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We have pay-as-you-go in the US, but not in the same way as it is in Europe and Asia. Here, convenience stores don't sell loose SIM cards that you can simply p
by ben1040 17y ago
We have pay-as-you-go in the US, but not in the same way as it is in Europe and Asia. Here, convenience stores don't sell loose SIM cards that you can simply pop into your own phone and add whatever value you'd like.
The US carriers seem to market PAYG plans toward low-income customers who (in the carriers' eyes) would not be able to pay for monthly post-paid service plans. Thus they bundle the plans with cheap feature-low phones.
The carriers also don't allow smartphones to be activated on PAYG plans, instead requiring you to buy into an expensive (and profitable, for the carrier) data package.
- jokull 17y ago"The carriers also don't allow smartphones to be activated on PAYG plans, instead requiring you to buy into an expensive (and profitable, for the carrier) data package." This is crazy.
- tomsaffell 17y agoI have a TMobile PAYG. You can get the SIM from TMobile for $7 (from the store). It costs ~$0.10 / minute to talk (if you buy credit in $50 chunks). You can top-up directly from the phone with a credit/debit card, or on the web, or using a top-up card from a TMobile store - it's really easy, especially doing it from the phone. Personally, I don't give a hoot that they are marketed towards low income customers. The thing that totally sucks in the US market is the lack of PAYG data plans, or for that matter the price of contract plans for data only. They 3x the price of Europe.