question about Chicago providers coverage

If you use between 100 and 150 minuts per month I'm not sure how much prepaid will cost you, so my suggestion would be to get a $30 Sprint SERO plan- yeah they give you much more minutes than 150, but for $30 I don't think you are losing anything, especially in case your minute usage goes up sometime. The Sprint SERO plans can be found at:
www.sprint.com/sero
for the referral email enter: Enternow@sprint.com

Andy

 

You could look at Amp'd Mobile. They run on VZW's network and free roam on many others. 10 cents a minute for pay as you go unless you get a hybrid or monthly plan. Also if you are into the extras, they have a ton of multimedia available. And they have access to VZW's EVDO broadband. Either that or Sprint SERO plan sounds like the best options for you. I'm fairly certain you will have better coverage overall with Amp'd then Virgin. Especially since Virgin mobile can only be on sprint and no other networks.

www.ampd.com

 

If T-Mobile works well in your area it can ultimately be a very good deal. If you get T-Mobile To Go prepaid service and immediately add a $100 refill card you will get at least 10¢ per minute for calls. You can even get it for less than $100 if you go to Cheap International Prepaid Phone Cards (3% always plus another 5% using a code word such as cheap5.) Or Target often has sales selling refill cards for less than face value. With T-Mobile once you spend $100 you are given "gold rewards status" rewards. This means that 1) once you reach gold rewards you only have to refill once per year with a minimum refill ($10.) 2) gold rewards guarantees that any further deposits into your account will give you 15% more value for your refills. Of course th is means that you have to outlay $100 right away, but that's the last large refill you need since you only need $10 to keep the account open for another year.

 

I don't like Virgin because it won't roam off the Sprint network. if you know you like Cingular's coverage, look at Consumer Cellular. They have no contract and they use the Cingular network. They have a plan that includes 100 minutes for $20, and any amount you use over that is an additional .25/minute. So, in a month where you use 100 minutes you pay $20, in a month when you use 150 you'd pay $32.50.

One thing to watch out for, their customer service is extremely variable. One day i called to get information and got someone wonderful, the next day I decided NOT to order because the guy at the other end of the phone was totally clueless.