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What phone service do you use and what's the cost per month?
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Author:  Slythe [ Mon Jan 03, 2011 7:19 pm ]
Post subject:  What phone service do you use and what's the cost per month?
I've recently read posts about some of you only using a cell phone service and no landline, or only having internet television and no cable.

Well I need to cut costs. I've always had both a landline and a very cheap cell phone, and both cable tv and an internet connection. I guess I'm more interested in the telephony side of things right now but all input is appreciated. I can't really fathom having only a cell phone as the battery seems to run down so quickly I'd be recharging it every 3 days it seems, unless that's the norm?

Let me break it down specifically. I've always had AT&T landline service out of my home for what is now about $37.50 a month. In addition to that I have the cheapest cell phone service possible I think, a TracFone with a $100 a year airtime card. That comes out to about $46/month. Is there anything cheaper I could do, taking into account all peripheral costs?

Also, if you want to weigh in about tv and internet I'm all ears. I currently have both Comcast internet and tv for about $150 combined, which seems pretty good to me. And yes I do want live shows like sports broadcasts.

Any advice is appreciated.
Author:  Lex Luthor [ Mon Jan 03, 2011 7:40 pm ]
Post subject: 
Wow, you pay $37.50/month for a landline?! I would get rid of that immediately. I'd rather go out to eat a couple more times each month for the same cost. I don't know about my phone costs really because I'm on my parents' family plan.

Also plan on getting a smart phone in the future because this will be the norm.
Author:  Midgen [ Mon Jan 03, 2011 7:58 pm ]
Post subject: 
I have had no land line since 2002.

My company provides me with a heavily discounted mobile service plan that meets all of my needs.
Author:  Lenas [ Mon Jan 03, 2011 8:02 pm ]
Post subject: 
I have T-mobile. 1500 minutes and unlimited data/messaging for two phones runs $80/line.
Author:  Kashan [ Mon Jan 03, 2011 8:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What phone service do you use and what's the cost per mo
I will not go back to a land line ever, I have had nothing but a cell phone since 2002.

Currently through sprint with a 4g phone (+$10/month data plan for smart phones only 4g phones count currently) + 400 minutes (unlimited Mobile to Mobile - I dont know a single person with a Landline besides like my doctor's office) + Unlimted Data/Messaging/etc. is $69.99 - work discount %. Most BIG companies should give you a discount via Verizon Sprint AT&T Tmobile, if not can get 10% via tmobile with Freelancer's union (which is free just visit http://www.freelancersunion.org and fax what they want to tmobile showing your a member)

I doubt your going to find a cell plan less than $50/month. You can find one probably through MetroPCS or Virgin Mobile, but wont have data/txting etc included on it. It would just be unlimited call's, usually they are borrowing one of the major provider's networks, beleive metroPCS is on sprint? Also check out http://www.myrateplan.com/wireless_plans/ can compare the wireless plans in your area based on features and cost.

Internet TV's for live broadcast that is the problem. Everything but sport's is easily doable, its the sports and specifically the NFL that is the issue cause of there archaic assanine blackout stupid *** rule **** they have. With Hulu, and http://www.tvtorrents.com I download everything to my PC and then stream it to my TV via my 360 PS3 will work as well, with tversity. Trying to find a hockey game torrent or something can be a big challenge at time's and have since given up on it. Really besides doing that, look at Satellite for TV, thats really about the only way going to reduce the TV cost.

If you had Cingular in your area, by FCC standards you can get AT&T DSL for $19.99 for 6 month's (I think its still going on, was part of the Cingular AT&T Merger the FCC Approved), DSL is usually cheaper than Cable, sadly there is not much internet competion in the USA yet :(
Author:  Kaffis Mark V [ Mon Jan 03, 2011 8:39 pm ]
Post subject: 
Kashan, <$50 a month is doable. You can look towards regional market operators, like Cricket (who generally charge for out-of-region use, but often offer unlimited plans in the $40-50 range) and/or national carriers that offer non-subsidized, no-contract plans. I know T-Mobile does.
Author:  NephyrS [ Mon Jan 03, 2011 11:25 pm ]
Post subject: 
We have no landline...

My wife and I use AT&T, we have a 400 minute rollover contract with free mobile-mobile and free nights and weekends... We use very little in the way of the actual 400 minutes each month. We also have a 250 message texting plan... Total is 90$ per month, or $45 per person.

My mom may swap back onto our account at some point in the future, dropping us to about 35$ per person.

Multiple person accounts are awesome.

Also make sure you get the proper discounts if you're part of any organization that offers them- most big companies, schools, etc have 10-20% discounts that can be quite helpful.
Author:  Talya [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 1:27 am ]
Post subject: 
$20/month for our Bell Canada landline, $8 a month for 1000 minutes of anytime north-american long distance. Since I need either the landline or a dry-loop ($8 a month) for my DSL connection anyway (which charges me $50 a month for true unlimited monthly transfer at about 7Mbit downstream. Not the fastest, but more than fast enough, and they don't appear to be "shaping" my traffic, so i want to keep them), it means the line is rather inexpensive.

We had mobile phones that cost too much for several years (about $60 a month if I didn't go over the paltry number of evenings-and-weekends-only airtime I got), but we never used them and they spent most of the time with the batteries dead between cushions on the sofa. So now we don't even have mobile phones.

When data rates become comparable to what I pay for wired service (I'd settle for $50 a month for 1000 minutes of airtime/long distance and a few gigs of data), I'll consider a mobile phone again. Even get a smartphone (should be easier to keep track of.) But right now they gouge for mobile service, especially when we're homebodies that don't like going out all that much, and when we do, we're together. (and we both work within a 5-10 minute drive of home.)
Author:  darksiege [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 1:48 am ]
Post subject: 
landline is whatever Cox offered in the "Everything Lovers" bundle.

Cell Phone is Sprint. 3 Lines 1500 minutes, nights start at 7pm, unlimited mobile to mobile. Unlimited texting and data. Insurance, wireless backup for the two non android phones/ Bill runs around 160 a month.
Author:  Rynar [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 5:22 am ]
Post subject: 
AT&T and it costs me $45 for my unlimited texts and data pack, in addition to the rate I pay for a 3 phone family plan. Then my company reimburses me 20$/mo. and AT&T gives me an 18% discount off all billing, and 45% off all hardware purchases of anysort because of that coprorate affiliation.
Author:  Slythe [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 8:20 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What phone service do you use and what's the cost per mo
So it really doesn't sound like I'd be able to get much cheaper than my current $46/mo for phone. As for internet, maybe dsl would be a bit cheaper than cable; I haven't really looked into that.
Author:  Screeling [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 8:38 am ]
Post subject: 
1 smartphone + data + 1 normal cell + 500 texts/month = $103 after taxes and employer discount with Verizon.

Check with your employer to see if you can get a discount. A guy here at work said he was able to get his data add-on 100% comp'ed.
Author:  Shelgeyr [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 9:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re:
Lenas wrote:
I have T-mobile. 1500 minutes and unlimited data/messaging for two phones runs $80/line.
This.
Author:  Sasandra [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 10:31 am ]
Post subject: 
I haven't used a landline in ages, I have Sprint and I pay $100 after the corporate discounts, that's for 450 mins (I rarely talk on my phone), unlimited texts, unlimited data and WiFi tethering, it's sounds high but that's because of the WiFi tethering ($29.99) and the premium data fee ($10) for having a 4G phone, though now that I rooted and have a WiFi tethering app I can use without paying i'll be dropped that $29.99 cost off my bill.

As for charging, personally I've never got it when people ***** about their phone not lasting a week or something without charging, you go to bed every night, you're phone's not moving cause you're asleep so I don't see why it's an issue to drop it in a charging cradle like you do with your wireless landline phone constantly anyways.
Author:  darksiege [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 10:35 am ]
Post subject:  Re:
Sasandra wrote:
As for charging, personally I've never got it when people ***** about their phone not lasting a week or something without charging, you go to bed every night, you're phone's not moving cause you're asleep so I don't see why it's an issue to drop it in a charging cradle like you do with your wireless landline phone constantly anyways.


OMFG this. So very very this.
Author:  NephyrS [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 10:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: What phone service do you use and what's the cost per mo
Slythe wrote:
So it really doesn't sound like I'd be able to get much cheaper than my current $46/mo for phone. As for internet, maybe dsl would be a bit cheaper than cable; I haven't really looked into that.


I pay $42.50 per month for medium end DSL from AT&T- not the fastest, but more than sufficient for streaming video/games. Not sure what the comparable costs are for cable.
Author:  Darkroland [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 10:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Re:
darksiege wrote:
Sasandra wrote:
As for charging, personally I've never got it when people ***** about their phone not lasting a week or something without charging, you go to bed every night, you're phone's not moving cause you're asleep so I don't see why it's an issue to drop it in a charging cradle like you do with your wireless landline phone constantly anyways.


OMFG this. So very very this.


Same, my phone charges every night, I've never had an issue.
Author:  FarSky [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 11:00 am ]
Post subject: 
Yeah, I don't get the charging thing either. I have my charger plugged in beside my bed, and drop it on there when I go to sleep. Only through extreme usage through the day does my phone need to be charged somewhere in there, which occurs only once in three months or so.
Author:  Midgen [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 12:35 pm ]
Post subject: 
To dogpile on the charging thing.

My phone charges at night, my phone is docked and charges when I'm in my car, and my phone is docked and charges when I'm at work.

Battery life is not a huge concern for me.....
Author:  FarSky [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 12:38 pm ]
Post subject: 
/\ That too. I have an iHome keyboard that I can pop my phone into if I need.
Author:  Lex Luthor [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 1:16 pm ]
Post subject: 
When are they going to have those pads where you can leave electronics on it without plugging them in and they charge?
Author:  Lenas [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 1:41 pm ]
Post subject: 
Is that a serious question? Because there are multiple products like that already.
Author:  NephyrS [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 1:45 pm ]
Post subject: 
The better question, Lex, is why would anyone use one? They're so inefficient it's not even funny.
Author:  Kaffis Mark V [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 3:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re:
Midgen wrote:
my phone is docked and charges when I'm in my car

Hmm. I avoid charging my phone in the car because it used to be that the relatively dodgy waveform from the car alternator would kill battery life over time. Is this less a concern with modern battery chemistry and chargers?
Author:  NephyrS [ Tue Jan 04, 2011 3:32 pm ]
Post subject: 
It's still a concern. For long battery life, you really want to only use a household charger, and let the battery die completely/recharge completely every time.

Works for me, my phone (and battery) are 5 or 6 years old and still hold nearly a full 5 day charge with pretty consistent use.
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