Q&A: Why are the big cell phone companies so expensive?

I’ve been wondering why it costs so much more to get a cell phone plan with Verizon, Centennial, AT&T etc. compared to the prepaid companies like tracfone. I have a tracfone that cost only $ 10/month for 100 minutes which is sometimes, depending on how much I use it, more than enough for me especially since they carry over. Is it soley because the big companies advertise more? I just think it would be nice if you could have a nice Verizon/Centennial phone with the option to only pay for 100 or so minutes a minutes per month.

Answer by Good_Intentions31
Reputation,service and supply and demand is all i can think of.its as bad as buying a car,if not worse

Answer by The so awesome guy
vzw prepaid has good prepaid plans & messaging bundles plus more coverage now

Answer by Bill M
Because people are willing to pay that much. Many people believe that the service is worth the higher cost. The big companies have service in more places, “free” calling among their own customers, and exclusive contracts to sell the hottest new phones.

Answer by evilattorney
For one thing, the cost of the plan subsidizes the cost of the phone. Do you really think an iPhone costs $ 199? The major carriers have the coolest phones and the cooler the phone, the more expensive the phone and the bigger the subsidy has to be.

Also, the larger carriers have more extensive service areas and offer nationwide calling. People don’t want dead zones or dropped calls and they don’t want to pay extra for long distance.

Your fortunate that Tracfone works for you. Most people I know have gotten terrible service with Tracfone.

Give your answer to this question below!

i have this phone right here http://www.iwireless.com/phones_detail.asp?pid=135 and i want a new phone from virgin mobile so i can get the awesome new plan for 25 bucks. the new phone is crappy compared to mine but should i stilll get it? it is this one : http://www.walmart.com/ip/Virgin-Mobile-Samsung-Mantra-Prepaid-Cell-Phone-with-Bluetooth-and-Camera-VMM340SMKIT290/12718738#Financing+Offers

Answer by John Smith
why not,
virgin mobile uses Sprints network so the network is pretty good. $ 25 will give you 300 minutes and unlimited text and web. or $ 40 will give you 1200 minutes and unlimited text and web. phones aren’t to bad. never had a dropped call but don’t talk much. text messages are not delayed unless you don’t have signal.

If you decide to go with Virgin Mobile, use this code(AGpvWXLq) case sensitive, when you activate your account when you add $ 20 or more to your phone for the first time. 60 FREE mins for both of us. any questions just email me.
kickback code: AGpvWXLq

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
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