and add 100MB.

Interesting news with straight talk (Wal-Mart’s MVNO) is that they are going to allow users to bring their own device and I think it will include *unlimited (but capped) data.  But I am not sure cause it maybe one of those plans where streaming data (Netflix, spotify, YouTube) would not be allow.

I am currently using an iphone with pageplus but I cannot recommend it as pageplus does not officially support ios devices.  Basically, if one day Verizon sends a list of ESNs of iphones to block on pageplus, they will have to comply.  But I am taking the risk.

If you do use pageplus however, be sure to call in for the activation or port because it is free over the phone, but $10 on their website.

I forgot to mention this,  http://howardforums.com/
Go to their forums tab then scroll down to the prepaid/MVNO section and you can learn a lot from their post there.  It’s a pretty good resource and a lot of my successful Google searches for information end up being from this forum.  They have a whole lot of info on other MVNOs that I did not discuss (there are so many).

I would be honored if you put something together about this subject and posted it on the main site.  I am no writer and I'd like to read your take on this subject one day.

[arebelspy]

Interesting, thanks for the information.

I don't use a lot of minutes, but I use a ton of data.  What's the cheapest MVNO plan with unlimited data?

[dahlink]

I'm not really too sure on that one.  I would suggest walmarts straight talk or something similar.  Its hard to say because most have a cap after 1 or 2 GB even if they advertise unlimited.  I have found thought that living without cellular data is not as bad as it seems beacause there are so many wifi hotspots available at starbucks, mcdonalds, etc that you can still get online lots of the time.  I would check around the howardforums to see if any of the MVNO experts have insight to the best option for data, if there is one.

[adam]

I just got a 4G phone and renewed my plan with verizon so I'm not likely going to change it till that contract is up, but I'm also interested in more detail regarding these data plans.  I've been grandfathered in on the unlimited data although I typically don't even use 2GB (the new cap for the same $29).  I do however use at least 1GB a month (well, on my old phone, I just picked this Nexus up last month).

I did recently set up google voice so I could cancel the $10 unlimited text plan as well.

[dahlink]

Thanks for the responses everyone. 
  I know lots of users utilize a ton of data.  I my case, I do not need a lot of data because I use my wifi at home, and have noticed tons of wifi abroad.  Plus wifi is generally much faster than 3g.  Interestingly now thought is 4g LTE.  Sometimes the download speeds rival or beat wifi!  However, to my knowledge, MVNOs don't get to use LTE and the phones don't exactly work to well if you try to bring one to an MVNO.

If you use your phone as your ISP this would not be the solution for you.  But you likely cut out your wired ISP so there should be savings there. 

For me when I look at the savings with my current plan vs. the convenience of an unlimited data plan I am very satisfied with my current setup.

I am by no means an expert on all of this, but have found lots of joy with the savings and had to share it wth you all.

  I am kind of curious what people do to use so much data if they are not using their phone's data as their ISP via wifi hot spot, etc.  I have literally seen people use their cellular data for streaming music or YouTube at McDonalds or starbucks, oblivious to the fact that there is free wifi there and its usually going to be faster (except with 4G LTE possibly).

Thanks again.

[adam]

I've measured 4G LTE in Charleston as high as 31MB down / 15mb up.  So yeah, 10+ times faster than the cable internet at home.  The problem is we don't live in Charleston (yet), so I don't have access to these speeds at my house, otherwise I would consider using it as my only source of internet.  Well, that and the wife would probably want some access as well, but the point is moot.

[arebelspy]

I'm not really too sure on that one. ...I would check around the howardforums to see if any of the MVNO experts have insight to the best option for data, if there is one.

Ah, too bad.  I haven't found a good option for unlimited mobile data that's MVNO.

there are so many wifi hotspots available at starbucks, mcdonalds

I don't go to those places.  I'd assume most Mustachian types don't, but I might be wrong.

[arebelspy]

  I am kind of curious what people do to use so much data if they are not using their phone's data as their ISP via wifi hot spot, etc.  I have literally seen people use their cellular data for streaming music or YouTube at McDonalds or starbucks, oblivious to the fact that there is free wifi there and its usually going to be faster (except with 4G LTE possibly).

I use mine for my internet access.  Great savings at home to have no TV or internet bill, and have it just part of my phone's plan, and tether devices through the phone.  (Thus no WiFi at home, aside from the hotspot my phone is broadcasting, and the need for lots of mobile internet.)

That's how I'm connected right now.

I generally use about 30gb/mo or so.

[drewstees]

  I am kind of curious what people do to use so much data if they are not using their phone's data as their ISP via wifi hot spot, etc.  I have literally seen people use their cellular data for streaming music or YouTube at McDonalds or starbucks, oblivious to the fact that there is free wifi there and its usually going to be faster (except with 4G LTE possibly).

I use mine for my internet access.  Great savings at home to have no TV or internet bill, and have it just part of my phone's plan, and tether devices through the phone.  (Thus no WiFi at home, aside from the hotspot my phone is broadcasting, and the need for lots of mobile internet.)

That's how I'm connected right now.

I generally use about 30gb/mo or so.

What carrier are you using that you're not getting hit with throttling?

I've got unlimited data on AT&T, but it's recently come out that they throttle you around 2 GB on that plan.  Guess they want to force people onto the 3 GB tiered plan...

I despise AT&T, but it's the cheapest at the moment for me, with the family plan and discounts from my employer.

[arebelspy]

What carrier are you using that you're not getting hit with throttling?

Sprint.

[dahlink]

I'm not really too sure on that one. ...I would check around the howardforums to see if any of the MVNO experts have insight to the best option for data, if there is one.

Ah, too bad.  I haven't found a good option for unlimited mobile data that's MVNO.

there are so many wifi hotspots available at starbucks, mcdonalds

I don't go to those places.  I'd assume most Mustachian types don't, but I might be wrong.

Your are right...I should not go to those places lol.  I am trying to cut back for sure.  It's bad for you health and a waste, but I still end up at McD's or Starbucks once in a while.  But there are many other places, not just restaurants, that have wifi available.  Using your mobile service such as sprint for all of your internet needs is not a bad way to go either.  I chose this option because I was concerned about the latency I also need my computers online when I am not home.

There are really so many options to saving money that average people never consider.  Which is why I like this site and ones like it so much.

I currently rent and the apartment cable provider is monopolized by Time Warner Cable.  I could go with a DSL plan that is cheaper but I hate contracts.  So I was able to get  cheaper deal for $35 per month for a year, then it would go to $52.  However, I just could not stand for that.  After doing some research I found that earthlink is really just TWC in disguise.  So I was able to switch to them for $39.  It's not great but I only subscribe for internet service.  I get local broadcast through the cable company because of something called QAM television.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM_(television)
Basically cable companies are required to transmit the local stations that are broadcast over the airwaves.  It's great and they are in HD.  I also use Netflix instant that concludes my TV costs.

Now another way to save even more money that I have heard of is to get with your neighbors and all pitch in to share the internet connection via someone's router.  You'll need to have someone who is IT savvy that you can trust.  I'm not completely sure of the legality, but I have heard from reliable sources that this in NOT illegal.  I am sure cable companies don't want you doing it but if they had it their way you would have to pay for every web page you visit.

[shdrdr]

To save money on cell service, look into Republic Wireless: www.republicwireless.com

I've had their service for a few months, and I'm satisfied. The phones use Wi-Fi when available, and Sprint when not. After paying for their phone, the monthly service is $19, for unlimited voice/text/data.

The company is still beta testing, but when they open up for general public, we may see lower prices from all carriers.

[arebelspy]

To save money on cell service, look into Republic Wireless: www.republicwireless.com

I've had their service for a few months, and I'm satisfied. The phones use Wi-Fi when available, and Sprint when not. After paying for their phone, the monthly service is $19, for unlimited voice/text/data.

The company is still beta testing, but when they open up for general public, we may see lower prices from all carriers.

I just read a scathing review of them from a site/writer I respect, posted yesterday:
http://www.geardiary.com/2012/02/15/hands-on-review-of-the-republic-wireless-19-unlimited-cell-phone-plan/

I really hope they get better, because I really, really want them to succeed.  Competition is good for us, the consumer!

[velocistar237]

My wife ordered an $80 refurbished Android phone to start using Page Plus's $80 for 2000 minutes prepaid plan. The idea is to use the Groove IP app with Google Voice while on wifi and PP's minutes while away from wifi. If she continues with her typical usage, it will be cheaper than our current $30/month piggyback-on-the-inlaws-family-plan plan. If I remember, I'll post an update here after we get it set up.

[DC]

I recently found a service that seems similar to the Republic Wireless. http://corp.fon.com/
My cable/net/phone provider has an agreement with Fon that if you use the provider's router, they give you access to the Fon network. I haven't used it because I don't want to spend money on a new one while the old one is functioning perfectly. It has one inconvenience, if there's no Fon coverage nearby you don't get internet access.

[rowsdower]

My wife ordered an $80 refurbished Android phone to start using Page Plus's $80 for 2000 minutes prepaid plan. The idea is to use the Groove IP app with Google Voice while on wifi and PP's minutes while away from wifi. If she continues with her typical usage, it will be cheaper than our current $30/month piggyback-on-the-inlaws-family-plan plan. If I remember, I'll post an update here after we get it set up.

I do something very similar this with an unlocked iPhone on T-Mobile prepaid, but that is $85-$100 for 1000 minutes for a year (refills are normally available cheaper than face value on eBay).  I don't use more than 1000 minutes in a year because if I am making a long call, I can almost always call over wifi. 

My biggest issue is that it is very difficult (if not impossible) to get incoming calls over wifi because the phone normally shuts down the wifi radio while it is sleeping.  There are ways to force it to stay on with Android, but it will kill your battery.  I ended up getting a box at home that you can plug regular cordless phones into and connects to Google Voice (basically, roll-your-own Vonage).  This is the software:

https://wiki.asterisk.org/wiki/display/AST/Calling+using+Google

That way I get incoming calls over the cordless phones while I am at home, which is where I receive most of my long calls.  An alternative is to call people back when they call you, but that can get annoying.  With 2000 minutes I might be able to just use the phone when people call me. 

[velocistar237]

My biggest issue is that it is very difficult (if not impossible) to get incoming calls over wifi because the phone normally shuts down the wifi radio while it is sleeping.  There are ways to force it to stay on with Android, but it will kill your battery.

Thanks for the reply. It took me a while to choose a phone solution, and the wifi battery usage issue is not one that I came across. I want to reconcile your experience with what I just found here, though:

http://www.androidcentral.com/android-101-save-battery-keeping-wifi-alive

I'm guessing this post has to do with constant 3G/4G connectivity vs. wifi. I suppose we'll try it several ways to figure it out for our own setup.

If the Android + Page Plus thing works out, I'll make the switch from T-Mobile prepaid once I get through my remaining minutes in about 10 months. I'll have to buy a CDMA phone, though.

I ended up getting a box at home that you can plug regular cordless phones into and connects to Google Voice (basically, roll-your-own Vonage).

I looked into the option of getting an Obi100 for Google Voice calls from a regular home phone, but an open-source box sounds better for dealing with future changes. What box did you get? Does it plug into your computer, or is it stand-alone? We let our computer sleep quite a bit, so we would prefer a stand-alone solution.

[rowsdower]

I want to reconcile your experience with what I just found here, though:

http://www.androidcentral.com/android-101-save-battery-keeping-wifi-alive

I suppose it's possible that leaving wifi on saves power with the data radio on.  I didn't and don't have a data plan so I can't really compare.  Leaving wifi on without a data plan will definitely use more power.  One of the comments on that page also mentions that it will use more power if you leave it on while you are out of wifi range.  The Android phone that I tried this on was the G1, which was the first Android phone.  It's possible that newer phones are better at this. 

I looked into the option of getting an Obi100 for Google Voice calls from a regular home phone, but an open-source box sounds better for dealing with future changes. What box did you get? Does it plug into your computer, or is it stand-alone? We let our computer sleep quite a bit, so we would prefer a stand-alone solution.

I got one of these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Unlocked-Linksys-PAP2-NA-2-ports-Voip-gateway-ATA-/280606764200?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4155776ca8

I'm pretty sure it is a knockoff because the label looks like it was printed on a crappy inkjet, but it works.  It plugs into a router running OpenWRT, which I already had and is always on.  The open source route may be more future proof, but as an "unofficial" solution it could stop working at any time.  There was an issue about a year and a half ago where I couldn't dial anymore that turned out to be a bug in Asterisk that wasn't a problem until Google updated something. 

Free calls through Google Talk/GMail may not last forever either.  Calling through GMail has been free since they started it, but at the beginning of every year they "extend" it for another year.  They could stop doing that at any time.  Worst case is probably $0.02/min though, which is their lowest rate for international calls now.  There are also other (paid) services out there that will almost certainly continue working with this equipment. 

[velocistar237]

My wife ordered an $80 refurbished Android phone to start using Page Plus's $80 for 2000 minutes prepaid plan. The idea is to use the Groove IP app with Google Voice while on wifi and PP's minutes while away from wifi. If she continues with her typical usage, it will be cheaper than our current $30/month piggyback-on-the-inlaws-family-plan plan. If I remember, I'll post an update here after we get it set up.

Okay, we did it! We switched from $30/month to an Android phone with GrooVe IP for VoIP calls from the phone over wifi, plus prepaid minutes through Page Plus when away from wifi, both through a single Google Voice number.

The GrooVe IP app is pretty good. The call is clear, and it can be integrated into the native dialer. The bad, though: Sometimes it hangs at the calling screen, and the phone needs a reboot. On outgoing calls, there is a two-second delay before the person on the other end can hear. This is irritating, but we don't know yet if it will be a deal-breaker, or if we can fix it.

For outgoing calls on the cellular network, the separate Google Voice app lets you call from your Google Voice number, that is, have it show on caller id. This works without wifi or data access, just cell. So both incoming and outgoing calls, on wifi or the cell network, all work under the Google Voice number.

For incoming calls through the Google Voice number, it's set up to forward to both GrooVe IP and the cell phone, which is a little weird to have the incoming call come to your phone two ways at once, but GrooVe IP is designed to put its answer screen back on top after the cell phone side starts ringing.

The battery usage might be an issue. We've only had a day to test it, so we can't tell yet. We're still working out the bugs, and I hope the GrooVe IP app gets better over time. I hope Google Voice continues to work for free for a few more years. As long as it's less than 4 cents/min, this setup might still be worth it.

[edmcquade]

I've been saving money by moving my AT&T iPhone to AT&T's GoPhone prepaid service.  A nice feature of making this move is that you don't need to jailbreak or unlock an AT&T iPhone to do this, since you're not changing to a different network provider.

I got my inspiration from this article, which explains the economics of the GoPhone data packages for light 3G users
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/08/10/dear-aunt-tuaw-what-is-this-cheap-iphone-data-plan-you-speak-of/
Since that article was written, a since website has been created to take care of the most complex aspect of the process, which is the APN change.  This can be done from the phone (on WiFi) by going to http://www.unlockit.co.nz/unlockit/ and selecting AT&T.

To save on voice minutes I use an app called Talaktone (http://www.talkatone.com/) that lets me make calls using Google Voice over WiFi.

[biliruben]

That GoPhone option looks pretty good.  It looks like it would drop our Bill from $170 down to $90-100.  Close to $1000 bucks a year. 

[edmcquade]

One detail that I realized I left out is that if you switch from an AT&T postpaid plan to prepaid (GoPhone) and are under contract then you will have to pay a prorated early termination fee.  I did the math and it was still worth it due to my relatively light usage. I calculated what the ETF would be by using http://www.myrateplan.com/contract_termination_fees/

[biliruben]

My contract expired in the fall, so I'm fine on that score. 

I now recall, however, 5 years ago or so when I got my first cell phone, I considered this option, or something very similar.  The dude at the kiosk talked me out of it saying the coverage of the pay as you go plans was inferior.  Any idea if this is true?

[edmcquade]

AT&T's coverage map does differ between postpaid and prepaid.  I think it relates to roaming agreements.  In practice I haven't seen any difference since I switched, but it likely varies by location.  You can see the coverage map at http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-plans/pyg-cell-phone-plans.jsp

[LadyM]

Thanks so much for this post!!  Since our AT&T contract expired, I decided to investigate this...and I made the switch from post-paid to pre-paid (much to the chagrin of AT&T...they REALLY want to keep people post-paid).

We're saving $30 a month!  My phone and my husband's are now each on the $25/month GoPhone plan - 250 talking minutes and unlimited texting, but no data, as we don't own smartphones.  Pretty sweet!!

My only question is: do you recommend automatic refills?  Or just keeping on top of your phone and refilling it each month manually?  The auto-refill convenience sounds tempting, but I'm afraid there's a catch in there somewhere.

[arebelspy]

Thanks so much for this post!!  Since our AT&T contract expired, I decided to investigate this...and I made the switch from post-paid to pre-paid (much to the chagrin of AT&T...they REALLY want to keep people post-paid).

We're saving $30 a month!  My phone and my husband's are now each on the $25/month GoPhone plan - 250 talking minutes and unlimited texting, but no data, as we don't own smartphones.  Pretty sweet!!

My only question is: do you recommend automatic refills?  Or just keeping on top of your phone and refilling it each month manually?  The auto-refill convenience sounds tempting, but I'm afraid there's a catch in there somewhere.

The only advantage of manually refilling is to keep a closer eye on the minutes your using (which may be relevant, as switching to another plan with different minutes may work better), but I'd personally just auto-refill to keep it automated and save the hassle.

Congrats on the savings!  That's $5310 over the next decade you're saving!  (Using MMM's 177 x monthly expense = 1 decade's spending formula.)

[Daley]

Thanks so much for this post!!  Since our AT&T contract expired, I decided to investigate this...and I made the switch from post-paid to pre-paid (much to the chagrin of AT&T...they REALLY want to keep people post-paid).

We're saving $30 a month!  My phone and my husband's are now each on the $25/month GoPhone plan - 250 talking minutes and unlimited texting, but no data, as we don't own smartphones.  Pretty sweet!!

My only question is: do you recommend automatic refills?  Or just keeping on top of your phone and refilling it each month manually?  The auto-refill convenience sounds tempting, but I'm afraid there's a catch in there somewhere.

Congrats on your first bold steps towards saving money on your cell phone bills, ladymaier!

Now that you've been introduced to the wonderful world of prepaid phones and taken your first sweet taste of savings, it's time to actually start looking at your actual phone usage patterns including average minutes used monthly, actual number of SMS text messages sent, and so forth. You might be shocked to discover that with the right MVNO, cutting your $80/month AT&T plan down to $50/month is still quite expensive for what you're actually using.

Give a look at my freshly posted as of yesterday telecommunications savings superguide (and especially the MVNO provider guide) in this subforum and discover how much more you could potentially save. You might find that you could possibly shave another $30 or more a month off your budget just by paying only for what you use!

[LadyM]

Congrats on your first bold steps towards saving money on your cell phone bills, ladymaier!

Now that you've been introduced to the wonderful world of prepaid phones and taken your first sweet taste of savings, it's time to actually start looking at your actual phone usage patterns including average minutes used monthly, actual number of SMS text messages sent, and so forth. You might be shocked to discover that with the right MVNO, cutting your $80/month AT&T plan down to $50/month is still quite expensive for what you're actually using.

Give a look at my freshly posted as of yesterday telecommunications savings superguide (and especially the MVNO provider guide) in this subforum and discover how much more you could potentially save. You might find that you could possibly shave another $30 or more a month off your budget just by paying only for what you use!

Thanks!  I was originally looking into other options, but GoPhone seemed the most painless at the moment, and something I knew I didn't have to buy a new phone for.  I was looking at the PagePlus $12 plan, but their site stated the could only guarantee that their phones worked.

The $25 plan with ATT currently works for our talking minutes...neither of us goes much about 200 minutes each month, and we keep our texts below 500 a piece.  It would be nice to find something a little leaner still, but I was just worrying too much about phone compatibility and hassle.  I will still check out your post, because being aware of all the options is important, for sure. 

Thanks for the intel!

[biliruben]

Ladymaier -

Did you do this with an iphone, or will they not allow that?

Thanks!

[LadyM]

Ladymaier -

Did you do this with an iphone, or will they not allow that?

Thanks!

I don't have an iPhone, just a couple of LG Xenons.  I was able to move it over easily because my contract has expired, so no early termination fees. 

I imagine you can jump over to the world of pre-paid with any phone. If you have an iPhone, then you'll probably have to get a plan that includes data....I think GoPhone has a $50/month "unlimited" everything plan.  http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/go-phones/index.jsp#fbid=z_oYCF7GMH9

If you are still stuck within a contract, you would have to pay early termination fees to switch.  Depending upon what your savings will be it might still be worth it to pay the fee.  If your contract is expired, you're free to do what you damn well please!  It's liberating!!

[Daley]

Thanks!  I was originally looking into other options, but GoPhone seemed the most painless at the moment, and something I knew I didn't have to buy a new phone for.  I was looking at the PagePlus $12 plan, but their site stated the could only guarantee that their phones worked.

The $25 plan with ATT currently works for our talking minutes...neither of us goes much about 200 minutes each month, and we keep our texts below 500 a piece.  It would be nice to find something a little leaner still, but I was just worrying too much about phone compatibility and hassle.  I will still check out your post, because being aware of all the options is important, for sure. 

Thanks for the intel!

Not a problem! I can certainly understand why you chose a path of least resistance there, but given your level of texting, it will definitely be worth looking into alternative methods. I just added an extra little blurb on SMS text message costs to the mobile provider post as I forgot to include that when I first typed everything up, and it would be worth looking over to understand the true cost of texting straight through your provider.

From a bang for buck perspective if you're happy spending $25 a phone and don't want to go through the hassle of technology transition, however, you might want to also look at H2O wireless's $25/month plan as it may be a bit more accommodating to oddball months where you have a spike in minute usage and a lull in text messaging. I also know there's been other AT&T/GSM based prepaid providers out there in the past that allow unlimited talk and text in network, but I'm not recalling who off the top of my head. If you give me a couple days to rummage around HowardForums, I might have a name or two. I'm still convinced that there's room for further savings with minimal effort in your currently desired setup with the right provider.

[Daley]

Ladymaier -

Did you do this with an iphone, or will they not allow that?

Thanks!

Not to bring H2O Wireless up again, but I've seen on many an occasion over at HowardForums where iPhone users leaving AT&T usually wind up going to or being recommended to H2O as a prepaid provider. They even have a page dedicated to iPhone configuration.

I also know people have used AT&T's GoPhone service in the past with their iPhones, and they do allow it, but they also like charging an exorbitant price premium on data services for any "smartphone" on their pre-paid plans and restrict users from using pay as you use minute packages, because somehow the data and minutes used by a smartphone magically costs more money to traffic than the data and minutes used by a dumbphone. As such, expect to be in for a minimum of $25 for the 250 minute voice and unlimited SMS text, and another $15 for a quantity of data over 10MB (still only 100MB, and I know iPhones can chew data like bubblegum). Pricing details and restrictions here. As such, I'd recommend getting service from another prepaid provider if you're looking at using a smartphone of any variety.

[edmcquade]

Ladymaier -

Did you do this with an iphone, or will they not allow that?

Thanks!

Yes, I have an iPhone on GoPhone.  You can't use the data in the $50 plan as it isn't allowed for smartphones.  GoPhone has rollover data when you buy a data package every 30 days, so I bought a $25 500MB pack and then roll over each month by buying an additional $5 10MB pack.  After 3 months I still have over 400MB left.  I have some useful links in my post above.

[Adventine]

Wow, it's a bit jarring to read these posts. It's nice almost everyone posting here has successfully cut down their cell phone bills, but from my point of view, those plans are still pretty expensive. I pay the equivalent of 5 USD for a month's worth of calls and texts. That's unlimited calling and texting to other subscribers in the same carrier/network, plus 500 texts to other subscribers from other carriers/networks, valid for a period of 30 days. I rely on free WiFi for browsing, which is just fine because I don't need mobile internet access for work. It's not a system that will work for everybody, but it works pretty darn well for me.

I should emphasize that I live in a part of the world where network competition is cutthroat; thus, the great deals on unlimited calls and texts. It also helps I bought my Samsung Galaxy S unlocked, so I never paid for a plan in the first place. Prepaid all the way, baby!

[velocistar237]

I should emphasize that I live in a part of the world where network competition is cutthroat

Yeah, the USA is known for being behind the curve in our telecom systems. Companies get away with charging an arm and a leg while keeping their expenses way down by keeping upgrades to a minimum. There's a lot of lobbying by telecom companies, and I've read articles about them getting government money to pay for infrastructure upgrades, then just pocketing it without doing anything. I wonder why there isn't more competition, since customers are unsatisfied with what they have, and a decent competitor could come in and eat everyone's lunch.

[Adventine]

It'll be interesting to see what kind of rates will become the norm when that finally happens...

[dahlink]

I would like to thank everyone for all of the feedback and the high level of views this post has seen.  I have read that many people have found success and many have contributed and expanded to my information.  Thanks again.

Also, I have seen that some have been weary of using pagepluscellular since they may not guarantee your device, etc.  If you are tech savvy, or perhaps tech confident...I would recommend using your verizon device on their service.  There is a list of devices that are not allowed/banned from activation on their network, there are grey area divices--> iphone, and then devices that have trouble or problems--> 4g LTE devices.  So if you have a 3g verizon device that is not prepaid and you are tech capable/comfortable I would recommend giving it a try.  Google your device and pageplus first just incase to look for problems.

  I will do a shameless plug to the person who turned me on to pageplus.  I do not know him personally, but basically I broke my phone that was on tmobile, and sent it in for repairs.  I needed a temp phone and through google searches found this youtube video.  In short he shows off the palm pixi plus which is still really cheap, including the accessories now that webos is abandoned.  He mentions pagepluscellular and that was how I learned about it.  Thanks again fellow MMMers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG-zLS5KVjA

[MrSaturday]

I just ported an old Verizon Droid to Pageplus last night and didn't need any particular techie ability.  I just had to put in the phone number, MEID (found in "about phone" in the android system menu), and my verizon account number and an hour or two later I was done.

A good place to find out if a particular phone is going to be a problem is on howardforums.com.  That's where all my google searches seem to end up when looking for info on mobile phones.

[kudy]

Just changed over to tmobile`s pre-paid service, basically their own version of an mvno, and dropped my bill from $80 to $30 per month :-) now i get the challenge of using skype for making most calls ($3 per month for outbound), as I've limited myself to 100 minutes per month.

[igthebold]

Just chiming in here to say that I "downgraded" from a $60-$82/month (the extra is the sneaky part where they text you and you get to pay extra, I think) T-Mobile plan on my Android phone, to $10/month Pure Talk USA plan. I still have Wifi, and for some reason my Google Voice number still works, possibly because it's using SMS. I'm really happy with it so far.

Service is fine, but the only thing I've had to call them for was to turn off voicemail, since I want Google Voice to do it for me. Most of my talking is on Skype while I'm working, so I don't use many minutes at all.

My wife is on an old Virgin Mobile plan that costs us $20 to prepay every 3 months ($6.67/month) and she's racked up a crazy number of minutes, so she's go an essentially unlimited number of minutes based on her phone habits.