CDMA Carriers: Verizon, Sprint, as well as other non SIM card cell phone providers I did not test out personally, but my girlfriend did and while she had the service it worked out relatively well for her, however there is a relatively cheap plan for those that use CDMA phones/Smartphones, i.e. iPhone that does not take SIM card, Samsung Galaxy that doesn't take SIM card, etc. CDMA is basically carriers that do NOT use SIM cards inside their wireless phones.
To give you the short version of the difference between CDMA and GSM carriers, it comes down to which providers & phone do & do not use a SIM card, plain and simply (in the United States).
I recently got a pre-paid plan through T-Mobile that offers Unlimited Talk, Text, and 500MB of data per month for $40 on my iPhone 5S. Total monthly comes out to $47 after taxes. While this is relatively OK compared to my needs since I don't use the internet that much on my iPhone, others use it religiously, and since I got the 5S I figured I should do some further research before I get another month through T-Mobile... And forget about AT&T, they cost MORE per month and don't have as much coverage as T-Mobile, now since T-Mobile bought out MetroPCS and they use 4G LTE, and they have added ALOT more towers, they are a great choice for most people in most parts of the USA...
HOWEVER, while doing online research, I found a FAR BETTER & CHEAPER alternative that still uses T-Mobiles towers, and thus their network, including their 4G LTE data speeds as well as their towers. Most people have not heard of this company because they do not advertise on TV, and so most people just ignore it in stores or online in phone forums. But the absolute BEST OPTION for anyone with a GSM carrier/phone would be to go with Straight Talk service, here are their plans, which I suggest anyone wanting the best bang for their buck go with the $45/monthly plan:
And anyone currently that does not have an unlocked phone will have to either have their current phone unlocked, factory unlocked via a 3rd party (I suggest using an ebay vendor), or purchasing a phone that is being sold as unlocked via ebay but make SURE it is a GSM type phone before purchasing, keep in mind the money you will save yourself in the LONG RUN by doing your phone plan this way, vs having a contract or using phone cards every month, this method is cheaper, and simpler, and has the SAME coverage as T-Mobile since they use the same towers/network! - Also, you will need to purchase a "Straight Talk Sim Card (micro, nano, etc depending on your phone), I bought mine via ebay for about $2.50, one was $0.10 cause I lucked out but you gotta make sure you are not getting one for NET10 which is another no contract carrier, but a little more money for their service plans. Everything you need to purchase can be bought via ebay except for the actual service plan which you will need to do via their website which is here:
Here is the main site link, you might want to call customer service first to make sure to get all the info you need before hand:
http://www.straighttalkbyop.com/
This is the link to shop for plans:
https://www.straighttalk.com/wps/portal ... viceplans/
This link is to check if your current phone is compatible with their service:
http://www.byopfinder.com/byopfinder/st ... creen=true
You want to select the shop, then service plan section. To make it easy for your first time you mine as well call customer service to help you through it, before you forget though, you NEED TO HAVE A PHONE THAT IS GSM, WITH THE CORRECT SIZE Straight Talk SIM CARD INSTALLED, AS WELL AS THE CURRENT PHONE FACTORY UNLOCKED BEFORE YOU GO AND BUY A SERVICE PLAN, That way you are not scratching your head wondering why it is not working, and if you do buy a phone from ebay, make sure it is not "blacklisted", meaning lost or stolen, because those are as good as paperweights!
Another Alternative to Straight Talk is:
http://www.SimpleMobile.com
But their plans are a little bit more I believe and the coverage is not as well as Straight Talk's
Now for those out there with CDMA service, or CDMA phones, you will also need to have your current phone UNLOCKED, or purchase an UNLOCKED CDMA phone (via ebay where it's cheapest, or craigslist), Verizon or Sprint, it doesn't matter, as long as the phone has been Factory Unlocked and is CDMA it WILL work! Or you can simply just purchase the phone straight from Boost Mobile which is probably more expensive...
Here is the site my girlfriend had service through for a few years, after 18 months of paying on time every month (pre-paid), they lower your monthly bill until it goes all the way down to something like $35/month which is sweet because it gives you unlimited Talk, Text, & DATA. They start the bill out at something like $60/monthly, then it gradually goes down every few months. The only downside is it is not 4G LTE speeds like the GSM carriers, but in some places you may have better coverage like if your underground or something like that, CDMA has better reception in hard to reach areas like that, but I still prefer the GSM type phones/carriers, but if you have an unlocked CDMA phone, you mine as well do this:
http://www.boostmobile.com/shop/plans/m ... ed-select/
On the left hand column, click on the area that says "Plans With Shrinking Payments", and browse for whatever one will fit you best, since they have one specifically for blackberry phones, then another for smartphones, you need to choose the plan that matches up to your specific Unlocked CDMA phone.
Bottom line to this is that no matter which of the top options you choose the benefits are to have:
- No Yearly Contract
- No termination fees
- No hidden fees, or taxes
- No overage charges
- Pre-Paid
- Offers The SAME service plans that a contract would, without the hassle
- FREE Unlimited, Talk, Text, & DATA for a significantly lower price!
- Same Data speeds hat you would get from a provider that charges more!
- Free to change your plan at any time to a higher or lower amount!
- Customer Service that actually speaks English, & Spanish!, Not Indian!
Things you will DEFINITELY NEED BEFORE GETTING A PLAN FROM ANY OF THE ABOVE MENTIONED LOWER COST CARRIERS:
- A cell phone that is Factory Unlocked (Make sure it is the correct one that you want), or one from the Company that you choose to get service with.
- A SIM Card (If you plan to have GSM, which I HIGHLY ADVISE!) The only benefit from having service with Boost is over time you will have a $10 a month less bill than with GSM, but remember, you are not going to have 4G LTE speeds with data & texts. With GSM you have a wider variety of options to choose from.
Either way, don't stay enslaved to your current cell provider when you could have a monthly bill with no credit checks and only pay $35-$45/monthly for Unlimited EVERYTHING! With no contract, who can really beat that?! NOBODY!!