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I think I understand that people want to have the option to switch, but I never, myself, had any reason to do so. I mean the differences between the services di

I think I understand that people want to have the option to switch, but I never, myself, had any reason to do so. I mean the differences between the services different providers provide is not that much (for me) to justify the switch. Maybe that is because I am on a grandfathered unlimited plan. Over the years I have periodically (with every new iphone), reviewed other options and never found the switch compelling. Anybody knows any reason other than "just having the option" ?

Bedon292 12y ago
I think the big reason for me was cost. I cut my AT&T (3 phones) bill nearly in half (180 to 100) by switching to T-Mobile and buying a couple Nexus 5s. AT&T has become more competitive with their prices since then, so the savings is less now, but still there.
Delmania 12y ago
The cost is a compelling reason. Last year, my spouse and I terminated our Verizon contracts, bought used iPhones on Glyde, and switched over to Page Plus Cellular. Our monthly bill dropped from $110 to $65. Factoring in the cost of the phones and the termination fee, the move will pay for itself within a year.
sanjiwatsuki 12y ago
I'm a low data user that routes all of my texts through Google Voice. In a typical month, I'll use 200MB of data and 300-400MB in a particularly high usage month. Most contract plans that included data charged me ~$20-30/month for the data alone, so I wanted to switch. I originally used T-Mobile's prepaid 100 minutes + "unlimited" data plan for $30 a month. I switched to RingPlus's 10 minutes + $0.02 per MB/minute overage plan for $2/month + data overage charges and reduced my bill to around $11 a month (this plan no longer exists -- it's 4 cents per MB now). I then switched to US Mobile on a 100 minutes + 250MB plan for $10 a month -- and their T-Mobile service gives me better coverage in my area. By switching providers around with my personal use case, I was able to very aggressively bring my cell phone bill down. I've found being able to take the other option very valuable to me.
mikeash 12y ago
Overseas travel can be one big reason. Overseas roaming is typically extremely expensive (T-Mobile being a notable exception to this) and having an unlocked phone means you can just pop in a local SIM card rather than farting around with workarounds or paying lots of money.
venomsnake 12y ago
option to switch easily = incentive to compete.

Bedon292 12y ago

I think the big reason for me was cost. I cut my AT&T (3 phones) bill nearly in half (180 to 100) by switching to T-Mobile and buying a couple Nexus 5s. AT&T has become more competitive with their prices since then, so the savings is less now, but still there.

Delmania 12y ago

The cost is a compelling reason. Last year, my spouse and I terminated our Verizon contracts, bought used iPhones on Glyde, and switched over to Page Plus Cellular. Our monthly bill dropped from $110 to $65. Factoring in the cost of the phones and the termination fee, the move will pay for itself within a year.

sanjiwatsuki 12y ago

I'm a low data user that routes all of my texts through Google Voice. In a typical month, I'll use 200MB of data and 300-400MB in a particularly high usage month. Most contract plans that included data charged me ~$20-30/month for the data alone, so I wanted to switch. I originally used T-Mobile's prepaid 100 minutes + "unlimited" data plan for $30 a month. I switched to RingPlus's 10 minutes + $0.02 per MB/minute overage plan for $2/month + data overage charges and reduced my bill to around $11 a month (this plan no longer exists -- it's 4 cents per MB now). I then switched to US Mobile on a 100 minutes + 250MB plan for $10 a month -- and their T-Mobile service gives me better coverage in my area. By switching providers around with my personal use case, I was able to very aggressively bring my cell phone bill down. I've found being able to take the other option very valuable to me.

mikeash 12y ago

Overseas travel can be one big reason. Overseas roaming is typically extremely expensive (T-Mobile being a notable exception to this) and having an unlocked phone means you can just pop in a local SIM card rather than farting around with workarounds or paying lots of money.

venomsnake 12y ago

option to switch easily = incentive to compete.