Considering move from Verizon to Boom!

[David Arnstein]

As far as I can tell, Verizon is changing my wireless voice/data plan.
I don't get subsidized handsets any more. So I am considering a move
to Boom! Mobile, which uses Verizon's network and costs less.

Before Verizon changed my plan, I did not perceive any advantage to
the low cost carriers. Low cost versus (high cost, with subsidized
iPhone) was a close contest in terms of dollars per month. Too close
to merit a change. Now it's different.

Is Boom! a good alternative? Is there a better one?

[David Kaye]

Post by David Arnstein
As far as I can tell, Verizon is changing my wireless voice/data plan.
I don't get subsidized handsets any more. So I am considering a move
to Boom! Mobile, which uses Verizon's network and costs less.

I dunno, Boom Mobile is a reseller of a bunch of plans, but I don't see
Verizon among them. I mean, heck, "H2O Wireless", "PagePlus", "Selectel"?
I've never heard of any of them.

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Mon, 12 Dec 2016 22:14:32 -0800, "David Kaye"

Post by David Kaye

Post by David Arnstein
As far as I can tell, Verizon is changing my wireless voice/data plan.
I don't get subsidized handsets any more. So I am considering a move
to Boom! Mobile, which uses Verizon's network and costs less.

I dunno, Boom Mobile is a reseller of a bunch of plans, but I don't see
Verizon among them. I mean, heck, "H2O Wireless", "PagePlus", "Selectel"?
I've never heard of any of them.

Try to get an MNVO that uses Verizon. I use PagePlus, which has been
around since 1993:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Page_Plus_Cellular>
Many of the MVNO's were purchased by TracFone, which is owned by
America Movil of Mexico:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TracFone_Wireless>
TracFone, Net10, SafeLink, Straight Talk, Total Wireless, SIMPLE
Mobile, Telcel, PagePlus, GoSmart, and Walmart Family are all part of
TracFone. As near as I can tell, they are all operated as independent
entities, which means that support, service, and plans are all
different. I've only had experience with Page Plus and have no
complaints. My average (voice only) bill is $15/month at 5 cents/min.

[David Kaye]

Post by Jeff Liebermann
Try to get an MNVO that uses Verizon. I use PagePlus, which has been

Well, it turns out there are two Boom Mobiles and they don't appear to be
related. There's boom.us and boommobile.com. Boom.us uses Verizon, which I
guess is the one he was referring to.

[sms]

Post by Jeff Liebermann
On Mon, 12 Dec 2016 22:14:32 -0800, "David Kaye"

Post by David Kaye

Post by David Arnstein
As far as I can tell, Verizon is changing my wireless voice/data plan.
I don't get subsidized handsets any more. So I am considering a move
to Boom! Mobile, which uses Verizon's network and costs less.

I dunno, Boom Mobile is a reseller of a bunch of plans, but I don't see
Verizon among them. I mean, heck, "H2O Wireless", "PagePlus", "Selectel"?
I've never heard of any of them.

Try to get an MNVO that uses Verizon. I use PagePlus, which has been

Another Verizon MVNO is Puppy Wireless.
<https://mypuppywireless.com/management/customerpos/en/rateplan/pos.aspx>

This company used to resell Page Plus and was called Kitty Wireless, but
after Tracfone bought Page Plus there was no money in reselling Page
Plus so the owner started his own MVNO.

Puppy: $40 3GB 4G Data (unlimited talk and text)
Selectel: $40 2GB 4G Data (unlimited talk and text)
PagePlus: $40 3GB 4G Data (unlimited talk and text), unlimited 2G data.
Verizon Prepaid: $50 5GB 4G Data (unlimited talk and text)

Watch the taxes and fees. Some places include them, some charge extra
for them. On some it depends where you buy the refills and it's less
expensive to do your own refills than to sign up for auto refill, but
it's a hassle.

The $10 extra might be worth it on Verizon itself for the extra data and
the lower hassle.

What is really odd is that Verizon's coverage locator shows better
coverage for prepaid than postpaid in areas where Verizon doesn't have
their own network, i.e. Alaska.

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[David Arnstein]

Post by sms
Puppy: $40 3GB 4G Data (unlimited talk and text)
Selectel: $40 2GB 4G Data (unlimited talk and text)
PagePlus: $40 3GB 4G Data (unlimited talk and text), unlimited 2G data.
Verizon Prepaid: $50 5GB 4G Data (unlimited talk and text)
Watch the taxes and fees. Some places include them, some charge extra
for them. On some it depends where you buy the refills and it's less
expensive to do your own refills than to sign up for auto refill, but
it's a hassle.

I appreciate your previous remark about the risk of subscribing to a
new, unproven service. But boom.us is such a good deal that I am tempted.
The parent company is ECG, which has been doing business in Oklahome
for a long time.

$30/month prepaid gets me 2 GBytes of 4G data, unlimited talk and text,
and hotspot privilige. Verizon charges extra for that. A lot extra.

That $30 includes all taxes and fees.

Boom.us gives you a choice of networks. Oddly enough, the price for all
of them seems to be the same. Why anyone would choose T-Mobile or Sprint
over Verizon or AT&T is a mystery to me.

[Roy]

Post by David Arnstein
...
$30/month prepaid gets me 2 GBytes of 4G data, unlimited talk and text,
and hotspot privilige. Verizon charges extra for that. A lot extra.
...

I don't know if that is true still. It was years ago but my plan
includes free hotspot

[sms]

Post by David Arnstein

Post by sms
Puppy: $40 3GB 4G Data (unlimited talk and text)
Selectel: $40 2GB 4G Data (unlimited talk and text)
PagePlus: $40 3GB 4G Data (unlimited talk and text), unlimited 2G data.
Verizon Prepaid: $50 5GB 4G Data (unlimited talk and text)
Watch the taxes and fees. Some places include them, some charge extra
for them. On some it depends where you buy the refills and it's less
expensive to do your own refills than to sign up for auto refill, but
it's a hassle.

I appreciate your previous remark about the risk of subscribing to a
new, unproven service. But boom.us is such a good deal that I am tempted.
The parent company is ECG, which has been doing business in Oklahome
for a long time.
$30/month prepaid gets me 2 GBytes of 4G data, unlimited talk and text,
and hotspot privilige. Verizon charges extra for that. A lot extra.
That $30 includes all taxes and fees.

Yes, that's a very good deal.

There is a thread about Boom on Howard Forums:
<http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1885776-Boom-Mobile-(vzw)>

The owner posts a lot. The fact that taxes and fees are bundled into the
price is a big deal since those can easily add 20-25% to other company's
costs. Also, they apparently include the same coverage as postpaid,
including roaming.

In the T&C they say that they can charge taxes and fees, but at least
for now they are not. Pageplus used to not charge these either, but now
they do.

It's worth a try.

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[sms]

On 12/14/2016 12:46 PM, David Arnstein wrote:

<snip>

Post by David Arnstein
Boom.us gives you a choice of networks. Oddly enough, the price for all
of them seems to be the same. Why anyone would choose T-Mobile or Sprint
over Verizon or AT&T is a mystery to me.

Let us know how Boom works out.

BTW, Boom does not offer any AT&T individual plans, only business plans.
I could get a business plan but they are not much of a deal.

Interesting that you're spending less on a Verizon plan with 2GB of data
and unlimited talk and text than someone else on this forum is spending
for a dumb phone plan on Verizon!

I think that any future phones I buy will have to be compatible with
both Verizon and AT&T. The Verizon iPhones are (but not the AT&T
iPhones) as are a few Android phones (Moto G4, LG G5, Google Pixel). I
picked up a Moto G4 on Black Friday at Costco for $170, in preparation
for this, and they have them back on sale again
<http://membershipwireless.com/content/motorola>



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[David Arnstein]

Post by sms
Let us know how Boom works out.

I will. I am going to wait for my next Verizon bill to arrive before I
decide. Verizon forced me off my old plan (in force since 1999!) and
I want to see what the true cost will be, inclusive of all the bullshit
"taxes."

Post by sms
Interesting that you're spending less on a Verizon plan with 2GB of data
and unlimited talk and text than someone else on this forum is spending
for a dumb phone plan on Verizon!

Here's another pricing anomaly. The 2 GByte plan that I am considering
costs $30. I am thinking about switching my owl to Boom, so I looked
for an appropriate "family" plan. The best one I could find is: 4 GBytes,
two lines, $90! I have to wonder if they have sold even one of these
plans.

[Travis James]

Post by David Arnstein
Here's another pricing anomaly. The 2 GByte plan that I am considering
costs $30. I am thinking about switching my owl to Boom, so I looked
for an appropriate "family" plan. The best one I could find is: 4 GBytes,
two lines, $90! I have to wonder if they have sold even one of these
plans.

I've had the family on Cricket for a year now and have been quite
satisfied. 5 lines for $100 flat; no other taxes or costs. It's on the
AT&T network. 2.5G per line has been plenty except very occasionally
for my teenage daughter. But that's her problem. Once you hit the cap,
no cost penalty, just throttled. I didn't even need the 5th line but it
was free so I bought the cheapest Lumia Windows phone for $20 just to
play with it. It sits around as a backup phone if one is lost (hasn't
yet happened).

[sms]

Post by Travis James

Post by David Arnstein
Here's another pricing anomaly. The 2 GByte plan that I am considering
costs $30. I am thinking about switching my owl to Boom, so I looked
for an appropriate "family" plan. The best one I could find is: 4 GBytes,
two lines, $90! I have to wonder if they have sold even one of these
plans.

I've had the family on Cricket for a year now and have been quite
satisfied. 5 lines for $100 flat; no other taxes or costs. It's on the
AT&T network. 2.5G per line has been plenty except very occasionally for
my teenage daughter. But that's her problem. Once you hit the cap, no
cost penalty, just throttled. I didn't even need the 5th line but it was
free so I bought the cheapest Lumia Windows phone for $20 just to play
with it. It sits around as a backup phone if one is lost (hasn't yet
happened).

I looked at Cricket. Two things put me off.

1. Lack of roaming. We do actually go into some of the off-network areas
in California and Nevada. Even though 911 will still work, I wanted to
be able to make and receive calls in those areas.

2. Hotspot. When I first looked at Cricket they did not allow tethering
at all. Now they have mobile hotspot on the $50 and up plans, for an
additional $10 per line.

The throttled LTE data would not have bothered me. Note that they
throttle the LTE data AND once you use up the throttled LTE data they
throttle again. It's AT&T trying to make Cricket unappealing to
customers that are paying more for postpaid. Ironically, most people on
postpaid don't care about tethering or about roaming coverage, since the
roaming is in areas most people never go to.

Consumer Cellular piles on the fees and taxes. You do get a 5% AARP
discount. But at least they allow tethering and they provide the same
domestic coverage as AT&T postpaid. We've gone over the 4GB data limit once.

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[Travis James]

Post by sms
I looked at Cricket. Two things put me off.
1. Lack of roaming. We do actually go into some of the off-network
areas in California and Nevada. Even though 911 will still work, I
wanted to be able to make and receive calls in those areas.
2. Hotspot. When I first looked at Cricket they did not allow tethering
at all. Now they have mobile hotspot on the $50 and up plans, for an
additional $10 per line.
The throttled LTE data would not have bothered me. Note that they
throttle the LTE data AND once you use up the throttled LTE data they
throttle again. It's AT&T trying to make Cricket unappealing to
customers that are paying more for postpaid. Ironically, most people on
postpaid don't care about tethering or about roaming coverage, since
the roaming is in areas most people never go to.

I think many people are missing out on a good deal. Yes, if you need
roaming, tethering or a lot of high speed data, it's not the right
service. I think if that kind of "full suite" is needed, just work with
the big 2 (or 3 or 4) providers.

What I've liked about Cricket is the competitive price that never has
random charges tacked on. Plus I use refurbished iPhones mostly. It is
never as easy as swapping the sim card, but with a little patience,
their chat customer service gets things transferred to the new phone.
At least that's how it has been for 2 years.

Prior to Cricket I was on Virgin Mobile. Overall, the best part of the
prepaid MVNOs is if I don't like the plan or service, I just quit. No
cancellation drama.

[sms]

Post by David Arnstein

Post by sms
Let us know how Boom works out.

I will. I am going to wait for my next Verizon bill to arrive before I
decide. Verizon forced me off my old plan (in force since 1999!) and
I want to see what the true cost will be, inclusive of all the bullshit
"taxes."

Post by sms
Interesting that you're spending less on a Verizon plan with 2GB of data
and unlimited talk and text than someone else on this forum is spending
for a dumb phone plan on Verizon!

Here's another pricing anomaly. The 2 GByte plan that I am considering
costs $30. I am thinking about switching my owl to Boom, so I looked
for an appropriate "family" plan. The best one I could find is: 4 GBytes,
two lines, $90! I have to wonder if they have sold even one of these
plans.

I ended up putting the spousal unit, daughter-unit, son-unit, and
myself, onto Consumer Cellular (AT&T postpaid). It's the only AT&T MVNO
that includes off-network roaming. Only 4GB of data max (then you pay
1.5¢/MB and they throttle) but we almost never use 4GB since there is so
much Wi-Fi around, especially with Xfinity. AT&T works okay now in the
Bay Area, though not quite as good as Verizon.

One thing that people should be doing is to be buying phones that work
on both AT&T and Verizon so it's possible to switch between them.

Google Pixel XL
HTC 10 (Verizon version)
LG G5 (RS988)
LG V20 (LGUS996)
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (SM-G935U)
Moto G4 (XT1625)
Moto G4 Plus (XT1644)
Verizon iPhone 7/7 Plus/6s/6s Plus




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[sms]

Post by David Arnstein
As far as I can tell, Verizon is changing my wireless voice/data plan.
I don't get subsidized handsets any more. So I am considering a move
to Boom! Mobile, which uses Verizon's network and costs less.
Before Verizon changed my plan, I did not perceive any advantage to
the low cost carriers. Low cost versus (high cost, with subsidized
iPhone) was a close contest in terms of dollars per month. Too close
to merit a change. Now it's different.
Is Boom! a good alternative? Is there a better one?

http://www.selectelwireless.com

They've been around a long time. I'd avoid these new MVNOs with no
history since they tend to come and go. There were two with good plans,
Harbor Mobile and Blue Green Mobile and both are gone now.

How much data do you need?

For those that got a subsidized new smart phone as soon as they were
eligible, there really was no advantage to the low cost carriers. The
advantage was if you're not getting a new phone every 20-24 months then
there was no upside to paying the higher rate that included the subsidy.

The other big advantage was if you were using a dumb phone but wanted to
be on Verizon, since for as little as $2.50 per month you could be on
Verizon.

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