Cell Phone Carrier Showdown: The best unlimited cellular plans

Published February 29, 2008

The high-def war may be over, but thanks to Verizon Wireless, a new war is just on the horizon — one that consumers can actually benefit from. Last week, Verizon Wireless announced its plans to offer a $99.99/month unlimited calling plan with no long distance or roaming fees. Verizon's new plan jolted AT&T and T-Mobile into immediate action, with both companies announcing unlimited plans of their own just hours after Verizon's news. And just today, Sprint unveiled its offering for unlimited calling. But which carrier's plan is the best deal? We put them side-by-side to find out.

	Unlimited Calling	Unlimited Txt/Pictures	Unlimited Web	Other Features	Price
AT&T Talk Unlimited	Yes	No	No	None	$99.99
AT&T Talk & Text Unlimited	Yes	Yes	No	None	$119.99
AT&T Talk, Text, & Web Unlimited	Yes	Yes	Yes	MEdia Mall, AT&T Mobile Music, Cellular Video	$134.99
Sprint Simply Everything	Yes	Yes	Yes	Sprint TV, Sprint Music, GPS Navigation	$99.99
T-Mobile	Yes	Yes	No	None	$99.99
Verizon Basic Plan	Yes	No	No	None	$99.99
Verizon Select Plan	Yes	Yes	No	None	$119.99
Verizon Premium Plan	Yes	Yes	Yes	V CAST VPak, VZ Navigator	$139.99

Without a doubt, Sprint's "Simply Everything" plan offers the best deal. Not only is its $99.99 plan all-inclusive, but existing Sprint customers can switch over to the new plan without fears of breaching their current contract. (New Sprint members will have to sign up for a 2-year agreement.) It's worth noting that AT&T charges an additional $10 per month if you opt for its "Talk, Text, & Web Unlimited" plan and own a BlackBerry or PDA. Furthermore, iPhone owners who don't use over 900 air time minutes each month are better off staying with AT&T's current Talk, Text, & Web 900 plan, which goes for $94.99/month. Well, that's until Apple announces a 3G iPhone that can really take advantage of unlimited Web access.

Please note that, although prices sometimes fluctuate or expire unexpectedly, all products and deals mentioned in this feature were available at the lowest total price we could find at the time of publication (unless otherwise specified).

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