cell carrier advice

[brothertonbeth@msn.com]

Any advice on switching from T-Mobile to Verizon?
What's the catch with free phone, ipad and watch?

[John Hardman]

Beth ~

I worked (sold) in the cellular world in the early days when it was Cellular One (now AT&T) and US West Cellular (now Verizon).  
I used (and sold) both services back in the day when the networks were being built out.  I ended up staying with Verizon because of their better
mountain coverage than Cell One.  Those two networks have been around the longest.  Others either are building out their system
OR re-selling one of the existing networks. Especially in the mountains, one system can outperform others. WiFi calling makes using
your cell on wifi more reliable at home.  

Free stuff usually is an incentive to switch carriers AND commit to a service contract of 1 or more years.  Cheaper is always better IF IT WORKS.

[RobertH]

I use ting:  https://tingmobile.com/
On the flex plan, my bill for data + cell is $17/mo.
They have human  English speaking customer support.

I don't have a basis for comparison with other outfits, but I find them to be OK -
I've had a few frustrations over the 3 years I've used them, but the price is right, and no contracts.

I use the WiFi calling when I'm at home, and as far as I can tell, you need a CenturyLink landline or 
a satellite service to do that, so you're still stuck with another bill.