Anyone have Consumer Cellular?

[CathyA]

I decided to ditch AT&T and my landline phone. I decided that Consumer Cellular had the best/low cost plan. I received the package of stuff, and got it all set up and I'm not getting a signal. I've tried several different locations. Yes, we live in a rural area, but get great WiFi signal (with our own WiFi plug-in for our computer).
What ticks me off is that all this stuff is AT&T's stuff! I'm supposed to call them with problems, but dangit, going with Consumer Cellular was to get away from AT&T. I've heard Consumer Cellular is very helpful to walk you through problems, so I'm trying to call them.......but the wait on hold is 5-10 minutes.
Dang.......why don't we still use the string and tin cans?

[CathyA]

Never mind! I found out I didn't have a signal because they hadn't transferred my number with AT&T over. It works now. :)
I must admit.......there are times when I just want to go into the wilderness with no phone, no nothing, with nobody knowing where I am...........

[Aqua Blue]

I have Consumer Cellular as my only phone service and have been very pleased with it. Sometimes among my friends I feel like I am doing one of their TV ads I am so enthusiastic.

[Birdie]

I have Consumer cellular also and am very happy with the service. Their customer service reps are people you can understand too, no foreign accents so far in the calls I have made. Eventually I will drop my home phone with ATT and just have Consumer cellular.

[SteveinMN]

Consumer Cellular is a hidden secret and a great choice if you fit in their customer sweet spot. That spot is defined by:

- coverage. CC runs on AT&T's network. If AT&T does not work well where you live, CC isn't going to fix that. CC does differ from most AT&T-network carriers in offering the same roaming AT&T offers on its postpaid (i.e., "regular") plans, so you get more network coverage than that offered by carriers like Airvoice, H2O, or even AT&T's own GoPhone or Cricket.
- usage. The highly-advertised $10 a month minimum sounds like a deal, but all it really gets you is the ability to keep your phone number for another month. Any talking or texting during that month costs extra. CC also is an expensive choice for the data megauser who is streaming video or music to their phone incessantly or using it as a WiFi hotspot. Where CC really shines is in plans of two or more who do not need lots of data. The ability to add lines cheaply and then share data across them makes CC a very good value.
- credit. Unlike GoPhone, Cricket, Boost, Virgin, Tracfone, and others, CC is a "postpaid" plan and will require a check of your credit. Prepaid services will care only if you're buying a phone through them on installments. That doesn't affect many people, but it does affect some.

DW and I have been cell-phone-only for more than a decade. I do not miss at all forking over $45 a month for a phone line I rarely used. We looked at CC but are getting a better deal with AirVoice; $10 on AV buys DW a month of service: 250 minutes of voice or text or 125 MB of data. She has yet to go over that.