Verizon Wireless has long been one of the top selling cell phone companies to ever hit the market. They don’t often have high competition but that may all be changing now. Verizon Wireless is well-known for great coverage so that customers don’t drop calls. Many people dropped their old plans like hot potatoes when Verizon began offering some of the best service that you could find in a cell phone. Straight Talk cell phones are going to give Verizon a run for their money though.
Comparing Verizon Wireless to Straight Talk Cell Phone Plans
Verizon Wireless
Coverage- Verizon Wireless offers coverage nearly any place you may go. If you live in the United States and travel anywhere in the United States, you can make and receive calls from nearly every location because of the many cell towers that Verizon has added to it’s network. This is great for those who have Verizon Wireless service because you don’t have to worry about dropped calls. You are not charged roaming charges or out of area calls for any calls that you make either.
Plans- Verizon Wireless offers many phone plans to suit nearly every need. The rate is a bit high but you can connect nearly everywhere and that is why so many people have the service in the first place. The plans can include unlimited texting, calls to anyone in the network without being charged minutes, web browsing and a limited number of minutes to talk to people outside the network.
Price- Verizon charges anywhere from $59.99 to $89.99 per month depending on the plan that you get. This price includes calls and texting, web browsing is another monthly charge if you decide to get it. This is rather high considering that you have to also pay taxes and other hidden charges once the bill comes due. The cost is never really what it appears to be on the surface. Data charges (web browsing) can cost an additional $9.99 a month to $29.99 a month and again comes with a few hidden charges.
Customer Service- Customer service appears to be based in the United States for Verizon Wireless phones. That makes it much easier to talk to someone with whom you can understand what they are saying. This is a huge plus because many customer service centers for many companies around the United States are now based in foreign countries such as India. The only problem is that Verizon Wireless customer service can sometimes be very rude when you are talking to them. Verizon Wireless customers often complain about this problem but to no avail.
Straight Talk
Coverage- The coverage for Straight Talk is the exact same coverage that you get with Verizon Wireless phone service. That is because Straight Talk uses Verizon Wireless towers. That means that you will be able to connect to as many people as you can on a Verizon phone and probably for much less money monthly.
Plans- Straight Talk has two plans to choose from. There are no contracts to sign, no credit checks required and no limits. Straight Talk is a prepaid phone plan without the major expense of other prepaid phones. For instance, you can have the money taken out of your debit card every month so you don’t have to worry about cards. If you choose not to do that, you can always purchase the cards at Walmart every month.
Price- The all you need plan is $30 a month and come with a thousand minutes of talk time, a thousand text messages and 30 MB of web browsing. If you truly don’t want to be limited you can pay $45 a month. This will give you unlimited access for 30 days. For Verizon, you have to spend $89.99 per month to get unlimited phone calls and texting without web browsing and you have to spend another $29.99 to get unlimited web browsing. In other words, Straight Talk offers the best possible deal when it comes to calling, texting and web browsing. There are also no extra or hidden fees that you will have to pay. You pay for everything when you get the card.
Customer Service- Customer service is based in a foreign country which is one of the biggest drawbacks. You may be on the phone for long periods of time trying to get anything resolved. The biggest issue appears to be switching to the phone. The suggestion is that when changing over phone services, you do so online because it is easier. This may mean that you won’t be able to keep your current number and switch it over, but the service will be started much faster.
You can save a lot of money using the Straight Talk phone service. Verizon Wireless does offer a variety of ways in order to connect to family and friends, however, it can be extremely expensive. You can sometimes be very surprised at the amount of money that you end up spending per month as compared to the total that you thought you were going to pay. The Straight Talk phone is pretty straight forward. You pay for the plan, you can’t go over your minutes and you get exactly what you pay for. Many people are making the switch from traditional phone services like Verizon Wireless and opting for the much cheaper prepaid type phone system that you get with Straight Talk. It is worth considering the options that you have in order to save, possibly, hundreds of dollars per year.
