lansbury

My ATT cell phone contract is about to expire in a few days and I have no need to replace my phone through ATT.

Looking online I've seen reference to non-contact ATT plans which are claimed to be cheaper then the contract ones. However there is nothing on the ATT web site. Before I go into the ATT shop and see what might be on offer, I wondered if anyone on BE has been able to reduce their ATT tariff once their contract ended and what the plan costs came down to.

If ATT will not reduce the tariff I'll get a sim from T-Mobile and save $30 a month, as their coverage is OK for my needs.

Bob

http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/pla...paidplans.html

Something like that as a PAYG jobby?

lansbury

Thanks Bob. I looked at PAYG which seemed to be suitable, even with the 4G data coverage being different with PAYG to contracts. But when I tried online to check if my current number could be transferred to PAYG it said no. Strange as it is already with ATT.

Digging around online I found mention of off contract tariffs which the blurb I read said were different to PAYG. Was hoping someone on BE might be on an off contract tariff so I had some info to hand to haggle in the store.

Bob

Then I've no idea....good luck!

hungryhorace

Both terms are ones i haven't come across in the US. There's 'postpaid' (contract), and 'prepaid' (PAYG). If you have a GSM phone, I recommend looking at either AT&T GoPhone (your number can be transferred, you just need to speak to the number port team at AT&T), or one of their many MVNO's.

Some of the ones I recommend would be:

Airvoice Wireless
AIO (owned by AT&T - watch out for the speed limits, and lack of short code support. This would frustrate me)
RedPocket

NB: Only AIO and AT&T GoPhone offer access to ATT's LTE network if that's important to you.

hungryhorace

Just to clarify, that's a myth. AT&T's postpaid domestic coverage is identical to their prepaid.

lansbury

Not according to the ATT coverage maps it isn't. The maps show reduced signal strength on a fair percentage of the 4G network in Oregon, between contract and PAYG. Not a deal breaker but a reason to avoid ATT PAYG if I can.

hungryhorace

I know, and it's nonsense really. The other coverage you're seeing is 'partner' coverage, which is rate limited data wise as it costs AT&T a fortune. This has come many times on cell phone forums such as Howardforums.com

scrubbedexpat099

RepublicWireless?

I can use my Nexus 7 to make calls. not sure if I will bother keeping a dedicated phone.

scrubbedexpat099

RepublicWireless?

I can use my Nexus 7 to make calls. not sure if I will bother keeping a dedicated phone.

lansbury

Thanks this one looks interesting. Would drop my monthly bill from $93 to $55 a month. While they cap the speeds, it is now 8mbps so should be reasonable for cell phone usage.

hungryhorace

For LTE, 4mbit for HSPA+. They don't support short codes either, which i would find a major pita. If that doesn't bother you, then go for it!

hungryhorace

For $55 i'd go with AT&T GoPhone fwiw. If you use callingmart you can get a 10% discount each month to bring the charge down to $54.

lansbury

I'll go down the ATT store in a few days and see what they say when I ask about what they can offer when the contract ends and I don't upgrade the phone. Lots of interesting possibilities which will save money if ATT say still the same price.

hungryhorace

I think you'll find that the bods in the ATT store won't be able to offer anything outside of the plans set by them. If I were you, i'd call up ATT retentions and see what deal you could negotiate, using their GoPhone/AIO plans as leverage.