I need some advice on prepaid cell phones. I want to get my Mom one for Christmas. She only wants one to carry with her in case of emergencies so I thought prepaid would be good for her. She does not want a monthly bill. I can’t add her onto my regular cell phone account because I already have all they will let me have on one account. If any of you have used prepaid - - which companies are good? Where’s a good place to get one?? She will need service around Benson, Four Oaks, Smithfield and Dunn. Thanks for all advice.
Have you checked with AAA, I have seen where they advertise these emergency only phones and I think its pretty cheap. I know someone who bought their son one of the pay-as-you go type of phones and you were still required to pay for a certain amount of minutes each month and they did roll-over each month, but you still had to add additional minutes even though he had way more than he needed....so just make sure you have all the details before buying.
I've had a Virgin Mobile for probably a year and a half or longer and have been pleased with it. I can get service most places except for in my home ... unless I am in one specific spot. Virgin Mobile did not work in rural areas outside Rocky Mount where my husband often works so he changed to Alltel prepaid. He gets service pretty much any where now. The only thing he does not like about Alltel is there is no warning when your minutes are running low. It just cuts off your call. The Virgin Mobile phone will give you a text message and/or beep to let you know you need to top up.
I have had an Alltell prepaid for 3 years now. No monthly fee or required minutes to add. In all I have probably only put about $150 in minutes since I got it. I got it for my oldest son when he made school team so he could call after practice or meets and of course for emergency purposes. Now he is on my plan and my 7th grader now uses the prepaid. There is a $4.00 monthly service charge if no calls are made that month. So long has 1 call is made no service charge. You will have to buy a phone unless you have an Alltell phone you can convert to prepaid. I have found their service to be good just about everywhere. (I use to work in Angier/Harnett County). There is no warning that your minutes are low, but you call from your phone (Free) to check minutes remaining and add minutes by credit card if needed.
I've had virgin mobile now for about 3 years and I never ONCE had a problem with it! There is also a new service called "Cricket" that just started. They have a store on hwy 70, across the street from Lowe's Food next to some sandbar club I think.
Pre paid cell I've been using www.virginmobileusa.com for years and years (bout 7 I guess). If you get one online they usually will give you a free phone and you can either top up online with a credit/ debt card, or go to Target stores and buy a card. They havethe phones @ Target also. My "plan" is the old one that is $.05 to text and I think $.25 per minute for a call. I probably spend about $20 a month max on mine. I usually just text back and forth and use the phone part for emergencies. If you decide to go with Viginmobile, IM and put any one of the people on here that suggests them as a reference and they will get free airtime
Not any more. He closed it quite awhile ago. No business. Cricket works fine but the coverage is VERY limited. $35/mth for unlimited minutes is not bad.
I have Boost Mobile which is powered by Nextel and I love it. I only put $40.00 a month on this phone and I have coverage most anywhere besides inside my home. I've had Boost phones for about 2 yrs. First for just my sons then I went to it and really like it.
I have Virgin mobile too. I've been happy with it. You have to put $20 on it every 90 days to keep it active, and you can get the phones pretty cheap. You can top up online, by airtime cards at places like Target, and even set up an auto top-up online that will do it automatically every 90 days and/or the account gets below like $5.
Both of my kids and my husband have virgin mobile. I am the only one with a plan because I use mine more than they do. They have not had any problems with them either.
Blus?! You're the man in the know... I want to get DH a temporary (hunting season) prepaid phone.. Who (or what) would have the best coverage for Louisburg? ...
Hmmm...Louisburg....honestly, it's a hard call for that area. You are going to have to get a service that will run on the Verizon or Alltel networks for that area. Look for something that works on the 800/850 MHz system. CDMA 850 is CDMA technology operating in the Cellular (800 MHz / 850 MHz) frequency band. Before the existence of GSM 850, the Cellular band was commonly referred to as the "800 MHz" band. "850 MHz" implies a different frequency band, but this is not the case. "800 MHz" and "850 MHz" refer to the exact same frequency band. 850 is technically a more accurate description of the frequency range, although "800" is still common. Alltel, Verizon and US Cellular use this system and is the most stable and has the best coverage nationwide. Most of their handsets still work on the analog side as well as where AT&T, SunCom and Nextel do not. They are digital only. Sprint also uses the CDMA band but uses a different frequency of 1900 MHz. This system is less stable and drops more calls. They also use the analog system but VERY sparingly. Most of their handsets are digital only.
