best prepaid backup phone plan?

Have a t-mobile prepaid phone. Now I'm thinking of putting a backup phone in
my car (also prepaid), in case I leave my t-mobile phone at home, or get
stuck in a t-mobile weak signal area.

I want this to also be a gsm phone, and uses cingular as carrier. I would
like to minimize the recurring cost. I'm not as concern about the per minute
air time cost.

The best plan I found is 7-Eleven's speakout prepaid. $25 would last one
year. That's $2.08/month. Are there better deals?

---

› See More: best prepaid backup phone plan?

"peter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:%vRUg.5629$If3.4330@trnddc07...
> Have a t-mobile prepaid phone. Now I'm thinking of putting a backup phone
> in my car (also prepaid), in case I leave my t-mobile phone at home, or
> get stuck in a t-mobile weak signal area.
>
> I want this to also be a gsm phone, and uses cingular as carrier. I would
> like to minimize the recurring cost. I'm not as concern about the per
> minute air time cost.
>
> The best plan I found is 7-Eleven's speakout prepaid. $25 would last one
> year. That's $2.08/month. Are there better deals?

I like to leave my cell phone, and a bunch of other stuff I might need, in
the car. I can get quite forgetful at times.

If you want cheap, I suggest you do the same.

As for weak areas, T-mobile and Cingular share the same technology,
frequencies, and so forth. You might want to look into something like
Sprint or Verizon.

CS

peter wrote:
> Have a t-mobile prepaid phone. Now I'm thinking of putting a backup phone in
> my car (also prepaid), in case I leave my t-mobile phone at home, or get
> stuck in a t-mobile weak signal area.
>
> I want this to also be a gsm phone, and uses cingular as carrier. I would
> like to minimize the recurring cost. I'm not as concern about the per minute
> air time cost.
>
> The best plan I found is 7-Eleven's speakout prepaid. $25 would last one
> year. That's $2.08/month. Are there better deals?

For GSM, Speak-Out has the lowest recurring cost with the best GSM coverage.

For CDMA/AMPS, PagePlus has the lowest recurring cost with the best
CDMA/AMPS coverage.

If it's an emergency phone why do you want a GSM phone? You'll get far
more coverage with a CDMA/AMPS phone.

I'm thinking of switching to GSM if Verizon keeps defeaturing their
handsets, but I would keep a PagePlus tri-mode phone in the car for
those trips to the Santa Cruz mountains and to the Sierras.

At 04 Oct 2006 16:42:35 +0000 peter wrote:
> Have a t-mobile prepaid phone. Now I'm thinking of putting a backup
phone in
> my car (also prepaid), in case I leave my t-mobile phone at home, or
get
> stuck in a t-mobile weak signal area.
>
> I want this to also be a gsm phone, and uses cingular as carrier. I
would
> like to minimize the recurring cost. I'm not as concern about the per
minute
> air time cost.
>
> The best plan I found is 7-Eleven's speakout prepaid. $25 would last
one
> year. That's $2.08/month. Are there better deals?

That's the cheapest for a Cingular reseller that I'm aware of, but why do
you want the backup to also be GSM? Cingular PPD has a little better
coverage than T-Mo, but a CDMA reseller like PagePlus will have much
better coverage, a similar monthly cost, and a better per minute rate
(certainly not a huge consideration in your case, but all else being
equal...)

As T-Mo continues to add to their PPD roaming coverage, the advantages of
Cingular PPD as a backup really diminishes.


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Todd Allcock" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> That's the cheapest for a Cingular reseller that I'm aware of, but why do
> you want the backup to also be GSM? Cingular PPD has a little better
> coverage than T-Mo, but a CDMA reseller like PagePlus will have much
> better coverage, a similar monthly cost, and a better per minute rate
> (certainly not a huge consideration in your case, but all else being
> equal...)
>
> As T-Mo continues to add to their PPD roaming coverage, the advantages of
> Cingular PPD as a backup really diminishes.

After cingular starting adding a $5/month "non-GSM" surcharge to my old
postpaid TDMA phone (before I got the t-mo prepaid), I was under the
impression that all carriers in the US are switching to GSM. Maybe only
cingular is doing that.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will look into page plus.

Todd Allcock wrote:

> As T-Mo continues to add to their PPD roaming coverage, the advantages of
> Cingular PPD as a backup really diminishes.

But T-Mobile doesn't have any prepaid roaming on 850 MHz, and Cingular
will almost certainly make sure that is stays that way. Even Cingular
now acknowledges that the 850 MHz spectrum provides superior quality of
service due to the inherent advantages of the lower frequency.

T-Mobile is slowly adding 850 MHz roaming for Prepaid. They have made
agreements with several small carriers, and Alltel in some locations. Check
T-Mobile's prepaid map for locations. Watch out, a handful of older
T-Mobile phones don't have 850 MHz.

I agree Speakout is an excellent backup phone. The advantage or
disadvantage isn't that it is a GSM carrier, it's that their coverage is
'different'...maybe better, maybe worse, but many people swear by Cingular,
so it's not a bad choice.

Bill Radio
Click for Wireless Reviews at:
http://www.mountainwireless.com


"SMS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Todd Allcock wrote:
>
>> As T-Mo continues to add to their PPD roaming coverage, the advantages of
>> Cingular PPD as a backup really diminishes.
>
> But T-Mobile doesn't have any prepaid roaming on 850 MHz, and Cingular
> will almost certainly make sure that is stays that way. Even Cingular now
> acknowledges that the 850 MHz spectrum provides superior quality of
> service due to the inherent advantages of the lower frequency.

At 04 Oct 2006 19:35:48 -0700 SMS wrote:
> Todd Allcock wrote:
>
> > As T-Mo continues to add to their PPD roaming coverage, the
advantages of
> > Cingular PPD as a backup really diminishes.
>
> But T-Mobile doesn't have any prepaid roaming on 850 MHz
Actually they do, despite the website denying it, but not nearly as much
as postpaid. I had coverage on both my T-Mo prepaid and postpaid phone
on virtually all of I-80 through Nebraska on Viaero, while my wife's non-
850 phone searched and searched. (Ironically, I had much better coverage
roaming in rural Nebraska than I had in Omaha, where T-Mo offers native
coverage!)

> and Cingular will almost certainly make sure that is stays that way.

T-Mo already has extensive roaming agreements with Cingular- if the pink
T wishes to include their prepaid phones in that coverage that's up to
them. My guess is that Cingular's roaming fees are too high to make it
financially feasable.

> Even Cingular now acknowledges that the 850 MHz spectrum provides
superior quality of service due to the inherent advantages of the lower
frequency.

Except for your neck of the woods (the west coast's former PacTel areas,)
Cingular's been largely 800MHz from their days of being an analog cell
carrier.

While I regularly beat the "800MHz is superior" drum myself, ironically,
the valley in SW Denver I moved to had poor 800MHz coverage from Verizon
and Cingular, but fantastic 1900 coverage from Sprint and T-Mo. Verizon
recently overcame the pressure from the NIMBY people and put up an
antenna in the valley, so now it's only Cingular customers parked on the
end of the C-470 offramp into the valley at 6pm finishing their calls
before they come home!



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Todd,
I saw some of those people and it never occurred to me why they were there
(at Ken Caryl?). Now it all makes sense..and that's funny. But Verizon has
done even more. They have no 850 MHz license in western Elbert County, so
they just recently installed 3-1900 MHz sites around Elizabeth so there's no
more roaming. T-Mobile has had a bunch of sites behind the hogbacks, like
in Red Rocks, for years. The more the other carriers, regardless of
frequency, build, the farther behind Cingular gets.

Most of Viaero is at 1900 MHz. They only use 850 MHz in Colorado.

-Bill Radio


"Todd Allcock" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> At 04 Oct 2006 19:35:48 -0700 SMS wrote:
>> Todd Allcock wrote:
>>
> Actually they do, despite the website denying it, but not nearly as much
> as postpaid. I had coverage on both my T-Mo prepaid and postpaid phone
> on virtually all of I-80 through Nebraska on Viaero, while my wife's non-
> 850 phone searched and searched. (Ironically, I had much better coverage
> roaming in rural Nebraska than I had in Omaha, where T-Mo offers native
> coverage!)
>
>> and Cingular will almost certainly make sure that is stays that way.
>
> T-Mo already has extensive roaming agreements with Cingular- if the pink
> T wishes to include their prepaid phones in that coverage that's up to
> them. My guess is that Cingular's roaming fees are too high to make it
> financially feasable.
>
>> Even Cingular now acknowledges that the 850 MHz spectrum provides
> superior quality of service due to the inherent advantages of the lower
> frequency.
>
> Except for your neck of the woods (the west coast's former PacTel areas,)
> Cingular's been largely 800MHz from their days of being an analog cell
> carrier.
>
> While I regularly beat the "800MHz is superior" drum myself, ironically,
> the valley in SW Denver I moved to had poor 800MHz coverage from Verizon
> and Cingular, but fantastic 1900 coverage from Sprint and T-Mo. Verizon
> recently overcame the pressure from the NIMBY people and put up an
> antenna in the valley, so now it's only Cingular customers parked on the
> end of the C-470 offramp into the valley at 6pm finishing their calls
> before they come home!

At 07 Oct 2006 19:06:28 -0600 Bill Radio wrote:
> Todd,
> I saw some of those people and it never occurred to me why they were
there
> (at Ken Caryl?).

Yep, Ken Caryl. It took me a week or so after moving here to figure it
out. I never had the problem with T-Mo.

> Now it all makes sense..and that's funny. But Verizon has
> done even more. They have no 850 MHz license in western Elbert County,
so
> they just recently installed 3-1900 MHz sites around Elizabeth so
there's no
> more roaming. T-Mobile has had a bunch of sites behind the hogbacks,
like
> in Red Rocks, for years. The more the other carriers, regardless of
> frequency, build, the farther behind Cingular gets.

Yeah, I used to be a Cingular dealer in Missouri,a long time Cingular
customer and also a fan. These days, though, it's as if they're trying
to sabatoge their success!

> Most of Viaero is at 1900 MHz. They only use 850 MHz in Colorado.
I picked them up in Colrado first, IIRC. Weren't they the old Nebraska
Cellular, though? N.C. was an old 800MHz analog cell carrier way back
when (I used to sell their service in Fremont when I managed a Radio
Shack store there in the _very_ early 90's, back before there was 1900MHz
service in Nebraska!)

What happened to their 800MHz spectrum? Did they sell it to Verizon or
somebody?



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Todd,
Viaero was built up at 1900 MHz only and they sorta merged with Cellular One
of NE Colorado. I don;t know anything about the old N.C. It's probably
either Indigo or Alltel now.

-Bill

"Todd Allcock" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> At 07 Oct 2006 19:06:28 -0600 Bill Radio wrote:
>> Todd,
>> I saw some of those people and it never occurred to me why they were
> there
>> (at Ken Caryl?).
>
> Yep, Ken Caryl. It took me a week or so after moving here to figure it
> out. I never had the problem with T-Mo.
>
>> Now it all makes sense..and that's funny. But Verizon has
>> done even more. They have no 850 MHz license in western Elbert County,
> so
>> they just recently installed 3-1900 MHz sites around Elizabeth so
> there's no
>> more roaming. T-Mobile has had a bunch of sites behind the hogbacks,
> like
>> in Red Rocks, for years. The more the other carriers, regardless of
>> frequency, build, the farther behind Cingular gets.
>
> Yeah, I used to be a Cingular dealer in Missouri,a long time Cingular
> customer and also a fan. These days, though, it's as if they're trying
> to sabatoge their success!
>
>> Most of Viaero is at 1900 MHz. They only use 850 MHz in Colorado.
> I picked them up in Colrado first, IIRC. Weren't they the old Nebraska
> Cellular, though? N.C. was an old 800MHz analog cell carrier way back
> when (I used to sell their service in Fremont when I managed a Radio
> Shack store there in the _very_ early 90's, back before there was 1900MHz
> service in Nebraska!)
>
> What happened to their 800MHz spectrum? Did they sell it to Verizon or
> somebody?
>
>
>
> --
> Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
>

I use my older Nokia 6230 as a Go Phone which I give to my kids when they go
out. Excellent phone, I'm sure used one's locked and unlocked can be had
used or even new on the cheap. Excellent reception and nice and small.