Total Wireless vs. Cricket Wireless - where's the catch?

[kms]

So in about a month my wife and I will finally arrive in the US after having travelled east from Europe via Asia, Australia and New Zealand for almost half a year. We intend to travel around the US and Canada for several months, as well as spend a couple of weeks in South America later this year. I am currently looking for mobile plans for our two smartphones, and am a bit lost since the last time I had to deal with US mobile plans was in early 2007 shortly before I left the US again and well before the smartphone market exploded.

I've looked at what Ting has to offer and it does look appealing. However, given that we won't have a home for several months and intend to travel around in a small campervan (aka a minivan with a mattress in the back) access to Wifi will be rather limited I am very certain that 2GB of shared data will not be enough for the two of us. Maybe once we've settled down but not while we're still on the road. Then I found two pretty decent offers on Cricket (AT&T) and Total Wireless (Verizon):

Cricket: US $70 for 2x 2.5GB data, unlimited talk and text
Total Wireless: US $70 for 2x 5GB data, unlimited talk and text; or US $60 for 8GB shared data, unlimited talk and text

The latter seems too good to be true given that it's a Verizon MVNO (is it true that Verizon still has the best overall coverage or was that AT&T?). There's even another 5% discount with auto-refill and, as far as I can tell, data is 4G LTE.

Where's the catch? It sounds too good to be true. Are there better offers available for us?

[alsoknownasDean]

I.P. Daley is probably the one to ask (check his guide, although it's a tad outdated in places (PTel no longer exists, for example)).

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/communications-tech-son-of-the-superguide!/

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/share-your-badassity/communications-tech-discussion-thread-1/

I'm assuming that you've already got GSM handsets that you've been using, if you've been touring around here and Europe and that. I'd assume therefore that an AT&T MVNO may let you use your existing handsets, but you'd be more likely to need to buy a new handset to support a CDMA carrier (or even T-Mobile with their kooky 1700/2100MHz network).

What does Consumer Cellular offer for the money?

[kms]

I forgot to ads that: we have two iPhones (6s and 6 Plus) that should work on all US networks, even Verizon's CDMA or T-Mobiles 1700/2100 network. According to the Total Wireless website both our phones are fully compatible with their network.

Thanks for the links, I'll check them out.

[Daley]

Where's the catch? It sounds too good to be true. Are there better offers available for us?

The catch is always in the fine print. Total Wireless is owned by America Movil (Carlos Slim) - the same monopoly that holds Latin American telecom prices by the jugular, support isn't too hot, nor are their terms of service. Cricket is owned by AT&T, their support is about three notches below the support quality AT&T gives their under contract postpaid customers, their terms of service aren't pleasant, the brand is being used to undermine wholesale/MVNO competition in this country with below cost data pricing, and they're charging ever increasing poverty taxes among other things. If you don't mind making a deal with the adversary, they're great!

*cough*

Let's talk truthfully for a moment. You clearly need prepaid/no contract for your time Stateside. Mobile data in this country is expensive, though. The exceptions where you're going to find a cheaper deal on mobile data coupled with phone service are going to be brands that will be ruinous for our market long term for you to do business with, and they'll most likely treat you poorly. Otherwise, the more ethical providers are going to charge you around $10/GB with a $20/month baseline for "unlimited" talk and text, with the only deviation from this price point on the smaller networks. There are ways around this, but they can be complex. If you want coaching on that, I'll share my wisdom. Otherwise, I'll just tell you what pitfalls and market quirks to beware of, and tell you who owns what and let your own conscience guide you on what devil you're willing to make a deal with for your data consumption.

Here's a somewhat current list of all the MVNOs in the country.

You have golden ticket phones, and should be able to activate it on any network over here. Verizon has the most complete nationwide coverage. AT&T is a close second. T-Mobile is a distant third, but does cover most high-density population areas, but can be weaker in many rural areas. Sadly, save your time instead of looking at Sprint options.

Although the FCC has ruled somewhat for network neutrality on mobile data in that there shouldn't be added fees or restrictions on data tethering for mobile data as what you're paying for should be usable however you want, they left loopholes and outs with this policy for "unlimited" data offerings. Long story short? Any mobile phone plan offering "unlimited" 2G or throttled data after [X]GB of "high speed" data is doing so to prevent you from legally using data tethering. So, if you want to turn your phone into a hotspot for laptops or tablets, you're going to need a mobile provider that has hard data caps and allows tethering. There's not many of those plans, anymore. One of the few I know of and might recommend is probably from H2O Wireless' sub-brand EasyGo.

Read the terms of service for any provider you chose thoroughly. Ugly things frequently lurk in the fine print, especially with the larger, more heavily advertised brands.

Certain Verizon MVNOs with a certain common owner have on occasion seized ESN/IMEI numbers for handsets as being theirs and blacklisted those handsets from activating with other Verizon MVNOs, so service can only be re-activated with them. Given LTE is a GSM technology, and the GSM network has a global IMEI service blacklist database, this could theoretically have larger implications longer term, impacting more than just customers wanting Verizon service. I don't say this to spread FUD, only to make an observation worth noting.

Apple has an approved list of mobile providers. If you use an AT&T MVNO, it needs to be on the approved list, otherwise you'll be handicapped and won't be able to send or receive MMS messages (a key component of iMessage), leaving your iPhone less than fully functional.

Most MVNOs will not offer roaming coverage, almost none of them will offer roaming coverage with mobile data. That's an option reserved for premium postpaid plans on the major carriers.

Verzion, AT&T or T-Mobile will not sell you a data-only plan, even on prepaid, without an IMEI for a tablet, WiFi hotspot, or USB/integrated laptop modem. They don't want data only plans on phones in this country, and their terms and policies reflect this. This isn't to say that, theoretically, once a SIM card is activated with a data only plan it couldn't be placed in a phone for use, but this act is frequently frowned upon and discouraged in the terms as well. This said, there are a few wholesalers who don't do IMEI checks and won't place the same restrictions on their data plans and still charge reasonable rates, but there aren't many - in fact, I'm only aware of one currently (Toast.net).

America Movil owns the following brands: Tracfone, NET10, StraightTalk, Total Wireless, PagePlus, Simple Mobile.

AT&T owns the following brand: Cricket Wireless

T-Mobile owns the following brands: MetroPCS, GoSmart Mobile

Sprint owns the following brands: Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile

Verizon doesn't give much of a toss about prepaid currently, and treats the America Movil/Tracfone brands as "their" brands, sorta.

The AT&T MVNOs I'd be comfortable suggesting: Airvoice, Consumer Cellular, H2O Wireless/EasyGo, Puretalk USA, Red Pocket, Jolt Mobile.

The T-Mobile MVNOs I'd be comfortable suggesting: Ting, Liberty Wireless, Ultra Mobile, US Mobile

The Verizon MVNOs I'd be comfortable suggesting: Selectel, Puppy Wireless (recently sold)

None of my recommendations can be near as competitive on data rates as the brands owned by the major carriers, but it's not the MVNOs faults, the carriers aren't offering wholesale data rates that are competitive to what they're charging end users internally on these prepaid brands.

Edit 05/19: Puppy Wireless has apparently been sold to Unified Signal.

[Daley]

I.P. Daley is probably the one to ask (check his guide, although it's a tad outdated in places (PTel no longer exists, for example)).

It's outdated on the forums because of a policy/permissions change on the back-end done because users were deleting their threads. I can no longer unlock my own threads and edit them since the change, and it's too much of a PITA to bug ARS every time I want make a tweak. The unabridged one on my site doesn't have that problem, though I do need to refresh a few bits.

[Daley]

One last resource and a final comment for the time.

The RV Mobile Internet Resource Center is a reasonably useful resource, but they have a paywall.

Mobile internet connectivity while on the road is just going to be expensive. I know of one person on these forums doing the RV thing, and they've been spending around $150/month just on internet access alone. I recently helped give them a guide on how to optimize and potentially only reduce that cost by about 1/3rd, but I feel as though I should mention this to help set expectations of what it's going to realistically cost to want internet access while rambling on the road, especially if you want any streaming entertainment for the times you won't have access to OTA TV or cable. It's not cheap, be prepared for that. As such, be willing to separate out the phone service and do some sort of dedicated mobile hotspot instead as data rates will be cheaper that way.

[kms]

Thanks I.P. Daley. I certainly won't need any TV or streaming while on the road but tethering might be nice to have.

I'll take your input into consideration, much appreciated.

[kms]

FYI: we ended up getting two AT&T GoPhone SIM cards with the US $45 ($40 with auto refill) 3GB/month plans. Tethering was key here - seems like not a single AT&T MVNO supports tethering and we will definitely need it. Also, it's the only plan that offers rollover data which is definitely a plus.

[cheapass]

What made me choose Cricket was that once you go over your data "cap", they don't cut you off of data completely. It just throttles to 2G, which is fine for GPS and music streaming. Essentially I pay $35 incl tax. for unlimited data.

[Daley]

Ignoring the fact that KMS has already made a decision...

What made me choose Cricket was that once you go over your data "cap", they don't cut you off of data completely. It just throttles to 2G, which is fine for GPS and music streaming. Essentially I pay $35 incl tax. for unlimited data.

tethering might be nice to have

Although the FCC has ruled somewhat for network neutrality on mobile data in that there shouldn't be added fees or restrictions on data tethering for mobile data as what you're paying for should be usable however you want, they left loopholes and outs with this policy for "unlimited" data offerings. Long story short? Any mobile phone plan offering "unlimited" 2G or throttled data after [X]GB of "high speed" data is doing so to prevent you from legally using data tethering. So, if you want to turn your phone into a hotspot for laptops or tablets, you're going to need a mobile provider that has hard data caps and allows tethering. There's not many of those plans, anymore.

Finally...

Cricket is owned by AT&T, their support is about three notches below the support quality AT&T gives their under contract postpaid customers, their terms of service aren't pleasant, the brand is being used to undermine wholesale/MVNO competition in this country with below cost data pricing, and they're charging ever increasing poverty taxes among other things.

[campath]

Cricket is owned by AT&T

True

their support is about three notches below the support quality AT&T gives their under contract postpaid customers

Not in my opinion, but you are entitled to yours. I have nothing but good things to say about their service. In 2 years of being a customer, I have had to call maybe 3 times. Each time, my question was dealt with promptly.

their terms of service aren't pleasant

Please elaborate.

the brand is being used to undermine wholesale/MVNO competition in this country with below cost data pricing

Boo hoo. So customers having to pay less for data is upsetting the competition? Explain how lower costs are a bad thing for the consumer? I don't see you getting upset that Amazon.com also takes losses to maintain its market share in online retail. How is this any different? Isn't this the whole point of capitalism?

and they're charging ever increasing poverty taxes among other things.

Sorry but that is a really poor argument. There is an entire forum subsection (Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy) dedicated to people who are irresponsible and cannot plan ahead for small, recurrent charges. If a person cannot be bothered to setup Autopay (which also gives a $5 discount, a no brainer IMO) and incurs late charges, it is completely on them. No sympathy is deserved.

[Daley]

[complaints and criticisms]

If you're not clever enough to figure out how not spending money on a company that exploits their customers and the industry is good for your own bottom line long term with the info I've already repeated in these forums ad nauseum, there's no changing your opinion, and I've no remaining interest to waste any more of my time on someone as heartless as yourself.

[The Guru]

"Heartless" is a tad extreme, innit? I moved to Cricket a couple of months ago; when I signed up I opted for automatic payments which gives me a $5/ month discount.  Why would anyone not take that option? as far as the grace period- it's exactly that. No business has to extend such a courtesy. What's the difference if its one day or ten- you've got to pay the thing eventually regardless.