Getting Cell Phone Service for Cheap
Cellular plans in the U.S. have gotten steadily more expensive, especially with the investment in new technologies such as 4G Advanced and 5G. This guide will be specific to the United States, but the same general philosophies can be applied elsewhere.
Here are some tips to help you reduce it (and it doesn’t necessarily mean reducing the quality of the network you’re on):
Switch your Plan
This might seem slightly obvious, but there are newer promotions that are available now, especially those that have unlimited data. For example, Verizon has 3 different tiers of unlimited data, ranging from $75 to $95 for one line.
Check how much data you actually use in a month and adjust your plan accordingly.
Also, try calling the mobile carrier to ask for some kind of loyalty discount if you have been with the carrier for a while. Looking for employee (many large corporations have discounts for their employees) and senior discounts is also a good option.
Government Assistance
In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission offers discounted rates for cell service for low-income Americans. To qualify, you have to meet one of the following requirements:
- Be eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
- Be eligible for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
- Be eligible for Medicaid or Federal Public Housing Assistance.
- Participate in tribal-specific programs, such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance, Tribally-Administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TTANF), Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), or Head Start.
- Have your income be at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
- Be eligible for Veterans Pension and Survivors Benefit Programs.
NOTE: If you don’t qualify, some states, including California, offer their own Lifeline plans with discounted rates.
So if you do qualify for the federal SafeLink program, you will be eligible for cell service (with calls and data) for as low as $9.25/mo. Check this guide on the FCC website for more information.
Mobile Network Virtual Operators (MVNOs)
Even if you don’t qualify for the SafeLink program or other carrier discounts, you’re not out of luck.
Mobile network virtual operators, unlike mobile network operators, like Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile, don’t operate their own cellular network. Instead, they lease out cellular service from one of the major 4 carriers and resell it to you, often at a lower price.
Most of these carriers are prepaid, meaning that they don’t require a credit check. The only downside is that you may not be able to pay off your cell phone in monthly installments through your carrier.
An Example
Let’s take a look at Mint Mobile, a MVNO that operates on the T-Mobile network. Currently, T-Mobile’s postpaid consists of 3 main plans.
They all have unlimited data, and they aren’t terribly expensive for unlimited data. But let’s say you don’t use a ton of data and you just want a simple plan with maybe 3–4 GB of data.
You might first look at T-Mobile Prepaid, and while it is cheaper than the normal unlimited plan, you can do better with an MVNO.
Mint SIM is unique in how they let you buy your cellular plans in bulk (not all MVNOs do this). For example, by paying 3 months in advance (for the first 3 months) you can get 12 GB/mo of data for $25/mo. That’s $15 cheaper than T-Mobile Prepaid, and it gives you 2 GB more data.
Some Other Examples
Mint SIM isn’t alone. There’s Red Pocket, Visible, Total Wireless, and U.S. Mobile (which lets you build your own plan) on Verizon.
There’s FreeUp, Straight Talk, Red Pocket, and Cricket Wireless on AT&T. FreeUp is slightly unique in how they let you do offers and surveys in exchange for credit that can reduce your cell phone bill.
There’s Boost Mobile, Google Fi, Straight Talk, Ting, and Tello on Sprint.
And there’s Google Fi, Ting, Red Pocket, Simple Mobile, and Metro on T-Mobile.
This doesn’t even include the official prepaid carriers of all 4 networks, which can net some moderate discounts.
Now you may have noticed that I repeated some carrier names across the different networks. That’s because carriers like Straight Talk and Red Pocket let you choose the network you want to operate on, and carriers like Google Fi actually have SIMs that can operate on both networks and dynamically switch based on which has the best signal.
The Trade-Offs
Even though these MVNOs are cheaper, there are some moderate tradeoffs which are mostly dependent on each carrier.
- Not all carriers have retail locations. Some prominent prepaid carriers, like Cricket, have stores like the one pictured above. Some of the smaller ones, like Tello and FreeUp, do not.
- Data speeds might be slightly slower. Depending on which carrier you are on, your data may be deprioritized (basically if there’s a bunch of people on Verizon, they will be prioritized ahead of prepaid customers). Also, some carriers cap data speeds. Cricket caps their rate plans at 8 Mbps on 4G LTE.
- Customer service might be worse. Now some prepaid carriers, like Ting and Google Fi, have been known to have remarkably good customer service (maybe even better than most other carriers); however, some other prepaid carriers do not have that luxury. You may be dealing with long wait times, or even no over-the-phone support at all. Whether this is worth it is up to you.
- The reliability of no-name prepaid carriers is questionable. While major prepaid carriers (that are in some way owned by the main network) such as Cricket, Metro, Visible, and Boost, are not likely to be shut down quickly without notice, some of the smaller carriers may come and go out of business quite quickly.
For example, RingPlus was a notable carrier that offered extremely cheap prices on the Sprint network. Unfortunately, they had a dispute with Sprint, and they closed shop.
Now, most cases won’t be as extreme as this, but with MVNOs, you might have to keep an eye on your service a bit more than with a postpaid carrier.
That’s mostly it. Try negotiating with your carrier for a better plan / price, get government benefits if you qualify, or switch to a cheaper prepaid carrier or MVNO. The last option in particular has some trade-offs compared to normal service, but it can be worth it to save a lot of money on your cell phone bill.
