I'm looking for a pre-paid plan that offers roaming coverage throughout as much of the mid-Atlantic region as possbile, including areas like north-central PA or south-eastern WV that look like holes in most coverage maps. And not necessarily along highways. It's OK if the per-minute rate is high (not many calls, but high-priority when I need to make one), as long as the monthly cost of not using it much is low.
Pre-Paid phones don't normally include Roaming agreements and with most you will get Emergency coverage only when off network. I am not sure if Tracfone or other MVNO may be an option and what roaming agreements they have with all the different carriers, but a post paid would be the best way to go for both native & roaming coverage.
Unfortunately, reasonable roaming rates and cheap monthly cost went bye-bye with Beyond Wireless TDMA. Tracfone and Net-10 GSM roam almost everywhere there is GSM service, at no extra charge (even Canada), but in remote areas where the provider is CDMA and AMPS, you could not use either. Tracfone's cost and length-of-time between refills vary depending on what promotions are available (can be somewhat complex). Net-10's cheapest refill is $30 for 60-days. I think the cheapest roaming (50 cents/min) available on CDMA (and AMPS) is with Simple Freedom. Regular rate is 25 cents/min anywhere on Alltel and Verizon networks, cheapest refills are $20 for 60 days or $100 for a year. Unfortunately, starting this month, you can't get a number from a Verizon area (it would have to be from an Alltel market), and the phones will only be sold in Alltel markets (if you get one online, or from e-Bay, it can be activated online, currently with 120 free minutes). Page Plus (on Verizon) has cheap on-network rates, and long expiration times, but roaming is 99 cents/min.
What about ALLTEL's new U Prepay? The coverage map looks pretty good to me other than some areas of a few states up there. I like the rates- they seems pretty decent to me for prepay.
Thanks for the replies. Let me re-iterate, that the per minute cost of roaming is less important to me that coverage (few but important calls). PagePlus and U Prepaid both look like good options. Their coverage maps look great. Looks like a pretty simple choice between the cost of network and roaming.
Unfortunely since you live in Maryland you will not be able to get U Prepaid. U Prepaid is only sold in Alltel markets and Maryland has no native coverage through Alltel. Simple Freedom is a choice but as stated in an earlier post it will be pulled from Verizon markets very soon, so I wouldn't recommend them either. Tracfone allows roaming but the per minute rate with them is kind of expensive. Since you rarely plan on using your phone though the rates shouldn't be a problem. You should look at TracFone's website to see if they may fit your needs.
