Prepaid phones have the ability to talk, text and surf the Web.
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Verizon Wireless and Page Plus Cellular both offer a variety of prepaid plans that charge you month to month. Verizon offers only regular prepaid plans, whereas Page Plus sells a plan and multiple sizes of voice and text cards for cheaper prices. While Verizon is a larger company, Page Plus offers competitive pricing and coverage. Verizon also offers deals on international calls for those often calling out of the country.
Price
Page Plus offers Talk n Text for $45 per month, which includes unlimited voice and text, as of June 2011. This price includes 20MB of data to use surfing the Web and checking email. Page Plus has a system in place to automatically charge your account each month for continuous phone service. Page Plus offers quite a few more plans, such as the Talk n Text plan for $30, which includes 1,200 minutes, 2,000 text messages and 100MB of data. They also sell voice cards for $25 to $50 and text-only cards from $11 to $20. Verizon wireless also has an unlimited Talk & Text plan, which is $95. For only 900 minutes of voice minutes and unlimited texting, the monthly rate is $85. The 450 voice minutes with unlimited texting plan is $65 per month. Each plan is $20 cheaper if you're buying only talk time and no texting.
International Calls
Page Plus charges you for calls made internationally. The rates vary, from 12 cents a minute for calls to Puerto Rico, 34 cents to a landline in Mexico and 49 cents per minute for calls to a cellphone in Mexico, as of June 2011. Verizon doesn't charge for calls to Puerto Rico. The rate for calls to a landline in Mexico is 10 cents per minute with calls to cellular users in Canada, Mexico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands and Saipan being 29 cents a minute.
Coverage
Page Plus has coverage in a majority of the United States, with dead zones being in rural areas in the West and around mountain ranges. Verizon doesn't have as much coverage for prepaid phones, with roaming-only areas being in the rural and mountainous West, low population areas across the country and only a small percentage of roaming coverage in Alaska. Consult the coverage maps for both companies before making your decision.
Customer Service
Page Plus has a variety of outlets for reaching the company if you need support with your phone service. You can submit a support request form, phone them with questions about activations and general inquiries, email, fax or standard mail. It also include testimonials on their website as well as frequently asked questions. Verizon is a much larger company than Page Plus and customer service experiences vary widely. Verizon allows you to call, send an email or use standard mail for questions.
Photo Credits
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