The problem with MVNOs, at least that I'm noticing as a Google Fi subscriber, is I believe MVNOs are deprioritized. In a congested area, folks who have direct service with Verizon or T-Mobile seem to have better reception and bandwidth than I do.
It feels crazy-making to me that information like this only exists in Reddit threads. Prioritization is, IMO, a totally valid way to price differentiate. But it should be clearly stated when you’re buying in the same way GB data limits are.
Its widely accepted that Google Pixel's radio is weaker than the competition. Google stopped using Qualcomm chipsets on Google Pixel 6. (Or the last time Google used a Qualcomm radio in its phones was in Pixel 5 generation).
I'm sure Google is working on making its radio better, but it still a shame that of all the things they decided to cut to make it cheaper / hit the $600 pricepoint (instead of the $800+ flagship tier) is... the radio.
On the other hand, I hear that Qualcomm is basically raising prices behind the scenes, which is what's causing all of this in the first place.
> Qualcomm is basically raising prices behind the scenes
> it still a shame that of all the things they decided to cut to make it cheaper / hit the $600 pricepoint (instead of the $800+ flagship tier) is... the radio.
If it's truly a shame that they went to a lower-performing competitor then maybe Qualcomm thinks that their modem is worth more than they were charging because they provide a superior product.
True but it’s unclear how much the performance difference is from Qualcomm delivering value vs. Qualcomm destroying competitors’ value through blatant patent trolling.
I admit that it seems to be an abuse of the patent system in some regards.
But its not patent trolling. Qualcomm is making a real product and truly selling it. Anyone who wants that product is allowed to buy from Qualcomm or even license it for their own use.
A "Patent Troll" is someone who has no intention of even making the product, sitting on the patents suing everyone. Its far worse than what Qualcomm is doing here. In effect, a "Patent Troll" kills the technology. The "troll" has no ability (or intention) to actually make the tech, yet still prevents everyone else from making the tech.
Deprioritization has no effect on your radio signal. What it means is that your radio has connected just fine, its just waiting for everyone else to talk before you can talk.
If you really were getting a bad signal, then... that's a Radio module problem. So I'd check to see if your radio was below par (ex: Pixel 6/7/8, or the myriad of midrange phones like Samsung A(whatever)). Qualcomm quality radios cost a lot extra these days, unfortunately.
Not all MVNOs are deprioritized. Many are, but the Reddit thread mentioned in a sibling comment outlines it well.
Been with Verizon Wireless for 20 years. Got sick of how expensive their entry level 5G plan was with deprioritized data. Switched to US Mobile a few months ago. Half the price month-to-month, good prioritized data pool (35GB), and 5G UW access.
The US Mobile CEO is active on their subreddit and is attempting interesting things, such as allowing you to port between 2 major carriers (and soon all 3) up to 8 times a month as needed, and a beta of dual carrier coverage at a reduced price.
MVNOs are definitely often deprioritized, as I experienced with Visible wireless where I'd often have no data access despite having 2-3 bars of service. Switched a year or two ago to US Mobile which is apparently one of the few that is not deprioritized on the Verizon network (bizarrely as long as your phone is 5G capable, even when only using 4G). So there's options out there without paying $70/mo for Verizon postpaid.
Visible is 100% owned by Verizon and therefore technically not a MVNO. I use Visible and my wife is on Verizon. Her service is provided through her employer. Sometimes she has better data than I do and sometimes I have better data. For instance during a recent trip to Puerto Rico she struggled to receive reliable data and I had no issues. Don’t think it has anything to do with prioritization. I recently upgraded to the yearly Visible+ plan since I added an Apple Watch and will be traveling to Vancouver frequently in the next year. It includes 50GB of Verizon premium tier data and then you fall back to whatever prioritization normal Visible has. It also includes 2GB a day in Canada and Mexico along with Apple Watch service. $395 for the year which is around $32.92 a month.
I believe if you get the higher-priced Visible plan (Visible+), you have higher/equivalent to postpaid priority. I switched to this plan a year ago from Verizon, in an area where being deprioritized on any of the carriers means it's useless much of the day, and it's been great.
For anyone wondering, voice/data on Visible's entry-level $25/mo plan is deprioritized in times of congestion, and their $45/mo plan is not. Hotspot usage is throttled on both, differently. You can read the full details on their plans page [0] by pressing the "Get all the details" buttons.
Visible $25/mo:
> Typical 4G LTE & 5G download speeds are 9-149 Mbps. Video streams in SD. In times of traffic, your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic.
> Visible includes mobile hotspot with unlimited data at speeds up to 5 Mbps. Video streams in SD. While more than 1 device may be connected to your Hotspot at one time, a single connected device will experience optimal speeds. Performance will be reduced if multiple devices access data through the Hotspot simultaneously. Actual data speed, availability and coverage will vary based on device capabilities, usage, your location and network availability. Service is not available while roaming.
Visible $45/mo:
> Visible+ gives you unlimited premium data on Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, the fastest 5G network access we offer — up to 10X faster than median 4G LTE speeds. Premium data means no data slowdowns due to prioritization. Download apps, games, entire playlists and TV series in seconds.
> Visible+ also gives you 50 GB/mo of premium data on Verizon's award-winning 5G & 4G LTE networks when 5G Ultra Wideband is unavailable. Premium data means no data slowdowns due to prioritization.
> Typical 4G LTE & 5G download speeds are 9-149Mbps. Video streams in SD. After 50 GB, in times of traffic, your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic.
Google Fi is not deprioritized AFAIK and it's been discussed in the MVNO subreddit a bit.
That being said, most ARE and they are damn near unusable now in places that are growing.
Here in Orlando, Mint mobile can't even stream Spotify if you are stuck in traffic, that's how bad it has gotten. Forget being downtown or at an event of any kind.
I use Google fi specifically because its not lower priority.
There’s different levels of priority within the same mobile networks, at all of them. MVNOs are just a price discrimination tool. It’s all the same electromagnetic waves being sold at different price points and priorities.
ATT just increased their higher priced consumer plan by $7 per month.
I think it'll continue to be. T-Mobile needs to differentiate services somehow & last I checked, subscribers on T-Mobile's older in-house + low-cost brand, Metro, generally received low priority relative to customers on T-mobile-branded plans
I had to scour a bunch of different providers and often call/email for pricing to put together a list of options in a spreadsheet. I needed cellular service for iPads but they are only used a handful of times a year (normally <50MB each) and Verizon/T-Mobile/AT&T all wanted something like $30/mo per iPad (every month). Even their "IoT" plans with pooled data wanted an absurd per-device fee every month.
I finally settled on SimpleX [0] which has been working very well though I wish their API was a little nicer. I pay an upfront fee ($3) for each eSIM then, based on the plan I picked, I pay $0.04/MB and $0.25/device/mo. I wanted a lower per-device per-month fee for a higher per-MB fee. They have other plans where the MB cost is cheaper and you pay more per month. If I ever get to the point where I'm using the iPads more frequently then maybe it will be worth switching to one of those plans but as it is I pay <$100 per event I do for all my data which I'm very happy with (42 iPads).
I use Mint Mobile because it's cheap and has been reliable for my family.
A couple of months ago, I traveled to Belize with my iPhone 14 Pro, which only has eSIM. The websites for the two local companies said that I could buy them at a local store but none of the stores at the airport sold eSIMs or SIM.
Mint Mobile offered me 10GB of data for $40/week. Plus fees, as it turned out, so total of $42 or $43. I took it because I couldn't find a local solution and it was only about $20 difference.
I was happy with the service. My wife uses prepaid Verizon and it was $10/day for their service in Belize which is more in line with what I was expecting. We ended up never feeling like we needed to turn it on.
Half of the time we were in the mountains where there wasn't any cell service so I only ended up using about 1GB of cellular and the rest the resort's WiFi there. But it was nice to be able to search on the road for restaurants, coffee stops, etc.
On a trip to Croatia and Italy a few years ago, the situation for local SIMs was confusing enough that I ended up not using any cell service, just downloading maps from Google Maps in offline mode from the hotel WiFi. Worked great with just GPS but only for places I'd pre-selected - no searching for anything.
Also, things like iMessage, FaceTime and Signal definitely work with those sims. Not sure about "wifi" calling or SMS with your home country's plan though.
I've used the Airalo app to buy data-only eSims in multiple regions, and they have global ones also. I would guess it's not as cheap as you'd get if you waited to buy from local providers in arrival, but it's very convenient.
I had international roaming on the $25/month tmobile prepaid, but if I'm saving ~$8/month (25/month was all in, 15/month charges taxes), I can figure something out if I need it if I leave the states.
My two work trips a long time ago, I managed to get prepaid sims abroad that worked enough.
Pretty much nobody offers meaningful domestic roaming anymore, no matter the cost, so while I'd love that, I'd need a dual sim, dual active phone to approximate it, and I don't care about dead zones near me enough to do it. But my spouse and I are on different networks, so if we're both somewhere we rarely both have no coverage.
Haven't done that in a year and a half, but when I spent a few weeks out of the country it was a simple matter of buying a $30 prepaid SIM from a vending machine at the airport and having more data than I had time to use. Honestly, no contracts or carrier locks has always made it easier to deal with travel compared to friends who occasionally have issues just swapping SIMs.
Unfortunately, the increasing prevalence of eSIMs in new phones makes temporarily switching to a foreign carrier far more inconvenient than "just buy a SIM at a vending machine".
The increased prevalence of eSIMs has made using a foreign carrier easier than ever. You don’t even need to find a vending machine or store. You can purchase your eSIM online before you even get to your destination.
iPhones (and probably Androids too) support up to 10 eSIMs with 2 active at the same time, if I'm not mistaken. And you can buy data eSIMs before even leaving the country in an app like Airalo.
Yes, it's much easier to buy ahead of time in the app and have it automatically activate upon arrival, instead of having to find a kiosk in the airport.
I'm looking to switch to Visible here soon after being on Google Fi for many years. Just looks like a cheaper rebranded Verizon to me, and has all the features I would need for a cheap price.
I moved from T-Mobile to Visible, and my SO from AT&T to Visible. It was well worth it, we now pay $80 combined with unlimited 5G (incl. cellular for our watches) and have had no issues. We've been to concerts (Taylor Swift) and never had any issues with our connection. So far, this was a great choice.
I switched away from Visible to US Mobile due to deprioritization. I believe they now offer a non-deprioritized plan for $40/mo though, but U.S. mobile is less expensive for a non-deprio plan.
On Visible, your first 50GB of mobile data are not deprioritized.
Some people use a lot of mobile data - but I'm on my phone all day/night for business and pleasure, watch a lot of video content etc, but usually am within Wifi range of my home or office. I struggle to use more than 6GB of mobile data per month...
Before switching to Visible, I worried a lot about prioritization etc. After switching from Verizon (proper) -> Visible, and I can honestly say I haven't noticed any difference in performance. My bill is significantly lower though, which I do enjoy.
Looks like you're right. I pay $35 a month for my line - there's some $10 monthly credit they applied to my account. With their annual payment option, it's $33 monthly.
The new yearly Visible+ plan has 50GB of non-deprioritized data a month, not that I ever really had an issue on the normal Visible plan, free calling in Canada and Mexico, 2GB of data a day in Canada and Mexico, double the tethering speed and a free global pass per month. It is $395 which works out to $32.92 per month.
My spouse went from $30/month to $25/month on Verizon for more data.
And there's lots of options at https://prepaidcompare.net/