Verizon MVNOs for $5 3G refugees

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frater secessus

frater secessus

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Split off from Jim's epic $5 3G thread:

C-Cat said:
Are there any other "legal" alternatives on Verizon's network (third party vendors or MVNOs), even if they may be a bit pricier and not necessarily unlimited?
Click to expand...

Two interesting Verizon MVNOs I've found so far are:
  • US Mobile - $35+ per month, depending on the speed you pick.  I don't stream so the cheap 1mbps speed is fine for me.  Their custom plan selector is BOSS.  They actually have Verizon and TMO;  Super LTE == Verizon, GSM LTE = TMO.  After 12+ gigs you are throttled but not cut off.  I already ordered the SIM.  :)
  • Total Wireless - $33.20 per month with autopay discount.  5GB full speed then cut off.  Additional 5GB available for $10.
 
The question asked was about Verizon, so that's the one I answered.

I have ATT, Verizon, and Tmo setups of different flavors, and all are pretty good. I have been in a couple places where verizon was the only one with service, and on HWY 9 in New Mexico there was about a half-hour when there was no signal for any of them.

TMO has gone from "only big cities" to pretty thorough coverage.
 
PCs for people $10/mo mifi. Income dependent. Per jimindenver.

Tracfone $10+ 1.5GB/ mo. (ATT?)

Combine with others to create group. I pay $40/ mo VZN kind’a-unlimited, (but they have good credit).

I have a couple others around, but no details yet.
 
frater secessus said:
Split off from Jim's epic $5 3G thread:


Two interesting Verizon MVNOs I've found so far are:
  • US Mobile - $35+ per month, depending on the speed you pick.  I don't stream so the cheap 1mbps speed is fine for me.  Their custom plan selector is BOSS.  They actually have Verizon and TMO;  Super LTE == Verizon, GSM LTE = TMO.  After 12+ gigs you are throttled but not cut off.  I already ordered the SIM.  :)
  • Total Wireless - $33.20 per month with autopay discount.  5GB full speed then cut off.  Additional 5GB available for $10.
Click to expand...

Very interesting... now there are still a few questions: there seems to be a hard cut off for hotspot usage (which is what I'm doing) and it's not really clear if one can use a bring-your-own hotspot (I have a Pantech 291L sitting around). Not necessarily a deal breaker, but something to be aware of. An LTE tablet with a SIM slot might be a better device for these plans if you really want to make use of their "unlimited" data... ;)
Anyway, thanks much for the info!
 
Yes let's keep this one to VZW towers only.

Tracfone does offer as an option, but last I looked $12 a GB.

only $10 a month keeps it alive, and whatever units you buy carry over until you use them, so maybe good for backup if a TMO reseller is your primary.

PCS for people is Sprint only right?
 
I use VISIBLE on my iPhone SE with internal 4G hotspot for one device. It is $40 a month unlimited data. 480p video streaming quality on Verizon cell towers.

You can use the iPhone SE hotspot , or you can just use the iPhone and connect via the LIGHTNING TO HDTV adapter. Either way still $40 a month unlimited.

Visible.com is an MVNO for Verizon

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for the info - I really like this one so far... let me ask you (since I could not find the answer on their website yet), is the hotspot usage limited in any way (besides the video resolution reduction)? A lot of other providers / plans slow the hotspot usage to a crawl after a certain point (usually around 22GB)...
 
Goshawk said:
I use VISIBLE on my iPhone SE with internal 4G hotspot for one device. It is $40 a month unlimited data. 480p video streaming quality on Verizon cell towers.

You can use the iPhone SE hotspot , or you can just use the iPhone and connect via the LIGHTNING TO HDTV adapter. Either way still $40 a month unlimited.

Visible.com is an MVNO for Verizon

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
That's a new one to me...iPhone only though, which leaves me saying no thanks.
One device at a time can tether via iPhone hotspot - but it supports unlimited hotspot (for that one device at a time) and unlimited data at max 5Mbps. 
Good plan for some people.
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/what-is-verizon-visible-and-is-it-a-good-deal/
 
$40 for true unlimited on Verizon is a really great deal 

still iPhone-only?
throttled to 5mbit and 480p 
when Android allowed, only VZW VoLTE-eligible, few models
doesn’t use 3G/CDMA, LTE only
no roaming so no coverage in the thumb area of Michigan, southeast Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, & West Virginia

app required, mining data VZW collects and sells user data, privacy/security issues
No VPN allowed?

Yes an MVNO, was XO communications, bought by VZW, CEO is also a VP there

likely will block unauthorized hotspotting
no CS help desk

$35 for Verizon MVNO Total Wireless is better if 5GB is enough, e.g. just for backup purposes
 
Another backup option might be the FMCA Verizon deal... $49 a month for 25gig (even though they say it's unlimited, it's hard throttled to around 70kbps so that it becomes totally unusable - it's essentially a 25gig high-speed plan). You even get a free mifi hotspot when you sign up. Downside: it's a 2 year contract ($175 pro-rated early termination fee) and your FMCA membership also needs to cover those 2 years (100 bucks if you don't have that already). But if you already pay annually for FMCA anyway (as we do), 25gig a month un-throttled Verizon for $49 may not be such a bad deal... ;)
 
I'm an FMCA member and I have the Verizon plan. It is fast and works well.

I am happy with it, and $2 a GB is pretty cheap data too.

Like most discount plans, it takes an effort to get everything set up with the discount.
 
Cool, thanks for chiming in! :) Could you tell us more about the set up procedure? And what is your experience past 25gig (if you have used that much, of course) - is it ~70kbps? And is this plan / device able to also utilize the 3g network if no LTE is available?
 
If anyone is serious and ready to join the plan, i will type all the details.
 
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