What’s Ting Cell? Ting Cell plans, costs, and extra

The pay as you go market has dozens of choices anymore, although not all MVNO carriers are literally good offers. There are a lot of elements to think about, together with throttling, additional options, protection maps, and pricing. On this information, we take a more in-depth take a look at one of many lesser-known carriers, Ting Cell.

So what’s Ting Cell, and is it price it? Let’s have a look.

What’s Ting Cell?

Ting started its life beneath the possession of Tucows in 2012 however was offered to Dish Community in 2020. That makes Ting one of many few carriers owned by Dish, together with Increase Cell.

So what’s Ting Cell protection like, and what towers does it use? Good query. Ting is a T-Cell MNVO, which suggests it runs on T-Cell’s community completely, although it might additionally use Dish’s spectrum sooner or later. 

Most MVNOs provide comparable companies to the large three carriers however with a couple of caveats like lowered precedence throughout occasions of congestion. Some carriers make use of extra aggressive throttling practices than others. Ting falls someplace within the center. Primarily based on my analysis, you’ll often discover speeds within the 10-20Mbps vary outdoors of main durations of congestion. Even throughout extra congested occasions, speeds of no less than 5Mbps are typical. Compared, we’ve seen extra aggressive throttling from a couple of others on the market, like Seen (the bottom plan) and Tello, which may simply fall into the 1-3Mbps vary throughout peaks. Count on higher than this with Ting, although you’ll nonetheless get higher speeds from pay as you go carriers like Google Fi and Seen Plus. 

There are 5 totally different  Ting Cell plans to select from, together with two totally different limitless choices and a flex cost system that solely costs a base price for limitless speak and textual content after which $5 per gig.

Right here’s a breakdown of what to anticipate:

• The Flex plan is finest for individuals who principally simply use Wi-Fi. This plan works equally to Google’s Fi Wi-fi Flex plan however is definitely a bit cheaper. You pay simply $10 month-to-month for limitless speak and textual content, then $5 per gig used.  This plan is finest should you plan to do all of your data-intensive duties like downloads and streaming from a Wi-Fi connection.
• The 5GB plan is nice for individuals who don’t use tons of cell knowledge. For $25 a month, you get 5GB of information and the identical limitless speak and textual content because the Flex plan. When you constantly use lower than 5GB of information however greater than 2GB, this plan is healthier for you than the Flex plan.
• The 12GB plan will set you again $35 a month. This plan works the identical because the 5GB providing; you simply get extra knowledge. One factor to notice is that you would be able to solely use 8GB of hotspot knowledge.
• The Limitless Plans in all probability aren’t price it. There are two Limitless plans, one with a cap at 22GB of information and one other with 35GB. At $45 and $55, respectively, there are cheaper limitless plans with comparable deprioritization and extra knowledge. In different phrases, there are higher limitless plans, so it’s exhausting for us to advocate both of them to most customers.

Pay as you go carriers typically have much less spectacular cellphone choices than Verizon, AT&T, or T-Cell do, although a couple of choices like Google Fi provide simply as a lot selection. Ting falls someplace within the center.

There aren’t lots of Ting Cell phones on the market by the provider, however there are no less than a couple of flagships within the type of the Galaxy S23 and S22 household. The remainder of the choice is generally mid-range and funds gadgets. Apple followers may have only one selection: the iPhone SE. Can’t afford to pay in your cellphone upfront? Ting additionally gives month-to-month cost plans by way of Affirm, although it’s essential to move a credit score verify.

You possibly can try the present record of Ting telephones by way of their web site. If you want Ting had a much bigger number of telephones, the excellent news is any unlocked cellphone that works with T-Cell can even work with Ting. Try our information to the finest telephones and the finest low cost telephones for much more choices.

Ting Cell has fairly a couple of opponents, and you may be taught extra about a number of the finest choices in our pay as you go cellphone plan information. That stated, let’s take a fast TL;DR take a look at three of our favourite suggestions:

• Seen: Seen makes use of Verizon’s community and offers you limitless knowledge for simply $25 a month, the identical worth as Ting costs for 5GB. That stated, Seen is thought for its spotty knowledge connections for its base plan. Nonetheless, you get limitless knowledge at speeds of round 3-12Mbps on common and limitless hotspot entry at speeds of 5Mbps. Need higher prioritization, sooner speeds, and further perks? Seen Plus gives all that for simply $45 a month.
• Google Fi Wi-fi: There’s lots to love concerning the T-Mobiled based mostly Fi community. Although its Flex plan prices double at $20 a month and $10 per gig, you additionally get limitless knowledge at this similar price, higher prioritization, and some different premium perks. There are additionally nice limitless plans that begin at $50 per thirty days and drop as little as $20 per line for a household of six. Prefer to journey? Fi is one of the best pay as you go provider for this, and actually, even one-ups the three massive primary carriers right here too.
• Mint Cell: The Ryan Reynolds-owned provider runs on T-Mooile’s community and gives aggressive pricing, particularly on its limitless plans. The one catch is that one of the best offers on Mint require you to pay for a full yr’s service concurrently. You may get 12 months of service for $360 (paid directly), or what works out to the equal of $30 a month. There are additionally plans for individuals who desire restricted knowledge that provide equally aggressive pricing. 

General, Ting has some first rate choices, however there’s additionally lots of competitors on the market that provides the identical or extra for an excellent higher worth. For limitless plans, we’d completely decide Google Fi over Ting or maybe Seen should you don’t thoughts counting on Verizon’s community. For restricted plans, the Flex plan might be probably the most distinctive and an amazing deal for these with very restricted web utilization. Nevertheless, should you want extra knowledge than 2GB, you’ll possible discover cheaper restricted knowledge plans from Mint Cell and some different low cost pay as you go carriers like US Cell.