Best Cell Phone Plans in Biloxi, MS

Biloxi, MS cell phone coverage

When shopping for cell phone plans, you'll notice that there is often a trade-off between price and coverage. If you see a plan whose price is right, your next step should be to check the coverage map for Biloxi, MS. The value of your plan is only as good as the coverage quality. Most major carriers have good coverage throughout the country, including Biloxi, MS. Before committing to a plan, check carrier coverage maps against one another to make sure you can connect reliably.

Choosing a plan structure: three compelling options available

Even though the mobile industry has changed in dramatic ways since the turn of the century, the basic plan structure offered by all major carriers remains roughly the same. In fact, this structure hasn't changed in more than two decades. Currently, there are three ways to get wireless service in Biloxi, MS. Plan types include: individual plans, family plans, and no-commitment prepaid plans.

So, what separates each plan type from the pack? First and foremost, the big choice to make when selecting a new plan or carrier is whether to opt for an individual or family plan. Family plans are easily the most popular option at all four major carriers, and they're even an increasingly popular offering at no-commitment MVNO carriers. A family plan's popularity largely comes from its distribution of the cost. By bringing more lines together under a single account, you're able to cut the per-line cost of talk, text, and data services. Carriers also like these plans because they're 'stickier.' It's simply harder to move multiple lines to a new carrier than it is to move just one.

Individual plans still have their merits. First and foremost, they're the only option available to people who don't have multiple family members that want to split the cost of mobile service. They're also a great option for people who don't want to be the 'bill collector' in a group of friends or family members, collecting each person's monthly portion of shared service. Individual plans are typically much more expensive than family plans, which is important to keep in mind when comparison shopping.

No-commitment prepaid plans offer you the ability to get a more affordable plan, with even more data, either as an individual or with up to four additional family members. The main draw of these plans, which some people consider a drawback, is that they don't offer device financing plans. On the other hand, they also have no explicit or implied service contract, which makes it easy to hop between prepaid carriers for the best combination of price and features.

The elements of a cell phone plan

The biggest difference between cell phone plans, outside of price and coverage, is the amount of features available to you. Most plans come with some kind of talk, text and data availability, but the amount and price of those features varies.

The majority of contract plans offer unlimited talk and text, but if you don't need that many minutes or messages, you can save some money by choosing a limited plan. With no-contract plans, you can buy minutes and messages individually or in grouped packages to use as you need them.

You'll definitely want to consider the data packages available when choosing a cell phone plan in Biloxi, MS. The more data you need, the bigger your price tag will be. Going over your data limits will typically cost you overage charges, so be sure to pick a plan that offers enough data for you. Most plans are priced by the megabyte of gigabyte, but a small amount of plans do offer unlimited data plans. The unlimited plans typically allow you to use a certain amount of data at high speeds and then limit you to using unlimited data at very low speeds.

Finding the best cell phone plan for your needs

Now that you know which kind of cell phone plan you want, it's now time to make another important decision: what do you need each month in terms of minutes, text messages, and data? This used to be a slightly complex decision to have to make, but that is no longer the case due to changes in the wireless industry. Current cell phone plans have almost all dropped limits on calling minutes and texts messages. Postpaid family plans and individual plans at Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon, all include unlimited talk and text. Only a small number of no contract prepaid plans still enforce limits.

The good news is that you can choose to look at only the amount of data that you need on a monthly basis. Two of the major carriers make this decision pretty simple, while two of the other major carriers require a bit more decision making before choosing a plan. Here's what to keep in mind when selecting a cell phone plan in Biloxi, MS:

Sprint

Like T-Mobile, Sprint recently unveiled a flat-rate, all-unlimited mobile plan for new and existing subscribers. Customers who prefer not to get an unlimited plan can opt for a 'shared' amount of data that can be used by all lines attached to the account. By default, data speeds on limited plans slow down after all data has been used. Customers can buy a high-speed pass if they wish to have more full-speed data until the end of the month, however.

T-Mobile

The Un-Carrier, as T-Mobile has dubbed itself, recently made a move toward unlimited data for all. The company added to its Simple Choice plan lineup with T-Mobile ONE, an unlimited, single plan for individuals or families. T-Mobile Simple Choice plans are still available for customers who prefer them, however. These plans feature data rollover and no overage charges, so there's no extra fees added to the bill based on your usage.

Verizon

Verizon got rid of overages early in 2016 and started offering rollover data for its shared data plans. Verizon's plans are similar to AT&T's, however an unlimited data option is not available to new customers at all.

AT&T

AT&T offers unlimited data only to customers who also have DIRECTV or AT&T Internet. Otherwise, customers have shared data plans with every line on their account. In 2016, AT&T introduced a no-overages policy that throttles data to 2G speeds when a data bucket is exhausted. The company also has its 'Stream Saver' service in 2016, which reduces the quality of all streaming video and uses data more slowly as a result.

MVNO Carriers

Smaller prepaid carriers, called Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), usually operate on one of the four above networks and resell services to no-commitment customers. These plans cover Biloxi, MS and change very frequently, but they do often represent a good savings each month.