Best Cell Phone Plans in Ardmore, OK

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 Ardmore, OK 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 Ardmore, OK. 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 Ardmore, OK, 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 types of cell phone plans are out there?

While the American wireless industry is changing rapidly and becoming exceedingly competitive, the basic structure of wireless plans remains the same. In Ardmore, OK, you'll be able to choose from a multi-line family plan, a single post-paid line, or prepaid options that present no long-term contractual or device financing requirement. Here's a primer on each type of plan:

Family Plans

By far the most popular type of plan in the United States, family plans allow multiple people to 'share' a single account, splitting line and data fees across several different people in order to get a lower monthly cost of service for each person. Most carriers offer significant discounts on the price of a gigabyte of data for multi-line accounts, making it the economical way of signing up for service. Of course, multi-line accounts are also hard to move between carriers due to different device payment plans and coverage concerns.

Individual Plans

Quite the opposite of a family plan, individual plans allow a single person to pick the amount of data they need each month without splitting the bill. Though more expensive than family plans, individual accounts are easier to manage and are perfect for people who don't want to split expenses and device upgrades with friends or family members.

Prepaid Plans

Once a strong draw because they lacked contracts, today no-commitment plans are a more affordable alternative to individual plans. Most prepaid plans offer more data at a lower cost than an individual plan at a major carrier. Furthermore, prepaid family plans offer a lower cost for multi-line accounts than some traditional family plans at the 'Big 4.' These plans are ineligible for device financing, however, which means you'll have to pay full price to buy a new phone upon release.

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 Ardmore, OK 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.

Different carriers to choose from in Ardmore, OK

You can choose from many different carriers when you live in Ardmore, OK, as they all offer coverage in this area. Lesser known carriers, or MVNOs, still operate under a main carrier network, so it is still a good chance your city is covered by them.

AT&T

AT&T has a number of plan types available with their company. Their plans include contract, family, individual and pay-as-you-go.

Sprint

Sprint is one of the few wireless companies that offers unlimited 4G LTE data and is a good choice when you don't want to worry about overages. They also offer a new option called the Better Choice Plan.

Verizon Wireless

Verizon is one of the leading cell phone carriers that offer individual, family and no contract cell phone plans. Shared plans can include unlimited texting and talk, along with different amounts of data coverage.

T-Mobile

The “uncarrier”, as T-Mobile is known, offers plans that do not require a contract ever. T-Mobile sells family plans as well as individual ones, and T-Mobile ONE and Simple Choice are two plans that give consumers unlimited data, talk and text for one price.

MVNOs

Our tools here on Wirefly will help you find the best cell phone plan for you and your family. Compare rates and find the best coverage when you live in the Ardmore, OK area today.