Best Cell Phone Plans in Limerick, ME

Coverage is still king: a few things to keep in mind

Coverage has gotten dramatically better for all carriers in the last few years, especially for Sprint and T-Mobile. While the country's two smallest carriers often had their coverage compared to Swiss cheese in the early 2000s, their LTE networks today are fully modernized, dense, and ready to perform well even during times of peak demand. With that said, it's a good idea to take a look at independent test results that show the strengths of each network. These tests, performed by RootMetrics, will help clarify which carrier is best for clear calls, fast data, or consistent texting.

Best for Calls: For the third time in two years, RootMetrics testing found that all four major carriers are almost the same in Limerick, ME when it comes to 'call performance.' This indicates that all four carriers have crystal clear calls, and that all four carriers rarely drop a call that has been initiated. That's great news if your main area of usage each month is wireless minutes.

Best for Texting: During the second half of 2016, RootMetrics testing found that AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile were tied for first place in overall texting performance. All three carriers had a near-100-percent success rate in sending and delivering texts. Sprint's texting performance was just a bit shy of making this metric a four-way tie.

Best for Data-Heavy Usage: This category is a bit more nuanced than the others. Overall, Verizon's LTE network delivered both the fastest speeds and the most reliable connections to customers in Limerick, ME. T-Mobile's average data speed increased dramatically in 2016, however, and AT&T showed improvement in average speeds as well.

Breadth of Coverage: All four carriers have an extremely broad network in Limerick, ME, with coverage almost everywhere. Sprint, which is still expanding its LTE network, has slightly less high-speed coverage. Even so, it has the high-density city and suburban areas covered very well.

Getting started: what different kinds of cell phone plans exist?

While the American wireless industry is changing rapidly and becoming exceedingly competitive, the overall premise of wireless plans remains the same. In Limerick, ME, you'll be able to choose from a family plan, an individual postpaid line, or prepaid plans that present no long-term contract or device financing requirements. Here's the basics on each type of plan available:

Family Plans

Family plans are the most popular type of cell phone plan in the United States. Family plans enable multiple people in a family or small business to share a single account, dividing line and data fees across several different people in order to get a less expensive monthly cost of service for each person on the plan. Most carriers offer deep discounts on the price of a GB of data for multi-line accounts, making it cheaper for everyone. However, multi-line accounts are also hard to move between carriers due to different device payment plans and coverage concerns.

Individual Plans

Individual plans enable a single person to pick the amount of data they need each month for themselves. Though these plans are typically more expensive than family plans, individual plans are simpler to manage and are geared towards people who do not want to share expenses and device upgrades with friends or members of their family.

Prepaid Plans

Prepaid plans have become far more ubiquitous these days. The majority of prepaid plans offer more data at a lower cost than an individual plan at a major carrier, but still offer many of the most popular phones. In addition, prepaid family plans offer more inexpensive costs for multi-line accounts than some traditional family plans at the 'Big 4' carriers. These plans are usually ineligible for device financing, which means you'll likely have to pay full price to buy a new smartphone.

Which cell phone plan should you choose?

During the process of selecting a plan, you'll need to consider the number of people who will be covered and what kinds of features they'll need to have. Most service providers divide these plan features into one of these three categories: minutes, texts, and data usage.

Inexpensive contract plans restrict the number of minutes and/or texts to around 400 or fewer. Unrestricted plans are more cost-efficient if you text or talk frequently throughout the day and can't abide any limitations. With prepaid plans, you usually fund your phone card with cash to purchase minutes, which are available per minute or in a bundle, like 500 minutes for 20 dollars. After you've used up your minutes, you must buy more.

How much data you use is an important consideration when selecting plans these days. Many Limerick, ME providers charge a lot for heavy data usage, and there aren't many unlimited wireless data packages on the market. Plans are usually charged according to MB and GB usage. Sometimes, exceeding your data capacity can result in costly penalty fees. To avoid these unwanted charges, choose a data package that can handle the amount of data you use.

Limerick, ME cell phone service comparison

Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T provide wireless service in the Limerick, ME area. However, these major carriers aren't the only options available to local cellphone users. Many lesser-known providers use the networks of these companies. A small carrier is called an MVNO. People in this city can use the top carriers as well as most MVNOs, so they have a wide range of choices to compare.

Verizon

This well-established provider has many different service options. Customers can subscribe to family or single plans and pay monthly bills. An alternative is to sign up for a pay-as-you-go plan. Verizon Wireless contracts have specific caps on data bandwidth, but no limits apply to other communication services. Users may send an unlimited number of text messages and talk as long as they like.

T-Mobile

Unlike other carriers, T-Mobile only offers contract-free service. It provides options for families as well as individuals. The company's Simple Choice and ONE plans charge one monthly fee for unlimited communications. Subscribers may text and talk for any number of hours. Internet bandwidth is also unlimited, but transfer speeds drop considerably after people exceed T-Mobile's data limits.

Sprint

Limerick, ME residents can sign up for a variety of cellphone contracts with Sprint. One of the more recent family-oriented options is called Better Choice. Unlike most carriers, this company gives users the ability to obtain genuinely unlimited Internet access. Customers on an uncapped plan benefit from a 4G LTE network and may transfer any amount of data at the maximum speed.

AT&T

This top communications provider has served people for many decades. It offers widespread cellular coverage, numerous plan options and satellite TV bundles. Users may subscribe with or without a contract. The company's month-to-month services are desirable for customers who don't want to commit to paying a monthly bill for years. Both family and single-line plans are available from AT&T.

MVNO Alternatives

Several other cellphone companies supply coverage in the Limerick, ME area. They include lesser-known MVNOs that provide high-quality service. The Wirefly comparison system enables users to easily compare these carriers with each other and the above-mentioned providers. This gives an even better chance of finding affordable services that offer appealing features. To find a suitable plan with competitive rates, please try our free comparison tool today.