AT&T Absorbs Cricket: What You Need to Know

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
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If you are one of the 4.6 Million Cricket customers who were just absorbed by AT&T, there are several fun facts you may need for a successful transition.

You get to keep your service plan until you suspend your service or have to switch to an AT&T-network-compatible phone. So, you'll get to keep it for a year or so.
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And suddenly I am glad I didn't look seriously into Cricket.
 
FUUUUCKKKKKKKKKKK.. I am with Cricket and have been for a long time, and just picked up two Galaxy S4's for christmas.
 
There are tons of Cricket stores ( bannered ) all around Kansas City and most are in shady ass locations and have the appearance of dirty fly by night check cashing / pawn shops or smoke shops. I personally won't miss them.

Granted, these are privately owned businesses but all of them re-sell cricket service and as mentioned, the Cricket signs, banners are very large and prominently displayed.

And I've saved the best for last, all of them .. ALL OF THEM reflash phones. I wonder if this will change now.

Cricket is what a lot of low income people count on for cell service. I know a few people with Cricket and when bills are due, letting the cell phone bill lapse is the first thing to happen. Only now, when they come back, they get hit over the head with an even bigger monthly bill.
 
The best service out there is $30 tmobile 100 mins, unlimited text and 5gig LTE data
 
mynamehere said:
Cricket might just get better coverage, though customer service won't change much
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If you have an iPhone that can be switched. Cricket looks like it is CDMA and AT&T is GSM. So in 12 months most Cricket phones will be dead. :mad:
 
pgaster said:
unless you actually have family and/or friends you talk to on a semi-regular basis
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In that case, 35orless is a good alternative. It isn't an MVNO, as far as I can tell - it offers service on T-Mobile itself. Coverage, according to their rep on Howardforums, is equivalent to postpaid. You even get a T-Mobile SIM card in the mail when you sign up.

Their base plan (unlimited/unlimited/500MB) is $35 per month, and each month, the charge temporarily goes down based on how many new users signed up that month. Usually it ends up being ~$6-8 less. You can tack on $25 for unlimited LTE data, so the ordinary cost of $60 (35+25) minus the $6-8 discount winds up being somewhere around $55 or less for what T-Mobile now charges $80 for.

It's a really nice deal.
 
dbu8554 said:
T mobile has shit coverage
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In Reno yes total shit. There are certain parts of Reno especially where I live do not get reception at all. I had to use their crappy VoIP program just to make a call/receive from the house. SAD! 'Oh we're improving our service...' BULLSHIT! Every time they sent out a survey I would give them poor marks then a customer call asking why their service sucked. Complained to them didn't seem to give a shit. Sure they are cheap but what's the point of having a cell service if one can't make a phone call/internet unless you're 5 feet from a tower. Sprint also has the same problem. What I don't understand they charge you an extra $10 for 4g and Reno is still 3g or at least fake 4g. Verizon is ok but AT&T has the best coverage in Reno which is sad then again Reno is a fucking dump of a city. I hate this fucking town but that's another rant for another day.

I noticed in the FAQ it said AT&T is selling of spectrum in Reno. What does that mean? The LTE signal is going to take a dump?
 
ol1bit said:
If you have an iPhone that can be switched. Cricket looks like it is CDMA and AT&T is GSM. So in 12 months most Cricket phones will be dead. :mad:
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Gotcha. So in that sense Verizon would've been a better fit, but then it'd just be Verizon gobbling them up instead, which isn't any better really. Though I haven't had any issues with Verizon customer service, and coverage is better than most until you get out west, their pricing could definitely be better.

I've read that Verizon is moving away from CDMA, as well as that ATA&T and others are moving from away GSM, with better tech is fueling these moves. Not that present tech will be turned off anytime soon.
 
Shorehn said:
In that case, 35orless is a good alternative. It isn't an MVNO, as far as I can tell - it offers service on T-Mobile itself.
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That's the exact definition of an MVNO. A company providing service using another company's towers and network.
 
mynamehere said:
Gotcha. So in that sense Verizon would've been a better fit, but then it'd just be Verizon gobbling them up instead, which isn't any better really. Though I haven't had any issues with Verizon customer service, and coverage is better than most until you get out west, their pricing could definitely be better.

I've read that Verizon is moving away from CDMA, as well as that ATA&T and others are moving from away GSM, with better tech is fueling these moves. Not that present tech will be turned off anytime soon.
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Short term yes, but as each carrier moves to VoLTE, everyone will be routing voice calls as data packets (ala VoIP) so CDMA shit will go the way of the Dodo on Verizon. I fully expect Sprint (and most Canadian carriers) to do the same. I am not 100% sure if TM/ATT plan to keep GSM around for their voice traffic. VoLTE is supposed to allow much easier network management (in theory) and much better call quality.
 
niconx said:
Look at that, the free market sorting everything out. Competition! :rolleyes:
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Actually, consolidation is the natural end-state of a free market. The first rule of capitalism is to maximize profits. Consolidation maximizes profits.

ManofGod said:
Wait? We had a free market? Since when?
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Since never. Antitrust laws are government interference with the free market. Any type of government regulation interferes with the free market.
 
Shorehn said:
In that case, 35orless is a good alternative. It isn't an MVNO, as far as I can tell - it offers service on T-Mobile itself. Coverage, according to their rep on Howardforums, is equivalent to postpaid. You even get a T-Mobile SIM card in the mail when you sign up.

Their base plan (unlimited/unlimited/500MB) is $35 per month, and each month, the charge temporarily goes down based on how many new users signed up that month. Usually it ends up being ~$6-8 less. You can tack on $25 for unlimited LTE data, so the ordinary cost of $60 (35+25) minus the $6-8 discount winds up being somewhere around $55 or less for what T-Mobile now charges $80 for.

It's a really nice deal.
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I actually like it.
 
Thuleman said:
Actually, consolidation is the natural end-state of a free market. The first rule of capitalism is to maximize profits. Consolidation maximizes profits.



Since never. Antitrust laws are government interference with the free market. Any type of government regulation interferes with the free market.
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And rule #1 for consumers is to not get screwed. Consolidation increases the chance of that.

All these Cell companies are thieves who treat data bits like gold flakes. And the price of phones? Utterly ridiculous.

I'm quite happy with my snappy little Samsung G2 T989 I got for $199 and the $30 a month plan that has 5G of 4G data. It's all I need and I see no reason to pay into the coffers of these greedy bastaads any further than that.
 
Thuleman said:
Actually, consolidation is the natural end-state of a free market. The first rule of capitalism is to maximize profits. Consolidation maximizes profits.
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By this argument, you admit that a 'free market' is inherently anticompetitive.

A "true free market" that has become fully consolidated with an impossible barrier to entry for any other corporation to compete...

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