Smart Phones, Dumb Choices
My journey to find the best cell phone plan deal.
Once upon a time people would roam about, communicating with nothing more than the power of their own vocal cords. They would even look each other in the eye a means of affirming shared attention. It was a more civilized time.
My personal resume is replete with obsolete experience acquired during this period of human history. Experience such as ‘drove across the USA using nothing but a paper atlas and cash’. Boasts like this now only arouse ageist suspicions and ridicule, one reason I deleted my Facebook profile.
Anyone born after 2000 is a different kind of person. One could say they are inexperienced in the ways of classic communication. Interpreting body language, tonal inference and first impression instincts are becoming like Sanskrit, a dying language.
From the grave of these dying skills arose a malicious spirit, one capable of obfuscating human intentions. Loyalties have become more difficult to assign without these important communication signals. We trust people and organizations we shouldn’t and vice versa.
When it comes to people the fix is simple: put away the phone and spend more time face to face. You will generally spot the morons within the first 15 seconds.
Organizations are trickier. Let’s break them into two categories:
Category 1: Those that treat people like people
Category 2: Those that treat people like livestock
A good litmus test for category 1 organizations is whether any employee/member knows you by name. It’s a good sign if they do, demonstrating a culture that promotes human flourishing over profit optimization. Loyalty here feels natural.
Category 2 organizations are the opposite. To them you are just an inconvenient obstacle to a bank account. Absent competition, they do little to promote vitality.
All major cell phone carriers fit into category 2. Proof? There’s more consistency in missing persons reports than their retail store employee rosters. A new face greets every visit, but they all have the same look:
“Please, upgrade your plan so I can get my manager off my back and survive another month.”
No one remembers your name in this environment.
I have a history with Verizon that I will not get into. Suffice it to say I was charged a fee that was contractually accurate, but spiritually, it invoked the pride of Lucifer. I swore off Verizon for the next 20 years.
Yes, 20 years. Not today, Satan.
What felt like exacted revenge was actually just stupidity. I foolhardily courted AT&T, a company that has triggered just as many fickle consumers, like a rebound date at an expensive steak house.
Nobody at Verizon even noticed.
My plan at AT&T was attractive at first, but I developed a false sense of loyalty which resulted in complacency. Fast forward to 2026 – I have a teenager who needs a cell phone. (Loaded up with parental restrictions, of course)
I looked at my bill for the first time in an embarrassingly long time, and it was sobering. My 20-year rebound relationship with AT&T came into full focus as I tabulated the growing cost.
This time she was ordering caviar at the same moment I realized we were never in love. Check please.
My long overdue epiphany, that all cell phone carriers should be treated with the apathy a Category 2 organization deserves, sparked an impartial investigation into the alternatives.
The following is the result of my 2-week long search for…
The Best Mobile Plan Deal in 2026
Criteria
Unlimited talk, text and data for 3 phone lines
2 new iPhone 17 Pros
No service deprioritization
Mobile hotspot
Automatically, the discount carriers are eliminated due to deprioritization issues (e.g. Boost, Tello, etc.). While these mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) are about 40% less per month, an entire year of savings could be eliminated by one untimely throttling issue.
Reliability is worth the premium. This leaves us with the major three carriers in the US: T-Mobile, AT&T and the ex I’m still a little salty about, Verizon.
Parsing through all the promotional material to get to the bottom line is a frustrating process. I refused to believe that an $1,100 iPhone could be “free”. Sure enough, I was right.
While Verizon offered a compelling promotional offer bordering on sensible, the gimmick still existed. Effectively, all carriers finance the phone at cost to lock you in from shopping the plan again, usually for 36 months.
Indefinitely, if you are juggling multiple upgrades at a time like most families.
While it costs more money up front to pay for the phones outright, it also buys you flexibility and leverage. They will be unlocked, which means you can switch to any carrier at any time.
T-Mobile and Verizon both offer BYOP (bring your own phone) billing credits which can partially offset the phone cost.
Microcenter had a great price on a refurbished iPhone 16 Pro for $670. The Apple Store will even accept trade-ins for newer models, albeit at a lower buyback price than a carrier would advertise on locked trade-in (~$330 for an iPhone 14 Pro). Deals are out there so don’t settle at the carrier store.
Once you eliminate all the promotional noise, the cost for service is clearer.
Service Cost Winner - AT&T
A Quick Side Note on Data
All cell phone carriers advertise “unlimited” data plans but all throttle data speeds after a certain threshold is reached.
For example, AT&T will reduce speeds to 128 Kbps after 100GB of ‘premium’ data are used.
It’s important to choose the right data plan to prevent nasty withdrawal symptoms from prolonged exposure to nature.
But what about the new iPhone Pros? How does this change the value equation?
On total plan value, Verizon pulled ahead to seem like the obvious winner when considering the aggressive promotion on iPhone 17 Pros for new activations. In fact, they were the only carrier to offer a promotion on the Pro lineup.
T-Mobile does advertise a ‘free’ iPhone 17 with a new line activation, but serious people require three camera lenses.
Service + Phone Cost Winner - Verizon
And the winner is…
Not so fast. Before checking out, I tabbed over to the business plans. As a business owner, I’m accustomed to getting fleeced by service providers.
We seem to pay extra for everything because of ‘Service Level Agreements’ or some nonsense like that. Regardless, I was ready to ignore this category of service altogether.
Surprisingly, the most competitively priced plans seem to be reserved for businesses. There didn’t seem to be any real verification process to validate my business as real, curiously. Pokémon trading might even qualify, another reason to collect them all!
The Winner - T-Mobile Business
Over a three-year cost projection, the clear winner is T-Mobile’s SuperMobile business plan with BYOD promotional pricing. According to my sales guy, the promotional discounts are indefinite. What’s not, are the service plan prices.
Either way I’ll be watching.
My Advice
Treat your cell provider like the Bachelorette treats contestants. Don’t lock in and make them compete. Hand out the rose to a worthier suitor the moment your current carrier gets too frisky. They only want one thing, and it’s disgusting.
And maybe open a business.
Investment advice offered through National Wealth Management Group, LLC. The information presented is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a recommendation or specific advice.
Cell phone plan pricing, promotions, and terms change frequently and vary by location, credit, and eligibility. Taxes & Fees were calculated using publicly available information and were not provided directly by the carriers.
Always verify current offers directly with carriers. Past performance or promotional history is no guarantee of future savings.