Best prepaid or "Pay As You Go" cel plan for occasional user?

Doc wrote:
> There are maybe half a dozen or fewer times a year when it might be
> convenient to have a cel phone, but I don't feel like tithing for a
> monthly fee for this little usage. Any opinions as to the best
> provider for a very occasional user?
>
> WalMart had something like 9 vendors on display, some of which seemed
> very pointedly aimed at the Hispanic market.
>
> Also wondering about issues like whether the given service is likely
> to be around for a while, how the service compares to other providers,
> if the phone itself is likely to work when I use it, etc. One of the
> complaints I keep seeing is customer service - activation being a
> hassle, reps somewhere in S. American who barely speak English.

In general you want to avoid all the prepaid services sold at places
like Wal-Mart. In particular, TracFone, Net10, Boost, Virgin, AT&T and
Verizon InPulse should be avoided.

Go to "http://www.prepaiduswireless.com/".

There are basically three choices for very low cost and very low use.
T-Mobile, which will cost you $100 the first year, but only $10 in
subsequent years. 7-11 SpeakOut, which will cost you a minimum of $2.08
per month, and PagePlus which will cost you a minimum of $2.31/month.
Each has pros and cons which that web site evaluates in detail.

You are right to be concerned about the service being around. Many MVNOs
have gone belly-up. I'd be a little concerned about SpeakOut as it
doesn't seem to be doing too well.

Personally I have my two kids on PagePlus. The customer service is all
in the U.S., but in reality the need for customer service has been low.
Once I failed to add more time within four months and the balance
disappeared, and I called them and they restored it right away. Another
time I called to move the phone number to a different phone, and they
told me I had to go through a dealer, which I did online in about 15
minutes (but I had to pay about $6). The two big advantages of PagePlus
is the very low per minute cost, and the excellent coverage. The
disadvantage (compared to T-Mobile To Go and 7-11 SpeakOut) is that you
have to add time every 120 days, versus 365 days).

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SMS 斯蒂文• 夏 wrote:
>
> In general you want to avoid all the prepaid services sold at places
> like Wal-Mart. In particular, TracFone, Net10, Boost, Virgin, AT&T and
> Verizon InPulse should be avoided.

I have had a Tracfone for YEARS and only had one problem with them,
which was, admittedly, a little out of the ordinary (porting a telephone
number from an analog Tracfone to a digital Tracfone).

Call reception here in the San Francisco Bay Area has been great, costs
me about $6-7 a month, and works perfectly.

--
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Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply wrote:
> SMS 斯蒂文• 夏 wrote:
>>
>> In general you want to avoid all the prepaid services sold at places
>> like Wal-Mart. In particular, TracFone, Net10, Boost, Virgin, AT&T and
>> Verizon InPulse should be avoided.
>
> I have had a Tracfone for YEARS and only had one problem with them,
> which was, admittedly, a little out of the ordinary (porting a telephone
> number from an analog Tracfone to a digital Tracfone).
>
> Call reception here in the San Francisco Bay Area has been great, costs
> me about $6-7 a month, and works perfectly.

I only say to avoid them, because other prepaid services are much less
expensive, both in the minimum cost per month, and the cost per minute.
For example, PagePlus is as little as 5.3¢ per minute, with a minimum
cost of $2.31 per month.

Tracfone was using the Verizon CDMA network for a while, and you
probably have one of those phones if you're getting good coverage in the
Bay Area (where I also am). I think that their current models are all
GSM on AT&T, which has less coverage.