Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
While Verizon and T-Mobile both like to make a lot of noise these days, AT&T has sort of fallen into a position where it’s not a bad network per se, but it’s hard to feel too excited about it. As the company puts more focus on wireless and wired internet services, the cellular network in many ways remains as it always has: very reliable and consistent where it’s strong, but with notable weaknesses in markets where it’s less invested.
It might be the quietest, but if you live in an area with solid AT&T coverage, there’s little reason to consider one of the other big networks. After all, AT&T customers are seeing price increases, weakening customer service, and other shifts that you’d find with Verizon and T-Mobile as well. That said, there are plenty of great alternatives to AT&T if you are willing to give prepaid a chance.
Which ATT alternative would you pick? 8 votes Cricket Wireless 0 % US Mobile 25 % Consumer Cellular 0 % Visible 13 % Mint Mobile 50 % Other (let us know in the comments) 13 %
Cricket Wireless
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Let’s start with the most obvious replacement, even if not necessarily the best for everyone. Cricket Wireless not only runs on AT&T’s network, but it’s owned by it and operates quite similarly. You’ll find free or greatly discounted phones for new subscribers, device installment plans, in-store support, and even streaming perks on select plans. As you can imagine, that makes Cricket easy to recommend if you are generally happy with the AT&T network and don’t want any major changes to your coverage map.
Of course, it’s important to note that only its most expensive plan includes a higher priority network status. This means you’ll likely see much more noticeable speed and latency drops during times of congestion if you opt for Select Unlimited or Smart Unlimited.
Overall, Cricket’s pricing for its lower-priority unlimited plans isn’t bad, but you’ll likely find better deals with the same lower-priority plans from rivals like US Mobile and a few other brands. Even its higher-end plan is a bit on the higher side compared to some other AT&T alternatives, though not by a wide margin. You’ll also find prices drop significantly if you add additional lines. For example, you’ll pay just $32.50 per line if you sign up for four lines of Supreme Unlimited.
Bottom line is that Cricket will feel the most like AT&T postpaid, even if that means you won’t save quite as much as you might with an even cheaper provider.
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