Holy moly! Cricket just increased data caps & now have a 20GB (!!!) plan for $55/mo

[Hal~9000]

Looks like Cricket wireless (AT&T MVNO) is playing for blood...
- 2.5GB of LTE and unlim talk+text for $35/mo
- 5GB of LTE and unlim talk+text for $45/mo
- 20GB of LTE and unlim talk+text for $55/mo

Download speeds are capped at 8mbps but in reality nobody needs more than that for streaming. The only people who whine about it are those trying to show off their speedtest results. I prefer AT&T's network coverage compared to T-mobile or Sprint so it's an easy choice for me.

 

[lordofthereef]

That's rather amazing.

By the way, I've had lower quality video feeds on Netflix when I was under 10, but it still worked (just more artifacts, if that's the proper term). So anyone streaming might hate it.

I would almost go this route of our family plan wasn't already cheaper.

 

[Lloydbm41]

Looks like Cricket wireless (AT&T MVNO) is playing for blood...
- 2.5GB of LTE and unlim talk+text for $35/mo
- 5GB of LTE and unlim talk+text for $45/mo
- 20GB of LTE and unlim talk+text for $55/mo

Download speeds are capped at 8mbps but in reality nobody needs more than that for streaming. The only people who whine about it are those trying to show off their speedtest results. I prefer AT&T's network coverage compared to T-mobile or Sprint so it's an easy choice for me.

I prefer my T-Mobile unlimited everything for $50 a month, no throttling, no caps, free inflight texting/emails and premium rhapsody. I also prefer the 30mbps download speeds I get in my rural area of California. Cali is a really good State for T-Mobile though. Lots of coverage. This is not the case in many States.

But for AT&T's Cricket and coverage area, that is a really good deal.

 

[Newtons Apple]

What is cricket?

 

[8rlee8]

What is cricket?

Did you read the OP? AT&T MVNO

 

[JuliusCaesar]

That is really nice... I save a ton of money with cricket wireless, and now with more data for the same price. Bought my iPhone 6 unlocked and now im rocking it with Cricket. So far it's been flawless.

 

[IrishVixen]

Looks like Cricket wireless (AT&T MVNO) is playing for blood...
- 2.5GB of LTE and unlim talk+text for $35/mo
- 5GB of LTE and unlim talk+text for $45/mo
- 20GB of LTE and unlim talk+text for $55/mo

Download speeds are capped at 8mbps but in reality nobody needs more than that for streaming. The only people who whine about it are those trying to show off their speedtest results. I prefer AT&T's network coverage compared to T-mobile or Sprint so it's an easy choice for me.

That's a terrific deal! But while 8Mbps is adequate for streaming, it's pretty damn sluggish for things like Safari searches and social media. Not all of us care about speedtests, for me it's about not being frustrated by endless waits for the information I request to reach my phone. I don't stream anything except the occasional radio feed for a baseball game via the At Bat app.

Still, if I'm traveling somewhere where T-Mobile's coverage isn't good enough (so far, that's nowhere I actually go, but realistically, I expect it to happen eventually), Cricket would be the next place I look for prepaid service, even with that speed cap.

 

[Hal~9000]

That's a terrific deal! But while 8Mbps is adequate for streaming, it's pretty damn sluggish for things like Safari searches and social media.

I guess I'm a little confused by this ^ statement.

If streaming requires much higher bandwidth than a simple google search or loading a website (and 8mbps is adequate for good quality streaming), why would you say it would be 'damn sluggish' for a simple safari search or website load? If anything it would be the opposite of your statement for something that requires less bandwidth, no?

 

[zorinlynx]

Do these plans allow tethering? If so, might be worthwhile.

 

[geoff5093]

I prefer my T-Mobile unlimited everything for $50 a month, no throttling, no caps, free inflight texting/emails and premium rhapsody. I also prefer the 30mbps download speeds I get in my rural area of California. Cali is a really good State for T-Mobile though. Lots of coverage. This is not the case in many States.

But for AT&T's Cricket and coverage area, that is a really good deal.

That plan currently costs $80, not sure how you get it for $50.

But while 8Mbps is adequate for streaming, it's pretty damn sluggish for things like Safari searches and social media.

Uh, what? If 8Mbps is adequate for streaming, it's fantastic for browsing and social media.

 

[Lloydbm41]

Do these plans allow tethering? If so, might be worthwhile.

Good question. T-Mo unlimited plan allows for 5gb of tethered data at no cost. AT&T usually charges for tethering so it would be curious if Cricket allows it for free?

 

[IrishVixen]

Sorry, gang, still going to disagree on speed. I've had both in the last few months--typically I got 6-8 Mbps on AT&T, and 25-50 on T-Mobile. There's no contest. Pages that would take near a minute to load on the phone when I was on AT&T absolutely FLY now that I'm on TM. It was an unexpected bonus for me when I switched; I made the change to cut my bill in half, not for any speed advantage, but now that I've experienced it, it would be tough to give up.

To put it another way, there's now very little difference in using my phone on high speed broadband wifi at home versus using my phone on LTE when I'm out and about. Before, going on cellular meant dealing with a much slower data rate, very markedly so. My experience went from borderline painful to something so similar to cable internet that I don't even notice when the phone switches from one to the other on my back deck where wifi doesn't completely cover.

8 Mbps is adequate, no doubt; it's not like we're talking about 2G. I lived with it for years. But 25+ blows it out of the water, especially when you get up to 50 or more. I wouldn't pay a ton more just for speed, but neither would I deliberately choose to switch to a lower speed plan without a serious bribe to do so...which a nice fat data package would be for some people.

Again, this doesn't take away from the fact that this pricing Cricket's now offering is outstanding. If I had gone directly from AT&T postpaid to Cricket, this would be a no brainer. I really hope it's an indication of the direction the market is taking.

 

[Hal~9000]

Do these plans allow tethering? If so, might be worthwhile.

Good question. T-Mo unlimited plan allows for 5gb of tethered data at no cost. AT&T usually charges for tethering so it would be curious if Cricket allows it for free?

Well technically tethering is against the ToS for GSM phones... but if you look on HowardForums you see people saying they tether and nothing has come of it. Kind of a YMMV deal where you can probably get away with it but that there's always a slight chance they could tell you to cut it out.

8 Mbps is adequate, no doubt; it's not like we're talking about 2G. I lived with it for years. But 25+ blows it out of the water, especially when you get up to 50 or more. I wouldn't pay a ton more just for speed, but neither would I deliberately choose to switch to a lower speed plan without a serious bribe to do so...which a nice fat data package would be for some people.

Ah, guess we'll agree to disagree then

IMO 8mbps is pretty blazing fast for simple web browsing and most people would be extremely happy to have those cellular data speeds.

 

[CEmajr]

Not a bad deal. Any tethering allowed? Faster than 8mbps does come into play when tethering.

 

[TechZeke]

Sorry, gang, still going to disagree on speed. I've had both in the last few months--typically I got 6-8 Mbps on AT&T, and 25-50 on T-Mobile. There's no contest. Pages that would take near a minute to load on the phone when I was on AT&T absolutely FLY now that I'm on TM. It was an unexpected bonus for me when I switched; I made the change to cut my bill in half, not for any speed advantage, but now that I've experienced it, it would be tough to give up.

To put it another way, there's now very little difference in using my phone on high speed broadband wifi at home versus using my phone on LTE when I'm out and about. Before, going on cellular meant dealing with a much slower data rate, very markedly so. My experience went from borderline painful to something so similar to cable internet that I don't even notice when the phone switches from one to the other on my back deck where wifi doesn't completely cover.

8 Mbps is adequate, no doubt; it's not like we're talking about 2G. I lived with it for years. But 25+ blows it out of the water, especially when you get up to 50 or more. I wouldn't pay a ton more just for speed, but neither would I deliberately choose to switch to a lower speed plan without a serious bribe to do so...which a nice fat data package would be for some people.

Again, this doesn't take away from the fact that this pricing Cricket's now offering is outstanding. If I had gone directly from AT&T postpaid to Cricket, this would be a no brainer. I really hope it's an indication of the direction the market is taking.

Data speed in-general is flaky and subjective. I get on average 18-23 Mbps on AT&T, a few times getting 40 Mbps, but it is rare. Also, at least at my university, T-Mobile has abysmal to non-existent in-door service in all of the major college buildings. Almost everyone I know at my university complains that T-Mobile coverage, sucks, to it put it bluntly. One friend has to literally walk out of the library to text and call because she can't get service.

 

[rui no onna]

That's a terrific deal! But while 8Mbps is adequate for streaming, it's pretty damn sluggish for things like Safari searches and social media. Not all of us care about speedtests, for me it's about not being frustrated by endless waits for the information I request to reach my phone. I don't stream anything except the occasional radio feed for a baseball game via the At Bat app.

Not really the bandwidth that's the issue here, it's the access times. 8Mbps is perfectly adequate as long as you have low ping. On that note, it's possible for 20Mbps connections to feel positively glacial if ping times are high.

 

[terraphantm]

Not really the bandwidth that's the issue here, it's the access times. 8Mbps is perfectly adequate as long as you have low ping. On that note, it's possible for 20Mbps connections to feel positively glacial if ping times are high.

This. If the pings are under 100ms, 8mbps should be fine. More than adequate for web browsing and some HD streaming

 

[Lloydbm41]

Data speed in-general is flaky and subjective. I get on average 18-23 Mbps on AT&T, a few times getting 40 Mbps, but it is rare. Also, at least at my university, T-Mobile has abysmal to non-existent in-door service in all of the major college buildings. Almost everyone I know at my university complains that T-Mobile coverage, sucks, to it put it bluntly. One friend has to literally walk out of the library to text and call because she can't get service.

T-Mobile is activating all the 700mhz spectrum it recently acquired from Verizon and is purchasing more in order to have coverage in both low and high spectrums (700mhz is needed to penetrate buildings) that equals that of ATT and Verizon. They have been upgrading and activating since the middle of last year and have stated that the entire network will be up and operating in all US States by the end of 2015.

While that does not help in certain areas right now, or in the past, T-Mobile really is the network doing everything it can for its consumers.

 

[braddick]

What is cricket?

I only know Cricket to be an outlet that will flash stolen phones (not the corporate branches though) and offer contracts to high risk (credit) customers.

It's been a couple of years though, so honestly- that assessment may easily be off as Cricket's current marketing campaign and strategy is unknown to me.

 

[bhags8]

I prefer my T-Mobile unlimited everything for $50 a month, no throttling, no caps, free inflight texting/emails and premium rhapsody. I also prefer the 30mbps download speeds I get in my rural area of California. Cali is a really good State for T-Mobile though. Lots of coverage. This is not the case in many States.

But for AT&T's Cricket and coverage area, that is a really good deal.

How do you get free premium rhapsody? And why is it $50? You on Metro?

 

[Lloydbm41]

How do you get free premium rhapsody? And why is it $50? You on Metro?

2 lines for $100 on T-Mobile for unlimited everything. That is $50 per line.

 

[geoff5093]

Sorry, gang, still going to disagree on speed. I've had both in the last few months--typically I got 6-8 Mbps on AT&T, and 25-50 on T-Mobile. There's no contest. Pages that would take near a minute to load on the phone when I was on AT&T absolutely FLY now that I'm on TM. It was an unexpected bonus for me when I switched; I made the change to cut my bill in half, not for any speed advantage, but now that I've experienced it, it would be tough to give up.

To put it another way, there's now very little difference in using my phone on high speed broadband wifi at home versus using my phone on LTE when I'm out and about. Before, going on cellular meant dealing with a much slower data rate, very markedly so. My experience went from borderline painful to something so similar to cable internet that I don't even notice when the phone switches from one to the other on my back deck where wifi doesn't completely cover.

8 Mbps is adequate, no doubt; it's not like we're talking about 2G. I lived with it for years. But 25+ blows it out of the water, especially when you get up to 50 or more. I wouldn't pay a ton more just for speed, but neither would I deliberately choose to switch to a lower speed plan without a serious bribe to do so...which a nice fat data package would be for some people.

Again, this doesn't take away from the fact that this pricing Cricket's now offering is outstanding. If I had gone directly from AT&T postpaid to Cricket, this would be a no brainer. I really hope it's an indication of the direction the market is taking.

No.

I have a module on my phone that tells me the speed that I'm using whenever data is being used, and I can tell you most websites and all social media don't come close to using over 8Mbps.

What you noticed is likely due to lower ping and a less congested network, nothing to do with raw speed alone.

 

[madsci954]

Current Cricket customer on the Smart plan. I just upgraded to the Advanced plan. Unlimited talk, text, and 20gigs of data for $55. Only feature I wish they had was tethering, but I can live without it.

 

[Breaking Good]

I only know Cricket to be an outlet that will flash stolen phones (not the corporate branches though) and offer contracts to high risk (credit) customers.

It's been a couple of years though, so honestly- that assessment may easily be off as Cricket's current marketing campaign and strategy is unknown to me.

AT&T purchased Cricket and merged it with its other MVNO subsidiary, AIO Wireless.

Since Cricket had brick and mortar stores where AIO did not, they kept the Cricket name.

 

[Apple Trees]

Capped at 8mbps
No tethering allowed
No customer service
No family plans
Downgrade to AT&T's congested network
Second tier priority on the network

No thanks.