Verizon Plans, am I understanding them correctly?

**boone7247** · 11-08-2012, 10:10 AM

Due to US Cellulars decision to leave the Chicago market I will probably be moving to Verizon in December. It will be a family plan with three lines. My understanding from previous threads and the Verizon website the cost structure will be as follows.

$60 for two basic phones + $40 for smart phone + $50 for unlimited talk, text and 1 GB of data for a total of $150 plus taxes and fees.

For Verizon users is this how it is working out for you? Are there any hidden surprises in the billing?

Thanks to everyone in advance.

**ruxCYtable** · 11-08-2012, 10:13 AM

Go to verizonwireless.com. They have a calculator that will show you your pricing exactly based on how many smart/non-smartphones you have.

**DistrictCyclone** · 11-08-2012, 10:17 AM

Do it. Verizon > everyone else and it's not even close. I switched to Verizon recently after being with AT&T for a decade, and it's night and day. My bill's about $10 more per month for the same limits, but their data network is leagues beyond AT&T's. Faster, more extensive, fewer problems connecting, doesn't drain your phone battery due to constant connection issues, it doesn't take a whole 30 seconds just to place a call, etc. I could go on and on.

**Clonefan94** · 11-08-2012, 10:22 AM

My wife and I are not having any issues at all. Pricing has been exact every month. Amazing what you are paying in Taxes, none the less, I haven't seen any issues of being nickeled and dimed. Although, make sure 1Gig is goign to be enough, because if you go over, that's when they will start nickel and diming you. Although I use the data quite a bit, no streaming of movies though, although I have streamed a couple radio broadcasts of cyclone games and we haven't even come close to 2 Gigs/month yet.

**CySmitty** · 11-08-2012, 10:29 AM

Pre paid service > Post paid service

Page Plus > Verizon

**boone7247** · 11-08-2012, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by Clonefan94

My wife and I are not having any issues at all. Pricing has been exact every month. Amazing what you are paying in Taxes, none the less, I haven't seen any issues of being nickeled and dimed. Although, make sure 1Gig is goign to be enough, because if you go over, that's when they will start nickel and diming you. Although I use the data quite a bit, no streaming of movies though, although I have streamed a couple radio broadcasts of cyclone games and we haven't even come close to 2 Gigs/month yet.

I am still debating how much data I need. I will probably start at the 2 or 3 GB level then come down if I am not using just to avoid any pitfalls. Happy to hear there weren't any surprises for you.

**Tailg8er** · 11-08-2012, 10:49 AM

Speaking to a Verizon rep recently, I think they said now if you go over on data it's just a flat $10 more per gig.

Personally, I'm going to be spending out my @ss for a new phone instead of upgrading directly thru Verizon so I don't lose my unlimited data. Went over 5GB of data last month just with Pandora, frequent web browsing, & the occasional short video. (No internet/Wi-Fi at work)

I assume my usage will only go up once I finally go 4G too.

**Judoka** · 11-08-2012, 10:51 AM

Protip: Never, ever, ever, ever trust anything a Verizon rep tells you. Even if they are well intentioned it is usually wrong.

**greatshu** · 11-08-2012, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by boone7247

Due to US Cellulars decision to leave the Chicago market I will probably be moving to Verizon in December. It will be a family plan with three lines. My understanding from previous threads and the Verizon website the cost structure will be as follows.

$60 for two basic phones + $40 for smart phone + $50 for unlimited talk, text and 1 GB of data for a total of $150 plus taxes and fees.

For Verizon users is this how it is working out for you? Are there any hidden surprises in the billing?

Thanks to everyone in advance.

Since you live in Chicago, your coverage should be good with pretty much any carrier. I have AT&T, but I heard Sprint is the cheapest with unlimited data/talk/text.

**JWIL4CY** · 11-08-2012, 10:55 AM

I really don't understand why people are still on post-paid plans. Pre-paid plans offer the same coverage for less than half the price. For example, I took my Verizon phone to page plus cellular which uses the exact same towers as Verizon and I only pay $30 a month. Straight Talk is another great one with probably the cheapest prices. This website compares all the prepaid carriers and has all the info you need:

Prepaid Phone News

**Tailg8er** · 11-08-2012, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by JWIL4CY

I really don't understand why people are still on post-paid plans. Pre-paid plans offer the same coverage for less than half the price. For example, I took my Verizon phone to page plus cellular which uses the exact same towers as Verizon and I only pay $30 a month. Straight Talk is another great one with probably the cheapest prices. This website compares all the prepaid carriers and has all the info you need:

Prepaid Phone News

Are you sure they use the same towers / have the same coverage? I've looked at the little booklets of info on a few of those services & the coverage maps were COMPLETE garbage.

**JWIL4CY** · 11-08-2012, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by Tailg8er

Are you sure they use the same towers / have the same coverage? I've looked at the little booklets of info on a few of those services & the coverage maps were COMPLETE garbage.

It depends on the carrier. Page plus has the same exact coverage as Verizon, the only difference is that they only have 3G and not 4G. However, they plan on having it in the near future. Most of the pre-paid carriers are what's called Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), so they don't have their own towers but pay to use Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint's network.

**Tailg8er** · 11-08-2012, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by JWIL4CY

It depends on the carrier. Page plus has the same exact coverage as Verizon, the only difference is that they only have 3G and not 4G. However, they plan on having it in the near future. Most of the pre-paid carriers are what's called Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO), so they don't have their own towers but pay to use Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint's network.

Interesting.

Do you need a specific 'Page Plus' phone, or will any Verizon phone work? I assume since there's no contract they don't offer much of a discount on phones?

My VZW contract is up in January so I'll definitely look into this more then. 4G is pretty important to me on my next phone, though.

**JWIL4CY** · 11-08-2012, 11:47 AM

Originally Posted by Tailg8er

Interesting.

Do you need a specific 'Page Plus' phone, or will any Verizon phone work? I assume since there's no contract they don't offer much of a discount on phones?

My VZW contract is up in January so I'll definitely look into this more then. 4G is pretty important to me on my next phone, though.

The great thing is there's no contract so you can try it out for a month and if it doesn't work for you then you're not out anything. Most are just 3G, but I believe the one's that have 4G are T-Mobile, Boost Mobile, Cricket, MetroPCS, and Simple Mobile.

Most prepaid carriers sell their own phones or you can bring your own. You can use any Verizon phone on Page Plus. If you want a top of the line phone you'd either have to buy the unlocked version or buy it used from craiglist/ebay. There's an LG Nexus 4 that I believe is coming out this week that's in the same tier as the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Iphone 5 that sells unlocked for only $299.