Well here in the US cell phone companies have a monopoly meaning they do not have to compete on price. In fact they often raise their rates twice a year after contract. When I got into cell phone the average cell rate (call/text/data was around $30). Now it's often over 100$.
Case in point I have a grandfathered 10+ yr old T-mobile plan that is $59 for 2 phones (includes phone subsidy). Unlimited calling on wi-fi home and work (actual UMA and not Google voice) and 1000 min of roaming. However they recently dropped coverage in my area leaving me to contemplate is there any possible way I can get close to the same service for near the same price? It's so bad when I explained my old plan to a AT&T rep I was rudely (with a friend) kicked out of the AT&T store because he did not believe I was telling him the truth on my T-mobile price and "There is nothing close to that price anywhere.".
I did some research and found MNVOs!
Enter MNVOs standing for Mobile Virtual Operators
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_virtual_network_operator. These are large companies that buy their voice and data from the big 3 cell providers in large bulk at a discount then resell that service to individuals at a discount.
Looking for a replacement phone service I have narrowed it down to 3 MNVOs so far with the best price/service value.
1) Straight Talk for AT&T service (they also have T-mobile)
Plan1) $45/month unlimited talk/text/2gb data.
Pros: Bring your own phone.
2) Page Plus for Verizon service
Plan1) $12/month 250 min/month, 250 texts, 10MB data
Plan2) $29/month 1200 min/month, 3000 texts/mms, 250mb/data
Plan3) $39 Unlimited talk/text-mms/200 mb data
Plan4) $55 Unlimited talk/text/2gb data
Plan5) $65 Unlimited talk/text/5gb data
Pros: Bring your own phone
3) Republic Wireless for Sprint service
Plan1) $19 Unlimited Talk/text/2gb data
Cons: Must buy their android phone for $249 + sprint has more limited coverage
Republic wireless is very tempting. But Verizon has much better coverage then sprint. So I think I'm going to switch to Page Plus $29 plan. I'm on wi-fi most of the day and only use Google navigate data on the road so 250mb will be more than enough.
I plan to wait a few more weeks to research as much as I can. So anyone else find a really good plan? If so post it here for others to see!
WhiteShepherd