Best Cell Phone Plans in Magnolia, OH

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 Magnolia, OH 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 Magnolia, OH. 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 Magnolia, OH, 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.

Types of wireless service plans

Typically, many of the people in Magnolia, OH prefer a cell phone plan where they receive the right amount of minutes, receive text messages and use data on the go. Choosing a wireless service depends on the quality of coverage for each of these factors.

This is particularly true for people whose cell phone is their primary or only communication device. Having a wireless plan that suits their needs becomes much more important. Using the Wirefly service, users can look up plan details for multiple carriers to see how much they can actually save compared to their current wireless plan.

Basically, three categories exist for wireless plans: family plans, individual plans, and no contract plans.

Family plans give customers a phone line for each family member. With some carriers, devices and plan offerings are provided based on individual need although each line is part of one plan. Family plans come with a higher price tag, obviously, but it is still the best deal for a person who has more than one line. Comparing the total cost per phone is much cheaper than single plan pricing. With some family plans, calls, text messages and data are shared, which means the plan will need to cover everyone's individual needs.

An individual plan is a one line, one rate cell phone plan that does not include other devices or phones. People who are not married or do not have children should choose this type of cell phone plan.

No contract plans, also known as pay-as-you-go, prepaid or month-to-month provide flexible pricing and payment options. This type of cell phone plan has evolved from its original prepaid cell phone card days. Typically, prepaid phones can be picked up from any department store in Magnolia, OH. These phones do not require activation; they are ready for immediate use.

Although customers who get the no contract plan only pays for what they want to use, there are usually additional fees for this type of convenience. Additionally, prices for cell phones under this type of plan might be much higher than a family or individual plan unless a simple style is chosen.

Prepaid plans are attractive to people who do not want the obligation of a contract. A person must sign up for cell phone service with a specific carrier for at least one or two years. Monthly payments are made, but there is also an early termination fee if the customer cancels before the term of the agreement ends.

Choosing a Suitable Plan

There are several factors to think about while comparing service providers and specific plans. You need to consider the number of individuals or separate mobile devices in your home. It's also important to look at non-voice communication features, such as data access and texting. Internet downloads are measured in gigabytes. Many cell phone providers no longer apply separate limits to texts or voice minutes, especially if users sign multi-year contracts.

Prepaid plans let users buy specific numbers of minutes. For instance, a person might pay $20 to talk for eight hours. The phone stops working after this time runs out. Inexpensive contracts may limit subscribers to less than 500 texts and/or minutes. An unlimited plan is typically more affordable for anyone who repeatedly communicates on a cellphone throughout the day.

Data bandwidth has become an important consideration for Magnolia, OH smartphone users. People use it to browse the mobile Web and use online apps. Cell phone companies usually demand considerable monthly fees for plans with high data caps. Substantial extra charges may apply if a person exceeds the limit. It's wise to choose a service that provides more than enough bandwidth. Few providers allow subscribers to download unlimited amounts of data.

Cell phone service providers in Magnolia, OH

The companies listed below all provide coverage to Magnolia, OH. The majority of the lesser-known providers run on one or several of these major carrier systems, so it's likely that your current location has coverage.

AT&T

AT&T is among the most widely known cellular service providers and offers several kinds of plans, including personal, family, and prepaid mobile plans.

Sprint

Sprint offers several different kinds of options, one being its just-launched friend/family plan referred to as the 'Better Choice Plan.' In addition, Sprint is one of very few large companies to provide unlimited wireless 4G data usage with no bandwidth throttling.

T-Mobile

All of T-Mobile's plans are classified as prepaid or pay-per-use plans. These plans allow the company's clients to receive unlimited talking, texting, and data usage (with varying levels of throttling) at one monthly rate. T-Mobile provides personal as well as family mobile phone plans.

Verizon

Verizon provides personal, family, and pay-as-you-go plans. Verizon lets you choose a no-contract or family data usage plan to start off. Family data plans may cover just one person or a whole household, and they have no talking or texting limits and a predetermined level of data.

MVNOs

A number of other smaller but high-quality mobile companies exist and cover Magnolia, OH that you can review together with the previously listed large providers through the use of the mobile carrier plan compare tool above.