Free SIM Card & First Month of Unlimited Everything $20 + free shipping
 

PTEL is giving the first month of their unlimited everything plan and a SIM card, plus free shipping for only $20! Use promo code PTELSLICK20 at checkout @ http://www.ptel.com. :nod::D

PlatinumTel: Free SIM Card and $20 off First Month of Unlimited Prepaid Plans: $40 Plan (up to 250MB of 4G) $20, $50 Plan (up to 2GB of 4G) $30 for First Month
 

PlatinumTel is offering a Free SIM Card and $20 off their Unlimited Plans for the First Month (plans start at $40) when you enter coupon code PTELSLICK20. Thanks hirrick

Note, for more information on their unlimited plans, click here. You may use your own compatible or unlocked GSM phone. Their PayGO plan is also available if you prefer to switch after one month of their Unlimited Plan.

Available Plans

• $40 Unlimited Plan for $20 for the first month
  • Unlimited Talk, Text, Web (first 250MB of 4G/3G speeds), International Text & MMS
• $50 Unlimited Plan for $30 for the first month
  • Unlimited Talk, Text, Web (first 2GB of 4G/3G speeds), International Text & MMS

This post can and should be edited by users like you :)
 

Confirmed with Customer Service, that the $40/50 TopUp (Refill) cards are good for 1yr from date of purchase and you can add up to 3 to an account at a time. - In for 24!!!! (2 lines :D)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Any one can answer my question for Pay As Go?

If I bought two $50 refill card, and deposit into my account, it will last for one year or just six months.

NO SERVICE IN WEST VIRGINIA!

Service:
Tmobile MVNO

Coverage:
Tmobile native network only. No voice roaming. No data roaming. No LTE. Coverage map is showing POSTPAID Tmobile coverage.
(As comparison, T-mobile prepaid include Voice roaming but no data roaming.)

Phones:
Any unlocked GSM phone.
Any Tmobile branded phone

SIM:
To use in phones with Micro or Nano SIMs (ie iphone4 or Samsung Note2..etc)...you have to CUT the SIM card.. instructions here http://www.airportal.de/nanosim/

- Works with "Real PayGO" --- $40 or $50 top up card for Pay Go plan (costs 5 cents/ minute, 2 cents/ text). So after coupon, talk is 2.5 cents/ min and 1 cent/text with coupon.
- Works with "$40 Unlimited" --- 250MB Highspeed then throttled.
- Works with "$50 Unlimited" --- 2GB Highspeed then throttled. NOTE: This plan is $30 with coupon rather than $20.


- Ptel's new re-branded services uses the T-mobile network. Locked T-mobile phones working just fine without unlock on Ptel. You can also use unlocked AT&T or any other type of GSM phone on Ptel.

- Terms and Conditions: If account remains idle and unused for a period of 60 days, PlatinumTel reserves the right to expire account, and Subscriber may lose phone number and forfeits any remaining balance on the account.
.....
EXCESSIVE USE. PlatinumTel offers its Subscribers an inexpensive and reliable service. In order for PlatinumTel to guarantee our Subscribers the use of unlimited talk, text and web services, Subscribers agree not to use any of the unlimited talk, text, or web services in any way that would interrupt or negatively impact PlatinumTel's network resources. Subscribers agree not to use the PlatinumTel unlimited talk services in any way that would create continuous high call sessions or use our service in a manner that is not typical with our Subscribers. PlatinumTel reserves the right to suspend or cancel Subscriber's account if Subscriber's talk, text and web usage patterns continuously and excessively exceed the average usage of other Subscribers on the same plan. PlatinumTel reserves the right to deny unlimited talk, text and web services or cancel existing service to Subscribers for any reason at any time at PlatinumTel's sole discretion.
.......
Subscriber agrees to use the unlimited web service for web browsing, messaging and similar activities on your device and not on any other equipment. Subscriber agrees not to connect their handset to a computer to access the web or other data networks ("tethering"). Tethering your handset is not permitted.

https://www.platinumtel.com/plans/terms
------------
When you get your sim card (normal small sim card the size of a thumb nail, lol) you will also get another number which is where you will get whatever amount you paid for. To open your account you will use your sim card # and the long pin number.

NOTE: if you want to port your old phone number DO NOT INSERT THE SIM CARD INTO THE PHONE, you must fill out a LOA form first. Porting from Boost Mobile to Ptel I did not know my Boost account number, I had to contact them by phone to get it. I thought it was just my phone number but I just ended up delaying the process. Ptel is very helpful over online chat!

Here is the LOA form needed if you want to port your number over! PTEL LOA
-----------

LTE: Just talked with a CSR and you cannot use T-mobile's new LTE network with Ptel. (like most prepaid/MVNOs)

looks like their server crashed before it hit SD.. lol.. think of service..

And $40 after

Unlimited - Data
(first 250 MB highspeed)

that's horrible price.
this business model will not work on slickdeals. if you can give us $20 every month plan after, then we can sit down and discuss. but just for first month? go elsewhere to advertise this scheme.

The deal goes with one SIM card and one $40 refill card. Does that mean you would get 1 year unlimited $40 service with actual cost of $20/mon if you ordered 12 and use the refill cards only?

Great deal for PAYGO. 5/2/10 cents for voice/sms/MB. Tmobile MVNO. I am going to take the $40 topup and start a PAYGO account with the SIM. $40 is good for 150 days. Good option for a second phone or those almost always on Wifi assuming Tmobile coverage is ok.

I've been using PlatinumTel Paygo for a while and have been happy with it. PTEL is there rebranded service, as they have just switched from CDMA to GSM (uses sim cards) service. CDMA service will cease mid 2013. This is the best, low usage, pay as you go, BYOD (bring your own device) service I have come across.

Does it work that way? I have Paygo with Ptel, but I didn't know you can use this WOOT deal for just $40 topup. I thought it had to be the monthly deal.

Last night on the ptel FB page someone asked if the $40 topup can be used on PAYGO. The ptel rep on the FB site said likely yes. I see this morning someone said they chatted with a ptel rep who said it was only good on the unlimited.

BUT, you can use the SIMWOOT40 discount on the $40 PAYGO plan as well. The discount will still apply. We'll see what happens. I ordered the Monthly plan SIM last night and just ordered a PAYGO SIM. I'll activate the PAYGO SIM and in 150 days (or when I need credit) I will try to top up with the $40 "monthly" SIM.

Ok, before I saw your answer, I went and used the Woot deal and chose $40 topup. But now I'm confused about the sim card. Is there two different sim cards? I didn't see an option for a PayGo sim.

I doubt the SIMs are different depending on the plan you select. I am guessing activation will be like Tmobile Prepaid:

1. Get SIM
2. Go to Web site or call activation IVR number.
3. Enter details (ZIP, etc)
4. Select plan (either PAYGO or Monthly)
5. Activate

I'm just hoping that the $40 credit will be a generic TopUp voucher/code. That way, it shouldn't matter which I activate my PAYGO plan with. I just use the code to get $40 credit.

Sorry if I confused you!

How about a good phone for this new plan? Does anyone have any great deals to get a 4G unlocked gsm phone? I have their Samsung Intercept and I hate it.

Agreed. This is the cheapest GSM with BYOD carrier for pay-as-you-go. OP deserves a TU just for that.




Can we get a confirmation about coverage? Maps are showing voice AND data roaming. :omg:


Coverage is showing POSTPAID Tmobile coverage. :drool:

You need a GSM phone for this or any locked TMobile branded phone.


http://slickdeals.net/f/5713104-T...g?&page=15

FB discussion tries to clear up the roaming confusion:

"I missed the note on the Ptel coverage map that says they do NOT provide AT&T roaming. So their coverage is the same as Simple, Ultra and Spot. You have to go to the Simple or Ultra coverage map to see what you get. Or go to Tmobile prepaid coverage map and clock on data/web tab."

Another good phone option would be the Google Nexus 4 when it comes back into stock. Also, check craigslist. At least in my areas there are always a bunch of TMobile Android smartphones. You can also use an unlocked AT&T phone but will be limited to EDGE data in most places until Tmobile lights up the rest of their 1900 Mhz network. I don't see a big deal with EDGE on PAYGO anyway as you will likely be keeping a close eye on data usage anyways. EDGE will do just fine to get email and to read the news or your FB wall.

Do you know if you can use any T-Mobile phone? The Ptel page says unlocked gsm phone, so that's what I've been trying to look for.

Too good to be true. Still great for low minute use.


ATT branded phones work with ATT MVNO's.
Tmobile branded phones work with Tmobile MVNO's.

No unlock is necessary.

Pin number worked as top up on existing account

existing $40 or paygo account?

anyone ported a number with them? i wonder how long they take..

Does that mean I'm somewhat screwed with the cdma phone I just purchased from them last month come mid 2013? o.O

$40 unlimited prepaid or paygo?

he's full of crap. no way cdma ceases. cdma carriers are selling 2 year contracts every day

So what's a good ebay deal, make/model for an android phone.. i'm totally cool with replacing a cracked digitizer too if it makes the deal better.. which model phones / prices should i be looking at? I got in on the pantech crossover and it's alright, but i prefer something a little more upscale. I'm disappointed i missed out on a cracked S2 on craigslist :\

I believe he meant Ptel's CDMA service would be ceasing, not CDMA in general. Though I'm also curious if he's just pulling a random rumor on me.

So this is $5 less than Straighttalk and instead of unlimited data it only has 250MB of data at high speed?

I have used the Crossover, its OK not bad for $50 is fine.
Try a TMobile Amaze 4G, get a used one on eBay, I loved mine when I used it.

I was refering to PlatinumTel's CDMA service, not the entire industry. Here is a comment from a PTEL rep on their facebook page:

PlatinumTel @Rob, Our entire service will eventually be changing to a GSM network. We are trying to allow our customers enough time to prepare for the network switch so our CDMA service will continue into around mid-2013. Thank you for contacting us and please let us know if you have any additional questions!
November 20 at 7:15am

I switched to ptel too, att prepaid charge way too much for texting

Definitely the cheapest option for pay as you go. I'm considering switching from TM PAYG once my credit runs out.

Any thoughts regarding how long they'll be around?.

I've read the pieces on various prepaid phone pages stating they've been around since 2001 or so but would like some real opinions on their service etc as these prepaid pages seem to be Astro-turf type sites.

Why not you try https://www.gosmartmobile.com . All these are T-mobile MVNO. I believe go smart is owned by T Mobile. Unlimited plans start @ $35 there. Can somebody compare these 2(gosmartmobile vs ptel) and make a post

Gosmart is throttled to 2g speed from the get go. Ptel gets 250mb\1gb then throttle


cdma paygo. $40 is just standard pin

Was the PIN on a separate card? I got my package, but it was just the SIM. There is a scratch off for the SIM for activation, but not sure if the PIN is there too.

The discount code seems to take off only 24.99 if I put a sim and $40 topup in the cart - so is this dead now?

It's $20 so $24.99 is the correct discount... What do you expect the total to be?

The cheapest GSM BYOD i know is not PTEL. It is also a TMobile MVNO. It is spotmobile. You can stay for $20 for whole year with their $5 recharge which last for 90 days.

activation code is just a regular pin for however much you bought ($40 with this deal)

That's only if you barely use your phone at all. Spotmobile costs 10 cents per minute, double that of Ptel's.

I ordered a SPOT mobile micro sim and am waiting for it to arrive to port my number from T-Mobile. Posted some links here:

http://slickdeals.net/f/5756302-S...st56465566

Offers double the 4g data before throttling of Ptel for the same price...

I thought they were doing away with Paygo...looks like they've just changed it so you need new phone. Cool my daughter had this for a year and it works great!

Any suggestions on a decent phone w/ a keyboard that would be compatible? It doesn't need to be the latest and greatest... Thanks

This is an OK deal Telna is a bit better at $20 a year 1000 free texts a month 8 cents a minute for voice but still better than this... if this used att it'd be a better deal. I'd be on it if ting didn't give me $50 credit. Telna is better if your a texter.

How do I order a Micro Sim?

Just get a SIM cutter off Amazon, they're like $4. I've used mine like 3 times already trying different prepaid carriers, it's worth it. Cut 2 SIMs from P-Tel just fine.

I've been using Simple Mobile the past 4 months and couldn't be happier. It's also a T-Mobile reseller. Similar plan of $40 for unlimited talk, text and web. First 250 mb of data is at 4G assuming you have a 4G phone and the rest is throttled to 3G afterwards. I started with an unlocked iPhone 3G and then switched to a Samsung Galaxy. Great service and callingmart always has a monthly discount code for Simple Mobile so I usually wind up paying about $38 per month.

Did any one get order shipped mail yet from them ? I ordered last week and haven't seen anything beyond initial order mail.

Free SIM Card & First Month of Unlimited Everything $20 + free shipping
 

https://www.platinumtel.com/phones

coupon code: SIMWOOT40

i just placed an order. i hope it gets here within 9 days.

did you get it? if so, how long did it take?

Anyone know what network they use?

T-Mobile . Earlier they were Sprint . But from December they revamped all their networks and now it is T-Mobile.

PlatinumTel is anSprint MVNO. Per this article [BYOD would be on T-Mobile not Sprint! Quoting ACRS] BYOD would be on T-Mobile not Sprint!

Hope this helps! I'll certainly look into this, anyone know if Lumia 920 unlocks are happening yet?

Got in about 8 days.

thanks

Selma, I must say that your current avatar picture is just stunning! You look right out of a motion picture, quite intense...

What kind of 4G do they use? I assume HSPA+ since people are saying Tmobile..

Code also works on the $50 unlimited everything. $30 first month with free sim.
Thanks

Hmm interesting. On my way home to the US from Australia, I'm going to stop in Hawaii, and I'd like to have a SIM there to get on a prepaid plan for my gsm iPhone 4. I wonder if I could ship this to my friend there, and when I get there pop it in and be up and running, for one month for $20?

Then when I get back to Seattle and this expires I'll probably join a different prepaid service. Will that work?

Would work fine, but they ship a regular size SIM, think your iPhone takes a micro SIM, will need a trim...

Ah yeah, that makes sense. I think most mobile shops will do it for me, I had to get a place here to do that for me once, and they clipped it for free.

Great SIM for minimal / frugal smartphone users
 

If you usually have Wi-Fi access at home and work or school, the pricing of this service is great for minimal smartphone use with cheap data on a pay-as-you-go basis. It's 10 cents per megabyte as opposed to T-Mobile's $1/day, and texts are only 2 cents each as opposed to T-Mobile's 10 cents per text (although I just use Google Voice for texts). Calls are 5 cents a minute vs. a 10 cents or more (in some cases a lot more) for T-Mobile.

Topping up the minimum $10 every 2 months gets you $60 total yearly cost. Far less than what many spend in a single month for their smartphone plans.

If you don't want one of the monthly plans you can get the SIM alone for $5.

Are the SIM cards different for the unlimited plan vs. the paygo plan? I'd like to get the SIM card and use unlimited plan for the 1st month, then switch to the paygo (which I use now). Will this work?

Is anyone succeed to buy online...it won't let me as page stuck on coverage area. i"m in NYC.

Yes, PM me with what network its locked to

I have been using Ptel for a couple of years now and I pay $10 every 3 months so about $3.33 a month.
Originally I paid $100 for a year and got a free touch phone and out of that $100 I still have like $91 but you have to count that I a adding $10 every three months.
I am on wifi 90% of the time. This works for me and BYOD is great.

Your e-crush is actually a bot. Condolences.

yep I ordered last night. Someone else ordered last month.

At least they are up front about their data terms unlike ST. 2GB kills it for me.

Do minutes roll over in their pay go?

:lol::lol::lol: PWNED !!!

If she is a bot, how do you explain the ever changing avatar pictures? She has to be real, and I imagine that she is an eccentric rich young lady who enjoys finding awesome slickdeals at any time of the day or night...probably has her butlers do the late night searching, too.
Now isn't that a much more rational explanation than her being a bot? I think so.

what about unlocking other phones :P ? i have a one vx for att that needs unlocking :D

ditto that

how long can one keep this COUPON? This is effectively 20/month for the forseable future?

will ATT unlocked( gsm) Iphone 4 work with this network or plan? Thanks

I spoke with PTEL Customer Service. They said the SIM card for the unlimited and paygo plans are the same. BUT - at this time they're unable to switch between these plans. They plan to be able to in the future, but she couldn't give me a date.

This should work with the iPhone 4/4S right?
I'm not too concerned about speeds.

What service you can get now can provide more than 2GB 4G data, at least couple hundred mins and around similar price?

is this one better than the t- mobile 30 a month,can't decide which one to choose

I tried them out last time this deal was posted. Their paygo is currently the cheapest offered by any MVNO, only problem is that they charge for all incoming calls, even unanswered ones, and do not allow you to disable voicemail. Meaning that if you're planing on using a SIP account and GV to route calls when on wifi, it's a big pain in the ass.

Ordered a few and was successful adding pin from sim #2 to sim #1 (via automated phone, website gave error). Activated both on PAYGO. I found web browsing only uses a few mb per hour and email basically zero(>1 mb per week via gmail app). Stay away from videos and your good (could cost $1 per min or more)

Only two people have my Ptel number everybody else gets the GV number, so I don't get many incoming calls to answer...or not.

Would this be a viable option to pop into a tablet, to have internet on the go. The tablet is used for simple games like words with friends, social networking, and internet browsing. No youtubes, and/or movie streaming.

I imagine "high speed" data is used up for the month the slowed down data is more than capable of handling the aforementioned.

This sounds like a good deal.

well...is there anything that stops me from placing 12 orders? So that I can get 12 months for $20 each?

$10 every three months
 

Also a P-Tel customer for quite some time and I too top up $10 every three months, as I only keep/use this cell phone (HTC Hero - CDMA) for emergencies.

NOTE: Mid 2013, P-Tel will only support GMS phones. (I have to get a new unlocked GMS smart phone - with WiFi before they switch. Any great deals out there?)

SIM card sizing
 

PTel ships MINI SIM and iPhone uses MICRO SIM.

been with platinumtel for 2 years now. glad i made the move- saved lots of money. im a prepaid customer so i pay what i use- 5 cents a minute talk 2 cents a text. average bill around $5 per month.

for those of you who want to make the deal sweeter, there is a 20% cashback via befrugal.com. i use another cashback site which is blocked for some reason by SD (big crum*s)14%

https://www.google.com/search?q=p...l+cashback

no there isn't anything stopping you. except that the PIN codes expire 1 year from purchase date so you definitely don't want to load up more than 12 orders ...

this coupon expired back on 12/30. if you tried using it on 1/1, it did not work. Ptel must have re-activated this coupon. So no- this coupon does not last forever. This is just a time sensitive marketing promotion to get people to switch over to Ptel since they just rebranded as a Tmobile reseller and not a Sprint reseller.

I use TMobile's prepaid and have an older Razr. Will this work, and how would I go about unlocking my phone? Thanks

If you have an active T-mobile service, you can call up T-mobile to get the unlock code for your T-mobile equipment- that will allow you to use your old Razr on any GSM carrier (AT&T and AT&T resellers as well).

Most people who used the new Ptel T-mobile service have discovered that any locked T-mobile phone works on the Ptel SIM card without being unlocked. But again, if you can unlock your phone you should so that you can also use it on AT&T and other GSM carrier if need be in future

I loaded m.slickdeals.net front page and it used almost 1MB...

there's no mini sim. An iphone 5 uses nano sim. An iphone 4/4s uses micro sim

edit:
It was pointed out that the one we normally use is indeed minisim, while a regular sim is the size of a credit card.

that would be sweet.

Incoming, unanswered/missed calls get charged minutes? You are mistaken. There is no billing system in place to allow for that not to mention you are getting billed for service you never used.

Outgoing, unanswered gets billed minutes. Voicemail use gets billed minutes. Missed calls do not.

yes- unanswered or missed calls never gets billed. only dialed/ received minutes get billed. however, on some forums some people were indeed complaining of unanswered/ missed calls getting billed. i think this is probably due to systemic kinks in this T-mobile transition.

if you have this issue you should be calling ptel's customer service to resolve. this problem does not affect those of us who are still on the old Ptel sprint resale service.

Bought 2 + 1 Paygo
 

Keeping fingers crossed! Rep.

very useful information.. thanks!..

so i would be ending up paying $40 every month right?

and can I port my existing tmobile number to platinumtel?

so you would end up getting 12 phone numbers ?

I didn't check out, but the cart shows sim card + $40 top up card. Can I just use the $40 top up card in the same account?

should be able to. i did put in a second identical order to test and not getting the 2nd conf email yet. first one came quick. will try with a diff CC.

yeah i think so... that's a good thinking..


now i would like to know if i will be able to port my existing number to platinum tel

Every time an unanswered call goes to voicemail, even if they don't leave a message, it gets billed. They also don't have the option to disable voicemail or increase the ring time before going to voicemail. I tried using it in conjunction with a SIP phone and it was impossible because the ptel voicemail would always grab the calls before I could answer on the SIP line. Their ring time is so low that it also means calls to my GV go to their VM instead of the GV VM.

It would be great if they could disable voicemail, which they can apparently do for their CDMA customers, but people on Howard forums have already asked and they can't disable VM for GSM customers.

need a burner phone. sweet :whistlin:

Billed what?

1min? There might be some transfer/switch from Sprint MVNO to Tmobile MVNO that causes it; call and ask for a credit every single time.


The entire time the phone was ringing + length of voicemail? You can only get billed when you press the talk/send button.
If this is the case, send a complaint --------- > FCC and your State AG.

You get billed 1 min for every unanswered incoming call, there are quite a few people on Howard Forums having the same issue. Apparently it's in the ptel T&C that you are billed for all incoming calls, even those that aren't answered.

There were some people getting peeved because they were receiving calls/texts from the contacts of the guy who previously had their number and no way to avoid the charges.

That being said, it's not that big of a deal. It might add 2-3 dollars a month to my phone bill. If some of the other cheap MVNOs (ultra mobile) start to roll out their anticipated paygo plans, I'll switch over when I use up my balance.

can i port my number?

Use Google Voice I guess.

Bought 4 x $40 unlimited + 1 x $10 paygo. Hope they all get mailed. My debit card was declined several times due to "duplicate orders" but that went away after I cleared my cookies.

Confirmation emails:
Attachment 1717476

nvm...

A mini SIM is the name for the the regular-size SIM card we have grown accustomed to prior to the smartphone era (i.e. before you put it into a micro or nano cutter).

A full-size / regular SIM card = credit card size.

See chart for better explanation than what I just wrote:

can I use them with BB phone with Blackberry plan?

got my package, there is no top off card, guess they load the balance on sim card.

how do you adding pin from sim #2 to sim#1?

and how can I make outgoing call with GV number shows up as caller ID? i know i can dial my own GV number then push some key, but i would not be able to use phone book this way.

do i have to have internet connection to do it?

been use tmobile prepaid for many years, this is much cheaper for text voice and occasionally internet use

On the paper with the SIM, there is a scratch off with the PIN for the $40. Think it just says activation PIN rather than $40 top off.

That's possible as well

In for one unlimited 2GB for $24 after bfrugal CB. Good deal.

does the pin have some kind of expiry? can I buy now and use the top up pin after 6 months or so?

what phone will work w mini sim? Would the S2 work?

doesnt matter.. you can alwats get a sim adapter... it's less than a dollar in ebay..

Wrong. What you call a SIM is a MINI SIM. A Full Size SIM is the size of a credit card.

Has anyone confirmed you can buy mutliple and use the top off card on same account? Also does top off have expiration

Tuesday I purchased one of the original Tmobile Galaxy Tabs. Will this service work with my "new" two-year-old Tab? Thanks!

It is probably good if you buy their $50 plan and get 20% back cash back which is like $40 a month. Also pretty good per minute plan too. Personally for me, I have the $30 100 min/ 5gb plan and the place where I work don't have a t-mobile signal whereas an AT&T and Verizon phones works fine (even for data.) I still have about 2 months left and I am planning to ditch this for htc one v's page plus per minute plan because it piggyback off from Verizon's network instead.

Yes..It should work..

Only in the good old USA. In someways Asian countries are ahead of us. There, you can have NO minutes on your prepaid account and STILL get incoming calls. You are only charged for OUTGOING calls and texts.

How it is better compared to WalMart-Tmobile $30 plan

the t mobile $30/month plan will give 5gb 4g and 300min talk for $50

this ptel plan looks interesting though

This situation seems like a potential deal breaker. Especially because you really can't do anything about people calling a previously owned number. I may refrain from using PTel until they do something about that.

Do you get only charged for people reaching your voicemail or do you get also get charged for those people who ring once and hang up?

For those who need a graphical illustration.
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/n...all-268925

"to err is human"

i've had ptel about 2 years ago under sprint's network and never had this issue...on the other hand you can have people call to a google voice number maybe that might mitigate it?

Thank you, kingfisher.
My Tab's only been with me two days.
Do you know if the Ptel SIM is the same
size as my SIM slot? The manual does
not mention SIM size, but I'd guess it's
before the microSD, right?
Again, thank you!

I guess user ID Selma is used as a bot and real people (mods) also use this login ID to post deals. I have seen regular deals by Selma exactly on top of the clock from multiple sites and throughout the day in random times, she must not have a life.

Their pay as you go plan is a strong alternative to Pageplus':


ptel pageplus
Talk 5 cents per minute 4 cents per minute
Text 2 cents per text 5 cents per text
Web 10 cents per MB 99 cents per MB
Global Text 2 cents per text 20 cents per text
MMS 2 cents per MMS 25 cents + Data Transport*
411 50 cents 411 $1.25 + Airtime

Guys ... Sprint is CMDA T-Mo and ATT are GSM

CDMA does not use SIM cards. If you see "SIM" then know it is going to be GSM-based

Careful, WCDMA certainly uses SIM cards as well as some LTE. Could see some WCDMA and/or LTE only SIM cards.

Glad you discovered WikiPedia. But really, please do not ever walk into ATT or T-Mo and say that... In the wireless world, we have always called the Micro SIM a SIM b/c until recently there has been no Mini or Nano SIMs. So hence the Micro is no called "Full sized" SIM. Word....

Good catch there... indeed WCDMA as well as CMDA2000. But was thinking domestic. :) Glad you are a geek too :)

Thanks very much and repped, really appreciate it. I'm paying 10 cents a minute now with TMobile prepaid so account is active and I definitely want to switch to Ptel.

Has anyone tried to order this more than once? Otherwise, its a hassle switching from Simple Mobile, which has the same prices http://www.mysimplemobile.com/Sim...-Plan.aspx

Maybe the best way is to put your number on Google Voice, and insert a new sim card from ptel each month? Or is that frowned upon?

Awesome deal

Page plus 10 dollars for 120 days

Pretty sure it's not her:

http://matmoon.deviantart.com/art...-112658149

Old picture is old.

Question: Can you port a number from t-Mobile to Platinum Tel? Wondering if there would be any problem since it would still be on the same network.

Hey your right! I guess now it's safe to say Selma is probably a fat beer belly guy who created a script and is collecting checks from SD.

my bad then, it's just that nobody uses the minisim term. it's just sim for almost everyone

whats a good cheap phone for data without having to unlock ?. i just want to pay the 20 and then reup every 2 months to keep it going .This will be used as a spare phone for travel so i can access internet everywere thnx .

What the hell? You're trying to tell me that SIM cards used to be the same size as a credit card?

so this is a much better deal than the tmobile 30 plan( 100 mintalk, unl text, unl data)?!??!

:lol:

INTERNATIONAL DIALING

Call over 40 countries for one penny a minute, including: Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Peru, Russia (Metro Moscow), Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and Venezuela

For a complete list of rates to all available International destinations, please visit the International Rates page.

so help me :P

yup, was corrected already

It's always been safe to say that !

Did people 'really' think it was anything other than a digital Pinocchio?

Mexico and other countries is the same, but that's only because the caller pays. There's nothing "ahead" of anything. It's just a different way of billing, but it is indeed convenient for prepaid customers.

yes, a fairer way, especially w/regards to texting....why should you be charged for text from say a spammer?

Haha, yeah well, I imagine full-size SIM cards are a variant or competitor to the Smart card, which was mainly used for laptop security and those chips in your credit cards.

I just think of them like predecessors of modern day flash memory, but with computer security in mind.

Though, I would not be surprised if those old mobile brick phones (as big as walkie talkies) used full sized cards.

I switched just a week a go from Boost Mobile to Ptel! Boost was increasing my rate by 150% (10cents to 25cents), AND forcing me to get another phone because they are ending the IDEN network.

When searching for a new phone to use with Ptel it must have the 1700 AND 2100 frequencies for DATA, AND be GSM. I found a Huewei model at a good price, and was able to install cyangenmod to it.

Its really frustration looking at all the chineese android phones and that they don't support 1700/2100 (north american only). But there are a few out there.

Yes but the inherent danger of any MVNO service (Mobile virtual network operator) is it could just go bankrupt. When they don't pay their bill to the actual provider (T-Mobile) the service gets shut down.

Google AMPD Mobile. They were an MVNO on the Verizon network.

Long gone.

http://www.fiercewireless.com/sto...2012-08-02

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vzw1NdSZmc
Maybe you will get lucky

I'm still amazed by the size of that puppy! Now I'm curious as to why they waste all the plastic just to hold a tiny little SIM card

free sim doesnt work if you select PAYG

so....in the $40 plan, after the 250MB, it is throttled but it's still available, right?

That's wrong. It does work but you must select $40 amount. I've done it twice!

Can someone clarify if the Top-up card is separate from the SIM or already uploaded to the SIM? Another words do we get a SIM card and a PIN for the $40 amount? Seems to me that it doesn't make sense that it would be uploaded before the SIM is even enabled...but someone in here claimed this...I assume they are mistaken?

This seems like it might be a really good deal for my mom(83 yo) very little cell use.
Currently tracfone yearly plan, that I think runs her about $100, minutes roll over and she has 2000+

Appears that if we switch her to ptel it would only be $60/yr
Is $60 about as cheap as I can go on this or any other plan?

She heard about Republic on Clark Howard show and wants one of their phones. I currently have Republic(beta a) so it's been really cheap for me but for her to get into it looking at 250-phone+19/month
add to that that she's in a sprint reception hole at home and don't see RW working that great for her

Yeap, this is why I'm getting this for my parents. They need minutes...no text...no data. This beats the current att go plan of .10 per minute. Plus if they don't use a lot then $10 for two months is great! Total of $60 per year.

Right... because rich young ladies are ALWAYS posing the midnight deals at 35 seconds after the hour.

On a serious note, the selma bot does actually reply every once in a while in some of her threads, so there is at least a little human interaction in that mix somewhere. It is clear however, that some automation is in play because there is no way a human would posts as fast and as consistant as "she" does.

When you get your sim card (normal small sim card the size of a thumb nail, lol) you will also get another number which is where you will get whatever amount you paid for. To open your account you will use your sim card # and the long pin number.

NOTE: if you want to port your old phone number DO NOT INSERT THE SIM CARD INTO THE PHONE, you must fill out a LOA form first. Porting from Boost Mobile to Ptel I did not know my Boost account number, I had to contact them by phone to get it. I thought it was just my phone number but I just ended up delaying the process. Ptel is very helpful over online chat!

Here is the LOA form!

The cheapest option is Spot Mobile - you can get 3 months for $5, thus a year is $20, but they charge $0.10 a minute. So if you really need an emergency phone or talk really little then Spot, if you at least need 100 min a months then PTel.

thanks . $10 last for 60 days $40 for 150 days.
Its worth me paying $ for the sim because its just an emergency account for my son

who does spot run on?

Also T-Mobile

hi i would like to port my vonage number to this service (pay as you go), anybody knows how it works... and if there is any charge

Thanks, maybe I should carry my unlocked GSM over to her house and see what kind of service she gets

Ting.com is still a better value. Pay for what you use, not what you could use.

No, it's not. I just disconnected them. I need less than 100 min a months and with them I pay $12 including taxes ($9 plan - $6 for keeping the phone active,$0 text and data and $3 for up to 100 min), so effectively I pay 12 cents a minute - now compare...

Anyway with Ting you have to pay about $8 a month even if you don't talk, text or use data at all - 0 usage, just for keeping the phone active while with Ptel $10 will last you 2 months and you will get 200 minutes - talk about value!

rofl!

Do you really think the original Motorola DynaTAC (brick) phones used SIM cards?
Answer: http://www.vintagemobilephones.co...eries.html

i spoke to customer service and porting is free of cost and its posible to port from vonage

a similar (worse, really) plan to tmobile $30 plan would be $36 with 100 minutes, 100 texts and only 1GB of data....so seems like only in few cases ting is better...plus sprint's 3G is worse

To port my old number, Can I right away mail the LOA form with the order summary? or should I wait for the SIM card to arrive?

if i selected $40 unlimited option at checkout, can i still use the $40 top-up credit towards PAYGO plan?

Don't know how their phone support is, but last port I did was to GVoice, all handled by phone only (from TMo). Reasonably fast and easy.


Going to give the PayGo plan a try...


EDIT:

Danger! Don't watch! Get it out of my head!! Aaaaa...!

Which Huawei model did you buy? I'm thinking of buying the HTC Amaze 4g (on eBay at around $200) but I'm open to cheaper options.

Wouldn't know, haha. Just wouldn't be surprised if they had. Now that I know what they were called, I looked it up and found only a source saying it didn't use any type of card (was an analogue phone).

http://www.vintagemobilephones.co...eries.html EDIT: (Looks like we found the same link).

Anyway, long story short (to end a bit of the off-topic-ness), guy who referred to the cards as mini-SIM wasn't wrong. But evidence of full-sized SIM card use in our technological history isn't so readily available. Haha.

Simple Mobile (which also runs on the T-Mobile network) has a $40 plan that is exactly the same as P-Tel's $40 plan with unlimited data and the first 250 MB @4G. SM's $50 plan however has unlimited 4G data as opposed to P-Tel's cap of 2GB. I use a Samsung Galaxy on SM for the past 4 months and have absolutely no complaints. I'm on the $40 unlimited plan which really comes out to $38 since callingmart already discounts it to $39.60 and they almost always have a monthly discount code that brings it to about $38.

charged for calling a cell from landline even...
 

Yes, but in those countries, the person making the call TO a mobile phone is charged for the call (at least typically in the past--not sure if that still applies today).

.

If your GSM iPhone is locked, you may require an unlock in order to use PTel services. You also may not receive 3G or 4G speeds. But for $20 for unlimited talk, text and basic web services, this isn't bad at all if you're around good T-Mobile signal!

Nobody caught this, or am I mistaken??
 

The semantics on this are wrong??

In the above statement, I believe you have confused "Micro" with "Mini."

If you refer to this chart that another alert SD user posted in this thread:
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/mobiles/n...all-268925

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you meant to say, "we have always called the Mini SIM a SIM b/c until recently there has been no Micro or Nano SIMs."

Mini SIMs were more prominent.

This is a chat I just had with ptel about this subject:

healthylaugh: Ok, I see that I need to cut down the SIM card to micro (PITA, btw), but...

I have my unlocked Pantech Burst (takes Micro SIM), but it is not associated with any telephone number. If I purchase the ptel SIM for my phone, will it also assign a new telephone number to the phone/me?

If so, is it automatic or what do I need to do?

If not, how is the lack of a current telephone number resolved?

I've never used GSM and not sure how this would work. Please advise?

Finally, please offer a micro SIM option!

Patrice: Yes, if your phone is unlocked you may use it on PTel Service. A new number will be assigned upon activation.

healthylaugh: Great, can I choose the 360 area code?

Patrice: Upon activation you will be asked for your local ZIP code, however if there is no option to select an area code.

Patrice: System will randomly activate a local number based on ZIP code that was entered.

healthylaugh: Ok. Thanks. IMPORTANT: Are you offering or soon to offer "micro" SIM cards? Cutting them will be VERY undesireable.

Patrice: Micro and Nano SIM cards will be available in the near future.

healthylaugh: When, and can I have my order "held" or "backordered" for the Micro SIM?

Patrice: At this time we do not have a date when they will be available for sale I apologize.

My nephew has an iphone 4 (GSM version), can he use that phone on this network?

Can you cut their mini sim to micro sim to make it work?

I am currently on Ptel, but they will lose me in May when they quit using Sprint. Tmobile has no coverage in my area. They assure me I will get a refund for any unused credit in my PayGo account.

delete

I also have the same question. I selected the Paygo SIM + the $40 Unlimited option, and it was $20 total. Can I just start a PAYGO plan on PTel and load it up with the initial $40 or do I have to be on the $40 Unlimited plan for one month, then switch to paygo?

TIA.



I'm currently on both Republic Wireless (Wave A... free for now, albeit a crappy phone and spotty service), and I am now on Ting BYOD beta (HTC Evo 3d, 100 mins, 100 txt, no data, ~$12+taxes/mo).

I'm looking to compare between Ting and PTel. Data is much cheaper on Ptel, even though my area is EDGE only. Slow data means LOW data I guess. ;)

The DynaTac was an analog phone so no sim card.

The StarTacs from the late 90s would have had a full sized sim card.

Here is a link to see what the Startac looked like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__9ELkvutQ4

Why not just select the PAYG $40 card? Is it not working for you?

Is the max days before PAYGO balance expires 2 months or 3 months? If I keep retopping, it just keeps rolling over with existing balance right? For very casual users, there should be minutes/MB left before the 2/3 months is up, so the left-over is carried forward with a new refill correct?

Also is the data calculated by actual KB, or I've heard some mobile broadband services estimates every minute, so a brief email check that only uses a few KB gets counted as at least 1 MB since it's rounded up every minute. I hope this isn't the case here.

Yes, My understanding is that it carries over if you top-up before your balance expires. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm doing some quick calculations to see what's the cheapest per year, keep your number alive, kind of plan is.

Spot Mobile is $5 for 3 months, 10c/min, so $20 for a year (technically 360 days)
GSM, T-Mobile MVNO (SIM cards)
$5 starter SIM card [spotmobile.com] is currently $14.99, plus $5 S&H and tax.
Also throw in cost of a T-Mobile/unlocked GSM phone.
Apparently on eBay SIM cards are $1 Buy it Now, that might be a better choice.


PagePlus is $10 for 3 months [pagepluscellular.com], 10c/min, so $40 for a year (360 days)
CDMA, Verizon MVNO (no SIM cards)
Also throw in a cost of a Verizon (post-paid only, prepaid are not allowed)/flashed Sprint phone.
eBay has activation codes/directions for $2 with a $2 credit.


Anybody care to comment/correct my errors? Seems like Spot Mobile you can self-activate since you just stick in your SIM card, go to their website and type in the SIM card #. PagePlus you have to reach CS and have them guide your phone through it?

Wow, that's surprisingly small for a full-size SIM card phone. Haha. Thanks for solving the mystery, haha.

Why are we debating mini-sim vs sim vs micro/nano sim in here? Just google the info...LOL

for the questions per ptel... the 150 day expiration on the 40 topup plan DOES NOT KICK IN TILL ACTIVATED ...i was not planning to use this ,as i still not have purchased a phone ,but was interested in theLG G2X but want to wait for an ebay deal... anywho not to worry your time does not start till u activate on your phone unless u activate after 1 year!!! please no reps just providing normal sd'er info!!!

Yes, that is my understanding too...Someone has said this earlier in the forum.

If I didn't already have the Galaxy Nexus, I would get this phone to use with GSM.

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.co...l-Contract

Since Ptel is using tmobile, I don't think you even have to unlock it right? Anyone know this for sure?

Worked for me for the $40 refill.

yes, but needs to be unlocked

Note: mini-SIMs can always but cut to work as micro-SIMs!

Huh- that's interesting- did you get an official communication in email about this? This would be great as one of lines is in a bad T-mobile connection zone area

well bought a 50 everything+4.99 sim via bfrugal with code, total was $30. Here's hoping I can use as a paygo and get 180 days of service

Can anyone tell me if my locked T-mobile device will work on the Ptel network?
My guess is it will not...
Thanks!