Cricket adds $25 plan

MetroPCS was offering a $30 unlimited plan that included unlimited long distance and unlimited text messaging. They say it’s available for a limited time, and for new customers only, but it’s still a great deal for those who just use the phone’s basic functions. Cricket is trying to keep up, offering a $25 deal that would seem to undercut Metro’s plan, though it has a major shortcoming. Cricket’s $25 plan includes unlimited talk, text, and caller ID. The only problem is that it does not cover long distance. In an age when area codes mean much less than they did a decade ago, this seems like a major pitfall. Looking through my address book, I see maybe a quarter of my contacts with the same area code as me. That would render the $25 Cricket plan useless. Even with Cricket’s $30 monthly plan, long distance is not included. To me, that makes Metro’s offering superior in every way. They don’t have the $25 plan because, frankly, local-only calling is becoming irrelevant. The addition of long distance to Metro’s $30 plan makes it better in every way. I’m sure Cricket has a rationale for offering only local calling — they wouldn’t offer it if there weren’t a market — but I have a feeling that demand will continue to dwindle. If you only need local calling, you can check out the plan at Cricket’s website. ]]>