Best Cell Phone Plans in Lonetree, WY

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 Lonetree, WY 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 Lonetree, WY. 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 Lonetree, WY, 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 Lonetree, WY, 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.

The best wireless plan

Consider all the different features that are important when you are looking for the right plan. There are three factors to keep in mind when choosing the best one for you or your family in Lonetree, WY: minutes, text messages, and data.

Cheaper cell phone plans often allow you to set a limit on the number of minutes you can talk and the number of text messages you can send. This is good for someone who doesn't use their phone a lot. But if you do, you'll want to look for a plan with unlimited talk and text. Luckily, most cell phone carriers offer this as a basic option, so you won't be paying much more for it when you choose it. With a contract plan, you'll use a wireless card to load minutes onto your phone for talking and texting. When you need more minutes, you simply purchase more. No contract phones cannot charge you for overages, as you simply cannot cause them.

If you plan to use a good deal of data in Lonetree, WY, be sure to look for a plan that offers you higher gigabyte plans. Cheaper plans come with two to five gigabytes for the month, which may be all you need if you can always connect to Wi-Fi. Higher plans offer anywhere from ten to 20 gigabytes per month and are great for consumers who may be using their device in places without Wi-Fi to connect to. You'll also want to check if the company will charge you for overages, as many will charge for every gigabyte you go over per month, which can really make your bill skyrocket if you aren't careful.

Comparing carriers in Lonetree, WY

There are a number of carriers found in Lonetree, WY, and the following all have coverage in this area. Most smaller carriers, known as MVNOs, still operate under one or more of the main carrier networks, so chances are, your particular city will be covered.

The good news is that you can focus only on the amount of data that you need on a monthly basis. Two carriers make this decision easy, while two others will require a bit of careful consideration before selecting a plan. Here's what to know when selecting a cell phone plan in Lonetree, WY:

AT&T

AT&T offers a multitude of plan types and is one of the most well-known. They offer individual, contract, family, and pay-as-you-go wireless cell phone plans.

Sprint

Sprint offers different cell phone plans including a new one called the Better Choice Plan. Sprint also offers completely unlimited 4G LTE data, one of the only major cell phone companies to do so.

Verizon Wireless

Verizon offers different plans, such as individual and family sharing plans, and no contract plans. When you choose Verizon, you can purchase a prepaid or shared data plan. A shared plan can be used either by an individual or for a family and includes unlimited text and talk, as well as a pre-determined amount of data.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile is known for being an “uncarrier”, because they offer plans that are all no contract. T-Mobile ONE and Simple Choice plans offer unlimited text, talk, and data for one monthly price. T-Mobile also sells individual and family plans.

MVNOs and Other Carriers

Using our cell phone plan comparison tool, you can learn more about the other quality cell phone carriers that operate in the Lonetree, WY area to choose the one that is best for you or your family.