How Major Cell Phone Providers Compare
Shopping around for a new cell phone provider every year or so can be a wise move. It can help you find lower prices, more features, and sometimes a new phone. But you don’t want to just hop on board with any company and be locked in with them for a year or two. Research pays off. We’ve looked at how the major providers compare so you can get the most for your money.
Verizon
For a long time, Verizon was one of the top cell phone service providers in America, mostly due to their stellar customer service and extensive network coverage. Their iconic ads featured a network tester wandering the countryside, asking “Can you hear me now?” Customers were happy to pay a higher bill, as long as they got their money’s worth.
But Verizon isn’t really top dog anymore. T-Mobile has aggressively expanded its network, to the point that it’s now just as fast as Verizon’s. Verizon has ever-so-slightly higher availability, but in just about every other metric, the two are practically tied. (Always look at coverage maps of your area for yourself before choosing a provider.)
In the face of stepped-up competition, Verizon has lost some customers. Even their famous, network-testing pitch man has jumped ship to shill for Sprint. Verizon simply doesn’t stack up well when compared to other providers. Most carriers offering “unlimited” data plans actually throttle you down to a snail’s pace once you hit a certain limit. You get 22GB with Verizon before they throttle your speed. That’s the same as AT&T, but less than T-Mobile’s 30GB limit. Verizon also has one of the highest costs for a single line at $80 per month. Overall, Verizon is cheaper than AT&T, but their pricing doesn’t compare to budget carriers. And their offerings aren’t strong enough to justify the expense anymore.
T-Mobile
As we stated above, T-Mobile has done a lot to improve its network and its coverage map. Its availability is not quite as strong as Verizon, but in terms of download speed, ping, and more, it’s just as strong as Verizon. But that’s not all – T-Mobile has also been improving customer relations. They’re now the highest ranked full-service wireless carrier in the nation for customer care performance. That said, they’re not perfect. Some areas are still without T-Mobile service, especially for states in the west like Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho.
But if you live in a well-covered area, T-Mobile is a strong choice. Its unlimited plan has the highest data limit before throttling your speed – they give you 30GB. Moreover, the cost of one line is as low as $70/month for T-Mobile Choice. Finally, T-Mobile regularly has sales on newer phones if you’re willing to stick with the company for a 24-month period, like the buy-one-get-one-free Samsung Galaxy S8 deal.
AT&T
AT&T has one of the best coverage maps in the United States. Most areas are covered by HD Voice, regular voice, or a third-party tower that gives customers partial coverage. The only issue is that AT&T has historically had bad customer service ratings and AT&T customers have been ranked as the unhappiest when compared to other carriers.
The reason they’re still one of the top carriers is because they offer affordable plans, including a $60/month option with AT&T Choice. While that’s pretty affordable, the download speed tops out at a mere 3Mbps, so if you use a lot of data or want to stream in HD, this may not be the best plan. AT&T also offers a Plus plan that offers unlimited data and text, high-definition streaming, and free HBO, but this is $90 per month. And as we mentioned elsewhere, “unlimited” for AT&T means “22GB before we slow you to a crawl.”
Sprint
Sprint hasn’t always been the most affordable or the strongest option, but recently it’s been working on being mroe appealing to customers. The company fell out of favor in the midst of a long, painful network upgrade process that started back in 2013. They’re currently rocking the fourth-place network – the only major network with an availability rating below 80%. They also have lower download speeds than T-Mobile and Verizon. They’re not in a great position, but they aren’t giving up without a fight.
While working to improve customer satisfaction, Sprint is also offering some of the best deals of the year. It’s currently offering a deal that lets new clients can get a single line for as little as $50. This new price will be available to customers until March 31, 2018. That said, if you’re looking to switch companies, it might be best to wait and see where Sprint’s efforts actually get them before you climb on board.
