Ting is a relatively new mobile phone provider that sets itself apart and has a fresh approach to be able to service plans. It's neither a deal carrier nor a prepaid phone company; rather, Ting charges you at the conclusion of each month for the minutes, texts and data you used. Each type involving service is billed separately on your statement, so if you tend to use a lot of min's but don't text very often, the text area of your statement will probably be small.
It is usually odd to compare Ting's mobile phone plans to competition because Ting arranges its service rates into ranges. At the conclusion of the calendar month, whichever range your own usage falls directly into will dictate selling price. For example, if you used less than 100 minutes of talk time in a month, you'll pay just $3 for those people minutes. If you used a lot less than 500 minutes, you will be charged you $9 at the conclusion of the calendar month; less than 1, 000, $18; and many others. Likewise, you can send out and receive up to 1, 000 texts for only $5. Spilling on the 1, 000-text mark will take the price up to $8, where it is going to stay until you cross the 2, 000-text mark. Overage charges don't exist along with Ting; you're simply moved in to the next tier for just a particular service.
For quite a while, Ting's data rates were its Achilles' rearfoot. After a recent retrofitting where prices were minimize across all plans, they're now pretty competitive. A single gigabyte involving data costs $19 every thirty days, 2GB costs $29, and every gigabyte thereafter costs extra $15. Overage facts is, however, billed per megabyte ($0. 015 every megabyte, to always be precise), so you'll only get charged for the data you work with.
Its prices are excellent, but Ting's ideal attribute is it's support team. In every one of our dealings which consists of customer service staff, we were continually impressed by his or her friendliness, thoughtfulness, knowledge and awareness of detail. Getting in touch with the staff can be a cinch, and we never once dreaded collecting the phone.
It's prices are low as well as support is great, but Ting still has a dearth involving features. In an era when unlimited speak and text may be the status quo, Ting's rates buckets, though affordable, can feel constricting. If you're all about keeping the latest and greatest devices, buying unsubsidized annually - or even every two years - can find almost prohibitively pricey. It has many Android and iOS units ranging in selling price from around $40 for just a new feature cellular phone, to over $700 for just a new Galaxy Be aware 3. But doesn't necessarily offer Windows Telephones, BlackBerrys or drugs - all staples of the finest cell phone vendors we reviewed. And though it lets you do advertise business plans for the corporate crowd, they're identical towards the consumer plans in most but name.
Ting's least attractive feature is its network insurance, which it doesn't actually have much control more than. The company can be a Mobile Virtual Multilevel Operator (MVNO) involving Sprint, which basically means it leases use of Sprint's cellular community. As our very own research and tests has ascertained, Verizon and AT&T provide the best cell phone coverage near you, while T-Mobile gets the best speeds. Dash consistently lags powering its three major competitors, and Ting is locked to Sprint's towers.
With its bucket-priced plans and also the best support in the marketplace, Ting simplifies mobile phone service. Its Sprint-based insurance is disappointing; its insufficient industry-standard features just like unlimited talk and text, more and so. But Ting is saved by the simple truth: Unless you're a really heavy smartphone end user, it'll be a good deal cheaper for you, and that alone might be priced at considering a transition.
Pros:
Ting gets the friendliest, most approachable customer satisfaction team we've actually interacted with.
Cons:
It's limited in scope, with a fraction on the features commonly seen in bigger providers and only many of the latest flagship devices on the market.
The Verdict
: 8/10
Many of us adore Ting, but it's not right for all people. If you don't mind Sprint insurance and you're a light user, you'll likely save more using this carrier than you'll with anyone otherwise.