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T-Mobile Reaches Agreement to Acquire Mint Mobile for Up to $1.35B

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Re: T-Mobile Reaches Agreement to Acquire Mint Mobile for Up to $1.35B

#111

Post by nebula8804 »

monksy wrote: post #101
pkulak wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> even though Mint uses the same exact network. It's the same network, but you get the capacity that's left over after everyone on T-Mobile has had their fill. Which is why I don't get why everyone is always so excited about these MVNOs. To me, it's like bragging about how cheap airfare is when you go standby: "It's the exact same planes!".

It all depends on how much they oversubscribe their frequency band. As a Verizon, Tmobile, or Att customer you might be able to get 1gbps down .. but why do you need that on your phone? Why are they popular? It makes little sense to pay $90 a month per line. With MVNOs the price is about 20-30$/mo. (Options out there: StraightTalk, USMobible, Lycia, Mint, Visble, Ting, Google FI, etc) Some of these carriers are even…

What about voice quality or prompt delivery of SMS? Its anecdotal but i've had serious issues having delayed SMS on the T-Mobile MVNOs. Voice calls appear have been more spotty but thats harder to measure.

Re: T-Mobile Reaches Agreement to Acquire Mint Mobile for Up to $1.35B

#112

Post by unshavedyak »

monksy wrote: post #101
pkulak wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> even though Mint uses the same exact network. It's the same network, but you get the capacity that's left over after everyone on T-Mobile has had their fill. Which is why I don't get why everyone is always so excited about these MVNOs. To me, it's like bragging about how cheap airfare is when you go standby: "It's the exact same planes!".

It all depends on how much they oversubscribe their frequency band. As a Verizon, Tmobile, or Att customer you might be able to get 1gbps down .. but why do you need that on your phone? Why are they popular? It makes little sense to pay $90 a month per line. With MVNOs the price is about 20-30$/mo. (Options out there: StraightTalk, USMobible, Lycia, Mint, Visble, Ting, Google FI, etc) Some of these carriers are even…

For MVNO on Verizon's network, any recommendations? I pay some absurd number for my Verizon plan in the Pacific Northwest because the mountains cause other providers (TMo, for example) to have no reception constantly. Verizon is basically the only choice. However i rarely use it, i spend 90% of the time on Wifi. I just want to be able to get texting/voice SMS/Phone/Data for emergencies (not just 911). So perhaps an MVNO is of interest to me?

Re: T-Mobile Reaches Agreement to Acquire Mint Mobile for Up to $1.35B

#113

Post by Night_Thastus »

alsodumb wrote: post #15

When I first came to this country as a broke grad student, paying 80$-100$ or joining a family plan with friends, sometimes even strangers, seemed absurd to me. Mint was the only thing I could afford at $15 a month. The data was limited, like 4 GB a month I guess, but I had Wi-Fi everywhere and only needed data for navigation. Good for the founders, they championed MVNO space in some way. Perhaps bad for Mint custome…

15$ for 4G isn't bad by comparison! I'm currently paying $30 for 2GB with Metro.

Re: T-Mobile Reaches Agreement to Acquire Mint Mobile for Up to $1.35B

#114

Post by mdaniel »

xnx wrote: post #82

I'd like to switch to Google Fi, but the lower prices on Mint have kept me there. If prices increase, I'll finally switch over. I've also been hoping that Google would sort out/consolidate Google Fi/Google Voice.

I actually created a separate Google account when I signed up for Fi expressly to keep them separate, since there was an awful lot of language in the Fi agreement that made it sound like Fi was the "Hotel California" of wave goodbye to your G-Voice number if you ever leave

Also, FWIW, I ejected from Fi over to Mint because the WiFi calling on Fi was indescribably bad as it "wo..cut...i..ou..can.you.hea...now?" and made me never want to call or be called more than I already was by default

Re: T-Mobile Reaches Agreement to Acquire Mint Mobile for Up to $1.35B

#115

Post by nebula8804 »

temp2022account wrote: post #68
selectodude wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>And shaking my head at those who are paying double or triple that rate on T-Mobile, even though Mint uses the same exact network. I tried every MVNO and find myself stuck on Verizon postpaid spending $90/mo because my phone actually works. If you live in a major city, throttling is the norm, not the exception, on these MVNOs.

Purely for the anecdata, I'm also in this group. Had Tracfone's $40/mo plan for a few years and then a cc change caused a missed payment. Within 8 hours my service was discontinued, which was a huge headache trying to 2-factor my way into my tracfone account to update cc details. In the end I decided to move to a verizon plan for twice as much but now I have unlimited data and a company that _sounds_ like it won't th…

My nightmare story takes the cake. I tried to switch from Google Fi to "visible". I filled out the online signup, got mailed my sim card and when it came time to switch, their sign up website would just point me to a broken page. No problem right? I go to their support. It turns out the support is literally just a chat bot that you have to navigate correctly to finally get to a representative which is just a facebook messenger like window. (No phone support or address whatsoever).

In the end they couldn't figure out why my transfer failed and why I was stuck in limbo. They said they would escalate to their "Technician" who never got back to me.

Doing some research on Reddit I discovered that this is a common issue with that MVNO. So now here I was, never got onto visible while Google Fi is now informing me my service is about to be terminated because from their end I transfered out.

Keep in mind this whole saga took many hours to get to this point. I decided at that point to get away from this MVNO as fast as I could. I call up Google and they said they are missing the pin and some details to initiate transfer back to Google.

Visible says they dont have that data and to talk to google. I had no idea what to do and no one to ask for help so I decided to wait to see what would happen. Would I lose my number i've had for 15+ years? Turns out nope, Google Fi kept providing me service while keeping me in a perpetual state of "pending termination".

I just stuck with them for the time being because I didn't want to deal with anymore headaches. Eventually I tried to sign up for T-Mobile proper and they managed to get the phone transfered.

I've used multiple MVNOs (Ting, Tracfone,That Walmart MVNO,Mint,Xfinity mobile, visible and a few others). They all seem like they are gimped in some way whether it be delayed SMS, slow speeds, but now i've learned that another way they cut corners is with horrendous support and processes. As long as I can afford it, I will stay the hell away from these guys and I totally understand why so many others do as well.

Re: T-Mobile Reaches Agreement to Acquire Mint Mobile for Up to $1.35B

#116

Post by pkulak »

wtallis wrote: post #98
pkulak wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> even though Mint uses the same exact network. It's the same network, but you get the capacity that's left over after everyone on T-Mobile has had their fill. Which is why I don't get why everyone is always so excited about these MVNOs. To me, it's like bragging about how cheap airfare is when you go standby: "It's the exact same planes!".

It's not hard to understand: many people simply don't need a high-speed unlimited data plan for their phones. Not everyone makes a habit of streaming video over their cellular connection.

Are we sure that no matter how de-prioritized you are, some data is always available, with reasonable latency? I was just at a large sports stadium last night, and I was able to message my wife to tell her I was on my way home while looking up the best bus to take. I remember that not being possible a few years ago, but I don't know if that's because networks in general have gotten better, or because I'm now paying quite a lot of money for Verizon post-paid.

EDIT: Oh, and I totally forgot about tethering. That can be severely restricted on MVNOs. And, at least for me, I don't need it. Until I need it. Then I NEED it. haha

Re: T-Mobile Reaches Agreement to Acquire Mint Mobile for Up to $1.35B

#118

Post by spennant »

unshavedyak wrote: post #112
monksy wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It all depends on how much they oversubscribe their frequency band. As a Verizon, Tmobile, or Att customer you might be able to get 1gbps down .. but why do you need that on your phone? Why are they popular? It makes little sense to pay $90 a month per line. With MVNOs the price is about 20-30$/mo. (Options out there: StraightTalk, USMobible, Lycia, Mint, Visble, Ting, Google FI, etc) Some of these carriers are even…

For MVNO on Verizon's network, any recommendations? I pay some absurd number for my Verizon plan in the Pacific Northwest because the mountains cause other providers (TMo, for example) to have no reception constantly. Verizon is basically the only choice. However i rarely use it, i spend 90% of the time on Wifi. I just want to be able to get texting/voice SMS/Phone/Data for emergencies (not just 911). So perhaps an M…

Visible

Re: T-Mobile Reaches Agreement to Acquire Mint Mobile for Up to $1.35B

#119

Post by vel0city »

mdasen wrote: post #100
jawns wrote: post #20

I've been a Mint customer for about 4 years, paying the annual upfront payment, which works out to $15/mo. And shaking my head at those who are paying double or triple that rate on T-Mobile, even though Mint uses the same exact network. In terms of why T-Mobile is making this purchase, I'm pretty sure it's to take out someone who was eating their lunch. I've always found it strange that an MVNO is able to operate on…

I wouldn't say that it's really a threat. Part of what you're offering Mint is a guarantee that you aren't going to churn for an entire year each time you renew along with an up-front payment so they don't have to worry about chasing down payments. I'd also note that the $15 annual plan is a 4GB plan. Normally, Mint charges $25/mo for that 4GB plan if you buy in a 3-month increment. It looks like Mint also doesn't in…

I bought the 10GB plan for 1yr up-front. List price was $240, was $267.25 after taxes and fees. So their $20/mo was actually $22.27.

> If you don't want fancy phones and don't want unlimited data, it might not be worth it to you.

People bothering to try and save $20-30/mo probably aren't the target market for upgrading a $1000 device every year or two.

Also, I don't like the financial shenanigans pushing me to upgrade when I might not otherwise care to.

> Let's say you're on a family plan with 4 lines and paying $42.50/line.

Lets say I'm not, because I'm not. A huge market full of people don't need 4 lines. So their cheapest plan would be $60/mo before taxes and fees. No Netflix credit. No upgrade credit. Tethering is only at 3G speeds without paying more. I'm not even sure what the taxes and fees are for this T-Mo plan, but even including it with Mint means the plan is $452.75 more per year than what I paid for Mint. Sure, I'd get unlimited data, but I don't even regularly use the 10GB I pay for on Mint.

I do agree the economics of these larger carrier post-paid plans start to make a lot more sense when you're buying in a big family plan group and they start throwing in a lot of other perks that you may want anyways. But if you're just wanting a single line and don't constantly buy new devices, the larger carrier post paid plans still often work out to be a lot more expensive unless you actually really use tons of data in a month, really want faster speeds all the time, or live in a place where these MVNOs are just truly unreliable.

Re: T-Mobile Reaches Agreement to Acquire Mint Mobile for Up to $1.35B

#120

Post by jawns »

mdasen wrote: post #100
jawns wrote: post #20

I've been a Mint customer for about 4 years, paying the annual upfront payment, which works out to $15/mo. And shaking my head at those who are paying double or triple that rate on T-Mobile, even though Mint uses the same exact network. In terms of why T-Mobile is making this purchase, I'm pretty sure it's to take out someone who was eating their lunch. I've always found it strange that an MVNO is able to operate on…

I wouldn't say that it's really a threat. Part of what you're offering Mint is a guarantee that you aren't going to churn for an entire year each time you renew along with an up-front payment so they don't have to worry about chasing down payments. I'd also note that the $15 annual plan is a 4GB plan. Normally, Mint charges $25/mo for that 4GB plan if you buy in a 3-month increment. It looks like Mint also doesn't in…

I really appreciate this thoughtful analysis, even though it substantially critiques my own.
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