Get To Know an MVNO!
Remember when which wireless phone company you were on mattered? Maybe it still matters to you.
It shouldn’t, despite that the big three (Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile) will try to convince you otherwise in their lavish and ubiquitous advertising (which you ultimately pay for.)
Mobile phone service is a commodity, like paper clips or… paper. Who cares what brand you buy?
Yes, back in the early days of mobile phones, it really did matter which service you were on. From 1994, when I got my first mobile phone, until 2018, I was on Verizon, and you couldn’t get me to try any other carrier. (Back in 1994, it was known as NYNEX and then Bell Atlantic NYNEX before becoming Verizon. I have had the same phone number the entire time.)
Then in 2007, when the iPhone launched, carrier choice became even more critical. Who can forget the early days of the iPhone, when it was only available on AT&T, and you always knew when you were talking to someone on an iPhone because the connection would drop eight times on a 15-minute call?
But things are different today. All three carriers have pretty much universal coverage in most of the country. Further, there are a whole host of “mobile virtual network operators” or MVNOs that buy wireless bandwidth from the big guys and then resell it to you and me for much, much less.
In 2018, I started reading about the MVNOs and decided to try one, called Total Wireless. My monthly wireless bill dropped from $110/month to $60/month for two lines and 10x (yes, 10x) the data. I never – NEVER – noticed a degradation in service, sound quality, anything. It just worked the same as Verizon but at half the price.
At the beginning of 2022, I switched again, from Total Wireless to U.S. Mobile. My bill dropped from $60/month to $45/month for two lines. I get less data, but I never came close to using the data I had on Total Wireless. (I have never exceeded 5 GB in a month. I listen to a lot of podcasts and streaming radio, but don’t see the need to watch “The Godfather” trilogy on my phone, so I will never come close to exceeding my 12 GB data allotment, and if I do, it’s an extra $10 for 2 GB.
Take a look at the options. There is a plethora of MVNO carriers out there and each one has different pricing and data models. (This is as good a place as any to start.) What works best for you will depend on your current carrier, how many phones are on your account and how much data you typically use. Regardless of which one you choose, you WILL save money.
Two caveats:
1.) The various carriers’ 5G offerings vary, but I don’t really care because 4G/LTE is fine for everything I need to do on my phone.
2.) Switching carriers and bringing your number over to a new carrier can be a minor pain in the ass. Not impossible, but in some cases, not nearly as seamless as it should be. When it works, the switch can take less than one hour.
So, go forth and save money. You can take some of that extra money and buy me a post-Covid beer.