Google has plans to offer its own wireless carrier program through Project Fi, which would (in theory) save people money and offer more flexibility. The reason something like Project Fi is greeted with a clamour of interest is that most of us are unhappy with our current options. Let’s commiserate.
I am long overdue a phone upgrade and a switch to a better provider with more coverage, because at current I’m using Virgin Mobile. Virgin Mobile USA’s 4G products run off of Sprint’s network, which is nothing to write home about. I’ve been in several situations where friends have the same phone model but a different carrier, and they’re watching videos and livestreaming and surfing three social media apps in the time it takes a GIF to load for me. I was once trapped on an extended rural wedding weekend with no coverage at all, and started to go into withdrawal. Everyone else’s phones seemed to work.
Worst of all, I often hit my data ceiling mid-month, and then my nightmare sets in: Virgin strangles the feed so that looking at an app that loaded just fine yesterday becomes a chore reminiscent of old dial-up speeds. Sometimes, I would rather have no connection at all than that slow, terrible tease.
The advantage of Virgin Mobile’s plan when I signed up, however, is that it was much more affordable than other plans at the time, and the price point meant more to me than GIF loading. Also, without a long-term contract, I can cancel and switch over to another service at any time — and I appreciate not being shackled.
Every plan seems to come with similar trade-offs — and most of us find something to loathe about the one we’re in. I’m curious about what service you’re signed on with, and what you would change about it first if you could.
What are you dealing with where you are? Does the US have it good, or are you laughing every day at their cellular angst?
Picture: Wikimedia Commons