![]() ![]() The main drawback compared to Google Fi is that Fi lets you use your phone internationally at the same cost, while Mint charges separately for international use. I haven't had to use Mint's customer service switching my service and phone number was a breeze. Service has been fine in my area, and since I'm at home most of the time, Wi-Fi calling makes for more reliable performance. For $15/month, I get 3GB of data and have never come close to running out. With Mint, you get more data for less money. Read More: Is Project Fi Worth It? 7 Things to Know Before You Switch And since Fi charges $20/month for calling and texting, spending $35 or more in a month when I used more data than average started to make the service feel like less of a value. However, when traveling, I would often use more data than usual. And typically, I didn't use more than 1GB of data per month. The service worked well for me because you only pay for the data you use (at $10/GB). For several years, I was a Google Fi (formerly Project Fi) subscriber. I switched to Mint Mobile in April 2020 and have been quite happy with it so far. To give you an idea of the full cost, the $180 3GB, 12-month plan cost me $203.38 in total.Ī Mint Mobile Review: How Well Does It Work? Keep in mind that these prices do not include taxes and fees. Unlimited data: $30/month ($360 total for 12 months).Unlimited data: $35/month ($210 total for six months)Īnd if you go for the 12-month plan, here's what you'll pay:.12GB: $35/month ($210 total for six months).8GB: $25/month ($150 total for six months).3GB: $20/month ($120 total for six months).Unlimited data: $40/month ($120 total for three months)įor the 6-month plans, Mint's pricing is as follows:.12GB: $45/month ($135 total for three months).8GB: $35/month ($105 total for three months).3GB: $25/month ($75 total for three months).Here's how the pricing breaks down for the 3-month plans: After that, you must switch to whichever full priced plan is right for you. In the near future, when 5G networks are the standard, budget carriers will see maximum 5G speeds throttled to 4G/LTE or 3G.New customers can sign up to a special intro plan, which gives you three months of service at the lower 12-month rate. Currently, most budget-network users see maximum 4G/LTE speeds that are throttled down to 3G (and maybe 2G) during periods of high network congestion. (Many have coverage maps on their sites.) If you’re in a city and don’t travel much, you should be fine with most services, as all three major carriers cover urban areas. If I am interested, how do I find the one that’s best for me?īecause budget carriers ride on major networks, first check to see which network best serves your location. No frills: Don’t expect free access to streaming services or discounts on related products. Plan options: You’re not going to get as many of them.ĥ. You’ll do a lot more self-service and self-troubleshooting with a bargain carrier. And if you’re looking to finance a phone instead of buying it outright, that is not always an option.ģ. Bargain carriers don’t always have the latest models of smartphones available for sale, and instead might offer cheaper phones that are a couple of generations old. So during busy times, you may not be getting optimal performance.Ģ. However, when the major carrier’s network gets congested, it has the right to slow the speed it provides to phones on the budget network. When a budget carrier purchases space on a major carrier’s network, they often can access the same maximum speed that the network can generate. There are a few, and the amount that each might affect you varies by the carrier you choose.ġ. Without the costs of building and maintaining their own infrastructure, budget carriers save a lot of money, and they pass some of those savings on to you. Instead, they purchase excess transmission capacity on the nationwide networks of the big three carriers. Although some might have regional networks, very few actually have their own cell towers. Budget carriers - also called MVNOs or mobile virtual network operators - are different. Those companies have built towers and networks across the country, providing coverage nearly everywhere. The United States has three main mobile carriers: Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile (which recently merged with Sprint). There must be a catch, right? We decided to find out. (Some of the ads were even kind of funny.) What all of these companies have in common is incredibly cheap pricing, often for unlimited data plans. If you watched any football this fall, you saw countless ads for discount cell-phone plans from companies like Cricket, Mint, and Metro by T-Mobile. Photo: CBS Photo Archive/Getty/CBS via Getty Images ![]()
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