#EveryDayReview
From time to time you've likely noticed I try to chat you up about a new product that was sent to me for review. Maybe you took my advice and grabbed some gear for work or ignore the blog when I post a product review. I hope it's the former.
Today I'm introducing a new feature, #EveryDayReview. This will be an exciting product or service I use in my personal life that I just want to share. I'm not getting the product to test, I've already tested it and endorsed it the best way I know how: I bought one/use it/ subscribe!
Let's jump into a common topic: Cellular service.
I recommend Republic Wireless.
Republic Wireless is my mobile phone provider and I could not be happier with their concept, products or service.
Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was a T-Mobile customer hacking an iphone from ebay to get better use of the data service we were paying through the nose for.
A few years later wandering Costco and about to lose support for my hacked iphone we saw a great deal on Verizon Droid phones.
FREE phone with 2 year contract!
It wasn't until years later we realized the cost of the phone is rolled into the ridiculous cost of service.
Republic Wireless also takes advantage of a secret your wireless carrier doesn't want you to know:
They know most of your time is within wireless internet range, yet still charge you upwards of $75 a month for access to 4g internet. Why? Half the time I'm at home on wireless I already pay for or at work connected, why pay so much for my phone plan only to spend most of my time on wireless internet? We did the math. Only when commuting to and from work was I not on wireless, a total of 40 hours a month give or take. 40 hours / $75 4g plan:
Verizon was effectively charging me $1.87 an hour. The rest of the time I was on wifi I already paid for. Are you the same? Want to drastically reduce your bill without losing service?
Republic Wireless is the answer.
Phone plans start at $5 a month. Yes, $5 a month gets you calls and data over wireless networks only.
Want a little more? How about $10 for cellular calls and data over wireless only?
I'm at the $25 plan which gives me unlimited* 3g data and cell calls over the Sprint network.
For $40 you get 4g coverage so you can stream Netflix without a wireless connection.
*Go over 5g in a month twice in 6 months and you might get throttled, but no fees. Go 6 months without going over and you get a pass next time.
How do they do it so cheap? Your phone prefers to make calls over the wireless instead of the cell network. Anytime you're connected to wifi, BOOM, you can make calls.
We got the MotoX and it's a great handset. We paid upfront for the phones, but considering the cost savings month to month we were ahead of the game in 5 short months. Not to mention our grandfathered Verizon unlimited data plans were worth a few hundred bucks on ebay!The service still has a few glitches switching a call from wireless to the cell network, but I rarely keep talking when leaving the house so only noticed this problem when testing the system early on.
Below is a screenshot from my MotoX. See the little green arch near the green llama? That's the Republic Wireless happy green arch letting me know I'm completely on wifi. The llama is unrelated, I swear.
Another neat option: you can change plans twice a billing cycle. When we were going out of the country and not expecting cell service, we bumped the plans down to the $5 plan and made and received calls off the wifi in the beach house in Belize (when the router worked).When we hit the states, we simply told the phone to update the plan. A few minutes later and a restart on the phone and it was done.
No sense paying full price for a service you're not using full time.
In addition to a killer concept and competitive pricing, Republic Wireless thrives on the community the users have created. Never before have I had a company engage on social media so swiftly and accurately.
Downside? 3g means less streaming of Pandora though some service areas (it is the Sprint network after all) and that's about it, really. They can port most numbers and now even allow porting of Google Voice numbers.
The next time you're looking at your budget and wondering how to get that cell phone bill down to a reasonable level, take a look at Republic Wireless. You'll pay for the phone, but far less than a free phone and inflated monthly fee from the other guys.
I use Republic Wireless and love it!
Comments
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