Comparison of Unlimited/High Volume Prepaid Wireless Phone PlansAdded to the Prepaid Wireless Web Site

With several new low cost unlimited and high-volume prepaid wireless
plans hitting the market in the past few months, I added a comparison
table to the prepaid web site at "http://prepaiduswireless.com/".

PagePlus (Verizon MVNO) offers 1200 minutes, 1200 text or MMS messages,
and 50MB of data for under $25/month. They offer unlimited voice,
unlimited texting (but not MMS) and 20MB of data for under $33/month.

Boost offers unlimited voice, messaging, and 3G data for $50/month on
Sprint's CDMA network (plus garbage fees). This isn't the iDEN unlimited
plan on the horrible Nextel network. The downsides are a) to use a smart
phone requires some convoluted actions to get it activated and b) there
is no roaming off of Sprint's limited native network.

On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:59:04 -0700, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote in <4ad3c27c$0$1638$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>:

>Boost offers unlimited voice, messaging, and 3G data for $50/month on
>Sprint's CDMA network (plus garbage fees). This isn't the iDEN unlimited
>plan on the horrible Nextel network. The downsides are a) to use a smart
>phone requires some convoluted actions to get it activated and b) there
>is no roaming off of Sprint's limited native network.

Sprint's own network is actually quite good.

--
Best regards,
John <http:/navasgroup.com>

If the iPhone is really so impressive,
why do iFans keep making excuses for it?

John Navas wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:59:04 -0700, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
> wrote in <4ad3c27c$0$1638$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>:
>
>> Boost offers unlimited voice, messaging, and 3G data for $50/month on
>> Sprint's CDMA network (plus garbage fees). This isn't the iDEN unlimited
>> plan on the horrible Nextel network. The downsides are a) to use a smart
>> phone requires some convoluted actions to get it activated and b) there
>> is no roaming off of Sprint's limited native network.
>
> Sprint's own network is actually quite good.
>
That wouldn't be the case within say 200 miles of me. Also Sprint is
stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. I am
sure you can produce a cite from the "Navas Group" which will claim that
well known phenomena isn't true.

George wrote:

> That wouldn't be the case within say 200 miles of me. Also Sprint is
> stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. I am
> sure you can produce a cite from the "Navas Group" which will claim that
> well known phenomena isn't true.

Sprint's native network is very limited in geographic coverage and is,
as you state, at the less desirable 1900 MHz. Postpaid Sprint users have
the benefit of being able to roam, at no extra cost, on other CDMA
networks. Many Sprint phones can be forced to roam, so even in areas
with Sprint native coverage you can force it onto Verizon which is often
useful because the 800 MHz network is much better.

The problem with Sprint prepaid (Boost CDMA, Virgin CDMA) is that they
limit you to Sprint's native network. If you look at the Sprint coverage
map at "http://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp?language=EN" all the gray
areas are roaming and are not available to prepaid users. EIYJN.

George wrote:

> That wouldn't be the case within say 200 miles of me. Also Sprint is
> stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. I am
> sure you can produce a cite from the "Navas Group" which will claim that
> well known phenomena isn't true.

When selecting a prepaid carrier, if coverage outside of major urban
areas is a concern, then choose one that allows roaming onto any
available (technology-compatible) carrier, even if it costs extra for
that roaming.

Some Tracfone models allow roaming at 2x the regular rate. PagePlus
offers roaming at 59¢/minute. Verizon InPulse offers roaming at
20¢/minute. None of the Sprint prepaid carriers allow roaming. T-Mobile
does allow more and more roaming on prepaid (they used to only allow
roaming onto other 1900 MHz carriers). AT&T limits roaming severely
(compare their coverage maps for postpaid and prepaid).

George wrote:

> That wouldn't be the case within say 200 miles of me. Also Sprint is
> stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. I am
> sure you can produce a cite from the "Navas Group" which will claim that
> well known phenomena isn't true.

LOL, actually he's claimed that the "phenomena" isn't true many times in
the past, with no cite at all, not even citing himself as he likes to do.

However since in the past week AT&T themselves have stated that 850MHz
has better in-building coverage and range, I don't think he'll be
issuing this claim again.

On 2009-10-13, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:
> George wrote:
>> That wouldn't be the case within say 200 miles of me. Also Sprint is
>> stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. I am
>> sure you can produce a cite from the "Navas Group" which will claim that
>> well known phenomena isn't true.
>
> LOL, actually he's claimed that the "phenomena" isn't true many times in
> the past, with no cite at all, not even citing himself as he likes to do.
>
> However since in the past week AT&T themselves have stated that 850MHz
> has better in-building coverage and range, I don't think he'll be
> issuing this claim again.

In fact most propagation models don't think indoor propagation is
affected much by frequency, at least the frequencies mobiles use.
Older research found higher frequencies penetrate a little better,
newer measurements usually find lower is a little better (here's a
recent one google found:

http://www.co.it.pt/conftele2007/ass...s/paper_16.pdf

), but the difference is usually small. COST231's model for office
propagation at mobile frequencies assumes frequency doesn't matter,
see the bottom of this page:

http://www.wirelesscommunication.nl/...r03/indoor.htm

The real issue isn't how much the building knocks down the signal
at different frequencies, that doesn't change much. Instead the
issue is how much signal you have outside the building before
the building penetration knocks it down and here the lower
frequencies have a distinct advantage, the same as with outdoor
coverage.

850 MHz does provide better coverage, but less capacity per unit
area of coverage. More cell towers would provide both better coverage
(indoors and out) and greater capacity. I wonder which AT&T would
prefer?

Dennis Ferguson

Dennis Ferguson wrote:

> In fact most propagation models don't think indoor propagation is
> affected much by frequency, at least the frequencies mobiles use.

Pretty sure that AT&T (and the other carriers) are looking at it from
the more practical aspect of having a stronger signal just outside the
building with the lower frequency. True, if you construct two cells
right outside a building then it won't much matter whether it's 800 or
1900 MHz. If the two cells are a few miles away then it matters a lot.

I wish the EPA Ikea would put in some pico cells in their building.
There are towers for all the major carriers within 1/4 mile of the store
so clearly it's not a lack of coverage issue, it's something about the
building's construction.

On Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:06:53 -0400, George <george@nospam.invalid> wrote
in <hb1qg5$4ht$3@news.eternal-september.org>:

>John Navas wrote:
>> On Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:59:04 -0700, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
>> wrote in <4ad3c27c$0$1638$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>:
>>
>>> Boost offers unlimited voice, messaging, and 3G data for $50/month on
>>> Sprint's CDMA network (plus garbage fees). This isn't the iDEN unlimited
>>> plan on the horrible Nextel network. The downsides are a) to use a smart
>>> phone requires some convoluted actions to get it activated and b) there
>>> is no roaming off of Sprint's limited native network.
>>
>> Sprint's own network is actually quite good.
>>
>That wouldn't be the case within say 200 miles of me.

Middle of the desert?

>Also Sprint is
>stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. ...

Simply not true.

--
Best regards,
John <http:/navasgroup.com>

If the iPhone is really so impressive,
why do iFans keep making excuses for it?

On Tue, 13 Oct 2009 09:08:35 -0700, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote in <4ad4a5ba$0$1597$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>:

>George wrote:
>
>> That wouldn't be the case within say 200 miles of me. Also Sprint is
>> stuck on 1,900 MHz which has less building penetration and range. I am
>> sure you can produce a cite from the "Navas Group" which will claim that
>> well known phenomena isn't true.
>
>LOL, actually he's claimed that the "phenomena" isn't true many times in
>the past, with no cite at all, not even citing himself as he likes to do.

I've actually cited a definitive technical paper by a genuine expert.
You've cited nothing.

>However since in the past week AT&T themselves have stated that 850MHz
>has better in-building coverage and range, I don't think he'll be
>issuing this claim again.

Simply not true, just your misunderstanding of what was actually said.

--
Best regards,
John <http:/navasgroup.com>

If the iPhone is really so impressive,
why do iFans keep making excuses for it?

On Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:35:58 -0700, SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com>
wrote in <4ad4e465$0$1604$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net>:

>Dennis Ferguson wrote:
>
>> In fact most propagation models don't think indoor propagation is
>> affected much by frequency, at least the frequencies mobiles use.
>
>Pretty sure that AT&T (and the other carriers) are looking at it from
>the more practical aspect of having a stronger signal just outside the
>building with the lower frequency. True, if you construct two cells
>right outside a building then it won't much matter whether it's 800 or
>1900 MHz. If the two cells are a few miles away then it matters a lot.

Actually not.

--
Best regards,
John <http:/navasgroup.com>

If the iPhone is really so impressive,
why do iFans keep making excuses for it?

Dennis Ferguson wrote:

> 850 MHz does provide better coverage, but less capacity per unit
> area of coverage.

Never forget the "EIYJN" qualifier when stating that fact.

SMS wrote:
> Dennis Ferguson wrote:
>
>> 850 MHz does provide better coverage, but less capacity per unit
>> area of coverage.
>
> Never forget the "EIYJN" qualifier when stating that fact.

Could you be a little less cryptic? EIYJN??

On Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:49:20 -0400, "Richard B. Gilbert"
<rgilbert88@comcast.net> wrote:

>SMS wrote:
>> Dennis Ferguson wrote:
>>
>>> 850 MHz does provide better coverage, but less capacity per unit
>>> area of coverage.
>>
>> Never forget the "EIYJN" qualifier when stating that fact.
>
>Could you be a little less cryptic? EIYJN??

I'm guessing it means "Except if you're J. N.". You can probably
figure it out from there.

--
Paul Miner

Richard B. Gilbert wrote:
> SMS wrote:
>> Dennis Ferguson wrote:
>>
>>> 850 MHz does provide better coverage, but less capacity per unit
>>> area of coverage.
>>
>> Never forget the "EIYJN" qualifier when stating that fact.
>
> Could you be a little less cryptic? EIYJN??

Except If You're......

Facts have no place in his world.

SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in news:4ad3c27c$0$1638
$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net:

> http://prepaiduswireless.com/

http://nordicgroup.us/prepaid/pageplus.html
Great information on how to get pageplus for 5.3c/minute and make sure your
account can never be dumped, just because you forgot to add minutes....

Man that's cheap!


--
Larry

Larry wrote:
> SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in news:4ad3c27c$0$1638
> $742ec2ed@news.sonic.net:
>
>> http://prepaiduswireless.com/
>
> http://nordicgroup.us/prepaid/pageplus.html
> Great information on how to get pageplus for 5.3c/minute and make sure your
> account can never be dumped, just because you forgot to add minutes....

Note that "http://nordicgroup.us/prepaid/pageplus.html" is a sub-page of
"http://prepaiduswireless.com/".

I added a section at the top of the PagePlus page with the pros and cons
of PagePlus which I list here:

Pros
----

* Per minute cost is the lowest of any prepaid carrier, as low as 5.3¢.

* Minimum monthly cost, for low volume users, is as low as $2.30 per
month. Only T-Mobile has a lower minimum monthly cost (once you become
"Gold" on T-Mobile prepaid, by spending $100, future refills (including
the $10 refill) last 365 days).

* Coverage is the best of any prepaid carrier (equal to the coverage on
Verizon's own prepaid service); far better coverage than AT&T, T-Mobile,
Virgin, Boost, or Tracfone GSM.

* Coverage is better than all postpaid carriers other than Verizon.

* No taxes, E-911 fees, or garbage fees (there is a 50¢ per month
service charge).

* Expiration time of 120 days applies even to their lowest cost cards.

* Roaming off Verizon allowed, albeit at extra cost, so your phone will
work on any CDMA network in the U.S. (many prepaid carriers don't allow
roaming or they limit roaming).

* Online account management of multiple phone numbers from one PagePlus
log-in.

* Low cost unlimited plan (<$33/month) which includes voice, texts, and
20MB of data (3G if your phone supports it). Additional data cost $0.60/MB.

* Low cost high-volume plan (<$25/month) which includes 1200 voice
minutes, 1200 text or MMS messages, and 50MB of data (3G if your phone
supports it). Additional data cost $0.60/MB.

* 3G and 2G data is available for $1.20/MB (not cheap but the few other
carriers that offer 3G data at all charge much more for it).

* Low speed QNC data available at no cost. This is an unofficial feature
and is not supported by all handsets, and is not guaranteed to be
available forever. Press for a Google Search of PagePlus & QNC. QNC is
fine for text based e-mail, but is really too slow for web browsing.

* Low $5 start-up cost (actually it's possible to get started for free).

* Automatic refills available to protect against account expiration.

* Phone number porting available at no cost.

* Smart Phones are supported on all types of plans.

* Wide availability of low-cost handsets, both new and used.

* Verizon back-door numbers for voice mail access work with PagePlus.

* Verizon e-mail to text message work with PagePlus.

* Excellent, U.S. based, customer service.

* Retail dealers available in many areas.

Cons
----

* Roaming costs 59¢ per minute so it isn't a suitable carrier if you
spend a lot of time outside Verizon's network footprint.

* 50¢ per month service charge.

* The maximum period for automatic refills is 30 days so you can't have
it automatically add $10 every 120 days (there is a workaround though).

* If your account expires you lose your accumulated money, though
customer service has been known to restore all or part of it on a case
by case basis.

* No mobile to mobile free calls to or from Verizon's regular customers,
all calls are charged.

* No free off-peak calls, all calls are charged.

* No Blackberry server support.

* No high usage data plans.

* No official support for international roaming, though there have been
reports that it sometimes works in Canada and China (does not work in
Mexico).

* No subsidized or free handsets with contract or contract renewal.

* Automatic refills are at full retail price, you can't set up automatic
refills with refills purchased at a discount.

SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in news:4ad9f159$0$1661
$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net:

> * Automatic refills are at full retail price, you can't set up automatic
> refills with refills purchased at a discount.
>
>

I've setup the webpage author's instructions to automatically buy a
$10/83min card 3 times a year, making sure to recharge the account with
something, then buying the discount 1400 min card when necessary to
maintain a few hundred minute balance at all times, manually....probably
whenever the deep discount sales open up for pageplug cards.

It's a helluva deal for nationwide Verizon service, especially for light
users like me.

and NO FUNNY BUSINESS....which is greatly appreciated.

--
Larry

At 17 Oct 2009 23:35:05 +0000 Larry wrote:
> SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in news:4ad9f159$0$1661
> $742ec2ed@news.sonic.net:
>
> > * Automatic refills are at full retail price, you can't set up
> > automatic refills with refills purchased at a discount.
> >
> >
>
> I've setup the webpage author's instructions to automatically buy a
> $10/83min card 3 times a year, making sure to recharge the account with
> something, then buying the discount 1400 min card when necessary to
> maintain a few hundred minute balance at all times, manually....probably
> whenever the deep discount sales open up for pageplug cards.


I've been to Steven's site, but I've never sen instructions for auto-
replenishment every 120 days- PP's website has a maximum replenishment
interval of monthly. Am I missing something?

I just bought two $10 PINs today, BTW; my two PP phones expire in the next
few weeks. I'm thinking about refilling them both on the same day- I'll
"lose" 10 days on one (one expires on Oct. 24th and the other on Nov. 4th,)
but refilling both on the sameday would make my life just a tiny bit
easier!

I suspect, however, my infinite capacity for cheapness will prevent me from
refilling the second one next week!

Todd Allcock wrote:
> At 17 Oct 2009 23:35:05 +0000 Larry wrote:
>> SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in news:4ad9f159$0$1661
>> $742ec2ed@news.sonic.net:
>>
>>> * Automatic refills are at full retail price, you can't set up
>>> automatic refills with refills purchased at a discount.
>>>
>>>
>> I've setup the webpage author's instructions to automatically buy a
>> $10/83min card 3 times a year, making sure to recharge the account with
>> something, then buying the discount 1400 min card when necessary to
>> maintain a few hundred minute balance at all times, manually....probably
>> whenever the deep discount sales open up for pageplug cards.
>
>
> I've been to Steven's site, but I've never sen instructions for auto-
> replenishment every 120 days- PP's website has a maximum replenishment
> interval of monthly. Am I missing something?

I expect that what he's doing is setting it up for monthly refills
beginning at some date in the future, then he'll change it shortly after
the refill to a date another 120 days in the future.

> I just bought two $10 PINs today, BTW; my two PP phones expire in the next
> few weeks. I'm thinking about refilling them both on the same day- I'll
> "lose" 10 days on one (one expires on Oct. 24th and the other on Nov. 4th,)
> but refilling both on the sameday would make my life just a tiny bit
> easier!
>
> I suspect, however, my infinite capacity for cheapness will prevent me from
> refilling the second one next week!

I got all three of our PagePlus accounts in sync like that. Next I'll
get it in sync with my mother's PagePlus account.

I wait for the 8% off sales at callingmart to buy PINs.

"SMS" <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:4ada6b05$0$1661$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...
> Todd Allcock wrote:
>> At 17 Oct 2009 23:35:05 +0000 Larry wrote:
>>> SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in news:4ad9f159$0$1661
>>> $742ec2ed@news.sonic.net:
>>>
>>>> * Automatic refills are at full retail price, you can't set up
>>>> automatic refills with refills purchased at a discount.
>>>>
>>>>
>>> I've setup the webpage author's instructions to automatically buy a
>>> $10/83min card 3 times a year, making sure to recharge the account with
>>> something, then buying the discount 1400 min card when necessary to
>>> maintain a few hundred minute balance at all times, manually....probably
>>> whenever the deep discount sales open up for pageplug cards.
>>
>>
>> I've been to Steven's site, but I've never sen instructions for auto-
>> replenishment every 120 days- PP's website has a maximum replenishment
>> interval of monthly. Am I missing something?
>
> I expect that what he's doing is setting it up for monthly refills
> beginning at some date in the future, then he'll change it shortly after
> the refill to a date another 120 days in the future.

Ahh, that makes sense.

>> I just bought two $10 PINs today, BTW; my two PP phones expire in the
>> next
>> few weeks. I'm thinking about refilling them both on the same day- I'll
>> "lose" 10 days on one (one expires on Oct. 24th and the other on Nov.
>> 4th,)
>> but refilling both on the sameday would make my life just a tiny bit
>> easier! I suspect, however, my infinite capacity for cheapness will
>> prevent me from
>> refilling the second one next week!
>
> I got all three of our PagePlus accounts in sync like that. Next I'll get
> it in sync with my mother's PagePlus account.
>
> I wait for the 8% off sales at callingmart to buy PINs.

I should, but since these are backups for my "real" T-Mobile monthly
accounts, they get very, very, little use. The oldest account I've had for
a little over a year, and it's used four or five minutes total. (I use the
free CSD data more than the airtime!) Because of this, I've never bought
more than a $10 card, so the difference between the 3% "everyday" coupon
code (ca3p-1207) and the 8% coupons is about 50-cents each. By the time I
found out about the last two 8% sales, they'd already expired!

I screwed up and let the oldest one expire (somehow I didn't log the new
expiration date in my Outlook Calendar that syncs to all my phones, which I
do religiously every time I refill any prepaid phone!) so I used my "Get Out
of Jail Free" card for that account and got half of my $28 (at the time)
balance restored. That gaffe and the $0.50 service fees have taken a much
greater toll on my balance than any actual usage . (I'm not complaining-
for me a backup phone is like insurance: I pay $2.50/month for the "just in
case"- frankly, I'm happier if I never need it, because then we can use our
primary phones with faster data.)

A huge advantage for me of PagePlus, vs. any other MVNO, is the free CSD and
ability to use smartphones. With the free CSD, one phone syncs daily to my
SyncML (Funambol) server so it has the same PIM data, and files as my main
T-Mobile phone. The other syncs with Google Mobile Sync to have the same
PIM data and email as my wife's iPhone, so when we're out of T-Mobile
coverage, we both have completely up-to-date phones. Even our YouMail
Visual Voicemail from our main phones arrive on our corresponding PagePlus
phones, so we're notified of missed calls and left voicemail within the hour
(I can change them to a shorter interval if need be, but on vacation, when
we're more likely to need the PP phones, hourly is generally good enough,
and is much better on the batteries than checking every 5 or 10 minutes!

Todd Allcock wrote:

> A huge advantage for me of PagePlus, vs. any other MVNO, is the free CSD
> and ability to use smartphones. With the free CSD, one phone syncs
> daily to my SyncML (Funambol) server so it has the same PIM data, and
> files as my main T-Mobile phone.

I'm glad that PagePlus hasn't stopped the free CSD/QNC availability, but
I wonder what is it that makes it available like that.

"SMS" <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:4ada7c15$0$1616$742ec2ed@news.sonic.net...
> Todd Allcock wrote:
>
>> A huge advantage for me of PagePlus, vs. any other MVNO, is the free CSD
>> and ability to use smartphones. With the free CSD, one phone syncs daily
>> to my SyncML (Funambol) server so it has the same PIM data, and files as
>> my main T-Mobile phone.
>
> I'm glad that PagePlus hasn't stopped the free CSD/QNC availability, but I
> wonder what is it that makes it available like that.

The only thing I can think of is that the Quick2Net billing is "broken" in
Verizon's MVNO system.

I could understand if it was being counted as MOU (Minutes of Use) and
counting against your airtime, but it isn't even coming off that! Even
weirder, it's not just QNC calls to Verizon's ISP- ANY QNC usage- even to a
dial-up ISP (like Free Dialup) also doesn't get counted.

While the continued availability is certainly not guaranteed, I suspect this
falls into the "time heals all wounds" category- Verizon has to know about
this, given the amount of discussion in public forums, so my guess is it's
been determined that it's not cost effective to fix given the small number
of compatible phones, the small amount of interest/use/abuse, and the
probable relatively short period of time before Quick2Net is shut down
systemwide as an obsolete technology anyway, taking this loophole down with
it.

Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AnoOspamL.com> wrote in
news:EotCm.18$eF1.0@newsfe24.iad:

> At 17 Oct 2009 23:35:05 +0000 Larry wrote:
>> SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote in news:4ad9f159$0$1661
>> $742ec2ed@news.sonic.net:
>>
>> > * Automatic refills are at full retail price, you can't set up
>> > automatic refills with refills purchased at a discount.
>> >
>> >
>>
>> I've setup the webpage author's instructions to automatically buy a
>> $10/83min card 3 times a year, making sure to recharge the account
>> with something, then buying the discount 1400 min card when necessary
>> to maintain a few hundred minute balance at all times,
>> manually....probably whenever the deep discount sales open up for
>> pageplug cards.
>
>
> I've been to Steven's site, but I've never sen instructions for auto-
> replenishment every 120 days- PP's website has a maximum replenishment
> interval of monthly. Am I missing something?
>
> I just bought two $10 PINs today, BTW; my two PP phones expire in the
> next few weeks. I'm thinking about refilling them both on the same
> day- I'll "lose" 10 days on one (one expires on Oct. 24th and the
> other on Nov. 4th,) but refilling both on the sameday would make my
> life just a tiny bit easier!
>
> I suspect, however, my infinite capacity for cheapness will prevent me
> from refilling the second one next week!
>
>

How do you figure you're going to "lose 10 days"? PP minutes don't
expire if you buy one card every 4 months to keep the account open. The
minutes don't cancel unless you let the pump run dry and forget to buy
something. You can load up the account with as much as you like and use
it as you wish as long as you buy at least $10 every 4 months to keep
the account current, unlike those "other" sellphone prepaids the time
expires on. At least that's what they told me.....a new customer.


--
Larry

At 18 Oct 2009 21:15:06 +0000 Larry wrote:
> Todd Allcock <elecconnec@AnoOspamL.com> wrote in
> news:EotCm.18$eF1.0@newsfe24.iad:

> > I just bought two $10 PINs today, BTW; my two PP phones expire in the
> > next few weeks. I'm thinking about refilling them both on the same
> > day- I'll "lose" 10 days on one (one expires on Oct. 24th and the
> > other on Nov. 4th,) but refilling both on the sameday would make my
> > life just a tiny bit easier!
> >
> > I suspect, however, my infinite capacity for cheapness will prevent me
> > from refilling the second one next week!
> >
> >
>
> How do you figure you're going to "lose 10 days"? PP minutes don't
> expire if you buy one card every 4 months to keep the account open.

Right. As I said, I have two accounts, one expiring 10/24 and one 11/4.
If I re-up them both on 10/24 for convenience, the one that would've
expired ten days late will be refilled at day 110 instead of 120, hence
I'll "lose" 10 days on that phone.

Neither of these phones will ever need more than the minimum refill.

> The
> minutes don't cancel unless you let the pump run dry and forget to buy
> something. You can load up the account with as much as you like and use
> it as you wish as long as you buy at least $10 every 4 months to keep
> the account current, unlike those "other" sellphone prepaids the time
> expires on. At least that's what they told me.....a new customer.

On all standard prepaids (those without a recurring monthly plan) the time
rolls over if you refill prior to the expiration. I have a T-Mobile
prepaid that only requires one $10 card per year to keep it alive and roll
the minutes over. I haven't needed (or used) that line in over three
years, but for a lousy $10/year I can't seem to let it, (or its 1000 minute
balance!,) die!