Cell Phone Plans: Reviews

Updated April 2011

The right cell phone carrier for you comes down to price, reception and customer service. That's why ConsumerSearch values full scale surveys that poll thousands of customers to determine which carrier is best, depending on your region. National and regional carriers are considered. Editors also consulted tech experts, customer advocacy sites and user reviews.

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Best cell phone plans

Verizon Wireless

*Est. $40 per month and up Learn More

Verizon Wireless simply dominates in reviews. It boasts the best call quality of any national carrier, the fastest 4G network, and now it's got the iPhone. It trounces AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint in almost every major city… expandand region of the U.S. On the downside, plan prices are higher than others. The lowest-priced Verizon monthly cell phone plan costs $40, which includes 450 anytime minutes, plus free nights and weekends. And because Verizon works on the CDMA network, which is not compatible with the GSM networks used in most other countries, you can't use many Verizon phones overseas. Still, only U.S. Cellular beats Verizon Wireless for call quality and value, with outstanding customer service -- but it's available in only 26 states. collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

J.D. Power & Associates: Verizon Wireless nearly sweeps the call-quality ratings here, and rates "better than most" for customer service, based on responses from about users.

ConsumerReports.org: ConsumerReports.org polls more than 58,000 subscribers nationwide, asking them to rate their cell service for value, voice/texting/data service and various types of customer support.

PCMag.com: Despite its high fees and poor plan options, PCMag.com readers rank Verizon Wireless best among national cellular service providers, thanks to its best-in-class coverage, good call quality and top-notch handsets.

PC World: Verizon Wireless's 4G network is the speediest among major carriers, Jared Newman concludes, but "the data caps are a downer." PC World rates the Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, MetroPCS and Clear/Clearwire 4G networks based on data from its own tests, the networks themselves and third-party sources.

Computerworld.com: Verizon Wireless's 4G network again proves the fastest in this test.

Laptop Magazine: Laptop Magazine gives Verizon Wireless an A- for its fast-but-expensive 4G network.

Engadget.com: On the iPhone, Verizon Wireless is so much more reliable for voice calls than AT&T that Joshua Topolsky concludes it makes "the best smartphone in America just a little bit better" -- even though Verizon's 3G data speeds aren't quite as fast as AT&T's.

The New York Times: While nationwide surveys give Verizon Wireless average or better marks for customer service, The New York Times' David Pogue and his readers find much to criticize -- although Verizon's decision to refund millions of dollars' worth of spurious data charges to its customers (after Pogue's blog post prompted a federal investigation) wins Pogue's praise.

TopTenReviews.com: This site names Verizon as the best cell phone provider overall, with the highest ratings for plans and support, but call quality is not rated.

Phonedog.com: About 250 users posting at this site rate Verizon Wireless for customer service, overall value and service quality.

Popular Packages at Verizon Wireless

Top regional cell phone carrier

U.S. Cellular

*Est. $30 per month and up Learn More

If you live in one of the 26 states (mainly in the Midwest) serviced by U.S. Cellular, this carrier scores as well as -- and sometimes better than -- Verizon Wireless (*Est. $40 per month and up) in those areas. You'll… expandusually get more minutes with a U.S. Cellular cell phone plan than with a similarly priced Verizon Wireless cell phone plan, with one very important extra: free incoming calls. Free roaming is included in U.S. Cellular's national plans, along with widespread national 3G data coverage (although no 4G). And consumers lavish praise on U.S. Cellular's excellent customer service. collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

J.D. Power & Associates: J.D. Power and Associates polls cellular subscribers nationwide about their cell phone service.

ConsumerReports.org: ConsumerReports.org polls more than 58,000 subscribers to find out which cell phone providers offer the best value, service and customer support.

PCMag.com: U.S. Cellular earns a Readers' Choice award here, along with Verizon Wireless.

CNET: CNET doesn't actually review U.S. Cellular, but the site provides a good overview in this buyer's guide, which outlines the pros and cons of several major nationwide and regional carriers.

TopTenReviews.com: This site's best feature is its detailed comparison chart, examining the features of 10 cellular service providers, including U.S. Cellular.

Phonedog.com: Fewer than 100 users register their opinions of U.S. Cellular at PhoneDog.com, far fewer than for national services like Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile.

Viewpoints.com: About 80 people have rated U.S. Cellular here, giving it an average of 3.82 out of 5 stars -- the highest for any contract cell phone carrier.

Check plans at US Cellular

AT&T *Est. $40 per month and up

3 picks including: J.D. Power & Associates, Laptop Magazine…

Sprint *Est. $30 per month and up

2 picks including: J.D. Power & Associates, Laptop Magazine…