Comparison of Unlimited/High Volume Prepaid Wireless Phone Plans Added to the Prepaid Wireless Web Site
SMS
plans hitting the market in the past few months, I added a comparison
table to the prepaid web site at "http://prepaiduswireless.com/".
PagePlus (Verizon MVNO) offers 1200 minutes, 1200 text or MMS messages,
and 50MB of data for under $25/month. They offer unlimited voice,
unlimited texting (but not MMS) and 20MB of data for under $33/month.
Boost offers unlimited voice, messaging, and 3G data for $50/month on
Sprint's CDMA network (plus garbage fees). This isn't the iDEN unlimited
plan on the horrible Nextel network. The downsides are a) to use a smart
phone requires some convoluted actions to get it activated and b) there
is no roaming off of Sprint's limited native network.
John Navas
wrote in <4ad3c27c$0$1638$742e...@news.sonic.net>:
>Boost offers unlimited voice, messaging, and 3G data for $50/month on
>Sprint's CDMA network (plus garbage fees). This isn't the iDEN unlimited
>plan on the horrible Nextel network. The downsides are a) to use a smart
>phone requires some convoluted actions to get it activated and b) there
>is no roaming off of Sprint's limited native network.
Sprint's own network is actually quite good.
--
Best regards,
John <http:/navasgroup.com>
If the iPhone is really so impressive,
why do iFans keep making excuses for it?
George
> On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:59:04 -0700, SMS <scharf...@geemail.com>
> wrote in <4ad3c27c$0$1638$742e...@news.sonic.net>:
>
>> Boost offers unlimited voice, messaging, and 3G data for $50/month on
>> Sprint's CDMA network (plus garbage fees). This isn't the iDEN unlimited
>> plan on the horrible Nextel network. The downsides are a) to use a smart
>> phone requires some convoluted actions to get it activated and b) there
>> is no roaming off of Sprint's limited native network.
>
> Sprint's own network is actually quite good.
>
stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. I am
sure you can produce a cite from the "Navas Group" which will claim that
well known phenomena isn't true.
SMS
> That wouldn't be the case within say 200 miles of me. Also Sprint is
> stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. I am
> sure you can produce a cite from the "Navas Group" which will claim that
> well known phenomena isn't true.
Sprint's native network is very limited in geographic coverage and is,
as you state, at the less desirable 1900 MHz. Postpaid Sprint users have
the benefit of being able to roam, at no extra cost, on other CDMA
networks. Many Sprint phones can be forced to roam, so even in areas
with Sprint native coverage you can force it onto Verizon which is often
useful because the 800 MHz network is much better.
The problem with Sprint prepaid (Boost CDMA, Virgin CDMA) is that they
limit you to Sprint's native network. If you look at the Sprint coverage
map at "http://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp?language=EN" all the gray
areas are roaming and are not available to prepaid users. EIYJN.
SMS
> That wouldn't be the case within say 200 miles of me. Also Sprint is
> stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. I am
> sure you can produce a cite from the "Navas Group" which will claim that
> well known phenomena isn't true.
When selecting a prepaid carrier, if coverage outside of major urban
areas is a concern, then choose one that allows roaming onto any
available (technology-compatible) carrier, even if it costs extra for
that roaming.
Some Tracfone models allow roaming at 2x the regular rate. PagePlus
offers roaming at 59�/minute. Verizon InPulse offers roaming at
20�/minute. None of the Sprint prepaid carriers allow roaming. T-Mobile
does allow more and more roaming on prepaid (they used to only allow
roaming onto other 1900 MHz carriers). AT&T limits roaming severely
(compare their coverage maps for postpaid and prepaid).
SMS
> That wouldn't be the case within say 200 miles of me. Also Sprint is
> stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. I am
> sure you can produce a cite from the "Navas Group" which will claim that
> well known phenomena isn't true.
LOL, actually he's claimed that the "phenomena" isn't true many times in
the past, with no cite at all, not even citing himself as he likes to do.
However since in the past week AT&T themselves have stated that 850MHz
has better in-building coverage and range, I don't think he'll be
issuing this claim again.
Dennis Ferguson
In fact most propagation models don't think indoor propagation is
affected much by frequency, at least the frequencies mobiles use.
Older research found higher frequencies penetrate a little better,
newer measurements usually find lower is a little better (here's a
recent one google found:
http://www.co.it.pt/conftele2007/assets/papers/antennas/paper_16.pdf
), but the difference is usually small. COST231's model for office
propagation at mobile frequencies assumes frequency doesn't matter,
see the bottom of this page:
http://www.wirelesscommunication.nl/reference/chaptr03/indoor.htm
The real issue isn't how much the building knocks down the signal
at different frequencies, that doesn't change much. Instead the
issue is how much signal you have outside the building before
the building penetration knocks it down and here the lower
frequencies have a distinct advantage, the same as with outdoor
coverage.
850 MHz does provide better coverage, but less capacity per unit
area of coverage. More cell towers would provide both better coverage
(indoors and out) and greater capacity. I wonder which AT&T would
prefer?
Dennis Ferguson
SMS
> In fact most propagation models don't think indoor propagation is
> affected much by frequency, at least the frequencies mobiles use.
Pretty sure that AT&T (and the other carriers) are looking at it from
the more practical aspect of having a stronger signal just outside the
building with the lower frequency. True, if you construct two cells
right outside a building then it won't much matter whether it's 800 or
1900 MHz. If the two cells are a few miles away then it matters a lot.
I wish the EPA Ikea would put in some pico cells in their building.
There are towers for all the major carriers within 1/4 mile of the store
so clearly it's not a lack of coverage issue, it's something about the
building's construction.
John Navas
in <hb1qg5$4ht$3...@news.eternal-september.org>:
>John Navas wrote:
>> On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:59:04 -0700, SMS <scharf...@geemail.com>
>> wrote in <4ad3c27c$0$1638$742e...@news.sonic.net>:
>>
>>> Boost offers unlimited voice, messaging, and 3G data for $50/month on
>>> Sprint's CDMA network (plus garbage fees). This isn't the iDEN unlimited
>>> plan on the horrible Nextel network. The downsides are a) to use a smart
>>> phone requires some convoluted actions to get it activated and b) there
>>> is no roaming off of Sprint's limited native network.
>>
>> Sprint's own network is actually quite good.
>>
>That wouldn't be the case within say 200 miles of me.
Middle of the desert?
>Also Sprint is
>stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. ...
Simply not true.
John Navas
wrote in <4ad4e465$0$1604$742e...@news.sonic.net>:
>Dennis Ferguson wrote:
>
>> In fact most propagation models don't think indoor propagation is
>> affected much by frequency, at least the frequencies mobiles use.
>
>Pretty sure that AT&T (and the other carriers) are looking at it from
>the more practical aspect of having a stronger signal just outside the
>building with the lower frequency. True, if you construct two cells
>right outside a building then it won't much matter whether it's 800 or
>1900 MHz. If the two cells are a few miles away then it matters a lot.
Actually not.
John Navas
wrote in <4ad4a5ba$0$1597$742e...@news.sonic.net>:
>George wrote:
>
>> That wouldn't be the case within say 200 miles of me. Also Sprint is
>> stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. I am
>> sure you can produce a cite from the "Navas Group" which will claim that
>> well known phenomena isn't true.
>
>LOL, actually he's claimed that the "phenomena" isn't true many times in
>the past, with no cite at all, not even citing himself as he likes to do.
I've actually cited a definitive technical paper by a genuine expert.
You've cited nothing.
>However since in the past week AT&T themselves have stated that 850MHz
>has better in-building coverage and range, I don't think he'll be
>issuing this claim again.
Simply not true, just your misunderstanding of what was actually said.
SMS
> 850 MHz does provide better coverage, but less capacity per unit
> area of coverage.
Never forget the "EIYJN" qualifier when stating that fact.
Richard B. Gilbert
Could you be a little less cryptic? EIYJN??
Paul Miner
I'm guessing it means "Except if you're J. N.". You can probably
figure it out from there.
--
Paul Miner
SMS
Except If You're......
Facts have no place in his world.
Larry
$742e...@news.sonic.net:
> http://prepaiduswireless.com/
http://nordicgroup.us/prepaid/pageplus.html
Great information on how to get pageplus for 5.3c/minute and make sure your
account can never be dumped, just because you forgot to add minutes....
Man that's cheap!
--
Larry
SMS
Note that "http://nordicgroup.us/prepaid/pageplus.html" is a sub-page of
"http://prepaiduswireless.com/".
I added a section at the top of the PagePlus page with the pros and cons
of PagePlus which I list here:
Pros
----
* Per minute cost is the lowest of any prepaid carrier, as low as 5.3�.
* Minimum monthly cost, for low volume users, is as low as $2.30 per
month. Only T-Mobile has a lower minimum monthly cost (once you become
"Gold" on T-Mobile prepaid, by spending $100, future refills (including
the $10 refill) last 365 days).
* Coverage is the best of any prepaid carrier (equal to the coverage on
Verizon's own prepaid service); far better coverage than AT&T, T-Mobile,
Virgin, Boost, or Tracfone GSM.
* Coverage is better than all postpaid carriers other than Verizon.
* No taxes, E-911 fees, or garbage fees (there is a 50� per month
service charge).
* Expiration time of 120 days applies even to their lowest cost cards.
* Roaming off Verizon allowed, albeit at extra cost, so your phone will
work on any CDMA network in the U.S. (many prepaid carriers don't allow
roaming or they limit roaming).
* Online account management of multiple phone numbers from one PagePlus
log-in.
* Low cost unlimited plan (<$33/month) which includes voice, texts, and
20MB of data (3G if your phone supports it). Additional data cost $0.60/MB.
* Low cost high-volume plan (<$25/month) which includes 1200 voice
minutes, 1200 text or MMS messages, and 50MB of data (3G if your phone
supports it). Additional data cost $0.60/MB.
* 3G and 2G data is available for $1.20/MB (not cheap but the few other
carriers that offer 3G data at all charge much more for it).
* Low speed QNC data available at no cost. This is an unofficial feature
and is not supported by all handsets, and is not guaranteed to be
available forever. Press for a Google Search of PagePlus & QNC. QNC is
fine for text based e-mail, but is really too slow for web browsing.
* Low $5 start-up cost (actually it's possible to get started for free).
* Automatic refills available to protect against account expiration.
* Phone number porting available at no cost.
* Smart Phones are supported on all types of plans.
* Wide availability of low-cost handsets, both new and used.
* Verizon back-door numbers for voice mail access work with PagePlus.
* Verizon e-mail to text message work with PagePlus.
* Excellent, U.S. based, customer service.
* Retail dealers available in many areas.
Cons
----
* Roaming costs 59� per minute so it isn't a suitable carrier if you
spend a lot of time outside Verizon's network footprint.
* 50� per month service charge.
* The maximum period for automatic refills is 30 days so you can't have
it automatically add $10 every 120 days (there is a workaround though).
* If your account expires you lose your accumulated money, though
customer service has been known to restore all or part of it on a case
by case basis.
* No mobile to mobile free calls to or from Verizon's regular customers,
all calls are charged.
* No free off-peak calls, all calls are charged.
* No Blackberry server support.
* No high usage data plans.
* No official support for international roaming, though there have been
reports that it sometimes works in Canada and China (does not work in
Mexico).
* No subsidized or free handsets with contract or contract renewal.
* Automatic refills are at full retail price, you can't set up automatic
refills with refills purchased at a discount.
Larry
$742e...@news.sonic.net:
> * Automatic refills are at full retail price, you can't set up automatic
> refills with refills purchased at a discount.
>
>
I've setup the webpage author's instructions to automatically buy a
$10/83min card 3 times a year, making sure to recharge the account with
something, then buying the discount 1400 min card when necessary to
maintain a few hundred minute balance at all times, manually....probably
whenever the deep discount sales open up for pageplug cards.
It's a helluva deal for nationwide Verizon service, especially for light
users like me.
and NO FUNNY BUSINESS....which is greatly appreciated.
--
Larry