Ya I looked into this a few months back and I ended up sticking with AT&T as they were the cheapest for me. It's the data that's a killer.
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Carrier AT&T vs Sprint vs T-Mobile Family Plan
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Chiming back in after following thread over the past few days. I'm in no way a ATT or Verizon fan, hypothetically speaking if ATT were to shut down their services tomorrow I would with a doubt switch over to Verizon in a heart beat.
Cheapest is only defined by the dollar amount a consumer places on the service offered. As mentioned earlier I live in one of tmobile's strongest LTE markets, Dallas Metroplex. Yet once I leave the metro area heading East their network completely falls apart.
Okay what good is unlimited data when you can't use it on occasions where you might need it whilst traveling. Unlimited is a catch phrase that corporations throw out there as a catchy marketing phrase, when in fact unlimited means crap to me if I can't use it when I need it.
Case point... I recently cancelled ATT UVerse broadband services because another competitor arrived that proved that they can provide much better services..uploads/downloads, no outages, fiber vs. DSL. Guess what? My new service cost 20% MORE than what I was paying with ATT.
With that point given...I'm pretty sure people would say I'm a fool for paying more money for a better service. I think you know where I'm trying to get at. Why would I continue to pay for a service that was not dependable, was down many times when I worked from home, slow speeds, etc. On the flip side my next door neighbors absolutely love ATT broadband services despite experiencing the same issues we had experienced. They have learned to deal with the inadequacies and most of all they love the LOWER prices.
Now if you read my last paragraph, can you decide which side of equation you fall on? Pay a bit more for proven quality service or pay a lower cost and adjust to any shortcomings you may encounter.
Only YOU can decide that.
Thanks
Cheapest is only defined by the dollar amount a consumer places on the service offered. As mentioned earlier I live in one of tmobile's strongest LTE markets, Dallas Metroplex. Yet once I leave the metro area heading East their network completely falls apart.
Okay what good is unlimited data when you can't use it on occasions where you might need it whilst traveling. Unlimited is a catch phrase that corporations throw out there as a catchy marketing phrase, when in fact unlimited means crap to me if I can't use it when I need it.
Case point... I recently cancelled ATT UVerse broadband services because another competitor arrived that proved that they can provide much better services..uploads/downloads, no outages, fiber vs. DSL. Guess what? My new service cost 20% MORE than what I was paying with ATT.
With that point given...I'm pretty sure people would say I'm a fool for paying more money for a better service. I think you know where I'm trying to get at. Why would I continue to pay for a service that was not dependable, was down many times when I worked from home, slow speeds, etc. On the flip side my next door neighbors absolutely love ATT broadband services despite experiencing the same issues we had experienced. They have learned to deal with the inadequacies and most of all they love the LOWER prices.
Now if you read my last paragraph, can you decide which side of equation you fall on? Pay a bit more for proven quality service or pay a lower cost and adjust to any shortcomings you may encounter.
Only YOU can decide that.
Thanks
I see yeah we're sort of in the same shoes in a few months our contracts will be up with AT&T so I'm doing all the research I can. We will either stay with them or go some place else. We will be getting new iPhones so while T Mobile does sound good for saving some kind of scared about the slow data speeds. Some websites are mobile but not a whole lot and with apps require that you be online it scares me that we'd run through most of the small data plans...yeah you can pay more for unlimited but now you're at AT&T pricing who has a much more reliable network.Sorry if my post was misleading. I'm still with AT&T. Moving to T Mobile this summer.
I predict throttling will be fine since my wife and I use very little data. I rarely approach 1GB. She's under 500MB. The kids use 2-4 GB each. They'll adapt.
We use the TomTom app for navigation. It uses maps stored on the phone - so data isn't an issue. It works offline.
Interesting development yesterday: After five years, I dumped my AT&T unlimited data on two lines along with the individual data plans on the other two. Should've done it sooner (like when AT&T started throttling unlimited?). Now we're all on the AT&T family share for $160 plus fees and tax. Saves me ~$50/month... until my next move.
Good to see some real cell competition for once. Customers winning. Long overdue. Thanks T-Mobile.
This is not even mentioning coverage as the user above pointed out can be spotty when traveling out of immediate LTE areas
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That's 10GB of Shared Data versus UNLIMITED data.
A better comparison would be this:
10GB on AT&T shared data
3GB on EACH Sprint Framily line
2.5GB on EACH T-Mobile line
2 lines on AT&T: $130
2 lines on Sprint Framily: $120
2 lines on T-Mobile: $100
3 lines on AT&T: $145
3 lines on Sprint Framily: $165
3 lines on T-Mobile: $120
4 lines on AT&T: $160
4 lines on Sprint Framily: $200
4 lines on T-Mobile: $140
5 lines on AT&T: $175
5 lines on Sprint Framily: $225
5 lines on T-Mobile: $160
So really you're paying $15-$30 more a month (depending on the number of lines) to be able to pool all the data together so that if one person uses 1.5 GB, another can use that extra 1 GB instead of it just being wasted money.
Yep, which makes more sense to go with AT&T for the little difference in monthly.
What if a family of 4 has this kind of data usage?
Line 1: 500MB
Line 2: 2.5GB
Line 3: 500MB
Line 4: 2.5GB
That would be $160 at AT&T but $120 at T-Mobile. Saving of $40.
What if a family member use a lot of data? (say 30GB)
Line 1: 30GB
Line 2: 500MB
Line 3: 2.5GB
Line 4: 500MB
That would be $130 at T-Mobile but at AT&T, it's ????
AT&T pricing is a lot more competitive now compare to before but T-Mobile is still cheaper. If T-Mobile coverage is great where you live and work (mostly city), going with T-Mobile will save you money over AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.
T-Mobile is mostly an urban carrier. Those that live and/or work outside urban areas, I don't recommend T-Mobile at all. Go with another carrier.
Choosing a carrier, this is the step
1) Does this carrier have good coverage where I live and work?
2) What are the monthly prices?
Sprint lost 2.285 million subscribers in 2013.
T-Mobile gained 4.4 million subscribers in 2013.
Will the new Framily Plan make Sprint more competitive?
Will T-Mobile paying off ETF resulting in many more subscribers gain?
2014 will be another interesting year in wireless.
T-Mobile gained 4.4 million subscribers in 2013.
Will the new Framily Plan make Sprint more competitive?
Will T-Mobile paying off ETF resulting in many more subscribers gain?
2014 will be another interesting year in wireless.
This was the basis of my decision to use T-Mobile. I barely travel (and if I do, it's to major cities) so while AT&T/Verizon may have better overall coverage, my T-Mobile coverage is fantastic in the places I generally am anyway. It was a no brainer for my situation to save money by being with T-Mobile. Now if in the future I find myself traveling more and my coverage isn't cutting it, I can always switch since I'm not tied down to a contract.
EDIT: OP, it may be necessary to update the Verizon prices soon if this ends up being true.
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I've had them since October of last year and I kept telling myself that at some point Sprint has to get better, but that didn't happen and I just don't see it happening in the foreseeable future. Me and my family took our talents to AT&T and signed up for the new Mobile Share plan. Same price for 4 lines w/ great service from AT&T for the same price that I was paying on Sprint for 3 lines and spotty service.
I have 200 or 300 mb plan from At&t..... I don't even use that much. Every place I go I get the wifi passwords. 500 would be more than enough especially if after that it's unlimited and slower.
Do you need 10gb? Unless you put the iPad on your plan.
I am actually thinking of leaving AT&T for T-Mobile. The price is pretty crazy. I get 700 minutes roll over with 3 phones. Only 1 is a smart phone. I get a 25% discount because of work and it's still 120 bucks. I have to pay 20 for the 200mbs of data and 15 for 1,000 texting (they don't offer less then this) and hardly ever text.
them bumping up the upgrade from 18 to 24 months is BS. I called them in December they said to wait till February and I could get new iPhones but could get free Galaxies If I wanted. Called in February and they said I had to wait till May. Trying to see if T-mobile will let me keep my iPhone.
I agree. I told my wife I would've thought that they would've gotten better, but nothing has changed.
that sprint nextel things seems to be pointless in my view like you said nothing has gotten better, i had sprint and live in DC, youd think reception would be good, i got out that contract with in two months lol calls dropped more and recieved...im happy with tmobile
I asked my wife what's the point of unlimited data if it only works less than half the time we need it or want it.
Sprint is a waste of time in my experience. T-Mobil has treated me well if good service in your area. Verizon is my carrier of choice now.
Exactly. That's what you get with Sprint.
Verizon has the best unlimited data plan. It's just too bad they no longer offer it to new customers but I'm grandfathered in.