Articles by Samuel Contreras

Have a carrier in mind, or just looking for a cheap plan? Here are the most affordable data plans you can get.

If you want to save money on your cell phone plan, there are more options than ever with new ways to save on major carriers and even smaller, prepaid carriers. MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators) or alternative carriers lease coverage from the larger networks and resell it for less. That being said, depending on your average usage and needs, a plan from one of the Big Three could still be your least expensive option. Here are the best cheap cell phone plans in the U.S. right now.

Before choosing a plan

Before choosing a carrier and/or a wireless plan, determine your needs and usage habits. If this is your first smartphone, I’d like to firstly welcome you to the 21st century and secondly encourage you to try out your options without getting yourself into any yearly or multi-year contracts. There are a ton of cheap Android phones to choose from that will give you the f…

What you need to know

AT&T’s current nationwide 5G network uses low-band spectrum to cover 250M people.
AT&T has 80MHz of C-band spectrum that it plans to begin lighting up later this year with a planned December launch.
By the end of 2022, AT&T expects to cover 70-75 million people with C-band 5G. Up to 200 million by the end of 2023.

AT&T has unveiled its plans for the next phase of its 5G+ expansion. The moniker refers to the carrier’s mmWave 5G, but the company announced that its upcoming C-band spectrum would fall under 5G+ as well.

C-band spectrum sits between mmWave and low-band 5G and provides much better coverage and speeds than mmWave and low-band spectrum, respectively.

Back in February of 2021, AT&T purchased 80MHz of C-band spectrum in an FCC auction to be used for 5G. Since then, AT&T has been aggressively testing C-band deployment so it could be ready to go as soon as the spectrum became available for deployment.

This spectrum, also known…

The best Verizon MVNOs all have great coverage on the Verizon network, with plans that work for most people. Instead of going through the expense of spending billions developing and maintaining a mobile network, these carriers use Verizon’s network to deliver outstanding service and coverage without the cost of Verizon’s plans. With these carriers, you can even use most of the best Android phones. When it comes to carriers powered by Verizon’s network, Visible stands out as the best overall choice with unlimited data and great savings opportunities. Here are some of the best Verizon MVNOs.

Best overall: Visible

Visible is the first and most unique prepaid carrier on this list. Rather than going into a store to get started with your new phone service, everything with Visible is handled through its mobile app. This includes creating an account and paying your bill.

There’s just one plan to choose from at Visible, and it costs $40 a month. For that price, you get unlimited talk, te…

Buy in bulk

Mint Mobile

From $15/mo. at Mint Mobile

Pros

Cheaper monthly rates
Lots of plan options
Unlimited talk and text
Free hotspot access
Works with most unlocked phones

Cons

Coverage isn’t quite as dense as Visible’s
Only 5GB hotspot data on unlimited plan

Mint Mobile uses T-Mobile to power its network, and with its extensive 5G coverage that means you get a lot of bang for your buck. Plans are sold in bulk, meaning you have a bigger upfront cost but save a lot of money month-to-month. And, unlike Visible, you can use Mint Mobile with just about any Android phone.

No data limits

Visible

From $40/mo. at Visible

Pros

Unlimited talk, text, and data
Verizon’s LTE and 5G network
Free hotspot access
Taxes and fees included
Save more with Party Pay

Cons

Only works with select Android phones
No roaming
Hotspot speed capped at 5Mbps

Want access to Verizon’s incredible LTE network for a fraction of the cost? That’s what Visible brings to the table. For j…

T-Mobile has a solid lineup of phones at various price points, ranging from the top of the line down to affordable entry-level devices that you might not even need to finance monthly. Of course, Samsung makes some of the best T-Mobile phones, some even getting the new Android 12 update, but it’s far from your only option. Here’s are some of our top choices for you to consider.

Best overall

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 128GB

Staff Pick

The Galaxy S21 Ultra pretty much does it all. It has the latest and greatest specs, 5G support, an industry-leading curved display, amazing rear cameras that let you get a closer or wider shot at the touch of a button, and up to 100x zoom. The massive 6.8-inch display even supports a variable refresh rate of up to 120Hz. Best of all, it even supports Samsung’s S Pen for precise, pressure-sensitive input.

$50/mo. at T-Mobile

Affordable alternative

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 128GB

Even though Samsung now offers a cheaper S21 model, the Galaxy S20 FE is…

Enable RCS on your phone with Google Messages.

RCS is an upgrade to the standard SMS messaging feature set that exists on all smartphones. It adds typing indicators, read receipts, emoji reactions, support for higher quality file sharing, and so on. In essence, it turns basic SMS into instant messaging and makes the Google Messages app an iMessage and WhatsApp competitor. Even though many of us have made our favorite chat apps a big part of our lives, there are times where we still need something simple and much more universal.

Many Android users are ready for this upgrade, and Google has taken it upon itself to expand the service, gaining greater carrier support with Google Messages becoming the default messaging app for most Android devices sold.

Where is Google’s RCS officially available?

Google’s RCS solution has no borders but you still need the right app and data service to go with it.

Google has now rolled out RCS via its Google Messages app worldwide with only a few cou…

Best answer: Yes, mmWave is making its way to more venues and cities in late 2021 and 2022, but you’ll still spend the vast majority of your time connected to low or mid-band 5G.

Will mmWave 5G be better in 2022?

If you bought a phone in the last year, there’s a good chance it works with 5G. In fact, most of the best Android phones support the tech. Unfortunately, most of these phones only connect to low-band and mid-band 5G; however, using the sort of spectrum popular in LTE deployments. The speed improvements over LTE aren’t as dramatic as many expected of the next generation of wireless tech.

There is another type of 5G that has been slowly but steadily increasing its coverage bringing with it incredible multi-gigabit speeds and the capacity for thousands of devices. This tech, mmWave, was actually one of the first kinds of 5G to be deployed, with AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all deploying at least a few sites to enter the 5G race. Still, progress has been slow and, on every…

What you need to know

T-Mobile has extended its lead as the fastest provider with a median download speed of 62.35Mbps compared to AT&T’s 47.42Mbps and Verizon’s 39.91Mbps.
T-Mobile also took the crown in 5G performance with the fastest median download speed on 5G and the best 5G availability.
Verizon had the best fixed broadband speeds with a Speed Score of 178.38 followed closely by Cox and Xfinity.

Ookla released its Q3 U.S. Market Report on October 18, 2021, detailing the fastest and most consistent providers based on data from its popular Speedtest app. With results in the United States, Ooklas data shows consistent improvements in download speeds from mobile providers and download and upload improvements for fixed providers.

In the mobile report, T-Mobile is the fastest provider overall with a very strong 62.35Mbps median download speed. AT&T takes second place with a 47.42Mbps result with Verizon trailing behind with 39.91Mbps. Latency was about the same for each …

The best mesh Wi-Fi systems are networking versions of working smarter, not harder. Compared to a traditional router, mesh systems use several smaller Wi-Fi routers placed around your home to cover you from multiple angles and dodge things like thick walls that can kill your signal. So whether you want top speed and customizability or simplicity and consistency, there’s a mesh system that will work in any home. Our top pick goes to Eero, which hits all of the sweet spots of a Wi-Fi system in a small, understated housing that loses obtrusive articulating antennas. But we ranked plenty of other trusted systems as some of the best mesh Wi-Fi routers on the market today, and we’ve included them all on this list.

Best overall mesh router: Eero

Eero made one of the first consumer mesh Wi-Fi systems, and the company keeps making them better with each revision. The current third generation Eero has the best blend of advanced networking features of any system available, thanks to the smal…

Wi-Fi 6 has become the current standard for WI-Fi devices and routers thanks to most new devices supporting the protocol. Wi-Fi 6 has made its way to the cheaper routers that most people are interested in buying without giving up the best features that come with it. One of the best cheap Wi-Fi 6 routers is the TP-Link Archer AX21, thanks to its solid dual-band speeds and good software offering with app-based setup and OneMesh support.

Best overall: TP-Link Archer AX21

Many people don’t have gigabit internet connections in their homes, and even if they do, they don’t need all that speed on their wireless devices. The TP-Link Archer AX21 is a great choice for most people looking to get a wireless router that offers high speeds for mobile devices that support Wi-Fi 6 without paying for features they can’t fully utilize. With an AX1800 connection, this router provides 574Mbps at 2.4GHz and 1201Mbps at 5GHz. Four Ethernet ports allow you to connect your wired devices as well.

It can …