GSM Pay-As-You-Go cell plans... with "4G."

I'm tired of what the major carriers are charging for service... it's basically a payment plan for a phone tacked onto a cellphone plan.

Net10 seems to have a good gig going, $50 a month ($100 for my wife and I) for unlimited everything... but I can't get a straight answer on if I'd be able to make use of a 4G phone (Nexus 4 would be my choice).

What do you have for me, hivemind?

I (The wife) use straight talk with an iPhone 3gs. Obviously not 4G. there are few 4G pre-paid out there.

The 10 Best Cheap Prepaid Phone Plans You've Never Heard Of

Howard's Forums is your friend here. Think GRM for the Cell phone crowd.

Good luck.

There is actually a tmobile $30/mo plan you can GRM-ify. For $30/mo you can get unlimited data and unlimited text messages with 100 minutes. You buy an android phone at full price, and use this plan. Connect it to Google Voice for your voice calling and you have unlimited voice, data, and texts.

Its a little bit of a pain to get working properly, but if you're in an area with good T-mobile 4G coverage it is a fantastic way to go. I ended up not doing it due to bad T-mobile coverage here and my need for it to work at certain tracks that are in the middle of nowhere.

You can do this with your home phone too if you don't care about 911 service: with an internet connection, an obi110, and google voice you get unlimited home phone that can forward to your cell too.

asoduk wrote: There is actually a tmobile $30/mo plan you can GRM-ify. For $30/mo you can get unlimited data and unlimited text messages with 100 minutes. You buy an android phone at full price, and use this plan. Connect it to Google Voice for your voice calling and you have unlimited voice, data, and texts. Its a little bit of a pain to get working properly, but if you're in an area with good T-mobile 4G coverage it is a fantastic way to go. I ended up not doing it due to bad T-mobile coverage here and my need for it to work at certain tracks that are in the middle of nowhere.

TMobile is no bueno here, yeah.

I'm assuming you're in an AT&T Straight Talk Area. Check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXeP0ZLaFdM

T-mo (or a T-mo based service) was going to be the best answer here but it seems that you may be saying T-mo does not have good coverage where you live in Nebraska.

A few questions:
1.) Given where you live, if price was not a factor, what big, contract style cell phone company would you most like to be a customer of?

2.) This Nexus 4 handset that you speak of is currently only sold to work on T-mobile's network. Do you already own this handset or are you just sighting it as an example of what style you would like to have?

3.) What handset do you currently have?

4.) How much would you be willing to spend on a new handset if needed?

JohnRW1621 wrote: A few questions: 1.) Given where you live, if price was not a factor, what big, contract style cell phone company would you most like to be a customer of? 2.) This Nexus 4 handset that you speak of is currently only sold to work on T-mobile's network. Do you already own this handset or are you just sighting it as an example of what style you would like to have? 3.) What handset do you currently have? 4.) How much would you be willing to spend on a new handset if needed?

1) We're currently with Verizon. No major complaints, other than I'm paying $160 a month, and to take advantage of their "New in two" policy I'd lose the unlimited data plan I currently enjoy. Also I want GSM because I'm out of the country several times a year and I want the option to grab a local SIM card. 2) The Nexus 4 is sold straight from Google, unlocked. I'm also looking at the Galaxy S III, which has the advantage of not needing tweaking to get the 4G working.
3) I have an original Droid X that's seen better days, wife has a Incredible.
4) A drop to a $100 a month joint plan would save $720 a year, so figure that for two phones, though I'd probably by used.

Lots of answer options, lets see...

Least change:
Use your current VZ handset with PagePlusCellular.com
coverage
For $55 per month you have 100% VZ service but only 3G. This is Unlimited talk & text w/ 2GB of data. $65 ($10 more) takes it to 5GB.
The Droid Incredible 2 $145 used here.
The Droid 3 Global $155 and The Droid 2 Global $79 will each accept international style GSM SIMs for use while traveling.
These are not the newest handsets and VZ does not allow PagePlus to bring 4G handsets onto the network. It seems that VZ keeps this feature only for the fools that pay VZ more than $100 per line per month (contract.)
You can add VZ iPhone 4 and 4s to PP. No iphone 5.

If you go this way and change very little, you could also just get a cheap GSM only handset to use while in other countries.

If going full on GSM fits your desires better, choose an AT&T specific handset and go the route of TracPhone's brand named, Straight Talk, which is only sold in WalMart.
Like the video posted shows, you could just buy the SIM and bring your own handset. www.straighttalk.com/sim
Or, you could buy a new handset directly from ST.
T-mo and AT&T do not use the same type of 4G, therefore, having a genuine AT&T originated handset will give you the best 4G experience over combining an AT&T SIM with a T-mo built handset.

For buying used handsets, you can buy via CL or Ebay but I recommend these two retailers.
www.cowboom.com
www.mobilekarma.com
Both offer free return shipping. This allows you to see the handset with minimum investment (loss) and each offers a no questions 30 day return.

For the Cow, a grade 6 phone is better than a grade 5 phone. I would avoid grade 4. Be mindful in the description of what is included. Often the AC (home) charger is not included but all Android are now Micro USB so your current one will work.

For Karma, stick to grade of Great or Good, avoid anything lower. This company always includes AC charger.

JohnRW1621 wrote: For buying used handsets, you can buy via CL or Ebay but I recommend these two retailers. www.cowboom.com www.mobilekarma.com Both offer free return shipping. This allows you to see the handset with minimum investment (loss) and each offers a no questions 30 day return. For the Cow, a grade 6 phone is better than a grade 5 phone. I would avoid grade 4. Be mindful in the description of what is included. Often the AC (home) charger is not included but all Android are now Micro USB so your current one will work. For Karma, stick to grade of Great or Good, avoid anything lower. This company always includes AC charger.

This is good stuff!

For me, in my current world, I need VZ coverage and therefore PP.
The other carriers do not offer the rural coverage that I need. With any choice, be sure to review coverage maps before changing.
I am on a Droid X sourced from CowBoom (grade 5) for $69 and on the $55 plan.
My wife is on an iPhone4, 8GB gotten from The Cow as a killer Christmas special of fully factory refurb'ed (grade 9) for $199 and on the $55 plan.

My M-I-L and my Mother, both in their 80's are on 10 cent per minute plans with PP. Each on simple handsets sourced from Karma for less than $25. One was a good, one was a great.

I was lucky enough to be handed a good condition iPhone 4 that had been with AT&T. Went with StraightTalk and things have been great once I jailbroke the phone so I could easily change carrier settings with the help of a basic app. I'm paying $45/mo after taxes for a 2gb plan (they say it's Unlimited, it isn't really) after buying a cheap microSIM from ST and a bit of money for Cydia and such. You may be able to find a similar situation if you know people that love getting the latest and greatest phones.

If you're paying your own money for it, I'd skip the 4, it has reception issues, and get a 4S if you like the Apple experience. I miss having a real keyboard.

We use Virgin. $35 a month has is appeal. Son started later than I, so his phone is 4G, mine is older and is 3G. The difference is noticable, though not particularly profound.

No idea about bringing your own phone to Virgin.

foxtrapper wrote: We use Virgin. $35 a month has is appeal. Son started later than I, so his phone is 4G, mine is older and is 3G. The difference is noticable, though not particularly profound. No idea about bringing your own phone to Virgin.

The coverage of VM may not meet the need for the OP in Omaha, NE. VM is best for people who remain in large cities. Though VM offers some 4G, he would have to travel to Kansas City, St Louis or Chicago to get some. http://www.virginmobileusa.com/check-cell-phone-coverage

As for bring-your-own, VM will only allow you to bring a handset specifically branded for VM, new or used.

What about an infrequent pay as you go? I have work provided dumb phone, my wife has a smart phone and I have a wifi tablet. That covers 90% of my needs. But just occasionaly I find myself away from home without my wife and wishing I had a smart phone for directions, Pandora, e-mail and surfing when wifi isn't available. I could pick up a used Andriod real cheap, are there any pay as you go plans that don't expire that are not expensive for data?

asoduk wrote: There is actually a tmobile $30/mo plan you can GRM-ify. For $30/mo you can get unlimited data and unlimited text messages with 100 minutes. You buy an android phone at full price, and use this plan. Connect it to Google Voice for your voice calling and you have unlimited voice, data, and texts.

I've had this plan for about a year now, first used an iPhone 3GS on it and now a Lumia 920. If you have half decent T-Mobile reception it works pretty well. Just keep in mind that if you're in the sticks you might not be able to get 4G reception if the infrastructure hasn't made it to your corner of the world.

That said, if you read the mouse print the "unlimited" data isn't really, it's 4G speeds up to 5GB, then you get throttled. That's still a lot better than most of the other plans out there that give you 1-2 GB.

In reply to Adrian_Thompson:
Talk is cheap, they damn near give it away these days. Where they are holding people hostage right now is data.

For what you describe, in and around southern MI, Virgin Mobile's $35 plan is likely best. Unlimited Data (fast for 2GB, slow {throttled back} for the rest of the month) this comes with only 300 minutes per month. Unlimited text. Must be a VM branded handset.

T-mo has a very similar plan that can only be bought through WalMart only. It is $30 for 100 minutes & unlimited text. Data is unlimited but also throttled at 2GB data (maybe as high as 5GB according to Tim who actually uses it.) This service lets you bring any GSM, unlocked or T-Mobile specific handset. If you really will not be talking, this is likely the best.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tmobile-30-Wireless-Airtime-Card/15443357

Both will have good coverage in your immediate area but check coverage yourself.
T-mo coverage: http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-coverage
Be sure you are looking at Pre-paid coverage and be sure you are on the tab for 3G/4G coverage.

VM coverage: http://www.virginmobileusa.com/check-cell-phone-coverage

Thanks JohnRW1621. Coverage looks good. I've got some friends who just switched to Apple from their less than 1 year old Android devices, I must check what carrier/system they are and see if they want to donate them cheap :)

Net10 and Straight talk are basically the same company, with Straight talk $5 a month less expensive. Both are T-Mobile and ATT MVNOs, the only 2 GSM networks in the US. When you sign up, you may be assigned either a ATT or T-Mobile SIM or be able to choose, depending on coverage where you live.

Although these plans are sold as "unlimited" they will throttle you if you go over some arbitrary data limit. ATT are especially harsh about this. Keep that in mind if you really need unlimited data.

As to 4G/HSPA, it depends on the phone. The Nexus 4 is a penta-band phone and can get HSPA on either T-Mob or ATT. Quad-band phones may be stuck on EDGE-only (2G) speeds if they are on the wrong network. I'm only aware of the Nexus 4 and Galaxy Nexus being penta-band, but I'm sure there are others out there.

JohnRW1621 wrote: T-mo has a very similar plan that can only be bought through WalMart only. It is $30 for 100 minutes & unlimited text. Data is unlimited but also throttled at 2GB data (maybe as high as 5GB according to Tim who actually uses it.) This service lets you bring any GSM, unlocked or T-Mobile specific handset. If you really will not be talking, this is likely the best. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tmobile-30-Wireless-Airtime-Card/15443357

Actually you can also get this plan through the T-Mobile website, it's not a Walmart-only plan but IIRC you can't get it through a T-Mobile shop.

In reply to Osterkraut: If you wont to try the NET10. I have some Sim's you can have for the price of shiping. The best thing about PrePay is you can for now, not pay an added $5 is tax buy paying on line.

Very happy with these guys: http://www.republicwireless.com/

May not meet your needs but I love them so far.