Good evening, dear readers of Sector 930! Thank you for joining us for yet another exciting adventure.
Tonight’s story begins with a man. A nerdy man. A man who loves technology, gadgets, and telecommunications. A man who happens to be me. You see, for the past several years, this man had been living in “Cellular Hell.” Not because he didn’t have good coverage, no — in fact his coverage was very satisfactory. Not because he didn’t have access to some of the latest “smartphones” — he had the original iPhone and a BlackBerry Curve 8900. So, what could I possibly have to complain about? I’m glad you asked!
First, let me explain what happened. I was a customer with AT&T (evil). I was using my iPhone, but I wanted to drop my data plan. They wouldn’t let me (evil). They wouldn’t let me do with my BlackBerry, either. So I paid the $145 early termination (rape) fee, marched down to the T-Mobile store, and signed up for an Even More Plus plan – more minutes than I need, unlimited text messages (didn’t get that with AT&T), and $20/month less than I was paying with the iPhone ($30/month less than when I was using the BlackBerry). Granted, when I switched to T-Mobile, I didn’t get a data plan.
Now that that’s over with, there are three basic points I want to bring up in this post. My goal is to inspire hope in other nerds that may be in a similar position.
1. Cellular phones are expensive. Data plans make them even more expensive.
Now that I’m out of school and “living in reality,” I’ve come to realize that cellphones are stupid expensive. The monthly voice plans aren’t too bad, but once you add in text messaging (MAJOR rip-off — texting works by sending messages during idle time slots on the cellular network – costing carriers next to nothing), a data plan, taxes, the price of a handset, and the fact that you usually have to be locked into a 2-year contract, you quickly end up paying thousands of dollars over the life of your plan.
Since money is tight, I started looking for ways to cut my monthly bills. My cell phone was one of the first things that popped into my mind. Now, I’m every bit as much of a techno-junkie as everyone else from the Sector, but when I started thinking about it, I just couldn’t justify paying $20-30/month for a data plan on top of my $40/month voice plan. Why’s that? Well, both my BlackBerry and my iPhone have Wi-Fi built in. The majority of my life is spent at work, home, the parents’ house, or a friend’s house. All of these locations, with the exception of a few homes belonging to friends, have Wi-Fi that I can use to my heart’s content. Beyond that, I also carry a BlackBerry for work, which has unlimited 3G data (I can’t install apps, however).
Since I spend the vast majority of my time at one of these four Wi-Fi-enabled locations, I asked myself, “why the hell am I paying for a data connection that is slower than these Wi-Fi connections I already have access to?”
And thus, my first decision was made. I would drop the data plan from my account. This would result in savings of $240/year with the iPhone, and had I been using a BlackBerry data plan, this would have resulted in $360/year savings.
UH-OH! One problem with my brilliant plan. Evil-Bad-Corp AT&T would not let me, the customer, choose what I wanted. That never bodes well for a customer-corporation relationship with a freedom-loving, tin-foil hat-wearing guy like me. After arguing with AT&T for a while, I became enraged and told them they just lost a customer. But not before I called customer support the day earlier with a bullshit claim that I would soon be traveling internationally, and thus needed my BlackBerry 8900 unlocked. (It worked, by the way).
(For what its worth: I did the math, and even after paying $145 in early termination fees, by the end of my 17 month contract period remaining with AT&T, I will have saved $200 by switching to T-Mobile. The point being, while those early termination fees sound scary, you can actually save money by paying them and tossing your old, piece of shit provider.)
2. “Smartphones” are a distraction. Do you really need to be connected 24/7?
The answer is no! For quite some time, I wouldn’t have anything to do with a phone if I couldn’t get Facebook updates, push or near-instant delivery of e-mail, access to Google Maps, and all the other crap that you can do with a smartphone. That all changed when two things happened: first, I started having problems with my iPhone. The screen would light up on its own, killing the battery in a matter of hours. Nothing I tried would fix it. After dropping $350 on the phone (remember, it was the original, un-subsidized 2G iPhone), I had a bad taste in my mouth and was not about to drop hundreds more on a new smartphone. Shortly afterward, my cost-cutting, AT&T-ditching scenario described above occured. It was then I truly realized “smartphones” can be fun, but they are largely a distraction. I thought about it for a few weeks, and really started analyzing what I do with my “smartphone.” It didn’t take long for me to realize that they actually wasted more of my time than they saved, and they took away from my ability to focus on important tasks rather than help me get organized.
Granted, I am currently using my unlocked BlackBerry on T-Mobile but without a data plan. If anyone is familiar with the apps available for BlackBerry, you know that the entire Google suite, and most other apps, won’t run at all if you don’t have a data plan (rip-off!), regardless of Wi-Fi connection. So, I essentially have a phone that’s really good at text messaging and that I can occasionally use to browse the web or check the weather, but only when I’m in a Wi-Fi coverage area. While technically a “smartphone,” because of these limitations, I wouldn’t really say that I have true “smartphone” functionality.
All that aside, I made a decision that I won’t be buying another “smartphone” anytime soon. In fact, I bought a Motorola v60g phone for $20 on eBay, and am eagerly waiting its arrival. I had a TDMA (a now defunct cellular technology) version of the v60 back in the early 2000s. It was fairly rugged, extremely simple, and elegant. It is, by far, my favorite cellphone ever made. I’m hoping my reunion with this well-made device will not disappoint.
Motorola v60g Cellular Telephone
3. Cellular plans are a rip-off as it is. Contracts make them even worse.
The best part about switching to T-Mobile was the fact that I have no annual contract. I’ve always thought it something of a scam that cellular carriers in the United States almost universally force customers to buy a 2-year contract or pay out the ass for a handset. Even if you want to do the latter, most carriers don’t make it easy. The concept of locking customers into contracts might have made sense 10 years ago when the cellular infrastructure was being heavily built out, but I feel the infrastructure is at a point today where its time customers demand freedom of choice.
Luckily, T-Mobile is different than the rest. They freely and openly advertise their “Even More Plus” plans as sans-annual contract. You can even get a few phones for less than $100. Or, if you already have a GSM phone, you can bring your own device.
When I switched, I was in and out of the T-Mobile store in 5 minutes. It was the smoothest cellular phone-related transaction I’ve ever experienced. Even better, T-Mobile is simply happy to have my business. They don’t give a shit that I have a voice & text plan without a data plan on my BlackBerry.
I know I must sound like an promotional agent for T-Mobile, but in comparison to other carriers, they are like the Libertarian Party of cellular providers.
I really want to see the entire American industry move away from contract-oriented service plans. The only way that’s going to happen is if customers start demanding it. I figure I’m doing my part by supporting the only company that’s currently advertising no-contract monthly service plans.
Of course, no plan is perfect.
Now that I’ve covered the three points I felt I needed to make, I will say that there are a few drawbacks to my decision to ditch AT&T. First and foremost is coverage. I live in the woods, further from populated areas than most. AT&T has great coverage in my rural community, but T-Mobile does not. This is generally the case throughout the nation. T-Mobile is still very much growing, and its near fact that their rural coverage kind of sucks. But never fear – Google Voice to the rescue!
Since I maintain a copper pair (landline) telephone at home, I’ve told everyone to switch to my Google Voice number. This way, regardless of coverage quality in my home, I’ll get the call. This will also save me airtime minutes by allowing me to use my landline to make and receive all my calls while at home. Furthermore, it gave me an excuse to buy cool, what “kids these days” would call “vintage” telephones.
Western Electric Model 2500 Telephone
I’m really not concerned with the poorer coverage. I took another step back and evaluated my life and how a cell phone should play a part in it. I realized, “hey, you know what? I don’t need to be in constant contact with everybody all the time. I don’t need to be immediately answerable to someone who calls me.” As far as emergency and priority situations, in areas where T-Mobile doesn’t have coverage, it generally roams to AT&T’s network for “SOS” emergency calling. Not to mention I can use ham radio, my work cell, or a number of land-mobile radio networks to which I have access to make emergency or priority calls if need be.
And you know what? Not having instant access to your email 24/7 gives you something to look forward to when you get home – checking your email and having a whole inbox full of messages to go through!
All in all, I’ve been really happy with my decision to lead a simpler, less expensive cellular life. I’m no longer in Cellular Hell.
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