Ask Slashdot: Best Pay-as-You-Go Plan For Text and Voice Only? 246
sconeu writes "My wife uses an assistive communication device. She wants to use it for SMS texting... We currently have Verizon, so we don't have a SIM. The computer will take a SIM. I'm looking for a pay-as-you-go plan where I can take the SIM from a cheap phone and put it in her computer. Any suggestions?" It would be interesting to hear how this question would be best answered both in the U.S. and around the world.
Ting! (Score:4, Interesting)
Check out Ting [ting.com]. Brought to you by Tucows. They run on Sprint's CDMA/4G LTE network. I have voice, text messaging, AND data, and I'm paying less than $30 a month (no contracts) - less than half what I was on with Sprint.
Each component is priced separately, and you only pay for what you use - they automatically move you to the correct service level for each part at the end of each month.
They have awesome tech support - they actually turn off their hold system during the day, and the phone rings until a human picks up the phone... and then the person you talk to actually KNOWS something, not just follows a script.
The only "catch" is that you have to buy your phone - but honestly the "free phone" nonsense from other providers is just a way to rope you into a contract where you pay ten times the cost of the phone over the life of the contract.
Check them out!
(Disclaimer: Yeah, I get a discount if you use that link to sign up, but go ahead, they're freakin' awesome.)
Re:A SIM only plan? (Score:4, Interesting)
Let us test your theory:
TELUS post paid: cheapest plan $25/mo includes 100 minutes, unlimited evenings and weekends minimum 20c/minute, includes a phone on 2yr term
TELUS pre paid: cheapest plan $20/mo includes ZERO minutes, unlimited weekends (no evenings), cheap phone about $100 (works out to just over $4/mo over 2 years)
Breakeven point 3minutes a month of daytime or evening calling. Anything over 3 minutes and you were cheaper on the post paid plan.
Bell post paid: cheapest plan $27/mo includes 150 minutes, unlimited talk to 5 friends, unlimited messaging, free phone on 2yr term
Bell pre paid: cheapest plan $10.75/mo, 10c/minute, 10c/message, cheap phone about $120 (works out to $5/mo over 2 years)
Breakeven point: 112 minutes or texts. Anything over 112 minutes, or 112 texts, or any combination and you were cheaper on the post paid plan.
Rogers post paid: cheapest plan $27/mo includes 150 daytime, unlimited evening minutes, unlimited texting, $10 phone on 2yr term. (less than 50c/mo)
Rogers pre paid: cheapest plan $15/mo, 25c/minute + 75c "non government fee", cheap phone about $100, (works out to just over $4/mo over 2 years)
Breakeven point 30minutes a month. Anything over 30 minutes and you were cheaper on the post paid plan.
So true, if you don't use your phone at all, all 3 have a cheaper pre paid than post paid option. Bell even has a small window where the pre-paid might be cheaper. TELUS has the cheapest post paid plan, and there's no chance of being cheaper on pre-paid with them, Rogers you'd have to be a VERY light user to be cheaper pre-paid.
We could examine a larger range of plans, but you'll find the same thing throughout. If you take your phone out of the drawer and use it, pre-paid is always more expensive. The carriers want you on post paid for more than just roaming charges, they want the guaranteed revenue stream, it looks much better on their books than pre-paid does. They're willing to give you all sorts of bonuses to make it happen to. You'd be a fool not to take advantage of them.