[Hidden-tech] Verizon contract v. pre-pay v. MVNO

[Jonathon Podolsky]

Update- I couldn't find a MVNO that uses Verizon network and allows
tethering or hotspot and I had some remaining concern that an MVNO might
not get 100% same service as direct Verizon contract customers, so I
decided to go with Verizon directly. I went with Wireless Zone in
Northampton. For the time being they have an unadvertised rate of $65/mo
for unlimited talk/text and 1GB of data; data overage is $15/GB. $150
credit for changing from my previous carrier. -Jonathon

On Mon, Dec 22, 2014 at 6:53 PM, Jonathon Podolsky <
producer at wholehealthexpo.com> wrote:

> Dear HT,
> Another person on this list just emailed me to find out what I had heard
> back in response to my original posting, so I am posting the replies below.
> I'll leave out the people's names in case they had wanted to be anonymous.
> Best,
> Jonathon
>
> reply 1: I use the Sprint MVNO Ting.com. I have recommended them many
> times. Tethering is included. They have a pay for what you use method. My
> two phones total about $55/mo. Up to $65 on a high data month.  My parents
> phones total less. Their customer service  is #1. They are no-contract. I
> follow this industry as a hobby interest and have never heard of the
> prioritization you mention. I don't think it would work.
>
> reply 2: Have not used Straight Talk but do use PagePlus, which is
> another Verizon
> MVNO.    We used to use family plan at $12 / line with 300 minutes. 255
> texts, and 10 megs of data per line; have upgrade to 3000, 3000, and
> 500megs
> at $29.95 per line now.  For four lines that is now not that much different
> from what ATT and VZ are offering, but we're happy with the service and
> seldom approach the limits. I have never known of issues with lower
> quality of connections compared with Verizon.  They do block tethering, but
> there are a couple apps that purport to allow tethering.  They do restrict
> international calls and data,  so you should check the specific
> international locales you are interested in.
> Puerto Rico and USVI will cost around 60 cents / minute, I believe.
>
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 9:05 PM, Jonathon Podolsky <
> producer at wholehealthexpo.com> wrote:
>
>> Dear HT,
>>
>> I have heard from salespeople at three different stores that cell phone
>> companies give top priority for calls on their towers to their own contract
>> customers first, then to pay as you go customers that pay through them, and
>> lastly to pay as you go customers who go through third parties (MVNO) like
>> Straight Talk etc. Some of the Straight Talk phones use the Verizon network
>> (it states this on the package) so it might be a good deal, but I want to
>> make sure it doesn't get a lower level of service if the tower is busy.
>> (Also apparently Straight Talk doesn't allow tethering nor international
>> roaming but can switch sim cards to use foreign carries I believe). A
>> friend of mind in the industry thinks it is not legal to give access
>> priority to different levels of customers (pre-pay vs post-pay, or MVNO),
>> and government preemption is generally in time of crisis only. Does anyone
>> have further knowledge on whether or not cell phone carriers can provide
>> different levels of priority for use of their towers?
>>
>> Best,
>> Jonathon
>>
>
>
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