On 8/13/2012 11:39 AM, Metspitzer wrote:
I would like to get a phone for emergency and short important calls.
Any agreement on what the cheapest cost option is?

The best option is Pageplus Cellular. It uses Verizon's network. It
costs as little as $2.50/month ($10 every 120 days). That $2.50/month
buys you 20 minutes (10¢/minute, but there's a 50¢/month fee so it works
out to 20 minutes/month).

If you buy an $80 card then it's good for a year and includes 1800 minutes.

Just be certain that you have Verizon coverage where you live, and where
you'll use the phone the most, since if you roam onto rural CDMA
networks there's an extra cost per minute.

The cheapest option is T-Mobile where after spending $100 for the first
year you can add only $10 per year (83¢/month). The problem is that
T-Mobile coverage is poor.

Avoid Virgin, Net10, Boost, Tracfone, Consumer Cellular, and Jitterbug
at all costs.