I'm currently on my daughter's plan as an extra phone. Thinking it's time to cough up for my own plan.

I just need phone calls and texts. I don't stream at all, and I only surf the net when I'm bored waiting for Mrs. PHPaul to re-appear from the bowels of WalMart. It wouldn't bother me a bit to never surf from my phone.

I'm seeing AT&T (our current carrier) plans for $35/month/line that say unlimited calls and texts, and 5G service if available in our area. "May impose lower speeds after 50GB/month if the network is busy" but as long as I'm not surfing/streaming I don't see that as a problem.

I'm thinking I must be missing something or is it actually possible to do a single line for $35 a month?

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

I just need phone calls and texts.

We are using the Spectrum (previously known as BrightHouse, Time-Warner, and other names) service. They offer a deal for mobile service -- unlimited calls and texts, and 1 GB data, for $14.00 per month, INCLUDING all taxes and junk fees.

This deal is restricted to customers who have Spectrum internet service.

I believe that Comcast has a similar deal for $12.00 / month.

Wife and I each have a phone on this plan, so for a total of $28.00 / month, that is two phones with unlimited text & calls, and a 2 GB pool of shared data. If we go over the shared data (that has happened once in two years), they add another GB for $14.00.

They also have an unlimited data plan for $45.00 / month, but it sounds like you would not need that.

You might also take a look at Ting. We used them prior to Spectrum. Good service, outstanding customer service people, I sort of regretted changing, but Spectrum was a better deal for the $$.

We just switched from paying $35/mo per line on Verizon prepaid service. With taxes and fees it was closer to $43/mo and not needing much data at all it seemed like too high. Looking around I found a useful comparison site best phone plans.

After Verizon screwed up several things recently and their customer support was horrible, I started reading up on coverage, plans, and how it all worked. Last month we switched to US Mobile and now pay $31 for three lines with 1GB. Coverage is the same and data speeds are a bit better than before. If we need more data, it's $2/GB.

Check out Consumer Cellular. They have some great plans. They are an MVNO and use either AT&T or T-Mobile.

Paul-

Based on a recent conversation on SF I just signed up with Mint Mobile. They have plans starting at only $15/mo.

https://www.mintmobile.com/pro...small-sim-card-plan/

That price is most likely for a multi line plan with 4 lines. I don’t see a single phone line being that cheap. There will be taxes and fees.

What is the issue with staying on your daughters plan? My parents are on my plan and my wife is on her parents plan. The best deals are with multi line plans.

Be sure to sanity check coverage keeping in mind that the maps may or may not be accurate so ask around.

Most of these have lousy local coverage for me so I have to stick to plans that use AT&T or Verizon. T-mobile and others are a no go.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
I'm currently on my daughter's plan as an extra phone. Thinking it's time to cough up for my own plan.

I just need phone calls and texts. I don't stream at all, and I only surf the net when I'm bored waiting for Mrs. PHPaul to re-appear from the bowels of WalMart. It wouldn't bother me a bit to never surf from my phone.

I'm seeing AT&T (our current carrier) plans for $35/month/line that say unlimited calls and texts, and 5G service if available in our area. "May impose lower speeds after 50GB/month if the network is busy" but as long as I'm not surfing/streaming I don't see that as a problem.

I'm thinking I must be missing something or is it actually possible to do a single line for $35 a month?

It looks like that is per line for 4 lines. Look here https://www.att.com/prepaid/. No contract and the unused data rolls over.

I changed to Verizon for better coverage when I am out in the boonies
The biggest issue is our gun club is off the beaten path and is rustic and remote ( no phone, electricity, running water etc) and if we need 911 help wanted to make sure I could get that call through.
If you are in a large urban metro area for the most part you probably have more options

LG Journey 32GB 5.45" HD+ Tracfone with 1500 Min/Text/Data for 1 Year

50 dollars
https://www.hsn.com/products/l...intextdata-f/9912459

Don't think you can get cheaper for a low usage phone. 1500 Minutes, 1500 text messages and 1 year of service. I don't use data so I can't speak to that

Yeah, before switching check what works in your area, ask around. Here at home & up North, Sprint is terrible.

I have Cricket, kinda a lower end AT&T plan. It’s about $32 a phone per month(5 phones), unlimited. There may be reductions with heavy use.

The best option may be just to pay(or barter) to stay with current plan.

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
That price is most likely for a multi line plan with 4 lines. I don’t see a single phone line being that cheap. There will be taxes and fees.

What is the issue with staying on your daughters plan? My parents are on my plan and my wife is on her parents plan. The best deals are with multi line plans.

If you are referring to my recommendation of Mint Mobile the price is for a single line. There are taxes to add to it but it is only a few dollars. I signed up for the 10 GB plan which is advertised at $20/month and the taxes added to that were $3 if I remember correctly. This is using Verizon towers.

I prepay my ATT phone for a year, and it’s 8gb/month and $320 for the year

Stick with your daughter's plan if you can, you won't find any better deal on your own. I'd look at upgrading that or trying to find a better two-phone plan there.

I have a 4 phone AT&T plan with the wife that I split with my parents. Everyone gets an iPhone with unlimited data and texts etc and it works well.

5G is new technology. It is only available on the latest, most expensive phones (for the most part). You don't get access to 5G speeds UNLESS you live in a 5G area (very limited right now) and you have a $800-$1200 5G compatible phone.

If you have Comcast or Xfinity internet or tv at home, you can get on the Xfinity wireless plan (uses Verizon towers) for $12 a month, unlimited texts and calls. That includes 1GB of high speed data, which might be enough for your low use. They have tiered plans above that if you use more data, up to $45 a month for unlimited data/text/calling.

You're probably better off staying on your daughter's plan.

We have several lines added onto our unlimited plan for various family, because it's much cheaper to add extra lines versus each line having its own separate plan.

As long as there's no issues with the people you're doing the group plan with it may be the most cost efficient for everybody.

US Mobile allows pools of one line with 1GB of data for $11.48/mo including taxes and fees. We tested their service that way for a month before moving over the other two lines. Pools are only available for their Verizon network, though.

These days it seems like there are almost too many choices. Coverage rules out many options quickly, then after that it's about price and support.

another thing to consider is taxes and fees. For example, AT&T quoted prices do not include these fees and it seems they charge just about anything they like. T-Mobile and others have these charges rolled into the price so what you are quoted is what to expect on your bill.

Here is an informative video comparing T Mobile, Verizon and AT&T.
Of course there are less expensive budget plans from lessor know carriers if it's a bare bones program you prefer. Several where mentioned in the tread but also a like for those

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag7yWywGq2o&t=566s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf4AXWlZmNk

Agree with the stay on her plan unless it's an issue for her. Just right her a check for a year at a time in advance. And round up.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
Paul-

Based on a recent conversation on SF I just signed up with Mint Mobile. They have plans starting at only $15/mo.

https://www.mintmobile.com/pro...small-sim-card-plan/

Assuming T-Mobile coverage is good in your area, this is your best solution today. This basic MINT plan will give you everything you need for ~$17/month all in. I'm on this plan and use my phone for a lot more than you use yours, and its worked great.

And you guys with Verizon accounts, if you're paying more than $25/month for an unlimited plan, you have a less expensive option available in Visible Wireless, a MVNO owned by Verizon itself.