Hi all,

Looking for suggestions on mobile phone plans. I'll be retiring
at end of year, and my wife and I will be spending more time in
our RV. We plan to visit national parks (many in the American
West), and don't use lots of talk time. On the other hand, we use
a fair bit of data, and so far have found use of a mobile hotspot
to be better than campground wifi (ugh).

I'm currently on AT&T with an iPhone 12 mini via my employer, and
she has a Samsung smartphone on Verizon. I'll have to turn in
my work phone and get a new one (and new plan).

Are we better off going with a single plan that includes both our
phones (more economical, probably), or with two different plans on
two different carriers (better combined coverage)?

I'd also welcome any more specific suggestions about plans to
consider.

Thanks for any tips!

--
Ted Heise <theise@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA

On Sunday, October 1, 2023 at 10:08:25 AM UTC-7, Ted Heise wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Looking for suggestions on mobile phone plans. I'll be retiring
> at end of year, and my wife and I will be spending more time in
> our RV. We plan to visit national parks (many in the American
> West), and don't use lots of talk time. On the other hand, we use
> a fair bit of data, and so far have found use of a mobile hotspot
> to be better than campground wifi (ugh).
>
> I'm currently on AT&T with an iPhone 12 mini via my employer, and
> she has a Samsung smartphone on Verizon. I'll have to turn in
> my work phone and get a new one (and new plan).
>
> Are we better off going with a single plan that includes both our
> phones (more economical, probably), or with two different plans on
> two different carriers (better combined coverage)?
>
> I'd also welcome any more specific suggestions about plans to
> consider.
>
> Thanks for any tips!
>
> --
> Ted Heise <the...@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA

The right answer for you also depends on where you plan to be. Verizon has the best coverage, followed by AT&T. An example of that here is the Willamette pass in the Cascade mountains. If you have Verizon you will probably get a signal. If you have AT&T you might get a signal. You won't get a signal from the other carriers.

I was using Visible. They use the Verizon network and offer real unlimited data. This is handy if you want to stream movies and other entertainment. You can use your phone for a hotspot. I switched carriers when they told me we needed new phones to stay on their network. Many of the carriers offering "unlimited data" throttle your download speed if you exceed their limit. You need to read the fine print.

https://www.visible.com/

"One downside for heavy data users is that Visible's customers will be deprioritized when the network is congested, as Verizon will take bandwidth for its own customers first. Verizon has an unlimited plan called Get More Unlimited, but it is more than twice as expensive as Visible and charges $100 a month."

I never saw any problem from being deprioritized.

I'm currently with Consumer Cellular for the price and reasonable coverage. The next time I buy new phones I might go back to Visible.

https://www.consumercellular.com/

"The company is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), meaning it leases service from another carrier. In Consumer Cellular's case, those carriers are AT&T and T-Mobile. It offers unlimited talk time and texting in all its plans, with data plans from 1 gigabyte (GB) to unlimited data for $20 to $55 per month."

I tried T-mobile and found their coverage abysmal. I was in a hospital here in the city and the only way I could get a signal was to walk out of the building.

TB

On 2023-10-01 17:08:21 +0000, Ted Heise said:

> Hi all,
>
> Looking for suggestions on mobile phone plans. I'll be retiring
> at end of year, and my wife and I will be spending more time in
> our RV. We plan to visit national parks (many in the American
> West), and don't use lots of talk time. On the other hand, we use
> a fair bit of data, and so far have found use of a mobile hotspot
> to be better than campground wifi (ugh).
>
> I'm currently on AT&T with an iPhone 12 mini via my employer, and
> she has a Samsung smartphone on Verizon. I'll have to turn in
> my work phone and get a new one (and new plan).
>
> Are we better off going with a single plan that includes both our
> phones (more economical, probably), or with two different plans on
> two different carriers (better combined coverage)?
>
> I'd also welcome any more specific suggestions about plans to
> consider.
>
> Thanks for any tips!

If you want "data" in a National Park you probable should look at
Starlink for RVs (ie portable).
Cell phone coverage in National Parks is poor to non-existing.
A HUGE number of full-time RVers have switched their data needs to
Starlink for the coverage reason.

Most have also found that having cell phones from two different
providers is an asset.

If you are over 55 look at T-Mobile's 55+ plans, they are among the
most affordable there is.
While Verizons 4G network covers more rural areas then T-Mobile,
T-Mobiles 5G coverage area is larger (partly due to T-Mobile using a
lower frequency band)

On 10/2/2023 10:01 AM, Ralph E Lindberg wrote:
> On 2023-10-01 17:08:21 +0000, Ted Heise said:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Looking for suggestions on mobile phone plans.  I'll be retiring
>> at end of year, and my wife and I will be spending more time in
>> our RV.  We plan to visit national parks (many in the American
>> West), and don't use lots of talk time.  On the other hand, we use
>> a fair bit of data, and so far have found use of a mobile hotspot
>> to be better than campground wifi (ugh).
>>
>> I'm currently on AT&T with an iPhone 12 mini via my employer, and
>> she has a Samsung smartphone on Verizon.  I'll have to turn in
>> my work phone and get a new one (and new plan).
>>
>> Are we better off going with a single plan that includes both our
>> phones (more economical, probably), or with two different plans on
>> two different carriers (better combined coverage)?
>>
>> I'd also welcome any more specific suggestions about plans to
>> consider.
>>
>> Thanks for any tips!
>
> If you want "data" in a National Park you probable should look at
> Starlink for RVs (ie portable).
> Cell phone coverage in National Parks is poor to non-existing.
> A HUGE number of full-time RVers have switched their data needs to
> Starlink for the coverage reason.

Starlink is great, but there is quite a jump up in cost for the luxury
of having constant data available. If you are looking for back country
maps, there are many ways to download them for off-line use.
Personally, I like it when the phone doesn't ring and the text messages
stop.

> Most have also found that having cell phones from two different
> providers  is an asset.

Again, you will pay more from most providers as the plans usually get
cheaper per phone for more than one device.

> If you are over 55 look at T-Mobile's 55+ plans, they are among the most
> affordable there is.
> While Verizons 4G network covers more rural areas then T-Mobile,
> T-Mobiles 5G coverage area is larger (partly due to T-Mobile using a
> lower frequency band)

I use T-Mobile's plan for me and the wife, and agree their pricing is
very good. Unlimited everything, and coverage has been relatively good,
and improving as time goes on. We were up in Canada and drove across
the whole country streaming radio in the middle of nowhere. Surprised
the heck out of me. Got back in the country and it wasn't as good in
Northern Wisconsin.

There is a continual debate on two phone newsgroups, and you have to
filter out the kooks and decide who is telling the truth. Kinda like
around here.

misc.phone.mobile.iphone and comp.mobile.android are the two groups and
they get a lot of traffic. I filter most of it, but have seen the
coverage and plan debates all the time.

Enjoy the retirement!

sticks

On Monday, October 2, 2023 at 8:01:51 AM UTC-7, Ralph E Lindberg wrote:
> On 2023-10-01 17:08:21 +0000, Ted Heise said:
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > Looking for suggestions on mobile phone plans. I'll be retiring
> > at end of year, and my wife and I will be spending more time in
> > our RV. We plan to visit national parks (many in the American
> > West), and don't use lots of talk time. On the other hand, we use
> > a fair bit of data, and so far have found use of a mobile hotspot
> > to be better than campground wifi (ugh).
> >
> > I'm currently on AT&T with an iPhone 12 mini via my employer, and
> > she has a Samsung smartphone on Verizon. I'll have to turn in
> > my work phone and get a new one (and new plan).
> >
> > Are we better off going with a single plan that includes both our
> > phones (more economical, probably), or with two different plans on
> > two different carriers (better combined coverage)?
> >
> > I'd also welcome any more specific suggestions about plans to
> > consider.
> >
> > Thanks for any tips!
> If you want "data" in a National Park you probable should look at
> Starlink for RVs (ie portable).
> Cell phone coverage in National Parks is poor to non-existing.
> A HUGE number of full-time RVers have switched their data needs to
> Starlink for the coverage reason.
>
> Most have also found that having cell phones from two different
> providers is an asset.
>
> If you are over 55 look at T-Mobile's 55+ plans, they are among the
> most affordable there is.
> While Verizons 4G network covers more rural areas then T-Mobile,
> T-Mobiles 5G coverage area is larger (partly due to T-Mobile using a
> lower frequency band)

It's not just the National parks. Many of our State and local campgrounds here in Oregon have limited or no cell service.

TB

On Monday, October 2, 2023 at 8:20:42 AM UTC-7, sticks wrote:
> On 10/2/2023 10:01 AM, Ralph E Lindberg wrote:
> > On 2023-10-01 17:08:21 +0000, Ted Heise said:
> >
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> Looking for suggestions on mobile phone plans. I'll be retiring
> >> at end of year, and my wife and I will be spending more time in
> >> our RV. We plan to visit national parks (many in the American
> >> West), and don't use lots of talk time. On the other hand, we use
> >> a fair bit of data, and so far have found use of a mobile hotspot
> >> to be better than campground wifi (ugh).
> >>
> >> I'm currently on AT&T with an iPhone 12 mini via my employer, and
> >> she has a Samsung smartphone on Verizon. I'll have to turn in
> >> my work phone and get a new one (and new plan).
> >>
> >> Are we better off going with a single plan that includes both our
> >> phones (more economical, probably), or with two different plans on
> >> two different carriers (better combined coverage)?
> >>
> >> I'd also welcome any more specific suggestions about plans to
> >> consider.
> >>
> >> Thanks for any tips!
> >
> > If you want "data" in a National Park you probable should look at
> > Starlink for RVs (ie portable).
> > Cell phone coverage in National Parks is poor to non-existing.
> > A HUGE number of full-time RVers have switched their data needs to
> > Starlink for the coverage reason.
> Starlink is great, but there is quite a jump up in cost for the luxury
> of having constant data available. If you are looking for back country
> maps, there are many ways to download them for off-line use.
> Personally, I like it when the phone doesn't ring and the text messages
> stop.
> > Most have also found that having cell phones from two different
> > providers is an asset.
> Again, you will pay more from most providers as the plans usually get
> cheaper per phone for more than one device.
> > If you are over 55 look at T-Mobile's 55+ plans, they are among the most
> > affordable there is.
> > While Verizons 4G network covers more rural areas then T-Mobile,
> > T-Mobiles 5G coverage area is larger (partly due to T-Mobile using a
> > lower frequency band)
> I use T-Mobile's plan for me and the wife, and agree their pricing is
> very good. Unlimited everything, and coverage has been relatively good,
> and improving as time goes on. We were up in Canada and drove across
> the whole country streaming radio in the middle of nowhere. Surprised
> the heck out of me. Got back in the country and it wasn't as good in
> Northern Wisconsin.
>
> There is a continual debate on two phone newsgroups, and you have to
> filter out the kooks and decide who is telling the truth. Kinda like
> around here.
>
> misc.phone.mobile.iphone and comp.mobile.android are the two groups and
> they get a lot of traffic. I filter most of it, but have seen the
> coverage and plan debates all the time.
>
> Enjoy the retirement!
>
> sticks

Great advice there sticky if you don’t like getting a signal after crossing the city limit.

On 10/2/2023 2:19 PM, Technobarbarian wrote:
> On Monday, October 2, 2023 at 8:01:51 AM UTC-7, Ralph E Lindberg wrote:
>> On 2023-10-01 17:08:21 +0000, Ted Heise said:
>>
>>> Hi all,
>>>
>>> Looking for suggestions on mobile phone plans. I'll be retiring
>>> at end of year, and my wife and I will be spending more time in
>>> our RV. We plan to visit national parks (many in the American
>>> West), and don't use lots of talk time. On the other hand, we use
>>> a fair bit of data, and so far have found use of a mobile hotspot
>>> to be better than campground wifi (ugh).
>>>
>>> I'm currently on AT&T with an iPhone 12 mini via my employer, and
>>> she has a Samsung smartphone on Verizon. I'll have to turn in
>>> my work phone and get a new one (and new plan).
>>>
>>> Are we better off going with a single plan that includes both our
>>> phones (more economical, probably), or with two different plans on
>>> two different carriers (better combined coverage)?
>>>
>>> I'd also welcome any more specific suggestions about plans to
>>> consider.
>>>
>>> Thanks for any tips!
>> If you want "data" in a National Park you probable should look at
>> Starlink for RVs (ie portable).
>> Cell phone coverage in National Parks is poor to non-existing.
>> A HUGE number of full-time RVers have switched their data needs to
>> Starlink for the coverage reason.
>>
>> Most have also found that having cell phones from two different
>> providers is an asset.
>>
>> If you are over 55 look at T-Mobile's 55+ plans, they are among the
>> most affordable there is.
>> While Verizons 4G network covers more rural areas then T-Mobile,
>> T-Mobiles 5G coverage area is larger (partly due to T-Mobile using a
>> lower frequency band)
>
> It's not just the National parks. Many of our State and local campgrounds here in Oregon have limited or no cell service.
>
> TB

And it's not just National and State Parks. I have stayed in many
commercial parks where cell coverage was sketchy at best.
--
Thousands of unchecked illegal aliens are crossing the border all the
while I have to get my pecker x-ray'd or get felt up by a TSA agent just
to get on an airplane.

On Sun, 1 Oct 2023 17:08:21 -0000 (UTC),
Ted Heise <theise@panix.com> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> Looking for suggestions on mobile phone plans.

Thanks all for the helpful feedback!

--
Ted Heise <theise@panix.com> West Lafayette, IN, USA