Best deal for cellphone plan/data?

Subscribing

 

There are many threads on this here

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/cellular-voice-data/




Also, you might be looking for Canada versus US.

 

Ok, my info is a bit old, but at the time the best plans were either the staight talk phones from walmart that uses the verizon towers (make sure its verizon, some of the phones are sprint), or the virgin mobile phones.

If all you want it for is talking, the straight talk is the only way to go, as you have to look pretty hard to find dead spots. I think its 50 a month with no contract.

 

I concur, anything that uses Verizon towers should have you in good shape. You could go through Verizon directly and grab one of their phones, they have options now where you can pay a small monthly payment on a phone (most expensive payments run about $30) if you don't want to sign a contract. Their family plans are unlimited minutes and unlimited texting, and it think your can get really cheap per minute rates for Canada if you add on a $5 international option.

Personally, I stay away from off brand companies because they buy time off of the towers of the major networks, which means if you're in an area where there are a lot of calls going on, they're going to kick your phone off the tower in favor of their own customers first. But there are plenty of people out there who are very happy with Straight Talk or the other smaller companies. I'm paranoid about breaking down out in the middle of nowhere and having no signal, so I stick with Verizon.

 

Bell Aliant is a Canada carrier, which indicates that the OP is from Canada.

 

i have a wal mart cheapie phone on straight talk ( verizon outgrowth) .... works fine

in 98% of the USA .... $ 31.00 a month ..... voice and text

Company should offer to pay for up to a certain amount of your bill ..... company where I work pays up to $50.00 so month .... so essentially it's free

 

I'm a Verizon fanboy. Having had Sprint, AT&T, Altell and T-mobile at some point in the truck I can say without a doubt, Verizon kicked everyone else ###, BY A VERY VERY WIDE MARGIN.

• I had Verizon as my primary phone, but because it's a smart phone was forced to have a 2 gig minimum.

• I got a Sprint Mobile wifi hotspot at first- it was eh...I would be in LA trying to get basic data coverage and it was spotty (can't even get 4g in Ontario or more south.)

• Then I switched to AT&T for the mobile wifi, and it was worse...I'd be in North Jersey sitting at a receiver, was lucky to get extended network.

• Altell, I had for like, a week. Couldn't get any coverage, anywhere- I mean almost literally anywhere.

• T-mobile was okay, not great...an okay bang for the buck but Sprint was better.

Verizon, meanwhile, I could get 4g LTE connectivity almost anywhere. Where there wasn't 4G, there was at-least 3G. And on the off chance you're really in BF Egypt, you'll almost certainly have extended network coverage. BUT- YOU WILL ALWAYS, ALWAYS HAVE VOICE COVERAGE. Every corner of the continent, without a signal booster- Verizon is there.
The trade off is: price. Unless you're grandfathered in, or buy a grandfathered in unlimited data phone (ebay), you're gonna pay out the nose. 5 gig plans start at around $40/month, overages are $10/gig. Voice and text service is reasonable, at least.

Overall, I might have a biased opinion because at the end of my 11, I'd lay down in the bunk really just wanting to watch a bit of TV on the Ipad or laptop. I'd pickup any of the mobile wifi hotspots and almost always it would be reading "No coverage / extended network." You'd be lucky to read a PDF after an hour of downloading with those network speeds. Christ almighty help me if it were my voice service.
But the saving grace was, I'd pickup my Verizon cell and on the screen? "full network coverage, LET'S DO THIS!"

 

Verizon cost the most but works the best

 

+1 for Verizon. It is the only network worth being on if traveling nationwide. Period.

As others have said there are ways onto the Verizon network without going directly to Verizon so find what fits. By the sounds of things Walmart is your best bet. Plus if you have a problem with the phone Walmarts are easier to get in & out of with a rig.