Anyone have insights into US Wireless Carriers / phone plans?
May be a shot in the dark, but does anyone here either live in the US or moved recently from the US to Canada, and has a good understanding of the "State of Play" for wireless carriers and plans in the US?
I will be moving to Los Angeles later this year, and so want to understand the latest & greatest as it relates to cell phone plans. I've got a "good for Canada" $50 / 20GB Unlimited plan with Telus (EPP plan from last year), and prior to that, was on the $50 / 15gb LTE plan with Rogers. So I've generally had my pulse on the market in Canada for many years, but am in the dark about US plans.
Things like:
- For big cities (like LA), how is T-Mobile (now that they merged with Sprint), vs AT&T or Verizon? I know the general story from years ago that AT&T/Verizon were premium, and T-Mobile and Sprint were the upstarts who had great prices but coverage wasn't as strong. Still the case?
- Unlimited plans: what's a good price / plan these days? Is it same deal as in Canada where unlimited plans usually have a set data limit for full-speed, after which point its speed-throttled?
- BYOD vs Phone financing: I've always bought my iPhones outright here from Apple for last few years, given benefits of not being tied down to any carrier, and freedom to switch to good BYOD plans when they come up. Is this the case in the US, or do we have ability to get good deals on phones through carriers / good rationale to do so? We'll be in the market for a new iPhone for my wife come Sep/Oct, so can think about whether we should go through carrier, maybe get iPhone Upgrade Plan via Apple, or buy outright like we have done in Canada.
- New subscribers: I will be having 2 lines for my wife and I. Are there good deals available for new subscribers? Is there a similar dynamic as Canada where win-back plans tend to get the best deals, and new subscribers less so?
Appreciate any insights anyone may have!
I will be moving to Los Angeles later this year, and so want to understand the latest & greatest as it relates to cell phone plans. I've got a "good for Canada" $50 / 20GB Unlimited plan with Telus (EPP plan from last year), and prior to that, was on the $50 / 15gb LTE plan with Rogers. So I've generally had my pulse on the market in Canada for many years, but am in the dark about US plans.
Things like:
- For big cities (like LA), how is T-Mobile (now that they merged with Sprint), vs AT&T or Verizon? I know the general story from years ago that AT&T/Verizon were premium, and T-Mobile and Sprint were the upstarts who had great prices but coverage wasn't as strong. Still the case?
- Unlimited plans: what's a good price / plan these days? Is it same deal as in Canada where unlimited plans usually have a set data limit for full-speed, after which point its speed-throttled?
- BYOD vs Phone financing: I've always bought my iPhones outright here from Apple for last few years, given benefits of not being tied down to any carrier, and freedom to switch to good BYOD plans when they come up. Is this the case in the US, or do we have ability to get good deals on phones through carriers / good rationale to do so? We'll be in the market for a new iPhone for my wife come Sep/Oct, so can think about whether we should go through carrier, maybe get iPhone Upgrade Plan via Apple, or buy outright like we have done in Canada.
- New subscribers: I will be having 2 lines for my wife and I. Are there good deals available for new subscribers? Is there a similar dynamic as Canada where win-back plans tend to get the best deals, and new subscribers less so?
Appreciate any insights anyone may have!
