As 4G Seeps In, Verizon Offers Cheap(er) No-Contract 3G Plans 67
jfruh writes "U.S. Mobile companies are working hard to get customers on fancy high-speed LTE plans with expensive smartphones. But Verizon is shrewdly working to eke out profit from its older infrastructure as well. The company is offering no-contract pay-as-you-go 3G-only plans, which might appeal to those who don't use a lot of wireless data and who might want to take advantage of the glut of older Android and iOS phones available on the market." It's good to see prices dropping from one of the biggest names in the industry, but it seems there are some cheaper options already around, especially for unlocked phones or for people who don't need data.
GSM is a requirement for me now (Score:5, Insightful)
I had service with Verizon for quite a while. In the last two areas I've lived, they have the best coverage. About a year ago I switched to one of the prepaid services, and although the coverage wasn't as good, the far lower monthly cost made up for it in my reckoning.
A few months ago, I made the switch to one of the GSM prepaid providers, and I'm totally blown away by how convenient it is to have my plan tied to a SIM card rather than a phone. Broken phone? No problem, stick the SIM in an old iPhone 3GS borrowed from a co-worker. The same deal when I upgraded to a Nexus 4, just pop in the SIM card and go.
I can certainly see why this caught on in the rest of the world, and I can see why American cell providers like Verizon and Sprint are against it - I'm sure they make a good bit of money from selling you phones. In my case, I'll never go back to the "old way," regardless of how cheap Verizon might get.
Oh, spare me - what a crock! (Score:5, Insightful)
Or, I can sign up with StraightTalk, for $45 a month vs $70 for the same or worse from Verizon. (And taxes/fees on ST are tiny. You know how you almost always pay $5-9 in "extra" fees - well not on ST. The regulatory and recovery fees are less than $1. So that $45 becomes something like $45.92 - not nearly $50.)
I don't know about their StraightTalks's plans on Verizon's networks, but on AT&T, I'm getting LTE - so I expect it's 4G on Verizon's network too.
Ahem. If this is "helping" me, please stop. I really don't need your "help" Verizon.
Somehow I'm not rushing out to pay at last $30 more to get 3G instead of 4G.
Can you say slashvertizement?
Re:GSM is a requirement for me now (Score:4, Insightful)
Address book on a SIM is irrelevant in the day of cloud syncing