Thursday, April 24, 2014

Lower, Low-End Data Plans

Recently we modified the Mountain Unlimited Web Site to report the cheapest Smart Phone plans, arranged by price, showing the largest amount of Data available at that price level.  As the carriers themselves have improved the price levels of their Data plans, so have the Prepaid re-sellers.  One of the most surprising changes comes from Red Pocket Mobile who is now offering a $10 per 30 days Data plan that includes Unlimited Talk & Text and a whopping 1GB of 4G data before your download rate is throttled to presumably 2G speeds.

Red Pocket seems be using the T-Mobile network to provide this new Data offering and we hope it causes other Prepaids to follow.  It's odd to now see fewer minutes or tighter restrictions for plans at higher price levels, but we expect that to change.  Innovation should bring us even lower prices.

Who thought we would see plans as low as $5 per month?  You might say some of these cheap plans depend on wi-fi for data delivery, but Comcast just recently said that is precisely how they will deliver their own wireless network in competition with the largest wireless carriers.  

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

More Good Guys Give Up

Add 2 more wireless operators who are selling out to the big carriers.  Earlier this month we were saddened to see that one of our Top-Rated wireless carriers, Cincinnati Bell Wireless, was selling their spectrum to Verizon Wireless.  This week another pair of carriers who live at the top our Ratings, Golden State Cellular of California and Mobi PCS in Hawaii, have decided to give up their wireless operations.

Golden State will give up network, spectrum and customers to Verizon Wireless and Mobi will give up their spectrum.  In Mobi's case they will keep operating for a longer transition period, presumably to give their customers (read neighbors) a better choice in where to eventually take their wireless business.

With the loss of a #8, #9, and #10 rated carrier from our Ratings List, we may either need to adjust the now shorter list to give some carriers a better position, or light a candle for the carriers that remain in the top spots lamenting their impeding demise.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Cincinnati Bell Gives Up Wireless

Of course we had hoped that such a top-notch wireless operation like Cincinnati Bell would survive.  Even one of our top-rated wireless companies sees the writing on the wall and has decided to give up wireless and sell out to one of the Top 4, in this case Verizon Wireless.  Verizon can make good use of Bell's spectrum holdings but will probably just turn off the existing Cincinnati Bell wireless GSM network.

We have given in to the inevitable loss of several other wireless networks that have been operating close to, if not under, the line of profitability.  In the case of Cincinnati Bell, our hopes for their survival rest on the fact that they have always Rated at or near the top of wireless carriers in the US.  Since this Bell will survive as a thriving business in most other communications products, the transition for their customers away from their own wireless network should go smoothly whether or not you take them up on any discount when switching to Verizon Wireless, as has happened to so many other regional phone companies.