If you're a Consumer Cellular customer, you might be surprised to learn that when you take out your phone and make a call to the Consumer Cellular network, you're not actually on the Consumer Cellular network. In fact, consumer cellular networks don't have their own cell towers or even their own networks.
So what towers do consumer cellular networks use? The consumer cellular network uses AT&T's cell towers and network.
Consumer Cellular is a mobile virtual network operator, also known as an MVNO. Building and maintaining cell phone towers is expensive, so like Mint Mobile, Boost, Visible, and similar budget carriers, Consumer Cellular builds and maintains mobile phone towers by building and maintaining mobile phone towers from one of the big three (T-Mobile, Verizon, or in this case, AT&T ) lease network capacity to save costs). As a consumer, you can benefit from these savings.
What does this mean for consumer cellular coverage, plan prices and offers? Read on to learn more.
What cell towers does Consumer Cell use?
As we mentioned above, Consumer Cellular relies on AT&T's cell towers to provide the same excellent 5G and 4G LTE network coverage that AT&T offers its customers. We discuss that report in detail below.
Consumer Cellular Coverage
Wondering how good consumer cellular network coverage is? In short, its coverage is as good as AT&T's, which is really good. AT&T's 5G coverage ranks second in the country, and its 4G LTE coverage also ranks second. (Note that Consumer Cellular used to lease from the T-Mobile network, but no longer does so.)
Don't be put off by the fact that AT&T's 5G network isn't that great - even though their 5G geographic coverage covers "only" 29.52% of the U.S. land area, covering more than 295 million people in the U.S., since most of the U.S. population lives in large cities.
What if you don't live in the 29.52% of the U.S. covered by the 5G AT&T network? When 5G is unavailable, AT&T's 4G network covers nearly 75% of the land area, equivalent to covering more than 99% of Americans.
Of course, you should always check the consumer cellular coverage map to make sure you have reliable and good coverage in your area. We also recommend checking with friends and neighbors nearby to get a first-hand opinion on the best coverage in your neighborhood.
What is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator?
If you've purchased a cell phone plan before, you've probably noticed a variety of carriers, prices, benefits, and more. One of the biggest differences between carriers is whether they are MVNOs.
The MVNO cell phone carrier model typically targets budget-conscious shoppers. MVNOs save money by leasing network capacity. They pass these savings on to their customers. However, MVNOs often offer a poorer premium experience-you typically get less high-speed data, no bundled benefits, and less or no hotspot data. Also, with MVNOs, once you run out of good data, data speeds often slow down to just a few Mbps (read: very slow). Finally, the best phone deals on new phones are usually reserved for the Big Three.
Basically, if you're the kind of person who loves watching YouTube videos during your hour-long commute, you're interested in getting a Netflix or Disney+ membership, and you always want the best deal on the latest iPhone, then You'll have good luck with the Big Three.
But if you're not interested in perks, you're okay with slow data when you run out of premium data, and you don't mind missing out on the latest cell phone deals, you can save on your cell phone bill with an MVNO carrier like Consumer Cellular.
Who owns consumer mobile phones?
In 2020, a Chicago-based private equity firm called GTCR acquired Consumer Cellular for about $2.3 billion, beating out Dish Network, Altice USA, Ultra Mobile, Boost Mobile founder Peter Adderton and others.
consumer cellular plans
Sounds good so far? You may want to check out the cell phone plans offered by Consumer Cellular. While all of their cell phone plans include unlimited talk and text and unlimited calls to Canada and Mexico, only one plan offers unlimited data. This plan offers 50 GB of high-speed premium data, after which the data speed slows down.
All other cell phone plans are capped, meaning they only offer a certain amount of data usage each month.
Consumer cellular networks do offer a ton of affordable plans, but you should make sure they meet your data needs before choosing that carrier.
Is consumer cellular worth it?
Consumer Cellular plans are pretty standard among other MVNOs-good value, great data, limited benefits-but its real unique selling point is that Consumer Cellular is specifically targeted at the 50+ crowd and is the preferred provider for AARP members. Consumer Cellular also sells some of the best smartphones for seniors at senior-friendly prices.
For anyone over 50, this is a great carrier to consider. There are AARP-related discounts, senior cell phone deals, simple and straightforward billing, and great customer service.
What if you are under 50? Then we recommend you consider a consumer cellular plan just like any other cell phone plan:
Is there good coverage? In this case, check AT&T's coverage map to make sure you're getting good cellular service.
Is there enough data available at a reasonable price?
Are there any special offers or exclusives from Consumer Cellular worth switching to?
How many phone lines do you need? Consumer cellular networks have multi-line pricing, which means the price decreases with each additional line.
If all is well, then when you're considering choosing a new cell phone plan, you should consider a consumer mobile phone plan.
