Prepaid Wireless Reviews

The reviews below are assigned ratings by ConsumerSearch. These ratings are based on credibility in testing, evaluating and identifying the best Prepaid Wireless. See our ratings criteria

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Prepaid Wireless Reviews Reviewed
Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Prepaid Wireless Ratings Comments on Reviews
1. J.D. Power & Associates	2007 Wireless Prepaid Customer Satisfaction Study Editors of J.D. Power and Associates Aug. 2007		This study focuses solely on pay-as-you-go wireless plans. J.D. Power surveyed nearly 3,000 wireless subscribers, who rate services on call quality, company image (which includes company honesty and reputation), cost of service and other key indicators. Virgin Mobile ranks highest again this year, scoring especially well in cost of service, account management, initial activation and service plan options. AT&T GoPhone, T-Mobile To Go and Boost Mobile are also said to rank above the industry average.
2. PC Magazine >> Details/Subscribe	Trustworthy Tech: Cellular Services Editors of PC Magazine Oct. 2007		This article addresses overall satisfaction with cell phones and cell-phone service as reported by over 16,000 subscribers of PC Magazine. Pay-as-you-go carrier Virgin Mobile and Verizon Wireless INpulse share the Reader's Choice award for the highest ratings among prepaid carriers. Verizon gets high marks for its superior call quality and Virgin Mobile has impressive plans. The survey notes that most providers' scores increased this year over last. The sole exception was Sprint.

Prepaid Wireless Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Prepaid Wireless Ratings Comments on Reviews

3. Consumer Reports >> Details/Subscribe	Best cell service Editors of Consumer Reports Sept. 2007		For this article, Consumer Reports polled over 47,000 magazine subscribers in 20 metro areas, asking them to rate their cell service for call quality, such as dropped calls, no service and static. Results are grouped according to urban areas, including New York City, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and Miami. While this is a good resource to see how prepaid wireless plans from major providers such as AT&T and T-Mobile stack up in specific areas, prepaid carriers such as Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile are not included.

Prepaid Wireless Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Prepaid Wireless Ratings Comments on Reviews

4. Prepaid Reviews	Best Rated Pay As You Go Phone Plans Editors of PrepaidReviews.com As of Jan. 2008		This website rates 25 prepaid wireless providers. The highly detailed writeups are based on an evaluation of features and prices rather than on testing, but the information seems accurate and helpful. Ratings are on a 5-point scale. However, it is sometimes hard to tell why some carriers are more highly rated than others since not many negatives are noted. The highest 5-star rating goes to T-Mobile Prepaid. AT&T Prepaid and Page Plus Cellular each get 4.5 stars. Each writeup does offer details about roaming charges, 411 calls, data plans and much more, making this an excellent place to begin researching plans. There are also loads of user reviews, which are extremely revealing.
5. About.com	Top 5 Prepaid Cell Phones Eric Bernatchez Not Dated		Although this article is about finding the best phone for use with a prepaid service, About.com guide Eric Bernatchez also provides great information for those also looking for a service. His overarching recommendation is to find the cheapest cell-phone plan first, then find the best phone that works with it. To that end, he offers a Cheapest Prepaid Plan Finder that asks users questions about how they typically will use their cell phone, then makes specific recommendations. Each of the top-rated phones listed here includes information about which phones will work with which carriers.
6. CNet.com	CNet's Quick Guide: Prepaid plans: The Basics Ben Patterson June 26, 2007		The benefits of using prepaid cell-phone service and how-to's are featured in this article, as well as steps for determining how much to pay for minutes (buying buckets of minutes in bulk, ensuring they don't expire) and choosing the right prepaid plan for you. The article also looks at three major providers -- AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless -- as well as a host of smaller ones. This article is a great starting point for learning more about prepaid cell-phone service, as well as the types of phones that are available for the service. Pros and cons are noted, and features and costs are listed, but there are no ratings and no discussions of coverage or customer service. No prepaid wireless carriers are recommended over others.
7. Wirelessguide.org	Prepaid Cell Phone Plans Editors of WirelessGuide.org As of Jan. 2008		This article focuses on determining whether a prepaid cell phone is for you. It recommends TracFone for infrequent users (emergency users, seniors), with refill cards valid for up to one year. Verizon INPulse is rated best for people who talk often, with a cheap per-minute rate of 10¢. Verizon Wireless is also recommended for people with credit issues. However, the information in this article hasn't been updated since our last visit, and some of it is outdated.
8. ConsumerAffairs.com	Prepaid Wireless Plans Can Save Time & Money David Wood Oct. 2007		ConsumerAffairs.com recommends reading the fine print before signing up with a prepaid wireless provider. David Wood suggests starting your search by checking a coverage map, since call quality can vary from block to block. The next step is looking at a provider's prepaid plan charges and expiration dates for service. The final step is reading the small print, such as noting roaming charges or daily fees. This article notes which carriers did the best in the J.D. Power and Associates customer satisfaction study mentioned above, and adds which ones do poorest based on customer complaints in the site's database. This is a very helpful article for consumers who are new to prepaid wireless.

Prepaid Wireless Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Prepaid Wireless Ratings Comments on Reviews

9. Amazon.com	Prepaid Service Plans Contributors to Amazon.com As of Jan. 2008		Amazon.com features subscriber ratings of prepaid wireless service, including TracFone, Net10, Virgin Mobile, AT&T GoPhone, T-Mobile and others. Some carriers have lots of reviews, others only a handful. Like all consumer-written reviews, the quality of the feedback varies. Though the writeups give some context to how users rate their plans, surveys that collect the opinions of thousands -- such as those by J.D. Power and Associates or PC Magazine -- are probably more useful in providing information about customer satisfaction.
10. RLRouse Directory & Informational Resources	Choices Abound In Cell Phone Plans! Lillian Fuller Not Dated		This article walks you through the process of choosing a prepaid cell-phone plan, as well as of selecting the phone itself. It discusses the pros and cons, as well as noting little-known brands such as Cricket. Unfortunately, rates and add-on services that can quickly increase bills aren't covered here, and the information hasn't been recently updated.

Prepaid Wireless Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Prepaid Wireless Ratings Comments on Reviews

11. Epinions	Cellular Phone Service Reviews Contributors to Epinions As of Jan. 2008		Epinions has a pretty good idea -- separate ratings into major urban areas, and let people rate their carriers. The trouble is that very few people offer opinions, even in New York City. (Verizon gets the highest ratings there, but only 12 people voted.) Big cities such as Chicago, Denver and Las Vegas have even fewer cell-phone service reviews, and only a few reviews overall specifically address prepaid plans. So, in the end, Epinions does not offer much help for the prepaid cellular plan shopper.