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[H] specific note: I'm maintaining this post elsewhere. Most [H] users are savvy enough to do this kind of stuff already. However, this would be a good place to roundup the less tech-savvy as they enter for advice.
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This is going to be a long post, so I'm just going to put up front WHY you would want to do this, in financial terms, using the example of myself from last year. I chose to purchase an unlocked, non-carrier branded Galaxy S2 from Samsung UK. Here's how that's working out for me (if I weren't on a family plan with my wife). NOTE: In both cases, we're talking AT&T nationwide service. Same service on both phones.
It's also worth noting that the unlocked phone requires no contract term or termination fee, while the carrier-branded phone does. So, before I can explain all of the financial benefits (because there are more!), I need to explain two things; first is why phones work this way in different countries, and second is which technology each carrier uses so you know why to target specific carriers.
Why it works this way:
Unlike the United States, the European Union tightly regulates wireless carriers differently. All phones are required to support the sim standard (sim, microsim, nanosim). All phones and carriers will work on the same frequencies, and all phones and carriers will be compatible. So unlike the US, you own your phone, and all you have to do to switch carriers is to swap out your sim with one from a different carrier. You can get your phone subsidized through a carrier, or you can buy it outright from the OEM or through a retailer, a non-carrier branded version, and use it on a cheaper plan. Basically, the subsidy there is like an interest free loan tacked onto your monthly bill.
As most of us know, the US is quite different. If you want to switch carriers, you must pay a termination fee (which gets ridiculous for family plans) and then buy a new phone. However, right underneath our nose, the European model is taking hold for those who are savvy enough to try it, and willing to pay more upfront for the phone and less monthly for the plan.
Carrier Technology:
There are two predominating standards in the world for wireless technology; GSM and CDMA. GSM has led to further technologies such as UMTS, HSPA, and LTE. CDMA has led to EVDO and EVDO rev.B. The majority of the world uses the GSM standard. However, CDMA is very prevalent in the US and Japan, as well as pockets throughout the world. GSM takes advantage of the sim card (hence why Verizon/Sprint LTE phones require one). CDMA uses the ESN, which is not a physical card. For you to be able to swap carriers with YOUR phone, you'll want to target devices that use the GSM standard and sim cards. While you can swap phones between CDMA providers, there are hurdles to get past, limitations on which carriers will take them, and a very limited supply of phones, very few of which are unbranded.
In the US, the vast majority of towers are run by four companies. Sprint and Verizon utilize CDMA, while AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM. Almost all carriers within the US either roam on them, lease from them, or are MVNOs (resellers) of service through them. If you're not on one of these four carriers, you're still likely paying them indirectly. The four carriers we'll be targeting are AT&T, T-Mobile, Simple Mobile, and Straight Talk. These are all GSM based and offer some form of benefit to bringing your own device.
Show me the money (the plans): NOTE - links below take you right to the plans page I'm referencing. the T-Mobile plans page is hidden on their site.
AT&T:
Pick your minutes and your text amount for individual and family plans. From there, you'll get the option to pick unlimited data (AKA MediaNet) for either $10 or $15 a month. It's $10 if you have unlimited text, else $15. Here's the caveat. This is meant for non-smartphones and the only reason it works is because AT&T doesn't know what your phone is if they don't sell that exact same model. So no, this won't work with an unlocked iPhone. Also, it won't work if you take the phone into an AT&T store and have them set you up. You have to put the sim in yourself. Cheapest individual plan you can pull off is about $70/mo, while the cheapest 2-line family plan is about $110/mo.
Simple Mobile:
They offer two unlimited smartphone plans at $40 and $50 a month. The $40 plan is unlimited talk/text/data at 2G speeds. The $50 plan bumps your data speed up to 3G/4G (HSPA+, not LTE) for phones that support it. FYI, using more than 3GB/month or 100mb/day can get you in trouble with these guys, as they lease their data from T-Mobile.
Straight Talk (link is funny in Chrome, but it's legit, just click proceed):
Like Simple Mobile, these guys offer an unlimited everything plan. Unlike Simple Mobile, they have some perks. First, it's $45/month for unlimited at 4G speeds (again, HSPA+). Second, they have an option to pay for a whole year at $495, which is $41.25/month. Lastly, you get to choose which network you use (AT&T or T-Mobile). The downside is that you can get in trouble for using more than 2GB/month.
T-Mobile:
With a bring your own device plan, they start at $49.99/month, which gets you 500 minutes, unlimited text, and unlimited throttled data (first 2GB at up to 4G speeds). Unlmited minutes is another $10/mo, and truly unlimited data with no throttling is another $10, bringing the total to $69.99 for everything. Technically you're not supposed to tether, but they can't stop you or track you on a phone that isn't T-Mobile branded.
BONUS: T-Mobile/Wal-Mart deal!
You can get this at Wal-Mart or any T-Mobile corporate store. $30/month gets you unlimited text, unlimited data (throttled after 5GB), and 100 minutes of talk time.
This is the thread to ask questions, IE, will "X Phone" work on "Y carrier" and with what limitations. Also, while the latter three carriers expect you to bring your own phone, AT&T's plan is unofficial and requires a little social engineering, as well as making sure that your specific phone model works with Medianet. So, ask questions if unsure.
More info (thanks T4rd):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1455014
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This is going to be a long post, so I'm just going to put up front WHY you would want to do this, in financial terms, using the example of myself from last year. I chose to purchase an unlocked, non-carrier branded Galaxy S2 from Samsung UK. Here's how that's working out for me (if I weren't on a family plan with my wife). NOTE: In both cases, we're talking AT&T nationwide service. Same service on both phones.
It's also worth noting that the unlocked phone requires no contract term or termination fee, while the carrier-branded phone does. So, before I can explain all of the financial benefits (because there are more!), I need to explain two things; first is why phones work this way in different countries, and second is which technology each carrier uses so you know why to target specific carriers.
Why it works this way:
Unlike the United States, the European Union tightly regulates wireless carriers differently. All phones are required to support the sim standard (sim, microsim, nanosim). All phones and carriers will work on the same frequencies, and all phones and carriers will be compatible. So unlike the US, you own your phone, and all you have to do to switch carriers is to swap out your sim with one from a different carrier. You can get your phone subsidized through a carrier, or you can buy it outright from the OEM or through a retailer, a non-carrier branded version, and use it on a cheaper plan. Basically, the subsidy there is like an interest free loan tacked onto your monthly bill.
As most of us know, the US is quite different. If you want to switch carriers, you must pay a termination fee (which gets ridiculous for family plans) and then buy a new phone. However, right underneath our nose, the European model is taking hold for those who are savvy enough to try it, and willing to pay more upfront for the phone and less monthly for the plan.
Carrier Technology:
There are two predominating standards in the world for wireless technology; GSM and CDMA. GSM has led to further technologies such as UMTS, HSPA, and LTE. CDMA has led to EVDO and EVDO rev.B. The majority of the world uses the GSM standard. However, CDMA is very prevalent in the US and Japan, as well as pockets throughout the world. GSM takes advantage of the sim card (hence why Verizon/Sprint LTE phones require one). CDMA uses the ESN, which is not a physical card. For you to be able to swap carriers with YOUR phone, you'll want to target devices that use the GSM standard and sim cards. While you can swap phones between CDMA providers, there are hurdles to get past, limitations on which carriers will take them, and a very limited supply of phones, very few of which are unbranded.
In the US, the vast majority of towers are run by four companies. Sprint and Verizon utilize CDMA, while AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM. Almost all carriers within the US either roam on them, lease from them, or are MVNOs (resellers) of service through them. If you're not on one of these four carriers, you're still likely paying them indirectly. The four carriers we'll be targeting are AT&T, T-Mobile, Simple Mobile, and Straight Talk. These are all GSM based and offer some form of benefit to bringing your own device.
Show me the money (the plans): NOTE - links below take you right to the plans page I'm referencing. the T-Mobile plans page is hidden on their site.
AT&T:
Pick your minutes and your text amount for individual and family plans. From there, you'll get the option to pick unlimited data (AKA MediaNet) for either $10 or $15 a month. It's $10 if you have unlimited text, else $15. Here's the caveat. This is meant for non-smartphones and the only reason it works is because AT&T doesn't know what your phone is if they don't sell that exact same model. So no, this won't work with an unlocked iPhone. Also, it won't work if you take the phone into an AT&T store and have them set you up. You have to put the sim in yourself. Cheapest individual plan you can pull off is about $70/mo, while the cheapest 2-line family plan is about $110/mo.
Simple Mobile:
They offer two unlimited smartphone plans at $40 and $50 a month. The $40 plan is unlimited talk/text/data at 2G speeds. The $50 plan bumps your data speed up to 3G/4G (HSPA+, not LTE) for phones that support it. FYI, using more than 3GB/month or 100mb/day can get you in trouble with these guys, as they lease their data from T-Mobile.
Straight Talk (link is funny in Chrome, but it's legit, just click proceed):
Like Simple Mobile, these guys offer an unlimited everything plan. Unlike Simple Mobile, they have some perks. First, it's $45/month for unlimited at 4G speeds (again, HSPA+). Second, they have an option to pay for a whole year at $495, which is $41.25/month. Lastly, you get to choose which network you use (AT&T or T-Mobile). The downside is that you can get in trouble for using more than 2GB/month.
T-Mobile:
With a bring your own device plan, they start at $49.99/month, which gets you 500 minutes, unlimited text, and unlimited throttled data (first 2GB at up to 4G speeds). Unlmited minutes is another $10/mo, and truly unlimited data with no throttling is another $10, bringing the total to $69.99 for everything. Technically you're not supposed to tether, but they can't stop you or track you on a phone that isn't T-Mobile branded.
BONUS: T-Mobile/Wal-Mart deal!
You can get this at Wal-Mart or any T-Mobile corporate store. $30/month gets you unlimited text, unlimited data (throttled after 5GB), and 100 minutes of talk time.
This is the thread to ask questions, IE, will "X Phone" work on "Y carrier" and with what limitations. Also, while the latter three carriers expect you to bring your own phone, AT&T's plan is unofficial and requires a little social engineering, as well as making sure that your specific phone model works with Medianet. So, ask questions if unsure.
More info (thanks T4rd):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1455014
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