What would you do if you were me regarding plans?

[Only1Z]

Let me give you some background.

I have been a long time AT&T customer. I have really never had a problem with their service and I do travel for work quite a bit. I'm worried about national coverage. I probably take on the order of a dozen or more round trip flights per year and my phone really has to work. I live in the Chicago area and have been swapping my AT&T sim with a T-Mobile prepaid sim (the famous $30 plan). I can't live with the 100 minutes talk which is why I'm swapping sims back and forth or using two phones. But it was meant to just be a T-Mobile experiment for a month or two so I could make a decision on what to do. So far, T-Mobile has been fine here in Chicago. I usually get between 5-9 mbps down on AT&T and I'm getting 12-19 mbps on T-Mobile in the same areas. You would think that means it's much faster. But actually, it's so overblown on the internet about LTE, HSPA+, and these super fast speeds that I think it's crazy. AT&T at these speeds is barely slower than T-Mobile. It's not a concern. Let me tell you about my current plan on AT&T...

550 minutes shared among 2 phones
Unlimited family texting which comes with unlimited mobile to mobile regardless of carrier (so the 550 anytime minutes only apply to landline calls which is why we can share 550 minutes easily)
I have unlimited data grandfathered in at $30/mo
The other phone has the grandfathered 200mb plan for $15/mo
I have a 24% corporate discount on AT&T through my girlfriend's old work (doesn't work there anymore)

The way it works out is about $115/mo after discount but before taxes...not too bad for AT&T with corporate discount. If I leave AT&T, I will lose 2 things I can't get back if I ever want to go back...the corporate discount and the grandfathered data plans.

I really like what T-Mobile is doing with their plans (modeling more of a European style of phone plan). Buy an unlocked phone and pay less per month. It makes sense!

Here are the options as I see it...

1) Stay with AT&T and keep paying $58 per phone plus tax. I would rarely have to worry about my travels and national coverage. Most of my travels are to urban areas but I have also traveled to the middle of nowhere on occasion.
2) Go with T-Mobile's Monthly 4G $60 plan for both phones. That's the only one that really fits. I'm not saving any money, but I get more for my money in terms of minutes/data. But I haven't felt like I get blasted with overages by AT&T so I feel what I have is sufficient.
3) One way to really save money would be to use an MVNO like Straight Talk or Solavei at $45 or $49 respectively. I like Solavei's 4GB defined data plan. That's excellent. I do NOT like Straight Talk's non-defined plan. However, Straight Talk has the advantage of being able to use AT&T. Is it true that if you get a T-Mobile sim on Straight Talk, it will at least voice roam onto the AT&T network? That would be a big plus. But I really don't like the lack of a defined data plan. I'm not a heavy data user...probably below the national average. But it still worries me.
4) T-Mobile Value Plan - The downfall here is that I'd be on a 2 year contract again and might realize T-Mobile isn't for me with all my traveling. However, I can get a 1000 minute talk, free nights/weekend plan, and completely unlimited data and texting for $100/month ($50 per phone). Again, the downside is that I'd be in a contract.

Again, I would lose a corporate discount with AT&T which is what makes it affordable and my unlimited data if I leave...can't get either back. What would Android Central do? I'd specifically love to hear from people who had T-Mobile and traveled for business or do travel for business. What are your thoughts on coverage? Did you have to leave and go to AT&T or Verizon? These are the types of people that might be able to help the most. I sort of feel like rewarding T-Mobile for the plans that they are bringing to the table to help consumers save money. But on the other hand, it's not like AT&T hasn't been good to me for many years. I'm just so torn on what to do. By the way, my contract on AT&T is expired if that matters...no ETF.

 

[YourMobileGuru]

Let me give you some background.

I have been a long time AT&T customer. I have really never had a problem with their service and I do travel for work quite a bit. I'm worried about national coverage. I probably take on the order of a dozen or more round trip flights per year and my phone really has to work. I live in the Chicago area and have been swapping my AT&T sim with a T-Mobile prepaid sim (the famous $30 plan). I can't live with the 100 minutes talk which is why I'm swapping sims back and forth or using two phones. But it was meant to just be a T-Mobile experiment for a month or two so I could make a decision on what to do. So far, T-Mobile has been fine here in Chicago. I usually get between 5-9 mbps down on AT&T and I'm getting 12-19 mbps on T-Mobile in the same areas. You would think that means it's much faster. But actually, it's so overblown on the internet about LTE, HSPA+, and these super fast speeds that I think it's crazy. AT&T at these speeds is barely slower than T-Mobile. It's not a concern. Let me tell you about my current plan on AT&T...

550 minutes shared among 2 phones
Unlimited family texting which comes with unlimited mobile to mobile regardless of carrier (so the 550 anytime minutes only apply to landline calls which is why we can share 550 minutes easily)
I have unlimited data grandfathered in at $30/mo
The other phone has the grandfathered 200mb plan for $15/mo
I have a 24% corporate discount on AT&T through my girlfriend's old work (doesn't work there anymore)

The way it works out is about $115/mo after discount but before taxes...not too bad for AT&T with corporate discount. If I leave AT&T, I will lose 2 things I can't get back if I ever want to go back...the corporate discount and the grandfathered data plans.

I really like what T-Mobile is doing with their plans (modeling more of a European style of phone plan). Buy an unlocked phone and pay less per month. It makes sense!

Here are the options as I see it...

1) Stay with AT&T and keep paying $58 per phone plus tax. I would rarely have to worry about my travels and national coverage. Most of my travels are to urban areas but I have also traveled to the middle of nowhere on occasion.
2) Go with T-Mobile's Monthly 4G $60 plan for both phones. That's the only one that really fits. I'm not saving any money, but I get more for my money in terms of minutes/data. But I haven't felt like I get blasted with overages by AT&T so I feel what I have is sufficient.
3) One way to really save money would be to use an MVNO like Straight Talk or Solavei at $45 or $49 respectively. I like Solavei's 4GB defined data plan. That's excellent. I do NOT like Straight Talk's non-defined plan. However, Straight Talk has the advantage of being able to use AT&T. Is it true that if you get a T-Mobile sim on Straight Talk, it will at least voice roam onto the AT&T network? That would be a big plus. But I really don't like the lack of a defined data plan. I'm not a heavy data user...probably below the national average. But it still worries me.
4) T-Mobile Value Plan - The downfall here is that I'd be on a 2 year contract again and might realize T-Mobile isn't for me with all my traveling. However, I can get a 1000 minute talk, free nights/weekend plan, and completely unlimited data and texting for $100/month ($50 per phone). Again, the downside is that I'd be in a contract.

Again, I would lose a corporate discount with AT&T which is what makes it affordable and my unlimited data if I leave...can't get either back. What would Android Central do? I'd specifically love to hear from people who had T-Mobile and traveled for business or do travel for business. What are your thoughts on coverage? Did you have to leave and go to AT&T or Verizon? These are the types of people that might be able to help the most. I sort of feel like rewarding T-Mobile for the plans that they are bringing to the table to help consumers save money. But on the other hand, it's not like AT&T hasn't been good to me for many years. I'm just so torn on what to do. By the way, my contract on AT&T is expired if that matters...no ETF.

My advice is keep the one line with unlimited on at&t and port the other line to one of the tmobile resellers. Yes you can get a T-Mobile compatible SIM from straight talk but I caution you to go on auto pay so you don't loose your phone number and that their customer service if you wher have a problem sucks.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Android Central Forums

 

[runtmms]

Let me give you some background.

I have been a long time AT&T customer. I have really never had a problem with their service and I do travel for work quite a bit. I'm worried about national coverage. I probably take on the order of a dozen or more round trip flights per year and my phone really has to work. I live in the Chicago area and have been swapping my AT&T sim with a T-Mobile prepaid sim (the famous $30 plan). I can't live with the 100 minutes talk which is why I'm swapping sims back and forth or using two phones. But it was meant to just be a T-Mobile experiment for a month or two so I could make a decision on what to do. So far, T-Mobile has been fine here in Chicago. I usually get between 5-9 mbps down on AT&T and I'm getting 12-19 mbps on T-Mobile in the same areas. You would think that means it's much faster. But actually, it's so overblown on the internet about LTE, HSPA+, and these super fast speeds that I think it's crazy. AT&T at these speeds is barely slower than T-Mobile. It's not a concern. Let me tell you about my current plan on AT&T...

550 minutes shared among 2 phones
Unlimited family texting which comes with unlimited mobile to mobile regardless of carrier (so the 550 anytime minutes only apply to landline calls which is why we can share 550 minutes easily)
I have unlimited data grandfathered in at $30/mo
The other phone has the grandfathered 200mb plan for $15/mo
I have a 24% corporate discount on AT&T through my girlfriend's old work (doesn't work there anymore)

The way it works out is about $115/mo after discount but before taxes...not too bad for AT&T with corporate discount. If I leave AT&T, I will lose 2 things I can't get back if I ever want to go back...the corporate discount and the grandfathered data plans.

I really like what T-Mobile is doing with their plans (modeling more of a European style of phone plan). Buy an unlocked phone and pay less per month. It makes sense!

Here are the options as I see it...

1) Stay with AT&T and keep paying $58 per phone plus tax. I would rarely have to worry about my travels and national coverage. Most of my travels are to urban areas but I have also traveled to the middle of nowhere on occasion.
2) Go with T-Mobile's Monthly 4G $60 plan for both phones. That's the only one that really fits. I'm not saving any money, but I get more for my money in terms of minutes/data. But I haven't felt like I get blasted with overages by AT&T so I feel what I have is sufficient.
3) One way to really save money would be to use an MVNO like Straight Talk or Solavei at $45 or $49 respectively. I like Solavei's 4GB defined data plan. That's excellent. I do NOT like Straight Talk's non-defined plan. However, Straight Talk has the advantage of being able to use AT&T. Is it true that if you get a T-Mobile sim on Straight Talk, it will at least voice roam onto the AT&T network? That would be a big plus. But I really don't like the lack of a defined data plan. I'm not a heavy data user...probably below the national average. But it still worries me.
4) T-Mobile Value Plan - The downfall here is that I'd be on a 2 year contract again and might realize T-Mobile isn't for me with all my traveling. However, I can get a 1000 minute talk, free nights/weekend plan, and completely unlimited data and texting for $100/month ($50 per phone). Again, the downside is that I'd be in a contract.

Again, I would lose a corporate discount with AT&T which is what makes it affordable and my unlimited data if I leave...can't get either back. What would Android Central do? I'd specifically love to hear from people who had T-Mobile and traveled for business or do travel for business. What are your thoughts on coverage? Did you have to leave and go to AT&T or Verizon? These are the types of people that might be able to help the most. I sort of feel like rewarding T-Mobile for the plans that they are bringing to the table to help consumers save money. But on the other hand, it's not like AT&T hasn't been good to me for many years. I'm just so torn on what to do. By the way, my contract on AT&T is expired if that matters...no ETF.

I don't see any reason for the $60 T-Mobile option - I think it makes more sense to go with Solavei (that was my choice) If you're going the T-Mobile route.

It turns out "middle of nowhere" is relative. You would really need to study coverage maps. I'm pretty sure all the available roaming on Solavei is the striped "service partner" area. (They cover my middle of nowhere fine. YMMV.) I could be wrong on this but it is my understanding with straight talk you have a T Mobile SIM or AT&T sim. The T Mobile SIM is only going to roam on to AT&T where there is a roaming agreement in place. It is likely that roaming agreement is in place for Tmobile directly or Solavei. You really have to study the coverage maps.

$58/ line is not bad if you're happy - a small premium to be confident in your coverage. I don't know if the 200mb line is struggling with the limitation. I also don't know what it would cost to keep one ATT line so you could really test T-Mobile (or MVNO) before giving up the stuff you can't get back.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[greydarrah]

I would first work at writing shorter threads...reading through all of that was painful.

As far as you plan goes, the real question is how much data do you currently use? When I was on Verizon's unlimited data, I thought that "unlimited" meant the world. But looking at my actual usage, it was almost always under 2 gb per month. Unless you're one that is constantly streaming movies, it's unlikely that unlimited is really important. That said, AT&T probably has better national coverage, but I've been amazed at how well my Tmo coverage has been in the middle of nowhere. Add to that, I'm personally sick of being financially raped by these monopoly type companies (AT&T and Verizon), I'd just go with whatever is cheaper, as long as the coverage works.

 

[planoman]

Option 1. The reason most people go with prepaid plans is to save money. You are already getting a substantial discount on a very reliable nation wide network. You do not say if you have the unlimited LTE plan and are just using the Nexus 4 on it or if your have the HSPA plan (throttle begins at 5 GB for LTE and 3GB for HSPA). TMobile will begin to deploy their LTE networks this summer if not sooner but it will be a while before they are as reliable as ATT.

I would stick with ATT as long as you are getting the discount for the plans you have in place now.
I too have ATT unlimited on an LTE plan (my daily driver is a Note 2) and there is a huge difference in LTE here versus Tmobile HSPA+ or even Verizon's LTE for that matter. I also travel quite a bit and in the cities I travel to, almost all have ATT's LTE network up and running. I do not travel with my Nexus 4. Hopefully the next Nexus will have ATT LTE bands!

 

[return_0]

If I were you, I would either go to Solavei or use T-Mobile's $30 plan. For the latter plan, you can just use an app like GrooVe IP or Talkatone alongside Google Voice to use you data allotment rather than your voice allotment for talking on the phone. That would take care of the 100 minute problem. But if you can get 3 people as a referral, you should use Solavei (this would bring the monthly price down to $30 and save you the hassle of using a separate app for calling).

 

[Only1Z]

If I were you, I would either go to Solavei or use T-Mobile's $30 plan. For the latter plan, you can just use an app like GrooVe IP or Talkatone alongside Google Voice to use you data allotment rather than your voice allotment for talking on the phone. That would take care of the 100 minute problem. But if you can get 3 people as a referral, you should use Solavei (this would bring the monthly price down to $30 and save you the hassle of using a separate app for calling).

I have ruled out using Groove IP or Talkatone. While that may work for some, my company does contribute $50/month for cell service so it should be as reliable as possible. I know the call quality for some has been questionable with these two options. So I'd rather just bite the bullet and pay for more minutes. Thanks for the suggestion though! Solavei looks good to me because of the defined data plan.

 

[Only1Z]

I would first work at writing shorter threads...reading through all of that was painful.

As far as you plan goes, the real question is how much data do you currently use? When I was on Verizon's unlimited data, I thought that "unlimited" meant the world. But looking at my actual usage, it was almost always under 2 gb per month. Unless you're one that is constantly streaming movies, it's unlikely that unlimited is really important. That said, AT&T probably has better national coverage, but I've been amazed at how well my Tmo coverage has been in the middle of nowhere. Add to that, I'm personally sick of being financially raped by these monopoly type companies (AT&T and Verizon), I'd just go with whatever is cheaper, as long as the coverage works.

The "unlimited" actually doesn't matter much. I am almost always under 2GB. In fact, I probably average less than 1GB easily. I'm just not a heavy data user. So that wouldn't be so much of a loss. However, the corporate discount would be a big loss that I can't get back. That's the one I worry about.

 

[Only1Z]

I don't see any reason for the $60 T-Mobile option - I think it makes more sense to go with Solavei (that was my choice) If you're going the T-Mobile route.

It turns out "middle of nowhere" is relative. You would really need to study coverage maps. I'm pretty sure all the available roaming on Solavei is the striped "service partner" area. (They cover my middle of nowhere fine. YMMV.) I could be wrong on this but it is my understanding with straight talk you have a T Mobile SIM or AT&T sim. The T Mobile SIM is only going to roam on to AT&T where there is a roaming agreement in place. It is likely that roaming agreement is in place for Tmobile directly or Solavei. You really have to study the coverage maps.

$58/ line is not bad if you're happy - a small premium to be confident in your coverage. I don't know if the 200mb line is struggling with the limitation. I also don't know what it would cost to keep one ATT line so you could really test T-Mobile (or MVNO) before giving up the stuff you can't get back.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

The 200mb has been fine for my gf. She is on wifi all the time for the most part. There has been only 1 data overage in 2 years (another $15 for the extra 200mb because she forgot to turn wifi on when uploading a bunch of pics from her phone to the cloud).

 

[gone down south]

I'm a big fan of Tmobile $70 truly unlimited talk/trxt/data prepaid plan.


Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[runtmms]

The 200mb has been fine for my gf. She is on wifi all the time for the most part. There has been only 1 data overage in 2 years (another $15 for the extra 200mb because she forgot to turn wifi on when uploading a bunch of pics from her phone to the cloud).

Sounds to me like you actually have a pretty good fit. What do you want to gain by switching? Is there anything besides supporting the prepaid model? (And I do understand that.)

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[PWC Realtor]

Does your company offer a corporate discount for T-mobile? If so then you can apply it to a value plan. I had a 10% discount on a classic and when I migrated to a value plan it still applied.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[Only1Z]

Does your company offer a corporate discount for T-mobile? If so then you can apply it to a value plan. I had a 10% discount on a classic and when I migrated to a value plan it still applied.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

Actually my gf has the discount. But she actually no longer works for that company. That's why I can't get it back once it goes away.

 

[Only1Z]

Sounds to me like you actually have a pretty good fit. What do you want to gain by switching? Is there anything besides supporting the prepaid model? (And I do understand that.)

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

Not really anything else I guess other than that AND my gf wouldn't have to watch her data as closely. I would just like to support the prepaid model. Again, I like what T-Mobile is doing. But maybe I should keep running with AT&T because of the discount.

 

[bit Jockey]

keep your $30 t-mobile plan use auto pay and the option to keep your account at a certain level over the monthly charge. When you use over 100 minutes, they will use that balance at ten cents a minute. So if you ask for an addtional $20, you canuse up to 300 minutes in the month. Better yet, if you don't use 300 minutes, you will only be charged for the minutes you used or the minimum 100 minutes. If you go with thirty dollars over, your bill will be lower than what you pay now to AT&T, and you will only be paying for the minutes you use each month.

My wife and I are both using this method with our Nexus 4s. Just make sure you don't use more minutes than you have in reserve.

 

[sting7k]

Stick with AT&T until they figure out you are getting a discount that you no longer are technically supposed to get.