Network coverage. Virgin Mobile uses the O2 network, which covers 99 per cent of the population with its 4G signal. O2 5G is growing at a rapid rate and is currently available in 750 towns and cities. To find out whether you can get 5G with Virgin Mobile in your area, visit the provider’s mobile coverage checker. Your old T-Mobile mobile phone number that you want to keep. The T-Mobile PAC code (Porting Authorization Code) from your previous network. The expiry date of the PAC number (valid for 30 days from the date of issue). The temporary mobile number from your new Virgin Mobile SIM card activation. You may also need the new Virgin Mobile SIM card I like Koodo because of the tab instead of a contract, but the telus network seems to have problems with text messaging. I'm the average teen, texting with a bit of voice, no data. I am going to get the 25 dollar plan which includes 100~ minutes and unlimited text messaging, but I'm not sure which mobile company to go with. Virginia earns a solid coverage score of 86 out of 100. Coverage scores relate to the percentage of the state covered by the four major cell phone networks, i.e. AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. Verizon's 3G and 4G LTE networks cover the greatest percentage of the state (93%); AT&T is not far behind at 90%. T-Mobile and Sprint's networks are Find out below. T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T are the three biggest mobile service providers in the US. However, there are many competitors, such as Mint Mobile, Sonic, Consumer Cellular, and Google Fi, who offer cheap plans that make it easy for people to find the coverage they desire. Not to mention, more Internet Service Providers are offering Sorry about the several threads I have posted but I have been thinking a lot about Straight Talk. I know this question varies in the area that you are in but what has been better (signal wise) that you have had? . Ugg macrumors 68000 #1 I've been a VM customer for 5 years. I'm perfectly happy with their CS and pricing but not so hAppy with their coverage. I don't like the fact that the phone VM offers is locked to VM. I like paying $30 rather than $45 but am wary of ST's shoddy CS and heavily accented CS people. I do like that the ST phone will be unlocked, increasing its resale value. Any thoughts? #2 Straight Talk does indeed have more coverage then Virgin Mobile, but at a higher monthly rate. Both Virgin Mobile and Straight Talk offer 'unlimited' data although Straight Talk reserves the right to terminate your account for obsessive use. Virgin Mobile states that your account will only be throttled until the next billing cycle with no fear of termination. If tethering is one of your ideas of a feature then Straight Talk is not for you. They have no official tethering plan and reject any sort of tethering in their TOS. Virgin Mobile does support tethering for $15 additional dollars a month on top of the normal plan rates with no over-usage charges. It's your call really. No tethering and higher monthly rates for more coverage[Straight Talk], or tethering and lower monthly rates with less coverage[Virgin Mobile]. Ugg macrumors 68000 #3 I'm tempted just to wait until the next version of the iPhone comes out and then see if the price on the 4s is reduced. I like VM but hate the crappy Android phone I have. Now that there are finally prepaid iPhone options, it's almost like I have too many choices... #4 I'm tempted just to wait until the next version of the iPhone comes out and then see if the price on the 4s is reduced. I like VM but hate the crappy Android phone I have. Now that there are finally prepaid iPhone options, it's almost like I have too many choices... I suggest that you wait til the new iPhone is released instead of shelling out above for the 4S. #5 I suggest that you wait til the new iPhone is released instead of shelling out above for the 4S. That doesn't mean Virgin Mobile will be getting the next iPhone right away. #6 That doesn't mean Virgin Mobile will be getting the next iPhone right away. Exactly! Activated mine today, got AppleCare+ on it, and I am loving it. To the OP - Virgin Mobile is an official carrier now, so you can get MMS built in, along with Visual Voicemail. Visual Voicemail is a must-have feature for me, so I loved that. And to counter your thoughts about the phone being locked to VM - I had the same thoughts too, but then I realized that I'm going to keep my iPhone for awhile. I don't think resale values will hurt, because there are many folks out there who want a prepaid option. There were long lines at the Best Buy mobile section near me...so it's definitely popular. My two cents! #7 I'd go with ST. $15 more is worth the coverage and way better data speeds with ST since it uses AT&T. #8 Is virgin mobile a GSM or CDMA carrier. #9 is virgin mobile a gsm or cdma carrier. cdma. #10 I've been a VM customer for 5 years. I'm perfectly happy with their CS and pricing but not so hAppy with their coverage. I don't like the fact that the phone VM offers is locked to VM. I like paying $30 rather than $45 but am wary of ST's shoddy CS and heavily accented CS people. I do like that the ST phone will be unlocked, increasing its resale value. Any thoughts? Go with ST... unlock has a value. #11 I'd go with ST. $15 more is worth the coverage and way better data speeds with ST since it uses AT&T. This exactly. Ugg macrumors 68000 #13 If tethering is one of your ideas of a feature then Straight Talk is not for you. They have no official tethering plan and reject any sort of tethering in their TOS. Virgin Mobile does support tethering for $15 additional dollars a month on top of the normal plan rates with no over-usage charges. It's your call really. No tethering and higher monthly rates for more coverage[Straight Talk], or tethering and lower monthly rates with less coverage[Virgin Mobile]. Tethering is an issue and I didn't realize that VM offered it for only $15. I got an ATT iPad3 recently and like the speed of 4G but it is $30 a month although ATT has better coverage here than VM does. And to counter your thoughts about the phone being locked to VM - I had the same thoughts too, but then I realized that I'm going to keep my iPhone for awhile. I don't think resale values will hurt, because there are many folks out there who want a prepaid option. There were long lines at the Best Buy mobile section near me...so it's definitely popular. My two cents! I tend to keep my gadgets so I guess resale is sort of pointless and it is an iPhone so it will be easier to sell than some generic Android phone. Go with ST... unlock has a value. I like unlocked mostly because I hate having the phone company dictate how I can use my phone. It's especially galling to pay full price to VM and then have it locked down to their network. Being able to use it in Europe would be great but the VM phone would be limited to Skype on wifi. This is probably my single biggest issue. #14 Yes it is better unlocked, like factory unlocked where you can use it over seas with any SIM carrier provider. I assume since the VM version is CDMA, but purchased at full price the GSM part is unlocked. PS: The OP should try a tmobile or AT&T SIM to see if the GSM part is unlocked since he bought off his 4S at full price from VM. #15 Well if your already with VM and current coverage isn't an issue for you I would stick with them. The whole unlock thing of the VM may not be an issue if it's a 4S your getting. As far as I know the phone will be GSM unlocked so you can still travel over seas and pop in a foreign sim. Worst case give VM a call i'm sure they can unlock GSM portion since Sprint can. The only thing that won't work is domestic GSM carrier's (ATT + T-mobile) Also I don't think VM not getting the new iPhone isn't a question. Sprint is using them to fulfill their iPhone order's from Apple so it would only be logical they get all new iPhone release's since Sprint now owns them. Ugg macrumors 68000 #16 Well if your already with VM and current coverage isn't an issue for you I would stick with them. The whole unlock thing of the VM may not be an issue if it's a 4S your getting. As far as I know the phone will be GSM unlocked so you can still travel over seas and pop in a foreign sim. Worst case give VM a call i'm sure they can unlock GSM portion since Sprint can. The only thing that won't work is domestic GSM carrier's (ATT + T-mobile) Also I don't think VM not getting the new iPhone isn't a question. Sprint is using them to fulfill their iPhone order's from Apple so it would only be logical they get all new iPhone release's since Sprint now owns them. I just emailed VM to ask about whether I could use the phone in Europe by installing a local simcard. I'll let you know what they say. At this point I'm very much leaning towards the VM iPhone. #17 Not sure why people always say Virgin Mobile is "cheaper" by $15/month. It's only "cheaper" if you plan on using less than 300 minutes a month with Virgin Mobile. 300 minutes. That's all. This 300 minutes includes nights and weekend minutes so not many minutes at all. The "average" cell phone user uses 650 plus minutes a month. That's nights and weekends also. So if people want to compare apples to apples. Virgin Mobile is $50 unlimited talk/text/data (throttled at vs. straight talk $45 (unlimited talk/text/2GB soft cap. #18 I just emailed VM to ask about whether I could use the phone in Europe by installing a local simcard. I'll let you know what they say. At this point I'm very much leaning towards the VM iPhone. I don't see why they couldn't. All the major carrier's do it now with their own stipulations. However, if your buying the phone outright it should come unlocked. However let us know what they say. Not sure why people always say Virgin Mobile is "cheaper" by $15/month. It's only "cheaper" if you plan on using less than 300 minutes a month with Virgin Mobile. 300 minutes. That's all. This 300 minutes includes nights and weekend minutes so not many minutes at all. The "average" cell phone user uses 650 plus minutes a month. That's nights and weekends also. So if people want to compare apples to apples. Virgin Mobile is $50 unlimited talk/text/data (throttled at vs. straight talk $45 (unlimited talk/text/2GB soft cap. Although this may be true, Straight talk has a reputation of shotty customer service as well as kicking you off if you exceed the cap. Plus for some people 300 minutes is excessive if you only use the phone in emergency's. Just because it does not satisfy your needs does not mean it won't satisfy someone else's. Last edited: Jul 2, 2012 Ugg macrumors 68000 #19 Not sure why people always say Virgin Mobile is "cheaper" by $15/month. It's only "cheaper" if you plan on using less than 300 minutes a month with Virgin Mobile. 300 minutes. That's all. This 300 minutes includes nights and weekend minutes so not many minutes at all. The "average" cell phone user uses 650 plus minutes a month. That's nights and weekends also. So if people want to compare apples to apples. Virgin Mobile is $50 unlimited talk/text/data (throttled at vs. straight talk $45 (unlimited talk/text/2GB soft cap. For many people, 300 minutes is more than enough. I've had VM for ~5 years and in that time have only exceeded the limit maybe 4 times. #20 Not sure why people always say Virgin Mobile is "cheaper" by $15/month. It's only "cheaper" if you plan on using less than 300 minutes a month with Virgin Mobile. 300 minutes. That's all. This 300 minutes includes nights and weekend minutes so not many minutes at all. The "average" cell phone user uses 650 plus minutes a month. That's nights and weekends also. So if people want to compare apples to apples. Virgin Mobile is $50 unlimited talk/text/data (throttled at vs. straight talk $45 (unlimited talk/text/2GB soft cap. I use less than 300 talk minutes a month. Why should I care if I get more minutes if I pay more? Even if it cost only $5 more for unlimited minutes, if I never use more than 300, then that is money wasted. That "warehouse shopping mentality" causes many people to spend more money on quantities that they don't need because "it is a good bargain". Across America husbands are telling their wives, "if you save us any more money, we'll have to declare bankruptcy!" #21 I know it's not on your radar, but if I were to dive into the world of prepaid service (and I'm seriously considering it after VZW's announcement of axing grandfathered unlimited data), I'd go with T-Mobile's $30/month for 100 mins of talk, and unlimited (5 GB unthrottled) data/messaging. I do talk a lot, but I think I'd be able to make that lifestyle change of using Wifi spots + SIP Droid to make phone calls. They also have a $50/month unlimited data (2GB unthrottled), voice and text. The beauty in prepaid is you can switch carriers as many times as your heart desires, so the premium price of an unlocked phone IMO might be worth it over one locked to Virgin. #22 I know it's not on your radar, but if I were to dive into the world of prepaid service (and I'm seriously considering it after VZW's announcement of axing grandfathered unlimited data), I'd go with T-Mobile's $30/month for 100 mins of talk, and unlimited (5 GB unthrottled) data/messaging. I do talk a lot, but I think I'd be able to make that lifestyle change of using Wifi spots + SIP Droid to make phone calls. They also have a $50/month unlimited data (2GB unthrottled), voice and text. The beauty in prepaid is you can switch carriers as many times as your heart desires, so the premium price of an unlocked phone IMO might be worth it over one locked to Virgin. Very well said. Ugg macrumors 68000 #23 Here's my reply from Virgin Mobile: Hello Ugg, Thanks for contacting Virgin Mobile Customer Care. Regarding your inquiry, Virgin mobile iPhones cannot be used internationally. You may find somebody that will succeed in unlocking your iPhone for use in Europe, but Virgin Mobile neither recommends you do it nor warranties it will work. Sorry. Regards, Humberto C. So, the response is better than I thought it would be but VM is still locking down a full-priced iPhone and that sucks. I haven't made my mind up yet but thanks to the poster who recommended T-Mobile. Straight Talk is $5 cheaper but I'm not sure that Carlos Slim, one of the richest men in the world, or the Waltons, need to be enriched any more than they already are. So, I've narrowed it down to either VM or T-Mobile. #24 Get the evo v (299) or the one v(199). There the first truly good phones that came out of virgin mobile. Both run android The Evo V is pure garbage. My fiancé has one and it needs rebooting constantly, camera app is horrible, 3D imagery is a joke, and the predictive text can't be turned off. #25 I know it's not on your radar, but if I were to dive into the world of prepaid service (and I'm seriously considering it after VZW's announcement of axing grandfathered unlimited data), I'd go with T-Mobile's $30/month for 100 mins of talk, and unlimited (5 GB unthrottled) data/messaging. This is the plan that I currently have with my 4S and I sometimes have to pinch myself to actually believe that I only pay $30 per month after getting ass raped by AT&T and Verizon for the past 5 years. AT&T (T and T-Mobile (TMUS a tale of two telcos. A decade ago, AT&T attempted to acquire a struggling T-Mobile before those plans fell apart amid antitrust scrutiny. Today, T-Mobile is a revitalized company experiencing tremendous success. It bought rival Sprint last year, and its stock hovers near a 52-week high of $ at the time of this writing. Meanwhile, AT&T stock rests around $29 per share as the company digs its way out of a mountain of debt accumulated during an entertainment acquisition spree. Can AT&T bounce back? If so, can T-Mobile maintain success amid a very competitive telecom market? Let's compare these two telco titans to assess which is the better investment. Image source: Getty Images. The case for AT&T AT&T is in transition after a rough 2020. Last year, its revenue dropped over $9 billion from 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic. This increased pressure on the company to do more to manage its massive debt load. Consequently, new CEO John Stankey, with less than a year on the job, decided to spin off pricey entertainment acquisitions DIRECTV and WarnerMedia. The sudden reversal makes sense. The company needed to focus on its core telecom business in the all-important race to deliver 5G wireless networks. The renewed focus is paying off. Postpaid customers are the most valuable in the telecom industry, and in the first quarter of this year, AT&T reported nearly 600,000 postpaid phone net adds, the highest Q1 result in over a decade. This Q1 outcome was the third consecutive quarter of exceptional postpaid phone net adds. DATA SOURCE: AT&T COMPANY FILINGS. CHART BY AUTHOR. AT&T's ability to attract customers in the critical postpaid category is coupled with near-record low churn. Given 97% of the population owns a cellphone, attracting customers from competitors, and retaining them, is a must for AT&T to grow revenue. Speaking of which, AT&T experienced year-over-year revenue growth in Q1. The company's free cash flow, key to funding its high-yield dividend while paying down debt, rose 51%. While Q1 results were strong, AT&T expects to adjust down its dividend as a result of spinning off its Time Warner business, which is expected to happen in the middle of next year. For many investors, AT&T was primarily a dividend play. The news of a dividend decline was unwelcome, but investors can still benefit from AT&T's entertainment bet. Shareholders will receive stock in the new company as part of the spin-off. T-Mobile's strengths While AT&T shifts away from its entertainment aspirations, T-Mobile's 2020 success continues into 2021 with an impressive first quarter. AT&T may have experienced strong Q1 postpaid phone net adds, but T-Mobile was the industry leader with 773,000 net additions. Its Q1 result followed a stellar 2020 where T-Mobile led the industry in postpaid phone net adds. It also saw full-year revenue grow from $ billion in 2019 to $ billion in 2020 despite the pandemic, helped by its Sprint acquisition. T-Mobile's strategy for continued success is sound. Like its competitors, T-Mobile is building out its 5G network. But while AT&T had to bid $ billion in a February government auction to buy mid-band spectrum vital for its 5G network coverage, T-Mobile bid just $ billion to supplement what it already holds. Thanks to its merger with Sprint, T-Mobile will have over 70% more mid-band spectrum than AT&T in the coming years. This gives T-Mobile's 5G network the advantage in coverage and performance at a lower cost. With its superior 5G network, T-Mobile plans to grow its share in smaller markets and among businesses, where its current share is less than 10%. T-Mobile expects to nearly double its market share of business customers over the next five years as 5G adoption ramps up. The final verdict Both AT&T and T-Mobile have merits. AT&T's $ billion in Q1 free cash flow overshadows T-Mobile's $ billion. But T-Mobile doesn't have to allocate its free cash flow to a dividend. So which is the better investment in the long run? Building out a 5G network is capital-intensive. That's where AT&T's debt is a burden. The company's long-term debt at the end of Q1 stood at $ billion. Meanwhile T-Mobile's long-term debt was $ billion in Q1. T-Mobile has the advantage in 5G spectrum, and a solid strategy for ongoing revenue growth. AT&T is still untangling from its media acquisitions, and its attractive dividend is expected to decline. Given these factors, I think it's safe to say that T-Mobile is currently the better investment. ›Virgin Mobile przejęte przez sieć Play. Co to oznacza dla klientów? 10:40Stało się. Wirtualny operator Virgin Mobile Polska, po przeszło dwuletnich negocjacjach, trafia pod skrzydła swojego dostawcy głosy na temat możliwego przejęcia Virgin Mobile przez sieć Play pojawiły się już w styczniu 2018 roku. Wówczas obie strony podpisały wstępne porozumienie oraz ustaliły, że do ewentualnego przejęcia może dojść w 2020 roku. Tak też się wyda na Virgin Mobile ponad 60 mln złW komunikacie prasowym ujawniono, że kwota transakcji opiewa na 13,4 mln euro, czyli równowartość 60,7 mln wymaga jeszcze antymonopolowej zgody Prezesa Urzędu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów, ale zdaje się, że jest to jedynie przejęcie Virgin Mobile przez Play oznacza dla klientów?Zapytanie w tej sprawie wysłałem zarówno do Virgin Mobile, jak i sieci Play. Otrzymałem jedynie lakoniczną odpowiedź, że "nie ma powodów do obaw".Cóż, można bezpiecznie założyć, że z punktu widzenia klientów nie zmieni się nic. Wynika to zresztą z wcześniejszych deklaracji przedstawicieli wirtualnego operatora."Dlaczego sprzedajemy Virgin Mobile Polska? To jest naturalna droga wirtualnych operatorów komunikacyjnych na całym świecie" - przekonywał w 2018 roku Łukasz Wejchert, jeden z założycieli Virgin Mobile Polska, w rozmowie z Wyborczą. "Jeśli firma zbuduje swoją wartość, stworzy bazę abonentów, tradycyjni operatorzy ją przejmują. Pozyskują dzięki temu innych klientów niż do tej pory" - koniec 2019 roku Play chwalił się liczbą 12,9 mln aktywnych klientów. W tym czasie Virgin Mobile obsługiwanych kart SIM miało 396 tys. Przejęcie wirtualnego operatora pozwoli więc "fioletowym" z dnia na dzień zwiększyć bazę klientów o 3 proc. oraz umocnić pozycję lidera w rankingu największych operatorów w Polsce. Wszelkie negatywne zmiany w ofercie mogłyby wywołać odpływ klientów, dlatego nie sądzę, by Play szykował na tym polu jakąś operator Virgin Mobile Polska wystartował 22 sierpnia 2012 roku. Od samego początku P4 (operator sieci Play) był głównym dostawcą infrastruktury telekomunikacyjnej. Home Media Favorites Menu Devices Apps & Games Android Lounge Automotive App Development Smart Home Wearables Browse More I am currently on Virgin Mobile's Beyond Talk plan which is $25 per month and has 3G speeds with unlimited web, data, messaging, and email plus 300 minutes. T-Mobile has a plan that is $30 per month and has 4G speeds with unlimted web and text plus 100 minutes. I'm thinking of making the switch from Virgin Mobile to T-Mobile. Anyone know how the service compares? It's $5 more per month and has less minutes, but I'm tempted by the 4G. Download the Forums for Android™ app! Download TMO is also GSM. It means some things will be done differently. And it will depend on the bands on your phone. TMO uses the 1700 band, but the newer phones will do 1900. TMO does have value "bring your own phone" plans where you don't get charged for a subsidized amount. For practical purposes, it means you won't be able to use the same phone on T-Mobile that you used with Virgin Mobile. I'd been using T-Mobile for 2 1/2 years before I just canceled. Great customer service. Very reliable (no dropped calls or finicky connections). Better integration with Google Voice than Virgin Mobile (not sure if that matters to you). And the 4G speeds are fast (maybe not as fast as LTE, but fast still). I ended up switching just because T-Mobile's coverage in certain less-populated areas isn't that good, and I do sometimes visit some remote suburbs (not always in urban settings). I don't know if this has changed, but when I used Virgin Mobile, it was renting its network from Sprint, and I think Sprint has better coverage than T-Mobile does (in terms of area). Hey I am thinking of switching from VM to TMO since vm is hardly breaking 1mbps. What kinds of speeds would you get from TMO (i am sure it would be a little better now since they are close to LTE). Also, how was the general coverage (3G/LTE vs 2G etc) as you went about your daily life? Thanks Ugh, always kills me when I see how much folks pay for their plans. I have to bend over every month for Verizon. Ever hear the phrase "You get what you pay for?" There's a reason the plans are so cheap. I was so tempted by their $30 monthly 4G plan that I jumped off a very grandfathered plan to take advantage of it. I was sworn to that nothing would change by way of level of customer service I was receiving. Bullsh*t. I came to find this was NOT the case. I always liked using their chat function to troubleshoot with tech when I had a problem. It kept my hands free so I coupd go through their steps on the phone. I don't know if it was just my account or if all of their customer service took a nosedive, but I found I was no longer able to chat with tech, and the troubleshooting chat reps could only tell me to pull the battery or do a factory reset. So I took my phone into the store. The chick working the counter was like "Oh yeah I can fix that, give me a few minutes." I walk around the store for a few and she calls me back. The b*tch had moved all my apps to my sd card! She did NOT ask permission to do this! What's worse, many of my widgets and shortcuts were displaying errors! I told her to put everything back and set me up for a warranty replacement. First she told me my phone was out of warranty. It was an HTC Amaze that was just launched in NOVEMBER. She did a second look and found out I was right. Then she said in order to do a warranty replacement I would have to send in my phone first and take a loaner dumbphone in the meantime since I was now on the monthly 4G plan. Again, bullsh*t. I've done several warranty replacements while on T-Mo's post paid plans and they went flawlessly. That was the tipping point for me to switch to Verizon. OP, take all this into consideration. But since you asked about speed, they are fast but coverage is a huge huge issue. ETA: T-Mo recently laid off thousands of employees and shut down 7 call centers, including one just a few miles from where I live. While getting my account set up at Verizon I had to call T-Mo to get my account number to port my phone number over. THEY'VE OUTSOURCED THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! i am hearing very mixed reviews- some folks say they are awesome, others not so much- the '4g' is what i really like however i am concerned about coverage etc- i live in a pretty suburban area, no huge distances between centers of towns and populations etc so i am confident i would have great service, but still a little ehh vm is great (for the most part) except the recent text outages and stuff like that- not sure what to do!! haha Gmash Extreme Android User Take any opinions or experiences on a forum like this with a grain of salt. ALL carrier coverage issues depend hugely on where you live and plan to use your phone. I have Cricket and have full bars everywhere in my building at work. A co worker has Verizon and barely gets a signal at all. It all depends where the towers are. Try asking people in your area about their service. Greatly depends on your location. At work inside my building/office, I get measly GPRS speeds (~50Kbps up/down). If I go outside to the parking lot, I get 1Mbps. At home 6Mbps. yeah i mean VM i am getting just about 1mbps anywhere and frequently way less- .7mbps to .5mbps at the lowest ive seen- its really sucky but i do have the $25/mo plan and the 300min while i dont use them all now is nice to have... Its an issue of sacrificing ok coverage with godawful speeds for decent speeds and no coverage haha Share This Page NEW: the MSE Forum 'Ask An Expert' event. Next week, Gary and Andrew from MSE's Utilities team will be around to answer your energy questions. Stay tuned for details Hi ya, I'm wondering if virgin and t mobile are the same network reason i ask is that i have a virgin sim card and the phone i want is on t mobile and i read somewhere that virgin share/ use the same network as t mobile, so then i won't need to get my phone unlocked. thanks 0 This discussion has been closed. Latest MSE News and Guides

virgin mobile vs t mobile