Cell Phone Providers?

[honeybee]

Next month we're out of our Verizon cell phone contract. We're the last people on the earth I think without smart phones, mostly because I'm stubborn about how much I'm willing to pay for a phone each month. Right now we have two dumb phones, unlimited texting/calling for about $90 a month. This is with an employee discount since my fiance is a cop.

Contemplating switching to Sprint or Tmobile as they seem to have the best pricing on data and we would finally like to join the 21st century and get smart phones. However I'd still like to stay as close to $100 a month as possible.

So if I can be nosey:
Who do you use?
How much do you pay?
What do you get?
Are you happy with them?

[Deleted]

Who do you use? AT&T
How much do you pay? $135 20% discount from DH's work
What do you get? 2 i phones, 1 dumb phone, 1 texting plan, 2 data plans
Are you happy with them? mostly.

[smiley]

I use Verizon but have thought about using other providers. Then I hear about all of the trouble that comes with a cheaper provider (less coverage area / calls cut in and out / etc.)

[Chirp]

Who do you use? AT&T

How much do you pay? $140/month We also get a discount through work

What do you get? 2 4G smartphones on a family plan; 700 minutes to share (we always have around 4,000 in rollover), unlimited mobile to mobile, unlimited text on both, 4 GB of data (we've never gone over and we both use our phones for general internet fuckery on a fairly routine basis).

Are you happy with them? I have no complaints. CS is easy to deal with (on the phone or in person), phone service is good and I've never had any major issues with them.

[Chirp]

One more thing, T-Mobile is cheap but their service (at least from what I've seen) is pretty spotty.

A few co-workers switched to them to save a few bucks (they had Verizon prior to switching) and they hate it.

[StJess80]

We have cricket (which is similar to tmobile) and we pay $106 a month for 2 smartphones, with unlimited everything (including data).

[annael415]

We have Verizon. One iphone, one dumbphone. Unlimited data on the iphone, unlimited texting on both and like 450 minutes on both, i think. I believe we pay $140/month, including fed gov't discount. We like verizon, best service where we are. When i want to upgrade my phone, I'll have to get rid of the unlimited data though, so i might be up to change carriers.

[magpie]

Who do you use? T-Mobile (prepay/no contract version)
How much do you pay? $30/month + bought the phone upfront ($250 on sale!)
What do you get? 1 android smartphone with unlimited data (the first 5GB being at 4g speeds, which I never come close to going over) + 100 minutes of talk
Are you happy with them? Very. I love how cheap it is and I honestly don't see much of a difference in service from the old contract plan I used to have (with T-mobile as well). Service is fine where I live and the network is fast. I love my phone too. I don't talk on the phone much, so this plan is perfect for me. They have higher talk plans for chatty people though

H is staunchly against having a smartphone, so he has a different prepay plan for his ancient flip phone through Virgin for something like $20 a month.

[loveday]

So if I can be nosey:
Who do you use? T-Mobile
How much do you pay? $90/month for 2 phones. Not smartphones but touchscreens.
What do you get? 1500 mins, unlimited nights/weekends, unlimited texts/msgs, not sure about data, I know we have something on them.
Are you happy with them? Yes, been with them almost 8 years

[MadamePresident]

Who do you use?
Verizon

How much do you pay?
About $93, this includes a 17% work discount.

What do you get?
I have a non-smart phone that allows me unlimited internet access. $15
400 message texting plan for $4
2nd phone line $10
700 shared minutes
Mobile to Mobie with other Verizon customers

Are you happy with them?
Very happy. I was looking into switching last week (I can get a 24% work discount from At&T), but couldn't do it. I wanted a basically equal plan, but even with the bigger discount it wouldn't have saved me any money. I feel like Verizon has better service.

It also didn't help that the salesperson for At&T was kind of a jerk and kept trying to upsell us on everything and anything (cases, chargers, home internet service, etc), whereas the Verizion salesperson was nice and gave us what we wanted (although he did bring out a few extras - cases, speakers, but wasn't pushy). But that is probably not a reflection on the companies as a whole.

[mrs.jacinthe]

Who do you use? Sprint.
How much do you pay? Part of my parents' family plan. I reimburse them $32/mo
What do you get? Near unlimited voice and messaging. Crappy reception.
Are you happy with them? As I can be. We live in a voice/data dead zone. So I can only use my phone when I'm "in town."