pay as you go cell phone providers add new options to their plan lineups. The first came from Cricket wireless, which introduced its daily pay as you go plans. Last week, Boost Mobile came in with their own, which provides minutes at 10 cents all day, every day. Let’s take this opportunity to determine how these new plans stack up against one another.
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Coverage
While different people have different definitions of the most important aspect of cell service, the most common quality is coverage. There’s nothing more frustrating than having losing signal mid-call, or not having signal when you really need to make one. Scratch that: there’s nothing more frustrating than being charged for roaming when you don’t know that you’re out of the calling area.
With the basic Boost service, you won’t have to worry about roaming costs, as they’re included in your normal minutes. Their coverage is nationwide, as they utilize the iDEN and CDMA networks of Nextel and Sprint. Of course, this isn’t to say Boost phones get great reception in all places. I’ve heard many complaints about Sprint’s coverage, no doubt. However, it certainly does provide a comparatively comprehensive coverage area.
With the Cricket side, you’re a bit out of luck. While the network is expanding, and they do expect a slew of new markets by the end of next year, it is still smaller than Boost’s coverage area. The worst part is that roaming can cost you to the tune of 39 cents a minute. Oof. Hey, at least there’s no bill for it, though. You have to use your FlexBucket to fund roaming, so if there’s nothing in there, the phone simply won’t work outside the local calling area.
Cost
After determining requisite coverage, the next aspect to consider is cost. Both companies launched their new plans with cost-consciousness in mind. With the American economy in turmoil, prepaid stands to gain customers who don’t want to commit to two-year carrier agreements, as well as customers who want to cut costs and see an opportunity with cell phone service.
Boost’s plan is similar to that of Net10, in that there is no disparity in the rates. No night and weekend rates to consider (and wait around for), no daily access fee to get a lower rate. Just 10 cents per minute, all day, every day. Text messages are also 10 cents each, incoming and outgoing. This is at a disadvantage to Net10’s five-cent texting. However, with Boost you only need to recharge your account every 90 days, while most Net10 cards expire after 60 days. All considered, you can probably save just as much with Boost’s 10 cent plan as with Net10.
Cricket’s PAYgo plan is a bit more complex. It charges a daily access fee for unlimited calling. The plans are $1, $2, or $3 per day, each coming with a greater level of service. The $1 plan gets you unlimited local calling, the $2 plan adds unlimited messaging, and the $3 plan gives you long distance and mobile Web. For some, this is immediately inequitable. Cell phones have changed our conception of long distance. I have friends with Tennessee numbers, but it has never been a problem, since every cell plan I’ve ever had included long distance. This is not he case with Leap’s new plans below $3.
The $3 per day charge comes out to $90 per month if you use the phone every day, so it is immediately out as a value. If you use your phone twice a week, or roughly 10 times per month, it could be a value at $30. Even with the $1 and $2 plans, interested customers might want to check out Cricket’s monthly flat-rate plans. They start at $25, and can provide a better value for consistent users. Those who only use their cell phone in an emergency, though, could find immense use from these plans.
Handsets
While handsets certainly aren’t the main consideration for most people when picking a cell phone service, it certainly comes into play at some point. And, as with coverage, some people might value it more than others. So let’s explore the handset options for each carrier.
For their 10 cent plan, Boost offers four handsets, ranging from $39.99 for the i425e to $99.99 for the Motorola i776. These prices are about par for the course in the prepaid realm. They seem a bit subsidized, but not to the level of contract carriers. Point is, you won’t be breaking the bank for a Boost Mobile phone.
On the Cricket side, things are a bit different. They don’t subsidize phones much, usually offering just a $20 Web discount, combined with the occasional mail-in rebate. Further complicating matters, PAYgo is only available on a select few handsets for the time being. These are the Cricket EZ ($29.99), UTStarcom CDM7126 ($69.99), and Samsung MyShot ($129.99). While the first two handsets are cheap in price, their quality reflects it. However, for emergency purposes, there is plenty positive to say about a PAYgo plan with the Cricket EZ. No frills, no paying for days you don’t use the phone.
It’s always nice to see carriers introduce new plans to their lineups — except, of course, when it comes at the expense of popular plans (thank you, Verizon INpulse and EasyPay). These new plans from Cricket and Boost might not appeal to everyone, but they certainly have attractive features for various types of cell users. They have their plusses and minuses, so hopefully the above information helps you better make a decision on which works best for you.
For more information, you can check out Cricket’s website and Boost Mobile’s website.]]>
Posted in Prepaid Services
Boost Mobile runs the pre paid industry. Expect great things from Boost in the upcoming months.
Good article Joe. I work at VacationTrader.org and many of us travel. Our contact at Boost just advised us that starting 1/15/09 that their PayGO service will offer an unlimited talk, text, and web for $50 per month including tax. Being it is a nationwide plan with no roaming this should slaughter the competition with Criket and MetroPCS.
Hello, I was in the process of opening a Cricket store, now I am confused on which one to open, I like Boosts plans, but Cricket makes alot of money flashing plans. Which one would you take? It’s hard to choose.
But the Boost mobile S1 a day chat plan gives you unlimited text, nights(9pm-7am)and weekends(Friday 9pm- Monday 7am)
and that’s really all you need. if tou use your phone every day then you only spend $30 or $31 a month. Cricket cannot beat that!
After reading the responses do the nights(7pm-7am) and weekends apply for both companies.
I was a Cricket customer and the service is fine you however will run into problems when you have to contact cricket for any reason…all of their customer service is in India and its a serious hassle to get problems fixed…whereas with Boost just pick up the phone and you get someone quickly that fixes your problem quickly..
I agree with Brian…Cricket is very affordable and the service is good but when you have a problem..good luck!!! And going into a Cricket store is just as bad. No one wants to call so the lines go out the door no matter what time of day you go in. Stick with Boost.
I think boostmobile beat Cricket because boost give more for your money.However, boost does not give you a replacement when you loss or break your phone.I think that a rip off because you have to buy a new phone everytime you break or loss it.
Having worked for cricket wireless and dealing with angry people all day, I can say a few things about both companies. First, cricket has very limited abilities to help customers with any service issues because the coverage is so limited. Boost runs off of sprints network, so its more reliable than other prepaid plans. Cricket is well known for ripping people off, and Ive seen it first hand. Even if you dont use your phone for a month, the account stays open and charges for service and late fees. This can really be a kick in the nuts for a customer because theres no contract, so they have to wait 2 months for the account to disconnect, lose their number, and reconnect to avoid the late fees and past due balance. Boost is more customer focused by having an up front, no hidden fees, no contract service that is actually “prepaid” as opposed to cricket, which is considered “month to month” and can cause problems in the billing department. Cell phones are vastly going the direction of prepaid and Boost has done their homework!
I was debating between both the companies and thanks to all for the insight I think i know now which company I will go with.
Boost is way better
dnt waste ur money on cricket ,,, boost mobile is better and has better customer service take it from sum1 dat tried both
Hey, well I have too agree that cricket sucks, and pocket blows. Reason is be cause everytime I would have to contact someone, it usually never goes threw.. my friends never really had signal nor did I, so I just don’t recommend neither… and for boost well they say its good, but I’ve tried contacting sum friends that had it, and a operator comes out saying ” please wait while we search for.the wireless phone” or something like that… either way all of them suck, sorry to say :/
But boost has radio and its cheap, so idk its always up to the customers. Usually all phones are frustrating.
Okay I was dealing wit the same thng depating weather or not i wnt boost or criket. I have a boost but i wanted 2 switch to cricket cuz i didnt wnt to pay $50 a month (Im 14 by the way nd get paid 15 a week) Nd i pay my own bill, but from wat I c dat crickte only problem iz there service nd boost is a bit costy. I’m not sure cuz rite now I pay 20 every week cuz plp txt me like crazy nd i want unlimited but boost is too high for me nd cricket is $40 a month. Nd ok 10 dollars off big deal? It is for me cuz i have to save every penny i get, so any encouragement into wat to choose?
Nd sometimes i get paid 20 depends on boss
I looked at both services. I have had sprint and cricket. I had cricket in the early days and it was not very good. When I used to travel with Sprint I had major reception problems. I switched from Sprint to cricket and I am not having the problems that I had with Sprint. I have had friends that tried Boost mobile and switched back to Cricket, since there service was inproved earlier this year.
i had boost 4 years and da only promble i had was da phone aint no good.u might go tho 2 maybe 3 a year no matter da cost
ok so which tax our bill more and has hidden fee’s?
I been with boost for 2yrs now & a couple of phones, but only because I like the upgrades. The only problem I’ve had is the falling calls. I’d be on the phone next thing i know it said call disconnected. Trust me that starts to get really annoying. If boost can some how create a way to help better reception boost would be an A1 choice.
I recently canceled my plan with Cricket because of their deceptive tricks in billing. When i first signed up they were mailing me the bill so I would pay it. The bills stopped coming in the mail and got hit with a 10 dollar reactivation fee. The service rep in the Cricket store informed me that I would have to pay a 3.00 fee every time I paid at their store. So I asked her why they couldnt just send me a Cricket bill in the mail. She informed me that a $1.50 fee would be added every month for mail billing. This made no sense to me but I went along with it. A month late the bill never arrived and got hit with another 10 dollar reactivation fee.
It is obvious Cricket is nickle and dimeing. I will will have no choice to try out Boost.
P.s. Wish me luck since it appears all these phone companies are crooks.
FROM THE LEAP CORPORATE OFFICES IN SAN DIEGO,CA DOWN TO EVERY CUSTOMER SERVICE REP, SLALES REP ARE COWARDS AND LIARS YOU KNOW HOW YOU CAN TELL WHEN A LEAP/CRICKET employee IS LYING TO YOU?…YOU HEAR THEIR VOICE HEED MY WARNING THIS COMPANY PUMPS OUT MORE CRAP THAN A SEWER BILDGE
cricket works fine.