Why do people (like me!) pay about twice as much for Verizon? (T-Mobile, iPhone)

[Fields of Green]

I've had Verizon for years and the service has been very good. Recently I asked a question about carriers and learned about other companies who lease from Verizon, so the connection should be just as good, right?

I pay about $160/month for two phones, only one that has a limited data plan, one with no data, only 700 minutes between us (we don't talk much), unlimited texts. If I believe what I see on TV I could get two phones with unlimited talk, data and messaging for about $40/month per phone, or around $30/month for the limited features we currently use.

So (seriously) what are reasons people pay full price for verizon and some of the other big name companies?

Also, anyone happen to know what the early termination fee is for a 2-year contract that has 6 months to go? One of our phones is already out of contract, so I'm thinking it would be worth paying the early termination fee with the money we'd save going with another company.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

The industry term for the "smaller" carriers you see advertised is "MVNO", or "mobile virtual network operator". You've hit the nail on the head -- put very simply, they buy wholesale bandwidth from Verizon / Sprint / AT&T / T-Mobile and rebrand it as their own. Often they do this to go after market niches that are too small / risky / unprofitable for the big carriers.

Straight Talk, Virgin Mobile, and Tracfone all have very good reputations. There are many, many others.

Coverage is the main issue. Take Virgin Mobile for example. They use Sprint's network. However, Sprint doesn't have coverage everywhere, so Sprint customers sometimes roam on Verizon's network. This is usually free to the customer, but Sprint still has to pay Verizon for use of the network. When you're on a $120-a-month plan, this is no big deal. But when you're on a $30-a-month plan, it can eat most or all of the profit. It can even cause them to lose money on the deal.

The end result is that customers on Virgin Mobile don't get to roam on Verizon's network, and thus see a slightly smaller coverage area than your average Sprint customer. And this isn't just Virgin Mobile -- this holds true for all the MVNOs, regardless of whether they use Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon.

Data speed and customer service are two other considerations. It doesn't sound like data is a big issue for you, and frankly, who cares about customer service if you never have to call!

Your phone selection will also be different. Generally the MVNOs have slightly older hardware.

I've often wondered the same thing. I pay about $120 before discounts for my Thunderbolt with unlimited 4G + unlimited hotspot. I keep looking at that Virgin Mobile $35 plan and thinking of all the money I could be saving. But I don't want to give up my unlimited 4G hotspot. *sigh*

Look at it this way. The MVNOs are so inexpensive, you can probably save enough to pay for your ETF and equipment expense within just a few months. Worst case scenario, you're unhappy with the service and you go back to one of the four majors.

[newfarmertoo]

A few questions: Do you own your own home? Is the car paid off? Do you make money using the phone?

Contrary to what some may believe there was life before cell phones. If you cannot affored it get rid of it.

[Hemlock140]

That seems awfully high anyway. I pay about the same for 4 phones (of which one has a data plan) with Verizon. I had A T & T then T-Mobile and was happy to pay more for Verizon because they coverage was so much better. Perhaps you have more additional services that you could do without? I do get a discount through my employer but that's only 15%.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by newfarmertoo

Contrary to what some may believe there was life before cell phones.

That's the second-most arrogant thing I've read on City-Data today.

[DowntownHarrisburg]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

That seems awfully high anyway.

Now that you mention it, I just checked Verizon's site. A two-line family plan with 700 minutes is $69.99. Add unlimited messaging to all lines for $30. Data would be extra, but it sounds like they don't use much.

$99 total. OP, do you get an employer discount? Could be as much as 20% off your bill.

[K-Luv]

First off, within the last 6 months, I've had T-Mo, Virgin, and Metro PCS. I now have Verizon. To be honest, I don't see any difference in service or call quality. I don't buy into the Verizon is the best. But that is just me.

I am on a family plan. My line is $10 a month + $30 for unlimited data. Minutes and texts are shared, but not sure about the allotments. That is why I "switched" to Verizon.



I really want to go back to T-Mo, though.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by K-Luv

First off, within the last 6 months, I've had T-Mo, Virgin, and Metro PCS. I now have Verizon. To be honest, I don't see any difference in service or call quality. I don't buy into the Verizon is the best. But that is just me.

It depends on where you work and live, and how often you go to a more remote area. In a major metro you might have fine service with any carrier. In my case Neither AT & T nor T-Mobile had an service from my parents home,
I would have to drive 4 miles to use the cell. Same with a local ski resort. In both cases the Verizon service was fine. What I did was ask other people I saw on the cell which carrier they were using.

[fallingwater]

Originally Posted by Fields of Green

I've had Verizon for years and the service has been very good. Recently I asked a question about carriers and learned about other companies who lease from Verizon, so the connection should be just as good, right?

I pay about $160/month for two phones, only one that has a limited data plan, one with no data, only 700 minutes between us (we don't talk much), unlimited texts. If I believe what I see on TV I could get two phones with unlimited talk, data and messaging for about $40/month per phone, or around $30/month for the limited features we currently use.

So (seriously) what are reasons people pay full price for verizon and some of the other big name companies?

Also, anyone happen to know what the early termination fee is for a 2-year contract that has 6 months to go? One of our phones is already out of contract, so I'm thinking it would be worth paying the early termination fee with the money we'd save going with another company.

I have Verizon. 3 phones

one smart phone with limited data

one smart phone with unlimited data

one regular line with no contract

unlimited text

We pay 164 a month. I think its too high but where we live, Verizon is the only company that has good coverage. I spent my whole life in a large city and it didn't matter really who you had a plan with. All worked fine. Where we live now is less populated but I still didnt think it would be a problem. I learned a whole lot about cell phone companies, where towers are and so forth. We switched to AT&T to get the iPhone. It was a horrible mistake. We ended up buying out our contract as the phones were useless. Depending on when you started the contract, its is 175.00 per line and then as the contract nears end, each month 5 dollars is deducted off the 175. When I terminated ours with AT&T, it cost me 125.00 for one line and 100.00 for the other as we had started the contracts at different times. I believe Verizon and AT&T changed the policy on smartphone and it is now 350 dollars to terminate. I need to cut costs and will probably not have a smartphone again when my contract is up. I rarely surf the internet with it.

[Thegonagle]

It's the signal. I simply get more G's in more places. (And more bars? Fah-get-aboud-it!)