New here and looking for some help

Deals on Verizon outside of the state employees discount and the subsidy discount on phones from Verizon? Not likely. The 20% discount will apply most of your monthly charges (depending on the plan you get), but not all. You will get discounts on accessories, but that's it.

Depending on the phones you choose, you could be paying an extra $10 per line for data, as there is a mandatory minimum data fee on 3G phones. Smartphones carry a mandatory $30 data fee. Verizon's texting charges are lousy at that. For $5, you get 250 text messages with no mobile-to-mobile allowance. The fees get more expensive if you need more texts.

There's no getting around the data fee. You might be better off staying with AT&T. Verizon has gotten too restrictive and expensive. Believe me, they won't allow you to get too many discounts. After all it costs them money.

 

A 20% discount is pretty good and should apply to the monthly voice and data fees. The cost for data will depend on the device you choose. VZW offers free and discounted equipment and accessories to state employees as well. I recommend going to a VZW store or contacting a VZW rep in your area to get all the details.

 

This is a generalization.

The only SOLID statements about the question:

• VZW will not "stack" discounts; only one will be applied per account.
• The discount will be dependent on what the employer negotiated with VZW. I've seen discounts as little as 3% up to 30%, and the amount can differ on the same acct with one percentage on plan, another on data, and another amount on phones/accessories.

 

It was intended to be a generalization.

Been waiting for you to chime in with more official information.

 

Sprint is cheap.

 

I have heard they are. Coverage seems to be better lately.

 

You should be going with the company that gives you the best coverage in the areas you frequent. Forget about nice or cheap phones. They will become excellent paperweights with the wrong service provider for your needs.

 

Great point and well said.

 

Sprint (last time I knew) had they everything plan....unlimited talk, data, and text for like $42.50/month per line

 

The only thing about Sprint is that you can't pick and choose which lines on a Family plan has data. No matter what phone that third person has, you're paying $20/month for the third line. Of course with having to pay $60 for unlimited Data on the first two lines, Sprint is still far cheaper for the 1500 minute Family plan vs. Verizon or AT&T.