All of the major cellular providers naturally advertise their strengths. Examples would be fewest dropped calls, most 'anytime' minutes, plan flexibility, etc. Some of these claims lend themselves to debate; so, after grabbing brochures among the many cellular kiosks in the local mall, we decided to check out the four biggies -- Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon -- and compare their offerings and prices. These prices are as of June, 2006 and are based on a national single line in twenty major market cities in the U.S.: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC.
$29.99/mo.
T-Mobile: 300 anytime min.
Unlimited weekend min.
0 mobile-to-mobile min.
Cingular: -no plan offered-
Verizon: -no plan offered-
Sprint: 200 anytime min.
Unlimited night min. (7:00 p.m.)
0 mobile-to-mobile min.
$39.99/mo.
T-Mobile: 1,000 anytime min. only
or
600 anytime min. and
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
0 mobile-to-mobile min.
Cingular: 450 anytime min.
5,000 night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
Unlimited mobile-to-mobile min.
Verizon: 450 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
Unlimited mobile-to-mobile min.
Sprint: 400 anytime min.
Unlimited night min. (7:00p.m.)
0 mobile-to-mobile min.
$49.99/mo.
T-Mobile: 1,000 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
0 mobile-to-mobile min.
Cingular: -no plan offered-
Verizon: -no plan offered-
Sprint: -no plan offered-
$59.99/mo.
T-Mobile: 1,500 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
0 mobile-to-mobile min.
Cingular: 900 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
Unlimited mobile-to-mobile min.
Verizon: 900 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
Unlimited mobile-to-mobile min.
Sprint: 1,000 anytime min.
Unlimited night min. (7:00 p.m.)
0 mobile-to-mobile min.
$79.00/mo.
T-Mobile: -no plan offered-
Cingular: 1,350 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
Unlimited mobile-to-mobile
Verizon: 1,350 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
Unlimited mobile-to-mobile min.
Sprint: 1,400 anytime min.
Unlimited night min. (7:00 p.m.)
0 mobile-to-mobile min.
$99.99/mo.
T-Mobile: 2,500 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
0 mobile-to-mobile min.
Cingular: 2,000 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
Unlimited mobile-to-mobile min.
Verizon: 2,000 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
Unlimited mobile-to-mobile min.
Sprint: 2,000 anytime min.
Unlimited night min. (7:00 p.m.)
0 mobile-to-mobile min.
$129.00/mo.
T-Mobile: 5,000 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
0 mobile-to-mobile min.
Cingular: 4,000 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
Unlimited mobile-to-mobile min.
Verizon: 4,000 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
Unlimited mobile-to-mobile min.
Sprint: 4,000 anytime min.
Unlimited night min. (7:00 p.m.)
0 mobile-to-mobile min.
$199.00/mo.
T-Mobile: -no plan offered-
Cingular: 6,000 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
Unlimited mobile-to-mobile min.
Verizon: 6,000 anytime min.
Unlimited night (9:00 p.m.) & weekend min.
Unlimited mobile-to-mobile min.
Sprint: Unlimited anytime min.
The offerings above do not include optional upgrades offered at an additional cost to such things as earlier night minutes or unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes.
Based on the above data, it appears that the most cost effective provider from an 'anytime' minutes perspective is T-Mobile. T-Mobile offers unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes for an additional $6.99 per month. Both Cingular and Sprint offer a bit more flexibility as to when night minutes can startalso at an additional cost.
Of course, pricing is only part of the selection process. Regardless of price, the company that provides the best coverage in your area would probably still be the way to go. But be careful. We couldn't even make calls from our home with the company who claims the largest network. We switched to the one offering the most anytime minutes, and so far, we haven't found a place in our state of Colorado where we haven't been able to make a call although the difference might have been in the phones themselves. |
