thoughts on MVNO's?

[boyo1991]

what do you guys think of all the MVNO model? i am actually on virgin mobile atm, and the reason i chose them is because its not quite an MVNO, being a direct subsidiary of sprint.. i worry that the technology is just too outdated, and its really all just no longer used technology.. and for anyone that wants to actually get a good phone, its tough to do when you are both paying for a terrible phone(most of the time) and crusty condemned radio/cell towers..

i went with VM because the price per month, the phone choices, and that its almost not an MVNO (considering their using sprints LTE towers even now.. good stuff!)

so what do you guys think of MVNO's?

 

[Mikestony]

Hello boyo!
I moved your thread here to compare carriers and others can chime in with opinions

 

[ocnbrze]

it will depend on coverages for me. though sprint and the other major carriers seem to get the better phones. if they were to get some of the higher end phones then i would be all for it. but all the phones i want are not carried by boost, virgin, or metro so i'm gonna pass on them for now.

 

[boyo1991]

thanks for movin it! and yah, thats what i was worried about, but im not gunna pay hand and foot every month, no thanks. lol

 

[DarkJedi]

Love MVNO's. They buy voice, data, and text in bulk at a big discount... turn around and sell it to us, splitting the difference... some of the savings goes into their pockets as profit, some of the savings goes into our pockets.

Only a couple of things makes them a little less attractive. 1) Both of the CDMA carriers have you bent over a rail. You can't move their phones from carrier to carrier, nor from carrier to MVNO without doing "shady" changes to the phone. Boo... hiss... So if you want the MVNO pricing, you get stuck with typically third rate smartphones. and 2) GSM phones are great because of your ability to pop in a MVNO SIM into a state-of-the-art smartphone and start saving money right away. However, (and this is true for CDMA phones too), you get less coverage. You are stuck (with only a few exceptions) with that underlying carrier's towers ONLY. No roaming.

So, if you can deal with the limitations, MVNOs are good deals.

 

[ExtremeNerd]

I currently use Straight Talk and generally love it. I use AT&T's network for $45 per month. Unlimited calls, texts, and web (may be changing). I bought a GS3 off contract and have no issues with it. It is true, in congested areas you get lower priority, but the only time I've had issues are at sporting events. Otherwise, I have no complaints.

 

[taomaster99]

I switched to Virgin Mobile a month ago (coming from Sprint) and I've enjoyed the service so far. 3g/4g coverage is really good in my area which is one of the reasons I switched (and the price!) which works for me as i mostly use text and data. I think it just boils down to the coverage for people, if it's there I'd say go for the MVNO otherwise you'll have to stay with one fo the big boys!

 

[palmtree5]

I've been with Boost for a little over 2 years and haven't had any issues. Only thing is being limited on device selection (especially seeing as Boost is CDMA). Can't really speak for the contract side as I've never been on one

 

[littlejoeward]

I personally use Ting. After doing a lot of research it was easy to see that they are the best option for me. They do mobile differently so my family is saving almost $200 a month!

Check it out

Ting

 

[rui-no-onna]

Only a couple of things makes them a little less attractive. 1) Both of the CDMA carriers have you bent over a rail. You can't move their phones from carrier to carrier, nor from carrier to MVNO without doing "shady" changes to the phone. Boo... hiss... So if you want the MVNO pricing, you get stuck with typically third rate smartphones. and 2) GSM phones are great because of your ability to pop in a MVNO SIM into a state-of-the-art smartphone and start saving money right away. However, (and this is true for CDMA phones too), you get less coverage. You are stuck (with only a few exceptions) with that underlying carrier's towers ONLY. No roaming.

Completely agree. Under the GSM model, I think MVNO's are great. You can buy any unlocked phone (assuming the bands are compatible) you want, pop in the SIM card and you're good to go.

Unfortunately, with CDMA, you're pretty much stuck with whatever device the MVNO offers unless you're okay with hacking some phone bought off ebay.