Please school me on carrier strategy

[ElectronGuru]

Rant
All the games between carriers and customers is headache inducing. Adding/having a phone number to a device should not be this annoying.

Current
I have a 4S on Verizon in good shape. It just fell out of contract and my monthly rate, which was subsidizing the phone, has not gone down. So rather than continue to pay into [nothing]...

Future
I want to either A) move the 4S to a plan or carrier with an unsubsidized (cheaper) plan or B) continue and upgrade this line to a 5S + move the 4S to a plan or carrier with an unsubsidized plan.

Goal
Having two iPhones with data would be helpful, but not @ $120/mo for the pair. As a secondary phone in plan B, the 4S would not see big use, it just needs - some - coverage.

Whom should I call first, etc?

 

[JoshGlzBrk]

Why do you need two phones?

 

[ElectronGuru]

Why do you need two phones?

Additional family members

 

[Lucille Carter]

Having both phone with a data plan is going to cost you. The carrier will not allow you to have a smartphone on a dumb phone plan.

 

[Mrbobb]

(A) says you keep 4s only. (B) says you end up with 2 phones. So what is it? Do you want 1 or 2 phones?

Heavy cellular data usage stay with Verizon plan would be easiest.

Assuming (B) with 4s doing low usage, investigate into a Verizon MVNO (pre-paid).

 

[ElectronGuru]

(A) says you keep 4s only. (B) says you end up with 2 phones. So what is it? Do you want 1 or 2 phones?.

Sorry for the confusion. I'm not seeking help with an A vs B decision, I'm well versed in making these kinds of choices. I'm unfamiliar with all the options and need direction to find the best plans. Normally I would spend a few weeks doing heavy web research, but phone companies seems to put half their energy into making such research difficult.

Simply put: who are good choices for low minutes 4S (voice + data) service?

Assuming (B) with 4s doing low usage, investigate into a Verizon MVNO (pre-paid).

I'll check this out, thanks!

 

[takeshi74]

Not sure what the difficulty is. Pricing is on the carrier web sites. What problems are you having with doing the research? If you Google around you can easily find a list of MVNO's and the networks they piggyback on to get you started. None of this has anything to do with "carrier and customer games". It's just your due diligence.

Is price all that matters? Many find coverage to be a top priority.