My wife has Virgin Mobile and is happy with it, and I am (or was?) planning to switch in a couple of months, once my AT&T contract runs out, so I really hope they fix this pronto.
I think it's especially important that Virgin Mobile resolves this, since the market share is basically theirs for the taking.
Their basic $35/mo. plan, which includes text and data, is great for my needs, so I called AT&T and told them I was thinking of switching, but because I'd been an AT&T customer for years, I was giving them a chance to match that kind of offer. Not only did the rep basically say, "Nope, we can't come close to matching that," but -- more surprisingly -- he had no script to say, "Here's why you shouldn't switch to Virgin." Which says to me that AT&T isn't taking Virgin seriously yet.
If Virgin Mobile can get its account security act together, I think it can make pretty good in-roads against the bigger carriers.
The big blocker for Virgin Mobile is that the phones only talk to Sprint owned towers. Sprint's Sprint branded phones have a pretty good network because they roam on Verizon. Virgin, not so much.
Still a good deal if the Sprint network is enough coverage.
I've been using VM for a few years now and overall have been very happy. Sprint coverage sucks in some areas but for the most part is fine. Being half the price of other providers makes up for it. My phone came with tethering enabled which I used a lot before getting a Clear access point.
the only problem i ever had with VM (recently switched to StraightTalk) was the phone selection. phones are getting better but you can't buy a different phone and just use it on VM. at least sticking with sim card phones you have other options.
This is not really a problem. Just pay a few bucks to someone off of Craigs List (or spend a little time learning to do it yourself) to clone one of their cheaper phones to one you buy (get one with a bad ESN cause they are cheaper) off of eBay or CL. It is really pretty easy.
I think it's especially important that Virgin Mobile resolves this, since the market share is basically theirs for the taking.
Their basic $35/mo. plan, which includes text and data, is great for my needs, so I called AT&T and told them I was thinking of switching, but because I'd been an AT&T customer for years, I was giving them a chance to match that kind of offer. Not only did the rep basically say, "Nope, we can't come close to matching that," but -- more surprisingly -- he had no script to say, "Here's why you shouldn't switch to Virgin." Which says to me that AT&T isn't taking Virgin seriously yet.
If Virgin Mobile can get its account security act together, I think it can make pretty good in-roads against the bigger carriers.