[AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note I717] sashusmom:
I got a mailer today about consumer cellular. This looks like another alternative for a carrier. I ordered 2 sim cards today and will let you know.

The sims are free, and you can use unlocked gsm phones or previously used phones on att( not unlocked?), with no activation fees- (at least not yet). They charge $35 activation on the phones they sell.

This leads me to believe it uses ATT towers. There was no $$ required to order sims. This carrier is marketed to the senior members of the USA touting AARP discounts- but they are 3rd party discounters, not AARP. It's only 5%. You do have taxes added on just like any other carrier.

Here is what grabbed my interest. Minutes are from PAYG- 25 cents/min, or up to 2400 minutes for $60, or anywhere in between. I'll go for 300 minutes for $20. These minute buckets can be shared by a family plan for an extra $10/phone.

Here is the grabber. You can also get data, the max is 500mb for $30- this includes 5000 text and mms to be shared. They also have 100 text/mms and 10 mb data for $2.50, and others in between. This can also be shared by the family for no extra charges. For non heavy users, this is great. I have not used more than 300 mb, and that was a lot for me. I'm going to set this up with my daughter, who needs ATT service at school and lots of texts. She tried an lg thrive on our ATT plan for less than a day, and they zapped a $30 data plan on- I was really mad. We are both out of contract, so we can leave ATT and try this.

I checked the data service map, and it says 4glte, 3g, and 2g, so maybe we can get lte on this carrier?

This may work well for us. For $55, plus extra taxes that I'm not quite sure of, we can have minutes and a good hunk of data with 5000 text/mms.

Did I mention no contract??? And you can change your plans as many times as you want to get the lowest plan for your needs for the month. Or increase if the need increases to avoid overage charges. And CC will send you notices of your use. I'll let you know how it goes, at least for 1 month.

I am in no way asso with consumer cellular, I don't know anyone who uses them, and would like some feedback from someone who does! But this looks like a good way to cut our ATT bill and get another smartphone on board.

Update- If you are using your own phones, there is no activation charges. The sims are free, and you have 30 days or 30 minutes to try out the service. If you are a member of AARP, it goes 45 days or 45 minutes for evaluation. You can cancel with no charges if it doesn't work out. I have 2 sims on their way. I spoke to a CR, I can port our numbers if it works for us.

If messaging was not bundled with the data connect, it wouldn't pay for us to switch. That's a bonus that ATT makes you pay more for. (my daughter's texts are in the 1000's). ATT costs- Family messaging $30- data for 2 smartphones- $30+$30=$60- plus your minute talk plan on top. Varies with your plan.We'll just call ours $10+$10=$20.(family add ons).

If this is how CC says, a better option $ wise. I will let you guys know. NJ taxes are about 14%.

Here's a link to ranking of hidden state and federal taxes tacked onto your wireless bill

http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/27059.html