best cell phone plan?

[falcondrivr]

this question is unrelated to airplanes but i thought who better to ask...
ive been on the att one-rate plan for a few years and its great but eating my lunch cost-wise. im all over the country so the plan fits me but my usage is approx 3000 min/mo. and going over my monthly minutes puts my bill at almost $500/mo. att offers a new promo plan if you switch to their GSM network but ive heard the coverage is terrible.
any suggestions on other carriers or on this new GSM thing. also, i hate flip phones or else id probably go to sprint.

fd

 

[greg20]

How much do you use it?

How often are you using your cell? For lots of research I'd say take a look at the alt.cellular.* newsgroups available through groups.google.com (among other places). I'm frequently all over the US and I have Sprint PCS with a Sanyo SCP-4700 (not a flip phone). I'm not trying to advertise them but I've had good service and fair prices (4000 minutes 350 anytime 3650 nights/weekends) for $40/month. This is for 'from anywhere in the US, to anywhere in the US' service. Some people complain about Sprint's 'lack of coverage' in some areas but I haven't encountered that yet. Granted I'm not a heavy user during the day but the nights/weekends minutes really come in handy especially if I'm on the east coast after 2100 and calling the west coast where it's only 1800 local. My contract runs out this month and I'm looking to upgrade to Sprint PCS Vision since I like gadgets. Hope this helps you out.

Edited for typos.

 

[152SIC]

I think that the best cel. plan out there is Verizon's Americas Choice Plan. The coverage is excellent and as a corporate pilot I end up in some pretty far-out places. For about 100 bucks a month you can get 1500 anytime minutes, unlimited nights and weekends and 1000 mobile to mobile minutes (to other Verizon users only.) I have spoke with many other pilots who use plans from Sprint, AT&T, Alltel, T-Mobile, etc... and Verizon always seems to be the best deal out there. They also have a single rate plan where you will have no roaming whatsoever but that package is more expensive and like I said the coverage through the America's Choice Plan is excellent.

BTW: If you happen to find any plan which is better please let us know! Thanks

 

[CRJ puppy]

I have 2 cells phones on different plans so I avoid that $500 type of month bill...

Here's what I have:

Sprint PCS (the Sanyo -4700 previously mentioned) with 900 anytime minutes and 8100 night & weekend minutes. Cost before taxes: $80/month (with taxes, just shy of 90, but variable dependent on your home address)

Then for where Sprint has no coverage (including oddball places like Anguilla, and east boo foo) I have the ATT ONE RATE plan with the Nokia 5165 'phone. This plan is $85/month (before taxes) for 650 anytime/anyplace, etc etc minutes. This 'phone has been great 'cause as I said....it works in places where ATT has agreements (like Anguilla) for no additional fees!! (69 cent roam PLUS long distance fees for the sprint phone from Anguilla.)

Anyway, the point (despite having 2 phones) is I almost ALWAYS have coverage on one network with no long distance or roaming charges, and I manage the minutes through 'phone use...using the Sprint 'phone as primary (<-- if you are on their network, you can't beat their prices).

All together I'm paying about $180/month for that priviledge, but I gotta work at it to use up all those minutes.

Hope that this helps.

 

[InstructorPuke]

Cell Phone

I have Nextel. For $65.00/month I get 300 anytime, unlimited nights and weekends, unlimited 2way (which should be nationwide by June), and unlimited free incoming. No roaming or long distance charges ever. I have only been one place where I didnt have any service and that was Minot N.D. Plan works great for me because most of my cell phone usage is incoming from home.

Just dont get Alltel. They will put it to ya. Their coverage map shows that they have great service but when I was in CMH (shown covered on their map) I got charged $118.00 in roaming calls. When I called to complain they gave me this line of BS "the prevailing wind currents in the state of Ohio are blowing your cell signal to a tower that isnt on their network) Needless to say that was that.

 

[flx757]

My wife (also a pilot) and I have a Sprint PCS plan where we share 2000 anytime minutes, have unlimited night and weekend minutes, as well as unlimited PCS to PCS minutes (so we can talk to each other), and the total bill for both phones is $85/mo. That's for two seperate phones with seperate numbers.

I know many people complain about Sprint coverage and customer service, and I agree that both leave a lot to be desired (especially the customer service), but we rarely, if ever, run into a coverage problem. And it's really hard to beat the price for what we get.

 

[UGApilotDAWG]

Was in the bookstore the other day trying to find some good news about the industry that might keep the class dates coming and came across Consumer Reports or a similar magazine rating cell phone plans....
VERIZON won easily.
Sprint was on the bottom - My wife and I hate Sprint - the phone hasn't been too bad ... coverage in most areas..but going to the Sprint stores for service or car charges was useless...no help whatsoever ... so needless to say our next one will be someone else...
Alltell and Cingular weren't tested...
Thanks for the heads up on Alltell - I'll pass them up
And I can't purchase Cingular because I hate their driver! (Can you tell we're Southern?)
Think we'll choose either Verizon or Nextell..also AT&T wireless scored well.

Hope that helps!
Les

 

[boman]

Falcondrivr,
I recently switched from AT&T to T-Mobile after receiving some insane bills for going over the 1200 anytime minutes alloted. I picked up a Tri-band Motorolla V60 flip phone so it is usefull throughout the world. For $99+tax I am on a budget of 5000 anytime minutes throughout the US (including ANC and Hawaii with good coverage) with no roaming fees. I can't imagine coming even close to exceeding that limit.
I enabled the phone to work in all markets abroad so in theory it will work anywhere that has a functioning cell network. It is priced at $2/min in Europe and goes up from there to the most expensive region Russia, which is $6/min. Everywhere else falls between.
Now, I want this coverage so the company can contact me at any time and there will never again be "Hotel Lockdown" when things are potentially changing with the pax flight schedule. For personal calls I will continue to use calling cards purchased locally.
Hope this helps!
Cheers

 

[PennEagle]

Two Phones!!

I'd echo the thoughts above that Verizon offers the best VFM. I've been on the America Choice Program for a year, and have never had my phone 'roaming' anywhere in the US from SYR to VRB to IAD. Also, they threw in a second phone for the wife for an extra $20/month.

 

[tredding@swa]

VERIZON

hands down.... did the research 2 yrs ago.... still the best. Go w/ Americas Choice Plan that fits your budget..... all ceel phones have problems, but less of these nationwide w/ Verizon for sure!!

Tred