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A recent comment on my wireless service in Indonesia post along with a conversation I had with someone in our local Office Depot reminded me to re-examine the whole prepaid …

I went back to the Gig Harbor Costco on Friday to grab a bite to eat and see if they sold any other phones without a contract. There is one phone they sell …

I took a quick trip to Costco here in Gig Harbor yesterday. I walked near the mobile phone kiosk as it’s one of the first things you come across when entering Costco. …

A while ago, Luca Filigheddu asked me about prepaid mobile phone options in the U.S.. I wrote up a short email explaining it to him, and I thought a more comprehensive work piece on the subject as in order.

I’m only covering the two major GSM carriers in the U.S.: AT&T and T-Mobile. There are a number of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that make use of GSM, but I am not going to cover them. In some cases, you might find a slightly better deal with these MVNOs, but they typically only include voice and SMS service, no data service whatsoever.

I also realize that the CDMA carriers, especially those that are MVNOs, might even have better deals. I have no experience with them, nor do I want to do anything to encourage the use of CDMA. They’re not being covered.

One thing to keep in mind here in the U.S.: you pay for both incoming calls and SMS, unlike most of the rest of the world. You will need to factor that into your calculations for how many minutes you’ll need.

Details after the jump.

I was over at my in-laws house this past weekend, and the discussion turned to mobile phones. My father-in-law told me that the T-Mobile prepaid plan I had set them up with several …

I was thinking more about the difference between buying a bundle of minutes–at a fixed monthly cost–versus paying for minutes as you go. I’m trying to figure out why such a thing …