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May 2008
<see main page>
April 2008
4/27: Updated Hybrid
Comparison Chart
T-Mobile released a new hybrid plan. $1/day (on days you make or receive a voice
call), 10c airtime, unlimited m2m, unlimited nights (7pm-7am). [corrected 4/29
thanks Steve].
4/27: May add info on Oxygen and T-Mobile FlexPay in the future
4/22: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
Updated Hybrid
Comparison Chart
AlltelU has some free roaming on USC [thanks hatman].
4/21: AMPS/TDMA Watch:
AMPS can be retired as of 2/19/2008
VZW AMPS: Shut down
2/22
most (if not all) systems are shut down
AT&T TDMA/AMPS: Shut down
3/5
most (if not all) systems are shut down
USC AMPS/TDMA:
shutdown in October 2008
according to one report
Alltel AMPS:
shutdown in 3 phases 4/16/08
(south), 6/30 (11 states), 9/31 (remaining 14 states)
Unicel AMPS:
Shutdown starts
5/20/08
4/21: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
Tracfone info updated [thanks raderator].
Boost min/month updated [thanks Don]
4/5:
Updated
My Stuff
Revised phone info
4/5: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
Corrected Tmo2Go Int'l rates [HoFo]
4/3: Tracfone specials updated.
Nothing eventful.
4/3: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
Updated Airvoice CDMA min cost [thanks Bob]
4/2: Updated 3/28: 4Q07 update
AT&T - 70,100,000 total; 2,700,000 net adds
(total includes 1.7M from Dobson)
Verizon - 65,700,000 total; 2,000,000 net adds
Sprint - 53,800,000 total; -107,000 net loss
T-Mobile - 28,700,000 total; 951,000 net adds
Alltel -
12,785,000 total; 338,000 net adds
U.S.C. - 6,100,000 total;
55,000 net adds
Unicel -
791,000 total;
0 net adds
March 2008
3/28: Updated Virgin Mobile rates [thanks Gon4Frin2 and others]
3/28: Tracfone specials updated.
One year card $10 off until 3/31. Free 3-day ship on phone orders of $35 and up
3/4: Corrected
Tmo2Go page
[thanks Ed]
3/1: Updated
T-Mo prepaid maps [thanks Tom]
February 2008
2/28: Sprint announces
Simply Everything plan for $100,
voice, data, NAV, TV, music, etc. No tethering and no discounts on this plan.
There are a couple other changes as well, but no $30 add-on lines that people
have been waiting for.
2/28: Tracfone specials updated.
Loss of a couple deals
2/28: Updated
PagePlus page [thanks Paul]
2/28: Virgin Mobile updates its plans. The traditional
prepay minute rate increases from 18 to 20c/minute. Some monthly packages are
improved. Will update the charts when I have some time [thanks Eric]
2/26: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
GoPhone PAYG Int'l text sending is now 25c. Note I am currently being charged
15c for some reason.
2/22: Updated Hybrid
Comparison Chart
Corrected PagePlus 24/7 pricing (now $75) [thanks Aleksandr]
2/20: U.S. Cellular joins the $99.99 unlimited bandwagon. Alltel? Sprint? Rumor
is that Sprint is mulling going even lower. Don't know what they are waiting
for.
2/20: Tracfone specials updated.
$50 gets you a W370 and double minutes for life.
2/19: The price war is on! Unlimited voice calling for
$99.99 on Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Sprint was testing this option but is now
caught playing catch up after the surprise Verizon Wireless move. This is more a
perception issue as the number of people to take advantage of it is probably
small. However I bet some take the opportunity to figure out how a way to
resell the airtime. What people really want is the unlimited family plan for
$100 and that is not happening today.
2/17:
Engadget thinks they have the scoop on the unlimited Verizon plans starting
2/19! [thanks Jason]
2/16:
Petition to deny the Verizon buyout of Unicel entered on 2/11 as expected.
The petition wants to go above and beyond the law and force divesture of any
GSM850 MHz coverage area in VT where Verizon has any current service. If
they can't have that, they demand Verizon to be forced to keep GSM going for at
least six years.
2/16: Rumors galore about something happening at VZW on 2/19. Speculation from
new phones to changes in employee compensation to an unlimited calling plan. Ad
on
USA TODAY shows unlimited calling for $99.99.
2/16: Tracfone specials updated.
2/11: Blackberry
8330 Curve (CDMA) revealed [thanks Jason]
2/11: Not a good day for T-Mobile USA.
Microsoft to acquire Danger, putting into question the future of the
Sidekick and likely ending exclusivity. Also,
Starbucks WiFi agreement being moved from T-Mo to AT&T.
2/10: Updated non-camera phone page
2/10: Updated email to cell page
Added Virgin Mobile USA SMS address
2/9 Started phone review pages.
Feel free to comment in the forum.
2/9:
Updated
My Stuff
M1000 (WildCard obtained)
2/9: Updated Hybrid
Comparison Chart
Added SpeakOut $40 night/weekend plan
Updated Inpulse Rates [thanks Ian]
2/9: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
Corrected Tmo2Go activation ($10 SIM kit) [thanks Steven]
Added disclaimer on $5 SpeakOut refill.
2/8: Tracfone specials updated.
$140 double minute one-year card now includes 1000 min
2/8: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
Corrected SpeakOut rates again [thanks analogman]
Corrected Tmo roaming rate (rate almost doubled at 99c/min in CA) [thanks Ed]
2/2: Tracfone specials updated.
$20 gets you a NEW phone plus two 60 minute cards. Free
shipping until 2/14 too! Great deal!
2/2: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
Corrected SpeakOut rates [thanks remusrm]
2/2: Updated Hybrid
Comparison Chart
Added pagePlus plans [thanks Sasha]
January 2008
1/25: Updated Hybrid
Comparison Chart
Renamed Venture Mobile to Lucky Wireless [thanks Victor]
1/22: Updated city charts with 3G info (EV/DO & HSDPA) [
NH | VT |
ME |
MA |
RI | CT | NY ]
1/22:
Verizon Wireless To Purchase SureWest Communications’ Wireless Assets In
Northern California
1/20: [unconfirmed]
Verizon purchases the 850 MHz Cellular A-Band in Litchfield Co CT from Alltel,
expected to close 2/29/2008.
1/20: Tracfone specials updated.
Just a couple adjustments for the next week.
1/19: Updated
NH coverage chart
[thanks necellularsites]
1/18: Sprint stock loses 25% of value on news of horrible 4Q07 (full results
expected 2/28)
1/16: AT&T will
raise the price of texting to 20c/SMS starting 3/30. That is just highway
robbery, but they are following Verizon who followed Sprint.
1/15: AT&T increases night & weekend minutes on the PYP $50 plan from 1000 to
3000. Updated Hybrid
Comparison Chart
[thanks Gon4Frin2, nice catch]
1/14: Native Verizon service detected in Arlington VT (at least some of the
Route 7 towers are on) [thanks Jim]. Updated
coverage report
page.
1/11: Tracfone specials updated.
Just a couple price adjustments for the next week.
1/11:
TheStreet
is reporting buzz that Sprint PCS is going to report a record loss of 500,000
customers in 4Q07. Other estimates include AT&T adding 2-4-2.7M new subscribers
and Verizon adding 1.9M.
1/7:
AT&T
revamping data plans 1/20. Soft limit on tether of 5GB/month. One warning then
data will be cancelled with ETF. Lots of people must be trying to use this as a
cable/DSL replacement. Sounds like there will be more checking on correct data
plans based on your current device.
1/7: Verizon preparing to launch 1900 MHz service in the
Bennington VT
area. This will provide continuous native service on Rt. 7 from Rutland to the
MA line [thanks Eric].
1/5: Verizon will
raise the price of texting to 20c/SMS starting 3/2. That is just highway
robbery, but they are following Sprint PCS who recently led the way back on
10/1/2007.
1/5: Verizon's Keene system on-line 1/1/2008 and is running EV/DO [thanks Mark]. Updated
coverage report
page.
1/3: Verizon has finally turned on its 1900 MHz system in the Keene area. New
native coverage along Rt 9 from Brattleboro VT to Keene NH. Not sure about the
Keene to Peterborough section. [thanks Chris]
December 2007
12/27: I am switching my host server so you may have intermittent access to the
site over the next day or two. I may have to switch to different forum software
with the host server switch [delayed indefinitely]
12/27: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
Updated providers that did not make the chart.
12/25: Tracfone specials fixed.
I had the promo codes mixed up [thanks and sorry Jules]
12/22: Sprint PCS in the process of building out North Conway, NH. This resort
area is getting native coverage from all providers (except AT&T). [thanks
offthegrid]
12/22: Tracfone specials updated.
Constant changes! Free ship until 1/2 (min $19.99), 1YR
svc/600min $99.99.
12/20: Cheap prepay phones at retail stores:
Boost i425 ($17.99 Best Buy)
TracFone c139 w/ double minutes ($12.88 WalMart)
12/20: 7-Eleven is expanding its SpeakOut program, offering a new, unlimited
nights and weekends plan.
http://www.csnews.com/csn/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003686491[thanks
Jeff]
12/20: Updated
PagePlus info [thanks Steve].
12/15:
Net10
has a refurb Nokia 1600 available with 300 bonus minutes and 60 days (in
addition to the $30 bonus airtime all Net10 phones come with). CDMA phones are
now available on Net10.
Free ground shipping until 1/2/2008 (min $19.99 order).
Most phone prices have dropped $10 recently [thanks
Eric]
12/15: Tracfone specials updated.
Free ground shipping until 1/2/2008 (min $19.99 order), one
year of service and 550 minutes for $99.99.
12/14:
Updated
My Stuff with a photo of my
Moto phones lined up, maxx v3, e815, v3xx, v635
12/14: Sprint EV/DO turned on in Keene [thanks Alex]. Now that I have a 3G GSM
phone I can look for AT&T updates. Sad to say there is nothing new to report.
The map is pretty accurate (3G stops just past exit 32N on Rt 3 in MA)
12/10: Updated PagePlus info. New Unlimited Plan to be released ($3/day, no
bonus minutes though) [thanks Chris]
12/8: T-Mobile is now selling prepaid starter kits on the
prepaid section of their website for $9.99. It only comes with 10 starter
minutes but it saves you from having to go to eBay [thanks Doug]
12/8: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
Updated T-Mobile To GO info [thanks Tim].
12/8: The special Sprint SERO
plans are still going strong. Great deal at $30 for 500 minutes, nights and
weekends starting at 7PM, unlimited text and unlimited data (Blackberry data not
included). Use the e-mail address
enternamehere@sprintemi.com to look at the plans. You probably should get a
real employee e-mail to sign up. Good for the holidays! [thanks Christopher].
12/04: Verizon and AT&T agree to swap some markets (the former Dobson and
pending Unicel markets). What this means for New England is as follows:
AT&T gets the following Unicel markets: Northeastern NY (Plattsburgh and eastern
Adirondacks) and Northern VT (Burlington and Rutland). It was a well known fact
that Verizon had to divest those areas anyways. This should help push the Unicel
sale through.
November 2007
11/28: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
Corrected TracFone's minimum monthly cost [thanks rrando].
11/25:
PagePlus
info updated as you can now purchase $80 card on PP site (with 6% tax tho)
[thanks Joseph]
11/21: Tracfone specials updated.
The refurb phone plus two 60-minute cards for $20 is back
for the holidays!
11/15:
AT&T completes acquisition of Dobson Communications. Dobson markets will
have AT&T plans and AT&T signage in place by 12/9, with complete transition by
6/30/2008. Dobson customers will be grandfathered on their existing plans.
11/13: Updated
Hybrid Comparison Chart
Verizon quietly drops the EasyPay hybrid plan.
11/11: 3Q07 update
AT&T - 65,700,000 total; 2,000,000 net adds
Verizon - 63,700,000 total; 1,600,000 net adds
Sprint - 54,000,000 total; -60,000
net loss
T-Mobile - 27,734,000 total; 857,000 net adds
Alltel - 12,447,000 total; 205,000 net
adds
U.S.C. - 6,067,000 total;
57,000 net adds
Dobson
- 1,768,000 total; 49,000 net adds
Unicel
- 791,000 total; 12,000 net adds
11/8: Following Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, Sprint is moving to pro-rated
early termination fees sometime in 2008.
11/8: Thanks for your suggestions so far, I will be working on them, some before
others [thanks Arnold, dtraubert and Edward]
11/7: Following Verizon and AT&T, T-Mobile is moving to pro-rated early
termination fees sometime in 2008. No details are available at this time.
11/4: Two phones in review for my review page (not quite there yet). Mini
review:
Virgin Mobile Super Slice: Smallest phone I own (2.5 oz), sound quality and
volume ok on earpiece and speakerphone in quiet room. Good features. RF the
worst of any phone I own. Field test disabled.
Boost i425i. Good features. Small (3.0 oz). Ok sound/volume on earpiece and
speakerphone. Can't use your own wallpaper. RF not as good as the i95 (down 5
dBm)
11/3: CellGuru website redesign is underway. Please send any
suggestions
my way.
11/1:
MetroPCS abandons bid for Leap. The two companies were too far apart in
their valuations.
October 2007
10/28: Here's the reason
Apple is cracking down on unlocking and why they don't plan to break their
exclusive agreement with AT&T. It seems Apple receives an average of
$18/month from each iPhone! [thanks Ed]
10/27:
Apple is limiting iPhone sales for the holidays - two iPhones per person and
no cash. Apple says this is to prevent unlocking and use on other networks,
which looks to be over 25% of current sales! [thanks Ed]
10/27:
Sprint to allow customers to unlock their phones when moving to other
providers and allow non-Sprint phones on their network. I'll believe it when I
see it. Currently, data might not work properly across providers. This move
should help in the long term.
10/24: As I alluded to a couple weeks ago, Virgin Mobile has raised texting to
10c starting today. The good news is that existing customers are grandfathered
at the 5c until they change their plan or let the plan expire.
10/17: Verizon Wireless is changing some of their plans (one of the worst kept
secrets out there right now).
First change. National Plans. Starting 11/1, all
data usage will be charged at the rate of $2/MB. There will be no more minutes
of use (MOU) where data use was charged in minutes. This effectively
closes the loophole where you could use free WAP and tether during nights and
weekends. Old plans are grandfathered, but any account change will require a
switch to the new plan (no contract extension, but you will have to change
plans. One exception - you can add a line of service on an existing family share
plan and stay on MOU). Mobile web will no longer be charged a monthly fee, but
your data use for mobile web will be charged. Data will also be charged for
browsing GIN, downloading music or playing online games. What this does is make
you pay $15 for VCAST, where data is unlimited, just as it is now. Not sure
if/when they will close the VCAST tether loophole.
Second change. Inpulse prepaid has two new plans
(probably will take the place of the original one). Daily charge will now only
be charged on days of use (voice mail and text count). However, you get less for
your daily charge than you did.
99c/day gets you unlimited M2M, 10c airtime and 10c text. NO NIGHTS, NO
WEEKENDS.
$1.99/day gets you unlimited M2M, nights (9PM), 5c airtime and 5c text. NO
WEEKENDS.
$2.99/day gets you unlimited M2M, nights (9PM), 2c airtime and 2c text. NO
WEEKENDS.
10/17:
PagePlus
started a new night/weekend plan 10/8. $10 to activate the new (optional) plan.
NEW RATES: You will be charged a $0.99 fee everyday (used or not) for unlimited
nights and weekends You will be charged $0.05 per minute for calls with Page
Plus customers You will be charged $0.12 per minute for calls with non-Page Plus
customers You will be charged $0.15 per SMS sent or received You must keep at
least $0.99 in order to keep the unlimited nights and weekends then all calls
will be billed at $0.12/min except Mobile to Mobile at $0.05. You will not be
able to use the "Unlimited Nights and weekends" while roaming or for any other
purpose other than Domestic local minutes.
10/17: Following in Verizon's footsteps, AT&T is moving to pro-rated early
termination fees.
10/15: Nokia will start making CDMA phones again. They miss the 60% CDMA
penetration in the US. Duh. The last straw may be that Kyocera is buying Sanyo
(whose phones Nokia was going to rebrand).
10/15: Tracfone specials updated.
10/09: Looks like the new Virgin Wild Card (VX-9900 clone) hit the streets this
week. More at
HoFo
10/09: New Verizon Inpulse plans. Daily charge now only on days used. Rates
higher, but better overall if you don't use the phone everyday. You can see more
at
HoFo.
10/09: Rumor: Virgin Mobile raising text to 10c. No date available at this time.
10/01: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
Updated SpeakOut CDMA info. Also clarified Airvoice GSM daily fee is only
charged on days the phone is used [thanks analogman].
10/01: Updated Hybrid
Comparison Chart
[Updated GoPhone PYP plans - thanks Gon4Frin2]
September 2007
9/30: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
Speakout GSM reduced their airtime rate from 20c down to 15c as of 9/26 [thanks
Eric].
9/30: AT&T just turned up a cell site in Winthrop, Maine. They are on the same
tower as USC, Verizon and Unicel [thanks Fred].
9/28: Apple bricks hacked/unlocked iPhones with its latest software update (will
this backfire on Apple?) [RCR
Wireless News].
9/27: Another MVNO down the tubes,
Disney
Mobile announced they are shutting down as of 12/31/2007 [RCR
Wireless News].
9/26: Verizon EV/DO coverage in VT expanded. EV/DO now in Rutland, Killington
and Montpelier. Also detected intermittently along Rt. 7 (Brandon) [HoFo]
9/21: It looks like the world may converge on one wireless standard for 4G.
Verizon Wireless stated that it may consider an upgrade to Long Term Evolution (LTE)
technology for 4G. [corrected 11/16]
9/21: The Sprint PCS coverage map has not had the ability to show just native
coverage. However you can now see it on the
Virgin Mobile map. Too bad it does not show EV/DO.
9/20: Updated Hybrid
Comparison Chart
[Corrected USC Prepaid info - thanks Lance]
9/17:
T-Mobile to purchase SunCom for $2.4B.
[Thanks Ed and several others]
9/17:
Leap Wireless rejects MetroPCS merger offer, says its too low
[Thanks Ed and several others]
9/15: Cingular PAYG text prices to increase from 5c to 15c as of 10/30/2007.
This matches current PYP and plan rates. [thanks Jairzinho]. Updated appropriate
references [That leaves Virgin as the low cost per-use text leader at 5c]
9/13: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
[Deleted BeyondGSM - no longer available, seems their new name is Jolt - thanks
AG8000]
9/9: Updated links page
[Verified active links]
[Added signalmap.com - thanks Matt]
9/9: Tracfone specials updated.
Of note: Moto w370 (poor man's RAZR) now available.
9/9: Updated email to cell page
with some MVNO info [thanks Richard]
9/9:
AT&T adds 11 new cell sites in NH in 2007 - thanks Mark]
9/9: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
[added AirVoice CDMA to chart - thanks Robert]
[revised TracFone info - no card less than $20 now - thanks Ed]
[revised PagePlus info - thanks Richard]
9/4: Updated Roadrunner
page
(Coverage report Andover ME and Rt 2 WME)
9/4:
MetroPCS proposes $5.1B merger with Leap
August 2007
8/29: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart and Hybrid Comparison
Chart
[Can't port numbers into Alltel U (also in the FAQ) - thanks Bob]
8/28: Verizon EV/DO coverage in NH expanded. EV/DO extends west on Rt 101 from
Nashua to Peterborough. EV/DO covers entire stretch of I-89 in NH (Concord to
Lebanon). [thanks to Mike at
NEcellularsites]
8/27: The suite of
Locus plans has improved with lower per minute pricing on their
plans. There are still various fees and short expirations, but it is worth a
look to see if it might be a good deal for you. Not sure if/when I will put them
in the chart [thanks Ian]
8/23: Sprint raises text rates to 20c to send and receive. In the notice to
customers it says they can't consider this a material change to get out of
contract. Another fumble for Sprint. You'd think that providers would not be
trying to push the envelope because ultimately this will get them regulated.
8/22: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart and Hybrid Comparison
Chart
[PagePlus Int'l texting is 20c. PP rep said it was either 12c or 20c, but user
confirmed 20c - thanks Efraim]
[Updated AT&T and Tmo2Go info - thanks Jairzinho]
[Started text change from Cingular to AT&T - a lot more changes that I realized]
8/20:
Cabot VT is finally getting cell service for the first time!
Unicel will
place cells on a local Silo. Verizon has tried to build a tower for years but
has been shut down by the NIMBYs (the
Thistle
Hill Neighborhood Alliance ran Verizon out of town ten years ago - this
time it's in another part of town and VT is backing Unicel's effort). Now that they
are purchasing Unicel, Verizon must divest this system due to competition - it's
rather humorous [thanks FC-magnet]
8/20: Verizon adds a new tower at Stowe VT this summer (about time!) -
thanks Bruce
8/20: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
and Hybrid Comparison
Chart
[deleted Amp'd]
[adjusted Airvoice expirations - thanks nophone]
[added note about funny money to PagePlus and Tmo2Go - thanks Jeff]
[added that AlltelU deducts airtime for using the web - thanks Phillip]
8/20: Tracfone and Net10 users have indicated that GSM Canadian Roaming no
longer works. The phone gets no signal. Unsure about CDMA phones at this time.
[Thanks Ed]
8/13. Target, at least in the Boston metro, has all of the $50 prepaid
refill cards on sale for $40 this week (Tmo, Trac, etc) [thanks Ed].
8/13: 2Q07 update
AT&T - 63,700,000 total; 1,500,000 net adds
Verizon -
62,100,000 total; 1,300,000 net adds
[Total 1.6M but taking a 300K writeoff on Amp'd]
Sprint - 54,000,000 total; 373,000 net adds
T-Mobile - 26,900,000 total; 857,000 net adds
Alltel - 12,200,000 total; 181,000 net
adds
U.S.C. - 6,010,000 total; 37,000
net adds
Unicel
- 779,000 total; 63,000 net adds
July 2007
7/31: Prexar Mobile
will be taking over the Amp'd Customer base, if they want to continue with their
phones and number (other than the Hollywood/e816, which will no longer be
allowed on the Verizon network due to bugs). Amp'd customers have until tomorrow
to sign up for new service. They offer only hybrid plans and it's voice and text
only. Any previous Amp'd prepaid balance or monthly minutes are terminated
tomorrow. There will be no ETF, but Amp'd customers will have to pay their bills
or face a collections agency. I will add them to the chart if it looks like a
good reliable service. The company is owned by USA Telephone, the same company
behind Teleblend, who is taking over Sunrocket customers. Hmmm.
7/30: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
[AirVoice GSM raises fees and lowers rates. There is now a 20c daily usage fee
for any use (text or voice). The $1 e911 fee remains. The $1 service charge is
eliminated. Airtime is lowered to 10c. You'll have to figure out if this is good
or bad for you. - thanks Felix]
7/30:
Verizon to purchase RCC/Unicel for $2.75B. This gives Verizon
virtually 100% 850 coverage in New England (minus a couple areas such as
Litchfield Co CT). All Unicel customers will be moved over to CDMA, although GSM
roaming will remain [thanks Ed & many others]
7/29: Virgin Mobile has a couple of new things: a M2M minute plan (10c M2M, 20c
other), and now free M2M on their $100 monthly plan [thanks Sasha.
7/27: T-Mobile unofficially released the hybrid FlexPay Plan. The advantage of
this plan is that the value is close to regular plans. It seems to be in
pre-launch, but you can actually get the plan by calling T-Mobile. Read more about it on
HoFo
[thanks Gon4Frin2]
7/27: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
[updated PagePlus no longer waiving the 50c monthly fee - thanks Tony]
7/25: Verizon EV/DO has expanded north up I-89 to at least exit 13 (Grantham NH). Maps not updated yet
[thanks Eric].
7/24: Verizon tower turned on in Claremont NH [thanks Eric]
7/24: Amp'd Update:
Amp'd gets
another extension - through 7/31. Like we would ever get all these
extensions with our mortgage. I guess the part about Amp'd customer shutting
down is not true (even though it says that on their own site).
7/22: We have lost another great regional (Atlanta) web site as Stanley "roamer1"
Cline passed away at age 31.
7/22: Amp'd Update: Amp'd has now posted an update for subscribers warning them
that service will be suspended on July 24 and that customer service will be
available until close of business Monday to help the port their number without
an Early Termination Fee [phonescoop]
[thanks Glinkinator]
7/22: New cell tower approved for
Mt
Snow VT to include at least VZW and USC [thanks Bruce]
7/21: Amp'd is now
notifying its
customers (e-mail to be sent over the next two days) of [probable]
shutdown on 7/24. Amp'd Customer Service will not be available after 7/23. At
least that is better than Sunrocket, the VOIP company, that just closed down
without any notification on 7/16 (yes I am caught in the middle of that one).
The good news is that there are no more ETF fees! In summary, Amp'd was
one of the best values in prepay, on the Verizon network, with roaming at no
charge, the best data rates on prepay, best deals on phones, and the only
unlimited plan on the Verizon network. I always thought it was a little too good
to be true. Combine that with an unmanageable billing system, and you have a
recipe for disaster.
7/20: Looks like the end is near for Amp'd.
It did not get the financing it needed to keep going under Chapter 11, and
Verizon again asked the courts to let it pull the plug on the bleeding. Amp'd is
now asking the court to let it auction off its assets, expected by 8/1.
7/20:
Updated
My Stuff with my local
signals. New T-Mo tower just turned on this week
7/15: Verizon EV/DO has expanded up I-93 to at least the New Hampton NH area,
and Rt 104E (at least to Pemigewasset Lake). Maps not updated yet.
7/13: Updated
Hybrid Comparison Chart
[updated Xtreme details, added Virgin plans]
7/10: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
[corrected Tmo and Net10 info - thanks Darrell]
[updated AlltelU info - thanks Phillip]
7/8: Updated AT&T text/sms email addresses on the
email to cell page [thanks
Ed]
7/8: I can confirm Rogers/Kingston ON has totally shut down TDMA & AMPS service.
Bell is still running AMPS, at least in the Kingston area.
7/8: I can confirm TMo2Go roaming on Rogers ON for 69c/minute for calls to CA
and the US.
7/8: The T-Mobile system at Killington VT seems to have been taken over by
AT&T. Anyone able to give more details? - thanks AG
[upd 7/13: Tmo map is fixed, so maybe just a fluke, but not sure where the
AT&T signal came from]
7/8: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
[updated Tmo - $10 card now has 90 day expiration making the lowest monthly cost
$3.33, thanks Gon4Frin2 and many others]
7/8: Sprint has sent termination letters to about 1000-1200 of their least
valuable customers. From what I have heard, these are people on the low cost
SERO plans, and have multiple retention specials, roam a great deal, or call
customer service an average of more than once per day. Sprint admits that they
made a mistake dropping members of the military and they will reverse that for
them. A couple of the people that got dropped have gone to the press.
June 2007
6/28: Removed Simple Freedom from the charts (its been merged into Alltel U)
6/27: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
[updated AlltelU - Pay-Per-Minute now has expiration dates, thanks Lori]
6/25: Corrected Coverage Map
page (GoPhone links).
6/25: Unicel continues turning off GSM 1900 in VT: Williston is now 850-only
[thanks ].
6/24: Amp'd
has got an extension to 6/25 to keep operating. Verizon is no longer trying to
boot them off the network ... for now.
6/24: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
[updated STI info, thanks Wei]
[updated Alltel U info, thanks Vern]
6/19:
Updated
My Stuff to include the
VX-9900 (env) and RAZR maxx Ve (both have disappointing signal performance, most
likely due to the internal antenna)
6/19: Amp'd
has until 6/25 when judge rules whether Verizon can pull the plug [Forbes]
6/19: A bunch of new rural Verizon sites in the north country. Springfield
VT,
Windsor VT,
Rumford ME.
6/12: Amp'd
CEO out. Rumors that Verizon will pull the plug on 6/14 are running wild (but
I'm not sure Verizon can legally do that - they could take over I suppose)
6/10: Alltel's
Simple Freedom being discontinued, customers to be transferred to
Alltel U over the next few weeks [thanks mframe]
6/9: Corrected rate info on GoPhone
page [thanks Joseph]
6/6: Net10
offers auto-refill program (Easy Minutes) which deducts $15/month (the minimum
monthly cost) [thanks Nate]
6/4: PagePlus roaming
rates (when off the Verizon network) have been reduced from 99c to 59c [thanks
sillyphone]. Rumor says PagePlus is going to add some sort of data access this
summer. That will be one tough prepaid deal to beat!
6/3: Tracfone
offering free shipping on orders of $19.99 and up [good at least thru Father's
day]
6/3: Amp'd
files Chapter 11 bankruptcy [MocoNews].
May 2007
5/30: PagePlus new
rates effective today:
$10 = 83 Minutes (12c/min)
$25 = 300 Minutes (8.3c/min)
$50 = 700 Minutes (7c/min)
$80 = 1400 Minutes (5.7c/min)
50c monthly fee to resume in July. No plans to "pull a STI".
5/30: PagePlus rate
drop effective 5/31 (details tomorrow). Unsure if a monthly charge starts up.
5/28: Tracfone specials updated.
Double minute care for life with 800 minutes good for one year is a decent deal
at $139.99 (beats the $49.99 card with no minutes or airtime extension).
5/28 Updated Tmo text
rates as of 5/1
[thanks Doug]
5/21 Updated links page with
A/C lookup
[thanks Gowri]
5/21 Two investor groups to
purchase Alltel
5/14: Tracfone specials updated.
Moto C139 now comes with 140 minutes/270 days for $20. v170 and 250 minutes for
$50.
5/13: George gives a great summary of
Tmo2GO T-Zones.
5/10: 1Q07 update
AT&T - 62,200,000 total; 1,200,000 net adds
Verizon -
60,700,000 total; 1,700,000 net adds
Sprint
- 53,600,000 total; 600,000 net adds
T-Mobile - 26,000,000 total; 980,000 net adds
Alltel -
12,000,000 total; 237,000 net adds
U.S.C. -
Unicel - 715,632 total;
9,974 net adds
[thanks Edward]
5/8: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart [updated
STI info, thanks Andrew]
5/1: Amp'd
giving out $20 prepaid starter airtime with its phones (e816/Hollywood free
after rebates - which are sometimes difficult to get) [Thanks Marc].
5/1: Updated Roadrunner
page
(New Verizon coverage in VT/NH - thanks Eric)
April 2007
4/27: You can follow the AT&T TDMA network shutdown
here [thanks agent debit]
4/27: Tracfone specials updated.
Free shipping on orders of $19.99 and up.
4/22: Updated SpeakOut
page as well as updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart [thanks vey9]
4/21: Updated the Virgin Mobile
page with info about Sugar Mama and the frequent airtime sales at Target [thanks
Wayne]
4/21: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Added Beyond Wireless one year card(50c/min) and also updated the
Beyond Wireless Page [Thanks
Nate]
4/16: Cingular responds
to Verizon's Select AC plan by releasing an unlimited text of their own starting
4/20. $20 gets you unlimited text, $40 gets you unlimited data and text [HoFo]
4/15: With the worst kept secret in the industry,
Verizon Wireless released their AC Select Plans. Basically, unlimited text is
$20 on individual plans and $30 on family plans.
4/12: PagePlus map
updated. [thanks Chris/PagePlus]
4/10: Rumor: Several people have said
Verizon Wireless
will release their AC Select Plans on 4/17 [perhaps 4/15]. Basically, unlimited text is
$20 on individual plans and $30 on family plans.
4/7: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Effective 4/20,
Alltel U
will raise texting rates from 5c to 10c a message [Thanks Vernon]
4/6: Rumor: Verizon Wireless
to release their AC Select Plans on 4/17. for $20 (http://testman.verizonwireless.com
use zip 99999) [HoFo]
[update: leak closed]
4/3:
Updated
My Stuff
4/3: PagePlus page
updated (fixed rates) [thanks Chris]
4/3: T-Mobile raising
SMS rates to 15c starting on June 1st [thanks Doug]
March 2007
3/25:
Net10 has refurb 1100's ($20) and 1600's ($30) making Net10 a better deal! See
the
specials page.
3/25: I will be splitting this site into two: postpaid and prepaid. If you
have any suggestions please send them to me (see feedback link to the left)
3/23:
Updated
My Stuff. Added a
pic of my 8703e
3/19: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Effective 3/17, PagePlus
$50 card now comes with 500 minutes. 50c monthly service fee waived through
June.
3/17: Thanks to all of you that have purchased through my links and clicked on
some
ads, I am now able to to expand my information to cover data. I am starting out
at the top, with a Verizon Blackberry 8703e. It is going to take me some time to
learn all about data services, but I hope to have a Data/PDA/Blackberry page up
sometime this spring. If you have any questions before then feel free to ask!
3/15: Today, two weeks early, Locus shut down my
CallPlus TDMA prepay service. It's like losing an old friend (I had
it going on five years - The CallPlus FAQ is what prompted me to start this website!)
3/15: The 500 minute one-year Tracfone airtime card is back (see the
Specials
page).
3/6: With it's new 90 day expirations, TracFone
effectively lowers the minimum monthly
cost from $8.33 to $6.67 (the $20 card becomes the one to get).
Prepaid Comparison Chart
updated. [Thanks Nate]
3/6:
Net10 drops the $150 card, effectively raising the minimum monthly
cost from $12.50 to $15.00.
Prepaid Comparison Chart
updated.
3/6: Yes, Alltel *IS* For Sale: Alltel has already approached AT&T, Verizon and
Sprint [Reuters]
3/5: Previously rumored
TracFone
changes took place today. Existing 60 day airtime cards are now 90 days, as are
all new cards except the $10 card (45 days) and 1-year cards. Airtime stacking
is now unlimited. New Double minute card is a bad deal, go with
Net10 if you are going to use more than 100 minutes a month).
[the announced change of all CDMA phones to onerate was a screwup on the
TracFone site. Its not true]
3/3: PagePlus has
reduced the number of minutes provided in the starter kit from 100 down to 71
minutes starting March 1 2007. Expiration is still 120 days though.
February 2007
2/26: RUMOR: TracFone Airtime expiration to be extended from 60 to 90 minutes
starting 3/1 [It's 3/2 so the rumor turns out to be false
so far ...].
2/27:
Beyond Wireless
adds one-year airtime expiration for an extra $30 on their not-so-great phones.
Its not great, but its a step in the right direction [thanks a42887]
2/27: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Rearranged some of the rows [Thanks Jon]
2/26: Sprint is offering
unlimited plans as a test in San Francisco. $120 plan includes unlimited
voice, messaging and mobile Web. $150 plan adds unlimited tethering [RCR
Wireless]
2/26: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Added STi Mobile to the chart. I have had more questions about
them than anyone else
over the past few months.
2/23: Looks like
usa1RATE
prepaid service has shut its doors. Although an email to customers say the
service is still alive, with no way to order refills on-line, and customer
service not available by phone, it makes it pretty hard to run the business!
2/23: There is a
New Verizon Wireless Map Tool
on the horizon. Hopefully a better map will be released along with it.
2/23: Updated the T-Mobile To Go
page & maps (prepaid map finally shows roaming on Unicel New England!)
2/23: Updated the Cingular GoPhone
page & maps
2/21: RUMOR: Alltel may be up for sale [Wireless
Week]
2/19: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Updated notes about voice mail deposits [Thanks Gerald]
2/18: AllFreeCalls
and FreeCallsTo
(free int'l long distance calling) are shut down, as AT&T's refusal to pay
effectively cuts off the loophole (the new numbers don't work either).
2/17:Although Beyond Wireless has discontinued their SIM starter kits on their
website, you can still order them over the phone or on eBay. [Thanks Denis]
2/14: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Corrected Page Plus and Airvoice GSM monthly fee notes
2/13: Quite a bit of new Sprint PCS coverage in ME along I-95 and I-295 just
north of Portland [Thanks Larry]
2/13: AllFreeCalls (is
one of the other very few free International calling numbers [Thanks Robert].
Added to links. It's
not going to last long,
here's why.
2/11: FreeCallsTo
free International calling (landline calls to selected countries) and
why its free for you. Enjoy while it lasts. Added to
links
2/11: RUMOR: Sprint to terminate customers that roam more than 50% [Thanks
GSMtreoUser].
Original article
2/9: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Updated Amp'd Info [Thanks mframe]
2/8: Verizon Wireless gets exclusive on Mobile ESPN content. V-CAST subscribers
will soon have access to real-time scores via ESPN. Finally, a real reason to
sign up for V-CAST?
2/8: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Corrected Page Plus footnotes [Thanks Arnold]
2/8:Beyond Wireless has discontinued their SIM starter kits. In order to obtain
service you now have to purchase one of their phones. [Thanks Bob]
Update 2/9: BW CS said you can still order a SIM over the phone
2/1: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Corrected Alltel U info [Thanks Mike]
January 2007
1/31: Cingular comes out with Pay-As-You-Go PTT at 15c/minute
1/29: 4Q06 update
Cingular - 61,000,000 total; 2,400,000 net adds
Verizon - 59,100,000 total; 2,300,000 net adds
Sprint - 51,600,000 total; 300,000 net LOSS
T-Mobile - 25,000,000 total; 900,000 net adds
Alltel -
U.S.C. -
Unicel -
[Thanks Ed]
Note that there is a discrepancy between prepaid and postpaid numbers, and I
will figure out how to deal with that in the near future.
1/28: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Various corrections and clarifications
1/28: Tracfone specials updated.
1/27: PagePlus may
discontinue the 50c monthly fee (no fee was charged in Jan 07)
1/24: TracFone Referrals seem to be totally dead. With the great Cingular
numbers last quarter, the referral program may be gone for good. One rumor of
the program being brought back in February have not been confirmed.
1/18: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
GoPhone plans incorrect in footnote [Thanks Walter].
1/16: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Deleted old Virgin Mobile footnote [Thanks Arnold]. Updated AirVoice does not
change for voicemail deposits and access from a landline [Thanks tropicalwahoo].
1/15: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Corrected Tracfone stacking out to 180 days [Thanks Ed]. Renamed WAP [thanks
Chris] and noted that AirVoice may have a $2/month fee - if true it will
be deleted from the chart (36c a minute is a poor deal).
1/14: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Corrected T-Mo hyperlinks [Thanks Spencer]
1/10: Verizon jacks up text rates to match Cingular and Sprint starting 3/1 (15c
to send and receive)
1/10: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Updated AirVoice info
1/4: TracFone Referrals are up and running again, get 'em while you can!
1/4: Updated links page. Great cell search site (must have forgotten to add it
when I found it many months ago) [Thanks GSMtreoUser]
http://www.antennasearch.com/
1/3: Expanded Verizon coverage in Northern NH. Verizon 1900Mhz coverage
has been extended up to Littleton NH. Franconia, Sugar Hill, Bethlehem, and
Littleton now have native Verizon service (and coverage is expanding into the
Twin Mtn area) [Source
http://www.necellularsites.net/News.php
1/3: Unicel re-released its press release of the
30 new
cell sites in the NH lakes region (mostly GSM1900) [Thanks Mike@necellularsites]
1/3: Updated the Coverage
Area charts. Lake Placid just got Sprint coverage according to their
map. [Thanks Yankees368]
December 2006
12/22: Updated the VT Coverage
Area chart. [Thanks Snowjimbo72]
12/22: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Corrected Virgin rates ($90 service preserver) [Thanks Ben]
12/12: Verizon EV/DO expansion in New England: Verizon Wireless rolled out
BroadbandAccess and V CAST services in several New Hampshire cities: Auburn,
Bedford, Brentwood, Chester, Concord, Derry, Goffstown, Hampstead, Hooksett,
Hudson, Kingston, Litchfield, Londonderry, Manchester, Merrimack, Nashua,
Pelham, Plaistow, Salem, Suncook and Windham (actually its been on for several
months in some areas). Verizon also launched high-speed services in parts of
southern and central Massachusetts, Cape Cod, Southeastern Maine and Rhode
Island [Thanks Mike@necellularsites].
12/12: Sprint's Employee Referral Plans are available to anyone through 12/18. 2
year contract required, single lines only (no family plans). $30 for 500
minutes, $50 for 1,250 minutes, and $100 for 2,500 minutes. Includes M2M, 7PM
nights. It appears to include Vision on the Sprint side and National DC on the
Nextel side. Go to
http://www.sprint.com/sero and use the e-mail address
savings@sprint.com for Sprint plans and
specialoffer@sprint.com for Nextel
plans.
12/10: Updated the Coverage
Area charts. Some were way out of date. Let me know if there are
still problems [Thanks Yankees368]
12/6: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Corrected Boost web charges [Thanks Brian]
12/2: Cingular announces text price increase on plan and PYP hybrid plans
starting 1/21/2007. Sending and receiving text messages will cost 15c unless you
sign up for a texting plan.
November 2006
11/25: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Added Airvoice Wireless ($3.33/mo - lowest Cingular-based MVNO monthly cost)
11/26: Updated the
Hybrid Prepaid Comparison
Chart.
Various updates.
11/25: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Updated Speakout Info [Thanks Terry]
11/24: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Corrected Amp'd airtime expiration [Thanks Bob]
11/23: Tmo2Go Roaming On Unicel Is *ON*. Tmo2Go must have finally hit the
switch, because *TODAY*, for the first time, I am able to roam on Unicel New
England. EDGE is on. Calls are deducted at the same on-network rate. Incoming
and outgoing calls work, #999# works. WAP roaming works. Dialing 611
sends me to Cingular GoPhone PYP customer service, LOL.
11/23: 3Q06 update
Cingular - 58,700,000 total; 1,400,000 net adds
Verizon - 56,700,000 total; 1,900,000 net adds
Sprint - 51,900,000 total; 233,000 net adds
T-Mobile - 24,100,000 total; 802,000 net adds
Alltel - 11,200,000 total; 101,000 net adds
U.S.C. [delayed - may get delisted from AMEX]
Unicel - 694,577 total;
4,151 net adds
11/22: Tracfone specials updated. Free
Shipping! The
*RED* Moto c261 camera phone is now
lowered to $99.99 (1-yr of service, 620 minutes, double minutes) !!!
11/22: Airvoice
Wireless has changed the expiration dates on all GSM and CDMA cards
to 90 days. That is a first! However, before you get too excited, the website
will only let you buy airtime. Good luck signing up for service. Let me know if
you do. They tell me you have to find a dealer. Also, all their plans
incur a $1/month e911 charge in all 50 states (direct from customer service).
11/22: The Big Dig Tunnels in Boston will soon get CDMA and GSM Service. The
Boston Globe reported that Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon have agreed to
split the cost of providing coverage. Let's hope that similar cooperation is planned
around the country! [RCR Wireless News]
11/20: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Clarified Cingular Prepaid expiration times [Thanks Bob]
11/19: Added Alltel U Pay-Per-Day to the
Hybrid Prepaid Comparison
Chart.
11/17: Tracfone
airtime cards can now be stacked to 180 days (used to be 120 days). [Thanks Ed].
11/17: Tracfone specials updated
Best deals are the refurb v170 and 2600 with 470 minutes and 1 year of airtime for $99.99 (thru
11/30)
11/17: Updated coverage maps
page. Can't they leave the URLs alone?
11/17: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Text rates updated/corrected. Updated
T-Mobile To Go page as
well.
11/16: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Virgin Mobile announces
international text pricing at premium rates (20c send, 10c receive) [via VM
e-mail]. Also updated Virgin maps.
11/16: Updated Roadrunner
page
(Coverage report Ormond Beach FL)
11/1: Tracfone specials updated
The refurb v170 is back with 470 minutes and 1 year of airtime for $99.99 (thru
11/30)
10/27: It appears that Cingular Free2Go and all Cingular TDMA MVNOs will
discontinue service 4/1/2007.
October 2006
10/20: Tracfone specials updated
The hot deal now includes the Moto c261 color phone!
10/20: 3Q06 numbers have started coming in. Cingular reports 1.4M net adds.
10/17: As of October 5th,
STI Mobile has
lowered their Prepaid Plan I to 10c/minute. The 10c/day fee is still in effect.
10/15: Nextel
turns on new tower in Arlington, VT (thanks Jim S)
10/11: Added a
coverage map page - it
links directly to providers maps!
10/11: Added a list of non-camera phones for those people that are not allowed to carry
cell phones with camera with them. That includes may places of business.
10/11:
Amp'd Mobile introduces hot family plans ranging from $60 for 1,000
anytime minutes to 6,000 anytime minutes for $200 for two people. Subscribers
can add up to three additional lines for $10 per line. (RCR
Wireless News).
10/11: [revised]
Verizon had
turned on several new sites in ME including 4 sites in Bangor (thanks AgentHibby)
10/9: On 9/28
BenQ-Siemens, the mobile joint venture based off of Siemens applied
for bankruptcy protection.
10/9: Sprint
raised their SMS rate to 15c/message and data usage to 3c/KB starting 10/1.
Basically you need a package if you plan to use the feature (RCR
Wireless News).
10/8 [revised]: Tracfone specials updated.
CDMA phones have special deals for the first time! $20 gets you a refurb Nokia
2126 and (2) 60 minutes cards. $99 gets you a refurb Moto c353 and 1 year of
service. Use my link on the specials
page. Note: change the URL from "GSM4" to "CO" in order to
view CDMA phones in any zipcode. (Thanks Bud)
10/5: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Pageplus allows
refills over the phone using a credit card (thanks tropicalwahoo)
10/5: Added info on free
Tracfone Int'l long distance
to several countries (thanks Matt)
10/3: T-Mobile joins Alltel in offering "My Favs", an
unlimited calling plan to five specific numbers.
10/2: T-Mobile To Go
updates: Two people have confirmed that you can now roam in Canada on Rogers.
Gold Rewards holders appear to be able to access external sites on prepaid
T-Zones (HoFo).
10/2: Tracfone specials updated. $20 gets you a refurb
Nokia 1100 and two 60 minute airtime cards (total 140 minutes) (Thanks Eric)
September 2006
9/29 Tracfone has suspended their Refer A Friend program
effective today. No further information is available at this time.
9/28:
ESPN Mobile
announced they are going out of business effective 12/31.
9/24: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Alltel U prepaid link updated (thanks GlassVial)
9/24: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
USA1rate has dropped their daily fee to 10c/day ($3.00/month). They must have
figured out that nobody was going to pay 15c/day! Page Plus is still a far
better deal.
9/23: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Boost charges you a $1/day DC fee if someone alerts you, even if your phone is
turned off (thanks to my declining balance with phone turned off - new "feature"
as of 9/2006)
9/23: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Alltel U data corrected (thanks tropicalwahoo)
9/22: Cleaned up the
forum user list
again. If you want to join, email me or put something meaningful in your
profile. Otherwise, if all you have is an advertisement in your web address, you
will be denied member status. I am getting killed by spammers.
9/22: Due to popular demand I have added
Alltel U Prepaid to
the Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Also corrected Simple Freedom
info.
9/13: For a limited time,
TúYo Mobile is
offering a free SIM (even free shipping) with $10 credit if you call them at
877-438-8896. Their new rate plan is 10c/minute with a 10c connection charge.
Not the greatest rates but free is free :) Initial airtime is good for 90
days (source: drprepaid).
9/12: Added Amp'd to the
Hybrid Prepaid Comparison
Chart. Please help me fill in
the chart (for instance, can you roam? You can on the plans, not sure on PAYG
and hybrids)
9/6: Boost Mobile
lobotomizes premium plan, NO MORE FREE NIGHTS/WEEKENDS TEXT OR WEB!!! There are
now three hybrid plans, none of which are much of a deal: $30 gets you DC and
10c airtime, $50 gets 400 minutes and DC. $70 gets you 600 minutes, DC and
N/WE). Unlimited text and web is another $10 a month for the three plans.
Hybrid Prepaid Comparison
Chart updated as well.
9/5: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
Tracfone data corrected (thanks Darrell)
9/4: Updated Roadrunner
page
(Coverage report Andover ME)
9/4: Updated the NH coverage
page (thanks Eric)
August 2006
8/27: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(Updated Simple Freedom rates - I may remove it since its only available in
Alltel coverage areas)
8/27: Updated Roadrunner
page
(Coverage report around Whitefield NH)
8/21: Verizon EV/DO went live in Buffalo on Monday and in Albany today.
8/21: If you need 60-minute Tracfone airtime cards, I have some available on my
Guru Sales Page.
8/21: Tracfone specials updated
The hot deal now includes the Moto c155.
8/20: Boost rates will increase on September 11. Web/data to increase
from 20c to 35c/day. DC will be $1/day regardless of whether you originate the
conversation (looks like they are closing the 6-second loophole)
8/20: T-Mo prepaid has not started charging for incoming text. Not sure if they
changed their mind or delayed it again [T-Mo started charging for incoming
text somewhere around 9/15]
8/18:
Updated My Stuff
8/18: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart.
USA1rate has increased their daily fee to 15c/day ($4.50/month (thanks steve369)
8/15: Updated logos (thanks drprepaid)
8/15: Updated new T-Mo prepaid text rates that went into effect today (thanks
Sashinator00)
8/14: Updated 2Q06 Stats:
Verizon: 54.8M customers; 1.8M net adds
Cingular: 57.3M customers; 1.5M net adds
Sprint: 51.7M customers; 708,000 net adds
T-Mobile: 23.3M customers; 613,000 net adds
U.S Cellular: 48,000 net adds
Suncom: 24,000 net adds
RCC (Unicel): 7,385 net LOSS
8/9: Corrected GoPhone
info
(Thanks Remus)
8/4: Tracfone specials updated
again. $20 gets you a refurb Nokia 2600 and 260 minutes! Using my link on the specials page, free
shipping on orders of $19.95 and up, from 8/4 to 9/30. The c261 camera phone
and v276 are finally available!
8/3: Updated 2Q06 Stats:
Cingular: 57.3M customers; 1.5M net adds
Verizon: 54.8M customers; 1.8M net adds
Sprint: 51.7M customers; 708,000 net adds
8/1: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(Fixed PagePlus Link - thanks Steve)
8/1: Cingular makes moves to increase profits, but they forgot to do a customer
pulsing survey first, and must have not predicted their front-line employees
would revolt and leak the whole thing to the public!
1. New agent web tool determines if customer is a "valued" customer. If not then
they can't get phone upgrades. This was met by such negative customer and agent
feedback that they had to rescind it. It such a stupid move that hopefully the
brainchild of this bonehead idea gets fired. It's probably too late, they are
probably promoted already!
2. TDMA/analog customers start paying a $5/month "penalty" fee to make them
move to GSM. My guess is more of them will walk than switch.
3. If you roam more than 40% off-network for three months in a row, you are
booted from Cingular. Cingular made this move without first reprogramming all their
phones so that you can tell when you are roaming.
8/1: Tracfone specials updated
July 2006
7/27: Unicel has launched prepaid service. I'm sorry to report that its a
horrible deal. You are better off with Tracfone roaming on Unicel.
All three of the new prepay selections have a 33c/day FEE. And we thought STI
and usa1RATE were bad at 10c/day!
Minimum monthly cost is $20/month ($10 of that is the monthly fee). They
advertise 10c airtime, but with the fee it ends up being DOUBLE their advertised
rates.
There is a $30 activation fee.
You must purchase a phone.
There are no extra roaming costs but 50% of your monthly usage must be in your
Home Unicel market.
Only U.S. Cellular, with their brand new "worst hybrid deal of the century"
$25/100 minute prepay (25c) with 50c overages, and 69c roaming is a worse deal!
7/24: 2Q06 Stats:
Cingular: 57.3M customers; 1.5M net adds
Verizon: 54.8M customers; 1.8M net adds
7/24: Updated T-Mobile To Go info on
the site to indicate there is some (but not much) free roaming.
7/24: Updated Tracfone
page with a link to the
Tracfone_Users Group. Lots of good info like current bonus codes.
7/23: U.S. Cellular released
new plans today (not on the website yet). Most plans are more in line with
Verizon. In general, minutes reduced at all levels, $50 and up plans now
have N&W included. N&W and free incoming no longer limited to USC network on
National plans. Local Plans are now network plans. Talktracker is now a just a
plan wanna be (nothing useful below $45). Updated
USC hybrid and
Hybrid Conmparison
Chart.
7/22: DealKing
is offering $30 cash-back for TMo2Go and $30 Cash-back from GoPhone. That is
basically a free phone plus initial airtime for each (actually you get a bonus
$25 from TMo2Go). It's worth checking out!
7/22:
Tracfone has changed their preferred CDMA provider in Southern NH from
U.S. Cellular to Verizon. That changes local coverage FROM SVT/NH (except
Rockingham/Strafford Co) (SIDS 445,1484,5010) TO Southern NH, MA, RI and CT
(SIDS 28,119).
7/14: Cingular is trying to boot TDMA customers from its network by imposing a
$4.99/month TDMA/Analog network charge starting in August.
7/14: Verizon turned on EV/DO in the
Nashua / Manchester / Concord area TODAY!!!
7/13: I forgot to mention earlier that on 8/15/2006
T-Mobile To Go will start
charging 5c for incoming SMS and 25c for incoming MMS. Outgoing rates remain at
10c for SMS and 25c for MMS (thanks Ed).
7/12: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(GoPhone PAYG charging a 50c/month e911 fee in FL - thanks Dave)
7/10: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(updated usa1RATE info)
7/10:
Updated My Stuff
7/10: Verizon is testing
EV/DO in the Nashua area (EV/DO light toggling for 3 seconds every 70 seconds).
7/10: Tracfone specials updated
7/10: Updated Roadrunner
page
(Unicel completes Rt 9 GSM coverage in VT; Coverage Report for Southern New
York/Catskills Region)
June 2006
6/30: Updated Sprint
Maps
(thanks Matt)
6/28: Verizon Wireless
will start prorating ETFs, allow phone upgrades every 12 month to individual
plans of $50 and up, and will replace a phone out of warranty for no more than
$50 (only warranty-type issues). Details
here.
6/27: Updated Sprint
National Map
(thanks JR 20 Speed)
6/25: Cingular offers new text plan:
Messaging Extreme $20, 3000 sms/mms, 3c over
6/24: SpeakOut Wireless giving out $5 airtime bonus if you refill your account
this weekend (ending 6/25)
6/23: Tracfone specials updated
6/23: usa1RATE raises their daily fee to 10c/day making it a very poor value
(thanks Steve).
6/21: Updated the Hybrid Comparison Chart
(Easypay n&we now limited to 3000 - thanks Matt)
6/16: Page Plus
$80 cards discontinued on the PP web. CSR said it was due to too many fraudulent
credit card transactions and the fact the $80 was not very popular)
6/15: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(Boost correction - thanks Isaiah)
(updated Virgin Mobile info)
6/14: Virgin
Mobile changes took place today. SMS rates now 5c to receive and 5c
to send. Minute2Minute rate dropped from 25c down to 18c anytime (you have to
sign up for it). SugarMama features where you can earn free airtime is now live.
6/13: T-Mobile 2 Go
downgrades confirmed.
Starting 7/1: SMS 10c to send, MMS 25c to send, 5c to receive. $10
refill 30 min (35 min gold rewards) (thanks Vincent)
6/12: Rumor: T-Mobile 2 Go
Prepaid, one of the last providers offering free incoming SMS, will start
charging 5c to receive text (and outgoing will stay 10c), making them one of the
more expensive in the prepaid world. The start date is approx 7/1. Its
interesting that this is just a couple of weeks after Virgin Mobile starts
charging for incoming text.
6/12: Rumor Confirmed: Virgin
Mobile minute rate to drop from 25c down to 18c. 10c rate after 10
minutes to be discontinued. SMS rates change to 5c to receive and 5c to send
starting 6/18. The rumor for the new airtime rates is 6/14, but 6/18 is more
logical.
6/11: I removed entries from the links
page if they are no longer accessible or not regularly updated. Let
me know if you have a suggestion for a link (no commercial links unless it is
very very good, please!)
6/10: T-Mo has an interesting $20 plan called
Kid Connect. 1 year contract, only 50 peak minutes but has M2M and
weekends. M2M still works after peak minutes are depleted. (thanks Ed)
6/10: Disney Mobile
has started selling service. Plans start at $40/400 minutes. One phone is
available, the Pantech DM-P100, $60 after rebate with 2-year contract. Roaming
off the Sprint network is 40c/minute.
6/10: I finally got a new battery for my Moto DPC550 AMPS phone and activated it
on Page Plus.
6/10: Updated Page Plus
info (thanks tropicalwahoo)
6/7: New Cingular Coverage Map Tool:
http://63.241.153.180/coverageviewer/B2B.html
6/6: Rumor: Virgin
Mobile minute rate to drop from 25c down to 18c. 10c rate after 10
minutes to be discontinued.
6/6: Updated Inpulse
coverage map (thanks JR20Speed)
6/5: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(PagePlus updates - thanks Victor)
(corrected Amp'd info - thankd Heydeno)
6/3: Tracfone incoming
SMS no longer free on new GSM models (now costs 0.3 units).
6/2: Amp'd Mobile
prepay details:
10c airtime, 60 day airtime expiration
have to use their phones (not bad)
18-25% surcharge on data usage
6/2: Tracfone specials updated
May 2006
5/31: Amp'd Mobile
prepay debuts with 10c/minute, 60 day airtime, $10/mo minimum, 10c text, 40c/MB
after fees
(thats right MB - compare that with Cingular PAYG at $10/MB). That
is the best Verizon prepay MVNO to date so it hits the
charts NOW!
5/30: Amp'd Mobile
now offering unlimited anytime minutes for $114 (plus tax and fees). I sure hope
there is a catch or else Verizon customers are going to be quite unhappy when
the network clogs up.
5/30: Amp'd Mobile
will launch a prepay service starting tomorrow. No details available yet.
5/30: Virgin Mobile
will start offering minutes for viewing and participating in advertising
starting 6/14.
5/28: Boost Mobile minimum
monthly cost drops to $5/month using on-line credit/debit card
(Auto re-boost feature is a scam though as your balance will
drop to zero at 90 days and only then does the re-boost happen)
5/27: Updated the coverage charts. Let me know if there are other changes
needed.
5/26: 2005 Total Churn
(% of subscribers leaving per month)
Verizon 1.14%
Cingular 2.18%
Sprint Nextel 2.26%
T-Mobile 2.85%
(source RCR)
5/21: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(Net10 expiration improvements - 1 yr card is $12.50/mo. Corrected
Cingular $100 refill expiration - thanks Steve)
5/19: Tracfone specials updated
5/18: T-Mobile To Go Prepaid now has limited roaming. No roaming available in
New England at this time.
Click here for more details.
5/14: Updated Roadrunner
page
(Verizon PCS live in Franklin Co MA; Cingular Blue prepaid users now have local
coverage on Orange throughout MA, RI, CT and Upstate NY)
5/4: Tracfone specials updated
5/1: Boost Mobile rumor
is true. Starting today Boost Premium plan gets 300 minutes and 7PM nights.
April 2006
4/30: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
4/30: RUMOR CENTRAL: Starting 5/1
Boost Mobile will be enhancing
the $50 Boost Premium plan by bumping the anytime minutes to 300 and changing
N&WE to start at 7PM.
4/29:
Updated My Stuff
4/29: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(Updated SpeakOut info)
4/28: Sprint PCS Fair & Flexible plans now offer 7PM nights (family plans
excluded).
4/23: Tracfone special updated
- Reconditioned Nokia v170 and 470 minutes good for one year [100 minute bonus
code 52483 thru 4/30/2006]
4/22:
Updated My Stuff
as I started up usa1RATE again.
4/21: What is it with this "Free Boost Direct Connect (DC) Walkie-talkie thing"
being sold on eBay from between $1 and $25? Well I will tell you, it's called S
C A M. The theory is that you enter codes and then get free DC. The code
to enter is:
#*<menu><left arrow>
<scroll down>
view err log (may be phone dependant)
clear counters (may be phone dependant)
<scroll up>
turn on err/channel codes
Then you are not supposed to be charged for DC, although if you turn off the
phone you have to start over again. Several of us have proven that this does not
work.
4/18: Updated Nextel
maps
4/17: Tracfone special updated
- Reconditioned Nokia v170 and 470 minutes good for one year [thru 4/21/2006]
4/15:
Updated Roadrunner
page
(310-380 running again on at least two towers)
4/14: Updated T-Mobile
maps
4/13: Updated the
Hybrid Comparison Chart
(Corrected Verizon SMS rates)
4/12: Unicel turns on GSM-1900 *TODAY* in the Nashua/Manchester metro. Unicel TDMA-1900
has been shut down, but I am probably the only one that noticed, LOL. Updated
associated pages.
4/9: Tracfone special updated
- Reconditioned Nokia 1100 and 470 minutes good for one year [extended to 4/21/2006]
4/9: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(Corrected PagePlus footnotes)
4/8: Cingular will make it's on-line coverage mapping tool available to
the public "soon".
It's about time!
4/4:
Movil Mobile is not quite ready for prime time. It's confirmed that it's
a T-Mo MVNO.
4/2: Added Boost Premium
and revised the
Prepaid Hybrid Comparison Chart
4/1: Waiting to find out more about
Movil Mobile, which is being advertised on
the
Cheap Phone Card site. Currently you have to purchase a Siemens a56,
but you get a toll-free number, airtime never expires, and they have hinted at Cingular coverage
[Nope - it's T-Mo]
4/1: Added Venture Mobile
to the
Prepaid Hybrid Comparison Chart
March 2006
3/25: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(Dropped Oxygen&Viva & added Locus to the
plans that "didn't make it")
3/24: T-Mobile counters
Cingular's new $39.99 plan with a $39.99/1500 minute plan (no nights, weekends
or M2M). M2M can be added for $6.99.
3/22: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(Added prepays that did not make the chart at the bottom of the page -
Airvoice, cool.Prepaid, STI and usa1RATE for starters)
3/21: T-Mobile2Go
appears to be on the verge of enabling International roaming. There is currently
confusion within T-Mo customer service. The data so far suggests that no roaming
is active at this time.
3/15: Updated the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(Added "Double Dialing when Roaming")
(Corrected Tracfone airtime rates)
3/15: Cingular releases
a $39.99/1000 minute plan in some markets (Boston included) to compete with
T-Mobile. However there are no rollover, night/weekend or M2M minutes included.
M2M can be added for $10.
3/15:
Tracfone one year card has 100 bonus minutes (total 350
minutes). Use Promo Code 59879 [extended to 3/31/2006]
3/14:
Updated Roadrunner
page
(new Unicel GSM 850 coverage in Troy and Walpole, NH - Thanks Mark)
3/12: My T-Mobile now available to T-Mobile2Go customers. There is not much you
can do there that you can't do some other way. Download phone numbers to the
phone could be useful once they get that working.
3/12: Corrected outdated Tracfone
special deals.
3/11: Beyond Wireless
remains the King of the Cingular MVNOs. There was a rumor of Airvoice GSM
having longer expirations (but I did not believe it, and should never have
posted it, but such is life). The rumor was false. Cingular holds a tight reign
on the short airtime expirations. [update 11/06 the longer expiration times is
true]
3/10: Updated Simple Freedom
info for those that live in a Verizon coverage area
3/10: Net10 now includes 300
minutes/60 days with their phones, making it a super deal in prepaid.
3/9:
Updated My Stuff
with the v635.
3/5:AT&T will acquire BellSouth in $67B deal to be announced tomorrow.
The Cingular brand name will be retired, with wireless being sold under the
name AT&T.
3/4:
Virgin Mobile text rates will
change on 6/18 so that its 5c to send or 5c to receive a message. There
will be monthly buckets of text available. Confirmed via Virgin Mobile text
message to my phone.
3/1: Boost Mobile
lowers the Walkie Talkie daily fee from $1.50/day down to $1.00/day.
February 2006
2/28: General clean-up of several pages. It's been a very slow past week!
2/22:
4Q2005 Net Adds (updated):
Verizon - 2 million
Sprint Nextel - 2 million
Cingular
- 1.8 million
T-Mobile - 1.4 million
2/21: Dobson Cellular One's rolls out their
Stop Counting Minutes Nationwide plan (unlimited calls throughout
the USA with no roaming or LD charges). The price was not announced.
2/21: Updated
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(Dropped STI Mobile, enough is enough with the changing fees)
2/21: STI Mobile reinstitutes the 10c daily fee AGAIN starting 3/19.
2/18:
T-Mobile To Go web account access is not live yet (planned for
today).
2/18: Corrected
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(You can port in to Beyond GSM - Thanks Alex)
2/18:
Updated Roadrunner
page
(new Nextel tower near Waterville, ME - Thanks Fred)
(new Unicel tower in Dedham, ME, Expanded T-Mobile coverage in Ellsworth, ME -
Thanks Drew)
2/17: STI Mobile rescinds the 10c daily fee on the 10c/12c plan.
2/16: Corrected
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(STI no longer has usage requirement - Thanks Terri)
(Added more detail about SpeakOut fees)
2/15: Corrected
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(Beyond Wireless text is 8c to send and 6c to receive - Thanks Jason)
2/15: Nokia and Sanyo form CDMA joint venture. This gives Nokia inroads to
Sprint and it gives Sanyo inroads to Verizon, Alltel and USC.
2/14:
Tracfone one year card has 100 bonus minutes (total 350 minutes). Use
Promo Code 59879 [expires 2/20/2006]
2/14:
T-Mobile To Go to add web account access on 2/18 [turns out to be
false, at least through 3/1].
2/10: Tracfone
has new rates on the one year card ($99.99 for 250 minutes). The refurb
v170 with 250 minutes (370 minutes good for 120 days after activation and
referral) is $50, a great deal,
click here for more
details.
2/10: Corrected
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(Page Plus and STI account info, Page Plus activation fee - Thanks Howard)
2/9: RUMOR CENTRAL: Boost Mobile
will be bringing back $1/day walkie-talkie on 3/1 [rumor ends up being true].
2/8: RUMOR CENTRAL:
Virgin Mobile
will be introducing new text rates in May. As previously mentioned, rates will
change so that its 5c to send or 5c to receive a message. There will be monthly
buckets of text available as well. Preliminary info:
$1.99 for 50 messages,
$4.99 for 200 messages,
$9.99 for 750 messages.
2/7: Some people are reporting that Cingular
GoPhone is subtracting monthly
fees.
2/5: Corrected
Prepaid Comparison Chart
(PagePlus refill amounts - Thanks Lena)
(Speakout WAP is 3c/KB - was told 1c/KB, but tested it myself...nope!)
2/5: RUMOR CENTRAL:
T-Mobile To Go to increase the minutes on $25 (166 minutes) and $50
(500 minutes) gold reward refills (I can't confirm it), increase the
free WAP deck, allow roaming, and add web account access, all without increasing costs. I have a
difficult time believing it, but if true, the prepaid price war is on! Source
(typically reliable)
HoFo [Rumor has turned out to be false, at least through 3/1]
2/4: Revised various provider info that was outdated or just wrong. If you find
incorrect info, please use the blue buttons to the left to let me know.
2/4: Removed TDMA plans from the
Prepaid Comparison Chart
since new service is no longer available. Added
Beyond Wireless GSM page.
2/3: Updated
Roadrunner page
New Nextel tower in Bangor (Fred Staples)
2/2: Beyond Wireless
GSM prices are the best of all Cingular GSM MVNOs. No fees that I can see either!
NO ROAMING THOUGH :(
$5, 36 minutes, 15 days, min $10/mo
$15, 114 minutes, 60 days, min $7.50/mo
$25, 204 minutes, 75 days, min $10/mo
$50, 450 minutes, 90 days
$100, 1000 minutes, 90 days
$10 starter kit includes SIM and 36 minutes.
2/1: STI Mobile
now charging a monthly fee.
Existing customers were not notified of the new change but are now charged the
fee.
Plan 1: $3/month fee. Same rates of $0.12/minute day, $0.10/minutes N&W
Plan 2: $11.70/month fee. $0.079/minute 24/7
Specials: 49c per day for unlimited push-to-talk.
2/1: Beyond Wireless launches a
new GSM website
2/1: Virgin Mobile
changes some plans starting today.
Inner Circle: $21/month. You get to call three number with
free nights & weekends & all other airtime is 10c/minute.
Month2Month: Increased airtime at the higher levels.
Minute2Minute: no change :(
January 2006
1/31: Updated GoPhone
maps
1/31: After a 6 month hiatus,
Tracfone is back with its 350 minute 1 year card for $90. Use
Promo Code 59647 [expired 2/8/2006]
1/30: Revised the Prepaid
Comparison Chart by adjusting Speak Out SMS and WAP rates (they were
out of date, and they actually mirror GoPhone rates).
1/28: Added email to cell page that
gives you what email address to use for different providers phones.
1/28: Alltel
U Prepaid looks promising. It has a couple of different forms, one a
traditional prepaiy (15c/min) and the others are hybrid plans. Coverage includes
the Alltel and Verizon network. You can only obtain service in an Alltel
coverage area, so the big question is whether you can get away with having
service in a Verizon-only market. Time will tell.
1/28: Revised the Prepaid
Comparison Chart by adding Locus-based VIVA CDMA and Oxygen GSM
plans. Will be removing TDMA plans soon as they will no longer be offered
1/26: Beyond Wireless expected to stop selling TDMA service on 1/31. GSM Prepaid
Service expected start date is 2/1. The GSM expiration dates are HORRIBLE! [note:
they have adjusted the rates down since then] This
is NOT an emergency phone service by any means. The minute rates are not
horrible, but Page Plus, Net 10, T-Mo all have better rates, with much better
expiration times.
Expected rates :
$5 / 30 minutes / expire 15 days
$15 / 105 minutes / expire 30 days
$25 / 180 minutes / expire 45 days
$50 / 390 minutes / expire 90 days
$100 834 minutes / expires 90 days
1/26:
4Q2005 Net Adds:
Verizon - 2 million
Cingular
- 1.8 million
T-Mobile - 1.4 million
Sprint - reports in February
1/25: Simple Freedom to stop selling service in Verizon-only
markets on 2/1. SF customers in Verizon markets will lose their numbers on
5/31.
1/24:
Added Verizon EasyPay to the
Prepaid
Hybrid Comparison Chart.
1/23: Another new MVNO:
BeyondMobile
(no relation to Beyond Wireless). They are going to run on Sprint, will offer
the LG 225 to start, and the service is aimed at current Cbeyond business
customers.
1/23:
Rumor: Verizon drops the NE2 (New Every 2) credit
from $100 down to $50 starting in February
1/23:
Updated Roadrunner page
Unicel GSM-850 is ON in Wilmington VT (Scott Shannon)
Great VT GSM report from Steve Iinuma
1/23:
Locus is no longer activating TDMA phones
(CallPlus, Locus, Oxygen). I will revise the prepaid chart once Beyond Wireless
stops selling TDMA)
Virgin Mobile SMS charges
change in May 2006
(free incoming to go away, it will be 5c to send and receive)
U. S. Cellular Improves National Plans
$40/500 w/ free incoming (no nights/weekends)
Portland gets $30/250 and $40/800
December 2005
Updated Prepaid
Comparison Chart
Deleted U.S. Cellular Prepaid as they dumped their traditional prepaid plan
Fixed Simple Freedom minimum monthly cost to $8.33
Beyond no longer has
free phones
Updated Roadrunner page
Updated Sprint PCS maps
Tracfone increases
minutes on some refill cards
($20/60 min; $30/120 min; $50/250 min)
Updated Prepaid
Comparison Chart
Updated promotions
Updated STI info
revised Simple Freedom airtime
(special Sam's Club refills no longer exist)
Updated Roadrunner page
Cingular Blue TDMA-based prepaid plans will be discontinued on 1/1/2006
... the best deal in prepaid goes down
(Inculdes Beyond Wireless, CallPlus, Locus Wireless, etc.)
(you can continue current service, but can't sign up for new service)
Cingular rolls out PTT
Cingular rolls out UMTS / HSPDA 3G data
(data cards only - GSM phones are not compatible with 3G)
November 2005
Moved Net10
from the Hybrid
Prepay Chart to the
Regular Prepay Chart
(airtime now as low as $15/month)
Updated Hybrid Prepaid Comparison Chart
Verizon Inpulse adds MMS (15c) and WAP (99c/day if used)
USC;s plans downgraded ($2 increase on n/we, no more text option)
Updated Prepaid
Comparison Chart
(USC's Talk Tracker Prepaid Plan is gone as of
11/1 - no great loss)
(STI Mobile texting is now
charged as 5c to send and receive)
(added Call Waiting feature - as Boost & STI does not support it)
(added Call Forwarding Feature)
Unicel seriously degrades plans
Off-peak minutes cut back and LD only good in-network!
The party is over in Northern New England!
Moved Xtreme Mobile to
the Hybrid Prepay Plans
as the 60c/day fee is now mandatory
Added Cellular Abroad (International
Prepaid SIMs) to the Links Page
Added info on Tracfone Canadian LD
CPS Wireless activation airtime less than expected 90 days
(active only 62 days - not recommended, there is no advantage over PagePlus)
October 2005
Viva Wireless drops 25c connection fee
(still not that attractive - 30 day airtime expiration)
I finally caved and added STI Mobile (l should never have
caved)
(they finally updated their site and local numbers are more available now)
Boost
reduces M2M rate to 10c/minute 24/7
Updated Sprint PCS maps
(EV-DO coverage for Boston & NYC)
Sprint PCS adds new plans:
Fair & Flexible $30/200 anytime minute plan
Free Incoming plans
(Free incoming plans now available from Sprint PCS, Nextel, US Cellular)
Added Xtreme Mobile to prepaid
comparison chart
(Sprint PCS MVNO that allows roaming)
(low cost leader at $20/month for nights & weekends)
Boston/New England Coverage
Map (including EV-DO coverage)
Updated Sprint PCS Boston/New England Coverage
Map (including EV-DO coverage)
Updated Cingular GSM National Map
Cingular GSM Network Integration complete in
NH Suncom System
(network now running 310-410)
Boost
$50 Premium Plan goes nationwide
September 2005
Updated Roadrunner page
Coverage Report in Twin Mountain, NH
Updated Prepaid
Comparison Chart
revised promotions
Updated Simple Freedom coverage map
Updated Simple Freedom prepaid phones
Updated Prepaid
Comparison Chart
Page Plus voicemail deposits sometimes do use airtime
(added minimum usage requirement - let me know if you have data for the
chart)
New Sprint PCS and Nextel
plans start 9/1
(better plans in most cases)
Updated Roadrunner page
New Nextel
coverage in Ellsworth and Bar Harbor ME (thanks to Fred Staples for the report)
Updated My Stuff with new RF findings
August 2005
Updated the 850 vs 1900 page
Added the Motorola e815 to My Stuff
(Also added Page Plus Wireless and CPS Wireless)
Updated Prepaid Comparison
Chart
revised Tracfone promotions
Updated Roadrunner page
Updated Links Page
Updated Reno area URL
Added Cellreception the super
cell tower mapper and user reception site
Many reports of degraded TDMA operation
AT&T MVNO local coverage area shrinking - Cincinnati Bell & Carolinas
now roaming
Some U.S. Cellular & Unicel New England sites dropped TDMA (now AMPS-only)
It looks like 850 MHz is replacing 800 MHz for most cellular discussions
(except Nextel),
so I have done a global replace. Let me know of any mistakes!
The FCC and DOJ have approved the Sprint/Nextel merger |
