Cell phone plan prices drop like a rock...

[Tom_P]

For us in Puerto Rico and the folks over at the Virgin Islands, Sprint Unlimited talk time plan is just $49.99. Doesn't include long distance but I believe is just $5 more a month. Also there are 2 other local companies with the Unlimited talk for $50. I left Sprint because I had too many problems with them, but they have all the services that I wanted, and actually they offered that plan a couple of months after I switch provider.

 

[vegassatellite]

I'm just waiting out my contract with Sprint so I can cancel with them. Their billing setup is atrocious.

 

[Mr Tony]

Sprint did 99.99 unlimited now too

but they include voice/data/text & direct connect all in one

 

[digiblur]

I'm just waiting out my contract with Sprint so I can cancel with them. Their billing setup is atrocious.

Billing setup? No issues here. My $32 gets deducted every month like it is supposed to.

 

[Mr Tony]

no billing issues here. Have had Nextel for 2 years then Sprint for 2 years. Billing is pretty much the same each month

 

[LER]

I wish they'd do a more affordable family unlimited account (3 phones @99.99 ea will hurt).

(Sprint, that is).

 

[jayn_j]

I wish they'd do a more affordable family unlimited account (3 phones @99.99 ea will hurt).

(Sprint, that is).

Verizon is the same thing. $99/ea for family plan. With 3 phones, it is just too expensive to consider, especially since we do not exceed 1400 minutes for $99/shared.

 

[vegassatellite]

I'm sure our problems with Sprint doesn't represent the status quo. However, every month we have to go through and get things corrected and then the next month its all screwed up again. It happened when they changed my wife's cell number without her permission and they had to do an administrative disconnect and reconnect in order to fix it. However, that generated a $300 chargeback and so we have to call and get that adjusted off only to find it back on again on the next statement.

 

[jayn_j]

However, that generated a $300 chargeback and so we have to call and get that adjusted off only to find it back on again on the next statement.

Its everywhere. No different than the $400 DISH chargeback on a 622 that I own. Keeps showing up every month, and taken off when I point out that I faxed them the invoice. I disconnected service in october. I didn't call them in January, and ended up with $800 total chargeback in February. They say its fixed now, but we will see when and if bill arrives this month.

Actually, Verizon billing has been accurate for a couple of years now for me.

 

[vegassatellite]

Its everywhere.

Darn SkyNet!

 

[Claude Greiner]

Unrelated to this thread, I just re-newed my contract with Verizon today and switched to unlimited for $139/mo which includes texting and data usage.

Im so glad, because I was paying around $170+ per month with the overage charges, and just last month I got screwed for around $400 because I went over!

 

[lakebum431]

Wow! See Claude is the perfect example for who this plan is for. Nice to see that now you won't get hit with a surprise bill.

 

[goaliebob99]

Does anyone know if this includes data cards, if it does its a steal!

 

[John Kotches]

LER:

I wish I knew. When I asked about that they said you do get a break... it's $5 off for the 2nd, $10 off for the 3rd, $15 off for the 4th or more. So you're only paying $85/line after the 3rd phone

I understand the issue from Sprint's perspective 'though I don't think it's realistic.

 

[Randall DBS]

Sprint did 99.99 unlimited now too

but they include voice/data/text & direct connect all in one

Does that count for Nextel as well? If so I might have to look into that.

 

[Mr Tony]

I think it does. I just upgraded yesterday to the Sprint Hybrid or power source phones and they had the 99.99 on boards above the Nextel phones too

(this hybrid phone is pretty snifty. I wanted Nextel for the two way but at the cabin only sprint works...best of both worlds

edit: checking the sprint site talks about both and has a nextel phone (nextel servcie only) is one of the phones listed. You have to go into a store though to get

 

[avediswolf]

I'm not sure what they call this in the GSM world but it is known as a PRL in the CDMA world. Preferred Roaming List. All the provider has to do is set that SID to negative in the PRL and when you get that PRL your phone will not touch that SID.

Just in case anyone is interested...

GSM does not use PRLs as in the CDMA world.
Basically, the SIM makes the phone look for a home network, if not available, it looks for another GSM network, and basically identifies itself and it's home carrier, and asks if it has permission to register, the tower responds with a yes or no.

Most unlocked GSM phones have a menu option to choose the carrier to attempt to register on, but most "branded" phones hide that menu.

Also, old TDMA used something called IRDB ( I think that's what it was called ) which was basically the same as a PRL.