Sprint, Virgin Mobile or Verizon?

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notetcetera

Weaksauce
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Jun 16, 2011
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So I'm looking to get the best bang for my buck family plan (with data for me and maybe my brother) within the next month or so.

we've had Verizon for at least 10 years, but the bill is super high and we could potentially get a Sprint plan for $~100 less a month. But, on the other hand, Virgin Mobile has super super cheap plans, although only 3G.

I'm open to other carriers as well, as long as they cost less than Verizon and have at least very decent reception.

Thanks for your time.
 
id look into what kind of company/school discounts you can get with them and ask friends how sprint service in your area.
 
IIRC, virgin uses sprint network.....go with the cheaper of the two
 
I'm gonna bust your bubble.

None of them will rival Verizon on signal. Sprint will be the second choice as far as signal goes but that's because Virgin Mobile is prepaid and those get the hand-me-down when it comes to data. You can't get the same service from Sprint as you have with Verizon for $100 less a month. Only way to do that is have seriously less services. The difference between Sprint/TMobile/Verizon/ATT is like $15 a month at most if you compare similar service. If you can get a $100 a month lower bill from Sprint you can likely get an $85 a month lower bill with Verizon and get better service quality. Only go prepaid if you are ok with the lowest signal and.slowest data because the top tier customers(those who subscribe to the big names) will always get priority on the network.
 
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It would probably help if you say what town your are in. Different carriers sometimes do better in some areas than others, for instance in our area Sprint has the best coverage while Verizon and AT&T are not quite as good. With Sprint being cheaper its an easy decision. Other places will be different, and Sprint can really stink in some areas, so better ask the locals how they like it.

For the most part I am very happy with Sprint for my family plan needs though, and no one else seems to be even close to their price.
 
Direfox said:
It would probably help if you say what town your are in. Different carriers sometimes do better in some areas than others, for instance in our area Sprint has the best coverage while Verizon and AT&T are not quite as good. With Sprint being cheaper its an easy decision. Other places will be different, and Sprint can really stink in some areas, so better ask the locals how they like it.

For the most part I am very happy with Sprint for my family plan needs though, and no one else seems to be even close to their price.
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When is the last time you compared them making sure to compare comparable services? Verizon is more but at the end of the day its not hugely more....were talking $10-15......last time I checked. I call that close.
 
You need to research more.

Verizon, two smart phones with 1400 minutes and unlimited calling only to verizon customers, 10 numbers get unlimited calling, nights and weekends at NINE, 2GB of data and unlimited texting is $190/month. Add on the roadside assistance and nav, and you're at $214/month. From what the verizon website was showing me, 7PM nights are no longer offered.

Sprint, 2 smartphones with 1600 minutes (and unlimited calling to ANY cell phone), nights and weekends at 7, UNLIMITED data, unlimited texting, free navigation (useful if not getting android), free roadside assistance is $130/month.

So yeah, there you go, you've lowered your bill $90, gotten MORE features, and unlimited data vs a 2GB cap. Even if you want to drop roadside and nav, it's $60.

nobody_here said:
I'm gonna bust your bubble.

None of them will rival Verizon on signal. Sprint will be the second choice as far as signal goes but that's because Virgin Mobile is prepaid and those get the hand-me-down when it comes to data. You can't get the same service from Sprint as you have with Verizon for $100 less a month. Only way to do that is have seriously less services. The difference between Sprint/TMobile/Verizon/ATT is like $15 a month at most if you compare similar service. If you can get a $100 a month lower bill from Sprint you can likely get an $85 a month lower bill with Verizon and get better service quality. Only go prepaid if you are ok with the lowest signal and.slowest data because the top tier customers(those who subscribe to the big names) will always get priority on the network.
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I'm happy with my switch to Sprint from Verizon. With Verizon I found myself having to monitor my minutes (free in-network calling, but most of my friends, family don't have Verizon).
I went from paying roughly $100 a month for a single line with limitations to $130 for 2 lines with unlimited everything, but minutes (free mobile to mobile regardless of network makes up for this).
 
nobody_here said:
I'm gonna bust your bubble.

None of them will rival Verizon on signal. Sprint will be the second choice as far as signal goes but that's because Virgin Mobile is prepaid and those get the hand-me-down when it comes to data. You can't get the same service from Sprint as you have with Verizon for $100 less a month. Only way to do that is have seriously less services. The difference between Sprint/TMobile/Verizon/ATT is like $15 a month at most if you compare similar service. If you can get a $100 a month lower bill from Sprint you can likely get an $85 a month lower bill with Verizon and get better service quality. Only go prepaid if you are ok with the lowest signal and.slowest data because the top tier customers(those who subscribe to the big names) will always get priority on the network.
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I have to disagree, every carrier has its strength and weakness, i personally use verizon and have great coverage but no carrier is universal and in some areas a carrier can be better than others. For example i have better tmobile coverage than AT&T so it does not really apply for AT&T as the premium carrier they market themselves. If you don't travel a lot for business or whatever reason just go with the carrier with the best coverage in your area. Ask friends and family for that.

The myth of less service doesn't apply here unless you have Verizon LTE. 3G on verizon is as slow as 1.5mb/s in the best case and sprint is about the same. I don't know how much you are willing to pay for your cell service, but if you can be happy with a VM phone and you get great coverage then i see why you shouldn't go with VM.

Having a prepaid service won't make you look cheap or poor like everyone wants to make you believe, is just a matter of choice and every dollar saved is welcome no matter how you look at it.
 
Sprint is best bang for the buck and sprint also has a sero family plan
1600 $109.99 Lines 1-2 included. Lines 3-5 are $14.99/mo./line
 
Unless you are super stressed about data speed or ultra-best-coverage, Virgin Mobile is hard to beat. Sure the coverage isn't as good as Verizon, but hell, it's $25/mo (I guess now $35/mo). And it covers major cities / highways/etc very, very decently.

I tried to price out post-paid for my wife and I again with my corporate discount, but I couldn't get anywhere near the $50/mo we are paying on Virgin.

And heck, I just went from Michigan to Nebraska and back again via car trip for my buddy's wedding, and I pretty much had a signal the entire way.

That said, I don't talk on it much - use mostly for texts and data once in a great while - I rarely go through more than 100 minutes in a month, some months it's more like 50.
 
nobody_here said:
I'm gonna bust your bubble.

None of them will rival Verizon on signal. Sprint will be the second choice as far as signal goes but that's because Virgin Mobile is prepaid and those get the hand-me-down when it comes to data. You can't get the same service from Sprint as you have with Verizon for $100 less a month. Only way to do that is have seriously less services. The difference between Sprint/TMobile/Verizon/ATT is like $15 a month at most if you compare similar service. If you can get a $100 a month lower bill from Sprint you can likely get an $85 a month lower bill with Verizon and get better service quality. Only go prepaid if you are ok with the lowest signal and.slowest data because the top tier customers(those who subscribe to the big names) will always get priority on the network.
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if you read his OP it said he has verizon and switching to sprint would save him ~$100 so not just a $15 difference. In my area Sprint has better reception so you're blanket statement is wrong. I personally pay ~$140 for 5 lines on sprints 1500 minutes simply data which includes true unlimited data,gps,etc. That being said i still say look into what the service for virgin/sprint is in that area and see what kind of additional discounts you can get.
 
If bang for your buck is a primary concern, then it would be silly not to consider Virgin Mobile. FYI the $25/month Beyond Talk plan is still available as a "hidden" option when signing up and will be till August 19th so you can get in on the old lower rates for a while longer. Also Virgin Mobile phones are currently 30% off at Best Buy Mobile stores, or full price with $50 GC at regular Best Buy stores.

So my suggestion is go to Best Buy and pick up either the Optimus V or Motorola Triumph (Opt V is cheaper and has better reception) and try out Virgin Mobile. If the reception and speed in your area don't meet your needs, you can always return the phone within 30 days and only be out the cost of the first month of service.
 
nobody_here said:
When is the last time you compared them making sure to compare comparable services? Verizon is more but at the end of the day its not hugely more....were talking $10-15......last time I checked. I call that close.
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I have verizon now and it would be silly to keep them over sprint for my next phone. I live in los angeles with decent wimax coverage, do not do tons of travel so that widest network possible angle is not that big a deal for me. I am on a dumbphone plan now, but my next phone, the sprint galaxy s 2 variant will certainly have data. I intend to use that phone as a mobile hotspot for my laptop when on the go, and I am certain I can and will use more than 2 GB or 5 GB or sometimes even 10 GB.


This will cause price rape at verizon, sprint is a much better deal for non gimped data usage. I walk into the limitations of clears wimax network with both eyes open, I currently use a clear hotspot provided by my job and know the issues with building penetration and I can work around that.


Based on the way I intend to use my next phone and a data plan with my location, it would be foolish to choose verizon.

You choose verizon for the following reasons. You need best in class nationwide coverage (non issue for me), and you demand best possible signal and building penetration for data (desirable, but not desirable enough to be chained to slavishly low and expensive data caps.).

Those caps are fine for people with infant level data usage, just need to check your email or look at a map. If you don't intend to actually USE your data, then verizon makes more sense, for people like me it is MADNESS to choose them over sprint in a city with good sprint coverage, MADNESS.
 
tybert7 said:
I have verizon now and it would be silly to keep them over sprint for my next phone. I live in los angeles with decent wimax coverage, do not do tons of travel so that widest network possible angle is not that big a deal for me. I am on a dumbphone plan now, but my next phone, the sprint galaxy s 2 variant will certainly have data. I intend to use that phone as a mobile hotspot for my laptop when on the go, and I am certain I can and will use more than 2 GB or 5 GB or sometimes even 10 GB.


This will cause price rape at verizon, sprint is a much better deal for non gimped data usage. I walk into the limitations of clears wimax network with both eyes open, I currently use a clear hotspot provided by my job and know the issues with building penetration and I can work around that.


Based on the way I intend to use my next phone and a data plan with my location, it would be foolish to choose verizon.

You choose verizon for the following reasons. You need best in class nationwide coverage (non issue for me), and you demand best possible signal and building penetration for data (desirable, but not desirable enough to be chained to slavishly low and expensive data caps.).

Those caps are fine for people with infant level data usage, just need to check your email or look at a map. If you don't intend to actually USE your data, then verizon makes more sense, for people like me it is MADNESS to choose them over sprint in a city with good sprint coverage, MADNESS.
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If you already have Verizon, then you should be able to keep your unlimited data when/if you re-new your contract. Unless you're not already using a smart phone on Verizon (so you couldn't grandfather in the unlimited plan)..?

If you have LTE in your area, then that would be just as fast, if not faster speeds than Sprints WiMax and you would have better building penetration to boot. So I'm not sure why you would switch to Sprint if you already have unlimited data on Verizon. They can't change your plan mid-contract on you (and if they do, then you'll have no ETF), so I wouldn't be worried about that.
 
T4rd said:
If you already have Verizon, then you should be able to keep your unlimited data when/if you re-new your contract. Unless you're not already using a smart phone on Verizon (so you couldn't grandfather in the unlimited plan)..?

If you have LTE in your area, then that would be just as fast, if not faster speeds than Sprints WiMax and you would have better building penetration to boot. So I'm not sure why you would switch to Sprint if you already have unlimited data on Verizon. They can't change your plan mid-contract on you (and if they do, then you'll have no ETF), so I wouldn't be worried about that.
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seems like price is a certain to the op. he's probably thinking the benefit isn't worth the cost since he/she seems to want the most bang for the buck
 
T4rd said:
If you already have Verizon, then you should be able to keep your unlimited data when/if you re-new your contract. Unless you're not already using a smart phone on Verizon (so you couldn't grandfather in the unlimited plan)..?

If you have LTE in your area, then that would be just as fast, if not faster speeds than Sprints WiMax and you would have better building penetration to boot. So I'm not sure why you would switch to Sprint if you already have unlimited data on Verizon. They can't change your plan mid-contract on you (and if they do, then you'll have no ETF), so I wouldn't be worried about that.
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I don't have a data plan with verizon. Using an lg en v touch. My first smart phone will be on the only heavier data usage carrier oasis left, sprint. I know what I am getting because I am already using their 4g network with my clear hotspot, and its cheaper than competitors for the faster speeds. There is no better choice in my mind based on where I live and what I want.
 
If you like the triumph and get good signal in your area then VM. If not then Sprint and get a Photon or Evo3d or whatever.

If none of those them t-mobile or other prepaid carrier.

If none of those then VZW.
 
ImDonly1 said:
If you like the triumph and get good signal in your area then VM. If not then Sprint and get a Photon or Evo3d or whatever.

If none of those them t-mobile or other prepaid carrier.

If none of those then VZW.
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That is very rare you usually have 2 or more carriers having good signal in your area, you must live way up in the hills if verizon is your only choice
 
Been using Virgin for about 2 yrs. It gets the job done but I think verizon has the best coverage so eventually I may move to pageplus.
 
notetcetera said:
So I'm looking to get the best bang for my buck family plan (with data for me and maybe my brother) within the next month or so.

we've had Verizon for at least 10 years, but the bill is super high and we could potentially get a Sprint plan for $~100 less a month. But, on the other hand, Virgin Mobile has super super cheap plans, although only 3G.

I'm open to other carriers as well, as long as they cost less than Verizon and have at least very decent reception.

Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...

I don't believe you could save $100 a month by going from vzw to sprint. Maybe $10-30 tops. Depends on coverage in your area on which you choose to go with.

Call VZW's customer support and let them know you are considering other options. Ask them if there's anything that can be adjusted on your monthly rates.
 
DirtyB said:
I don't believe you could save $100 a month by going from vzw to sprint. Maybe $10-30 tops. Depends on coverage in your area on which you choose to go with.

Call VZW's customer support and let them know you are considering other options. Ask them if there's anything that can be adjusted on your monthly rates.
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Well you have to consider Sprint is desperate right now and not only is their service sub-par, but they are practically going to be forced into overselling their service in some markets or risk becoming extinct very quickly. They charge $100/mo for unlimited talk/text/data on an individual plan.

Let me see here. Comparing apples to apples. Sprint Family share 700 plan, same thing I have at Verizon.

Sprint is $69 + $10 per month per line for 1000 texts and Data add another $30 per month per line. Plus at the bottom of the Family Plan details page it says if you choose Smartphones an additional "$10 Premium Data add-on charge will apply" (70+20+60+20=170)

Verizon is $69 + $10 per month per line for 500 texts (unlim mob to mob), Data for me is $30 per month per line, that's (70+20+60= 150)

True for new customers on VZW it's limited to 2Gb data which is honestly enough for most users. But the Verizon plan is also inclusive of 4G speeds if you choose a 4G phone that blows away any Sprint data plans. So it's a double edged sword.

But when you compare apples to apples, there's really very little difference in cost.
 
Hey, sorry about the super long delay, I've been super busy. Also, I was not expecting so many responses !

Anyway, we're going to stick with Verizon, though I did not get a smartphone to become grandfathered into unlimited data (tho its not a huge deal to me, as i mostly use wifi, except for streaming music and some youtube videos) However, I will contact Verizon and see what they can do about the cost of the plan for us and go from there.

As for phones: What do you guys recommend? I have an EnV Touch right now, which fucking sucks. I'm due for an upgrade, but I'm not sure what phone I want to get, and whether or not I should wait.
 
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