Older Events
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Jitterbug Recalls Phones for Lack of Off-Network 911 Service See http://www.jitterbug.com/CustomerService/SoftwareUpdate.aspx. |
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PagePlus Updates Coverage Map The hopelessly outdated PagePlus coverage map has been updated. It is now interactive. See http://www.pagepluscellular.com/Why%20Page%20Plus/Coverage%20Map.aspx. I'm not sure how accurate the new map is in terms of roaming. I have not been charged roaming charges on PagePlus in one of the areas they show as roaming (Golden State Cellular coverage area around Yosemite, Sonora, etc.). However in the Crater Lake area of southern Oregon, which shows as roaming, I was roaming on PagePlus. The map also shows no coverage at all in Canada, but users of PagePlus have reported being able to use their phones in Canada. |
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PagePlus offers Unlimited Texting for $16.39/month While the whole country is still aghast at PagePlus's unlimited voice, texting, and 20MB of data for less than $33/month, for heavy texters that don't make a lot of calls, PagePlus now offers unlimited texting for $16.39./month. The retail price is $19.95/month, but since standard replenishment cards can be used to pay the monthly charge, the net cost is $16.39 if you pay the fee with $50 refill cards ($56 value) bought at an 8% discount from callingmart.com. $19.95 x 46.00 ÷ 56.00 = 16.39 ($46 = $50 minus an 8% discount from callingmart.com) |
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PagePlus offers Automatic Refills—Kind Of PagePlus now lets you add money to your account automatically. But you can't just add money automatically every 120 days to keep the account active. The minimum amount you can add under the auto-refill program is $10 per month. What you could do is to enable auto refill for monthly refills and make the start date the day before your current expiration, which at least protects your balance. Then, disable auto refill, and then re-start it the day before your next expiration date. I guess PagePlus doesn't want to encourage the use of "glove box phones" with only the absolute minimum added to the account every 120 days. |
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PagePlus Adds former Alltel Coverage Areas Even though the PagePlus coverage map is very out of date, PagePlus did recently issue a statement that they have added the former Alltel areas as non-roaming coverage. See the announcement at http://www.pagepluscellular.com/news/COVERAGE.PDF. I got a message from a PagePlus executive on September 11th 2009 saying that the new coverage maps would be up in a couple of weeks. |
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Verizon InPulse Phones Still Can be Activated on PagePlus A frequently asked question in various wireless forums is whether or not you can buy an inexpensive Verizon InPulse prepaid phone at a local retailer and activate it on PagePlus rather than on Verizon InPulse. As of August 19th 2009, it still works. I bought a Nokia 2555 at Best Buy for $19.99 and activated it with no problem on PagePlus through http://uglyeric.com (the activation took only minutes, and I didn't pay for rush service). You need to ensure that the retail store does not scan the bar code on the package labeled "SCAN BARCODE BELOW FOR ACTIVATION." Some retailers will insist on scanning this code (Wal-Mart). At Best Buy, take the phone up to the cashier at the front rather than paying at the cash register in the wireless department. At Target and Wal-Mart the prepaid phones are secured to the rack so you can't do this, and the employees in the wireless department are probably trained to not sell an InPulse phone without activation. At Best Buy and Walgreen's the prepaid phones are not locked up. I have read that InPulse phones purchased at Wal-Mart can in fact still be used on PagePlus even though when they scan the phone for activation at the register in the electronics department. Supposedly they are not really activating the phone but simply clearing the ESN so the phone cannot be stolen and used. However it's not clear what this actually does since the InPulse phones you get at Best Buy, where the cashier does not ""SCAN BARCODE BELOW FOR ACTIVATION," can be used on PagePlus as well. |
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PagePlus Unlimited Talk & Text + 20MB of Data < $33/month
As expected, PagePlus announced their new unlimited plan which rocked the mobile world with its aggressive pricing. While the advertised price is $39.95 per month, you can pay for this service with discounted PagePlus refills bringing the net cost down to under $33 per month. 20MB of data isn't a lot, but it's sufficient for MMS and moderate web use.
The net cost is less than the advertised $39.95. You can use refill cards that add 12% more money than their face value to your account and that cost 8.00% less than their face value. You do not have to use the $39.95 cards that they sell for unlimited service. The best card to buy is the $50 card that adds $56 of value to your account and that sells for $46 during periodic 8% off promotions from callingmart.com. The $50 face value card adds the largest percentage of extra value to your account (12% extra). You wouldn't buy the $50 card for a regular PagePlus account because the minutes on the $50 card are 8˘ each versus 6˘ each on the $80 card, but for the unlimited plan the per minute cost is of no concern.
With an 8% Discount Code from CallingMart (offered about six times a year) $46 buys you $56 worth of PagePlus money on the $50 refill card. $39.95 of PagePlus money is deducted each month for unlimited service.
$39.95 x 46.00 ÷ 56.00 = 32.82 ($46 = $50 minus an 8% discount from callingmart.com)
The extra $16.05 in PagePlus money ($56-$39.95) remains as a balance in your account. When you buy another $56 card (that costs you $46) the next month you'll have another extra $16.05 so your balance will be $32.10. The third month, when you buy another $56 card, your balance will be $48.15 and you won't need to add any thing for the fourth month. For example, your first eight months would look like the following:
PagePlus now offers automatic refills, charged to your credit card, for both their basic and their unlimited plan. If you sign up for automatic refills then you will pay the full $39.95/month for unlimited service. It may be worth the convenience of not remembering to add money each month (though you could always pay ahead with multiple discounted refill cards). Automatic refills raise the net monthly cost by about 22%.
Two advantages of PagePlus versus Sprint's Unlimited Boost Mobile CDMA service or Tracfone's StraightTalk service
1. On PagePlus you can use any Verizon compatible CDMA handset, including smart phones. On Boost Mobile CDMA, and StraightTalk CDMA, you're limited to a few phone models that they support (though on Boost CDMA it may be possible to have a CSR switch the activation to a Sprint compatible smart phone).
2. On PagePlus you are allowed to roam, at extra cost, off of Verizon's network. This means that the PagePlus phone is usable virtually anywhere in the U.S. that a CDMA network exists, something that isn't the case with those other plans.
Other plans rumored to be coming soon from PagePlus (these are all unconfirmed rumors):
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Verizon Discontinuing Some Back Door Voice Mail Access Numbers
I noticed that the San Jose number no longer works. San Francisco still works. |
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Alltel Discontinues their Own Prepaid Plans
Alltel no longer offers its own prepaid plans. New customers must select a Verizon prepaid plan. Alltel had a very good plan that offered what amounted to unlimited calling and unlimited texting for 75˘ per day when combined with a Google Voice account. |
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Verizon Changes their Prepaid InPulse Plans Rates $3.99/day (only on days used): Unlimited Voice, 1˘ per text. $1.99/day (only on days used): 5˘ peak minutes, free M2M, free nights and weekends, 5˘ per text. $0.99/day (only on days used): 10˘ minutes (all minutes except free M2M). No free nights or weekends. 10˘ per text. $0.00/day: 25˘ minutes (all minutes). No free M2M, no free nights or weekends. 20˘ per text.
Add-Ons $10/month for 250 text messages plus unlimited in-network texting $20/month for unlimited texting. Picture and Video Messaging - 25˘ per message Mobile Web: 99˘/day (only on days used).
Expiration You can now get a $100 prepaid card that has a 365 day expiration, so the no-fee plan would have a minimum monthly cost of $8.33/month.
It's hard to imagine why anyone wanting service on the Verizon network would choose InPulse over PagePlus, unless they were big mobile web users. $100/year plus 99˘/day (on days used) for unlimited mobile web is a good deal, especially if you can figure out how to tether. |
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Sprint Acquires Virgin Mobile
Sprint exited the prepaid business many years ago but has had a change of heart. Sprint is re-entering the prepaid market with its acquisition of Virgin Mobile. Virgin Mobile has been hemorrhaging customers as prepaid users flock to other MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) that offer lower prices, better coverage, and web sites that are geared toward customers more than ten years old. Sprint also operates Boost Mobile which was originally Nextel's prepaid service on the Nextel iDEN network, but which has since added CDMA service on Sprint's network. |
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Boost offers Unlimited Minutes, Texts, and Web for $50/month on Sprint's CDMA Network
Sprint's Boost prepaid service used to be limited to the Nextel iDEN network which has very limited coverage. Now Boost is offering $50 unlimited service on the Sprint CDMA network. But don't get too excited, there are a number of issues with this service:
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Google Voice is Here Enables Low Cost Unlimited Cellular when Combined with a Calling Circle or Single "Favorite" Number*
$35/month Unlimited Voice Minutes via Sprint to Home
Google is now offering its GrandCentral service to another million users under the new name of Google Voice. By combining your Google Voice number with a conventional postpaid cellular account that offers a calling circle, you can get unlimited cellular for a very low cost.
Using Sprint ($35/month plus fees), does not include texting 1. Sign up for the Sprint $29.99 basic plan (200 minutes) and add "Sprint to Home" for $5 more. 3. Set your home number as your Google Voice number. 4. Give out your Google Voice number as your contact number. 5. Forward all calls to your Google Voice number to your Sprint phone number.
Free incoming: Calls forwarded to your Sprint number from your Google Voice number are free because your Google Voice number is your Sprint "Sprint to Home Number." You must set up Google Voice to pass through your Google Voice number, not the actual caller's number that is calling Google Voice. Your Caller ID will always show your Google Voice number, not the caller's number.
Free outgoing: Call your "Sprint to Home" number (your Google Voice number) and place calls through Google Voice.
While this was a good deal up until August 7th 2009, you can now get unlimited voice, unlimited texts, and 20MB of data for $33/month on PagePlus, so the Sprint plan isn't all that great anymore. One advantage is that it does include off-network roaming at no extra cost. Some Sprint phones allow you to force roaming so you could force your phone onto Verizon in areas where Verizon coverage is better than Sprint coverage.
* Using Google Voice in conjunction with a calling circle or favorite number or "to home" number may violate your carrier's terms of service. |
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Virgin Mobile offers Broadband2Go Prepaid 3G Data for PCs (USB transceiver, not tethering). Available only at Best Buy.
Virgin Mobile is offering a pretty low price for occasional users of data (for notebooks with USB ports, not on a smart phone). You wouldn't get the $60 plan on a monthly basis since all the carriers offer 5GB of 3G data for $60, but for occasional use $20 for 250MB is better than paying $1.20-1.99/MB. You have to purchase a 3G USB transceiver for $150. Coverage is limited to the Sprint 3G network.
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Wal-Mart Offers StraightTalk 1000 minutes/1000 texts/30MB data/Free 411. $30. 30 day Expiration
Unlimited minutes/Unlimited texts/30MB data/Free 411. $45. 30 day Expiration
Limited selection of phones. No smart phones. No Roaming |