SIMPLE MOBILE
Simple Mobile is reviewed at Prepaid Reviews.

SNAKE RIVER PCS
Snake River PCS is part of the Eagle Telephone Company of Richland, OR. Their own wireless network extends into nearby towns and along surrounding highways. Other areas are served by roaming partners which are available with "Travel Minutes". They have a small selection of phones and also offer some smartphones. Their plans are priced the same as their wireline services and start with an economical "mini-plan" with a number of a la carte add-ons including additional National Travel Minutes. All plans include basic digital features and you can add Data to your plan but there is no mention of Data being offered on their own network. LifeLine plans are available. We have no reports on coverage or network technology. Eagle Telephone is small enough to have live people answer the phone and are quite helpful. SOUTHERNLINC
SouthernLINC has reasonable plans and good coverage across Alabama, Georgia, parts of Mississippi and the Florida panhandle. They have Unlimited plans that can be tailored to your usage based on different levels of Talk, Text and Push-To-Talk.  They offer services and plans favorable mostly to businesses, which means there is a limited number of handsets available, but all of them are high-quality.

SPECTRUM MOBILE
Spectrum Mobile has been created by the Charter Communications cable company and operates as a "Wi-Fi first" wireless service, although all voice calls will be completed through their partner network, Verizon. Expect Spectrum to be more reliable for Voice calls than other "Wi-Fi first" services. You must be a Charter Internet service customer to subscribe to Spectrum Mobile service. Your data service will be provided by one of thousands of Charter Wi-Fi hotspots and, in absence of a Charter Wi-Fi signal, your phone will access the Verizon wireless network, with no roaming on other cellular networks. Spectrum phones will also roam on Xfinity Wi-Fi when away from Spectrum markets which means you'll be using cellular even less.

STANDING ROCK TELECOM
Standing Rock Telecom, also called Rock Wireless, provides CDMA cellular and fixed wireless voice, fax, data transmission and high-speed Internet services throughout the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on the border of North and South Dakota. Standing Rock is tribally-owned and offers the best, and sometimes only, wireless services in the area. They have competitively-priced plans that include US roaming, Unlimited minutes and a generous amount of roaming data. They offer discount bundles with their other telecommunications services. They offer a small number of phones including a few smartphones. Customer service is good but they're really small. Standing Rock claims the other carriers in the area admit to having poor coverage on the reservation and will help you switch to Standing Rock without an Early Termination Fee.  They offer Lifeline plans which are available to anyone who actually lives on the reservation and meets income requirements.

STRATA NETWORKS
The wireless division of Strata Networks covers northeastern Utah around Vernal and surrounding areas of Wyoming and Colorado. They offer local coverage in surrounding "Extended" areas. Their own CDMA cellular network has good coverage including 4G LTE Data. They have reduced the number of plans to just "Unlimited" plus the amount of Data you need. Their Prepaid plan is charged by the Day and works with a limited number of phones. They offer a large selection of phones including smartphones, the iPhone and air cards. They are part of the local communications cooperative which usually means better customer service and bundle discounts.
Strata Network's Own Wireless Coverage Map
Strata Network's Extended Local Wireless Coverage Map.

STRAIGHT TALK
Straight Talk is reviewed at Prepaid Reviews.

TAMPNET
Tampnet operates the offshore cellular network in the Gulf of Mexico. Using the top of deep water oil towers, Tampnet serves almost 100,000 miles of the Gulf with voice, text and data. They provide nearly continuous on-water coverage from the US coast southward. Plans are geared to corporate users but customers of AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint can roam on the network. We cannot determine the extra charges for roaming in the Gulf, if any.  The network is being upgraded to 4G - LTE with half of the network still operating at EDGE speeds. If you are looking for a recommendation of what carrier to choose to use in the Gulf, we lean toward AT&T who has a partial ownership interest in Tampnet which may result in more favorable roaming charges for AT&T customers. Tampnet operates what was formerly known as Broadpoint and Petrocom. 911 calls are directed to the US Coast Guard.
Tampnet Gulf of Mexico Coverage Map

TELALASKA CELLULAR
TelAlaska serves several small Alaska communities with wireless and other communications products, with locations spread widely across the state from Nome, Fort Yukon and Seward, to the Aleutian Islands. Their GSM wireless network serves those communities with plans that are very affordable and include Local, Unlimited, Nationwide, Prepaid and LifeLine plans. They have a small selection of GSM phones including some very basic Smart phones. We do not know the quality of broadband technology offered. TelAlaska is the only wireless provider in many of their communities.

THUMB CELLULAR
Thumb has very good coverage in the "thumb" area of eastern Michigan with plans that range from reasonable to overpriced. They offer mostly Unlimited Voice, Text and Data plans with fairly reasonable limitations on usage.  There are few opportunities to get a really low-priced plan, including with prepaid.  4G LTE broadband is available. They have a moderate selection of CDMA phones, including Smart phones and a good number of local stores.

T-MOBILE
T-Mobile is the number 3 carrier in the US.  With their recent acquisitions additional   n coverage and subscribers. Where they have coverage, T-Mobile works very well, especially in their new "Extended" coverage areas. T-Mobile has now become a coverage leader, especially for 5G.  Their slower "Low-Band" 5G coverage is available in most of the country including rural areas.  Their faster, "High-Band" coverage is available in the core of several urban areas but is not yet recommended for mobile use. Their 5G network is still growing and included most of Sprint's "Mid-Band" coverage. T-Mobile has been very competitive by offering sector-leading plans and features. They offer a number of Family plans that are better than most and were pioneers at allowing you to choose between subsidized handsets and non-contract pricing. T-Mobile charges reasonably low roaming rates outside of the US including Data. They have FREE Calling, Text and Data both TO & FROM Mexico and Canada, and they offer a Wi-Fi Calling app that enables you to make Voice calls through wi-fi in any country at the same rate as local calls in the US. T-Mobile has many corporate-owned and affiliate retail stores, which is a good thing, but the plans offered at retail stores and those offered online can be quite different. T-Mobile offers Prepaid under the T-Mobile Prepaid and Metro by T-Mobile brands.

 TOTAL WIRELESS
Total Wireless is reviewed at Prepaid Reviews.

TRACFONE
TracFone is reviewed at Prepaid Reviews.
UNION WIRELESS
Union serves Wyoming and adjacent areas of Colorado, Utah, Idaho and Montana.  They have very good coverage, most of it has been upgraded to 4G LTE but several areas of 3G remain. In some locations they are the only game in town including parts of Yellowstone National Park. They use GSM technology and also offer 'fixed' wireless service for home or business use, but that service is limited to Colorado areas. They offer reasonable plans and their Unlimited Talk/Text/Data plan is priced above average but allows Unlimited downloads in areas both within and surrounding their home area.  Most plans include Canada roaming. They offer business enterprise plans that include multiple communications services. Union Wireless is part of the local telephone co-op so their customer service is better than average, however, there are no bundle discounts available with wireless. They have more roaming agreements covering a bigger US footprint than some larger wireless carriers, with international roaming and calling to many foreign countries. They offer a very large selection of phone models including Smart phones and the iPhone. They operate the local wireline network within parts of their wireless footprint and offer special low-cost home-based wireless plans within those areas.

UNITED WIRELESS
This CDMA carrier is the wireless part of the United Telephone Company in southwest Kansas. United offers a moderate number of phone models including smartphones, the iPhone and wireless Internet routers. Their plans are priced slightly less than average including plans with Data.  Their Prepaid plans are also competitive. United coverage is very good and they offer mostly 4G - LTE broadband. They support Lifeline plans and wireless Internet for home access. While they offer nationwide roaming without extra charges, roaming outside of Kansas is mostly limited to major cities and highways, especially in states west of Kansas. As part of the local telephone co-op we expect customer service to be better than average.

US CELLULAR
US Cellular is the 4th largest wireless carrier in the US and operates their own network in 21 states, mostly in rural areas and smaller cities. They provide very good coverage, most of their network uses the superior 700 and 800 MHz frequency bands with 4G LTE available in 99% of their coverage areas including locations that have been ignored by larger carriers, their 5G is expanding and is available in the higher-populated areas. They offer good plans with lots of features, and a large selection of phones. They have very good domestic roaming capabilities but there is a Data roaming limit off their own network. Their plans are competitively priced and, while they still add taxes and fees, they don't add annoying surprise charges like activation or access fees. They offer numerous promotions both on phones and plans. Their prepaid plans have improved and now include Unlimited Calls, Text and Data, with Data limits outside their own coverage. Over the years they have been the most customer-friendly of the large carriers. Overall, they sit near the top of the Mountain Wireless Network Ratings. US Cellular has sold some of their spectrum and customers in the Midwest but has added more spectrum within and adjacent to their remaining operating areas. This has resulted in better service in US Cellular's own markets. US Cellular is losing customers and in response there are rumors that the company is for sale. This fact shouldn't deter you from becoming a US Cellular customer.

VERIZON
As one of the Top 3 US carriers, Verizon has the largest wireless network, geographically, in the US. They are dominant in rural America. Their claim to fame is superior coverage on their own network, with excellent broadband capacity, especially in the densest urban areas. In the few places where they don't have their own coverage, they have roaming agreements with carriers that have superior coverage. Therefore, their included coverage is about as close to "coast-to-coast" as you can get. Verizon's data costs are quite high but provide a very good online experience with extensive 5G and 4G LTE coverage. They have tried to simplify plans which are still overpriced compared to other options, and they are slow to match offers from the competition. Customer service is excellent but does not offer much flexibility in rates. Their phone selection is huge including smart phones, wireless devices, wireless home phones and 5G wireless internet. Verizon offers bundled discounts with other communications operators including their own wireline & video divisions as well as various local telephone companies. They offer their own Prepaid plans as well as several other Prepaid brands.

VIAERO WIRELESS
Viaero is a GSM carrier in rural Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and border areas of eastern Wyoming and southern South Dakota. Coverage in most areas is excellent with only a few holes in some very remote areas. Viaero covers many areas where other carriers serve only minimally. This company is run by people with a technical background so coverage and operations are top-notch, often better than the local land lines. They are rapidly widening their coverage footprint, sometimes into surprising locations like the San Luis Valley of Colorado and eastern Wyoming. If you live in their service area you can even request to have them build a cell site near you if you can come up with enough neighbors' signatures. They offer very reasonable on-network "Unlimited" plans, including several for fixed location (home or business) use for both voice and Internet access. They're a good substitute for a wireline in most areas. They have a large number of reasonable plans with National coverage. While their Data plans can be pricey, they are truly "Unlimited". They offer to pay the Early Termination Fee if you leave another carrier. Their phones will roam in Mexico and Canada and they offer discount International Long Distance add-ons. Viaero does not lock their phones, making it possible to use your Viaero phone with a local SIM in foreign countries. They have discounts for people on various support programs. Viaero's network is expanding into 5G as quickly as technically possible.

VIYA MOBILE
Viya is made up of the combined networks of the former Choice Wireless and Innovative Mobile in the US Virgin Islands. The combination of the 2 networks now provides excellent coverage over the entire area. All plans are paid in advance and they have a large number of Data add-ons.  Their Unlimited plans are a bit overpriced but they include coverage in the continental US. They offer a small number of phone models. Viya can bundle your wireless with their other communications services for additional savings. Viya has been very cooperative with customers who suffered outages related to the island's hurricanes.

XFINITY MOBILE
Xfinity Mobile by Comcast cable operates as a "Wi-Fi first" wireless service, although voice calls will be completed on their partner network, Verizon Wireless.  As a result, Xfinity Mobile should be more reliable for Voice calls than other "Wi-Fi first" services. You must be an XFINITY Internet service customer to subscribe to XFINITY Mobile service, but you get the advantage of dealing with the XFINITY stores should you have a wireless problem. Your data service will be provided by one of millions of Xfinity or Spectrum Wi-Fi hotspots and in absence of a Xfinity Wi-Fi signal, your phone will access the Verizon Wireless network.  Xfinity Mobile sits on the line between a "Virtual" carrier and one that maintains their own network, albeit Wi-Fi. Xfinity phones will also roam on Spectrum Wi-Fi when away from Comcast markets which means you'll be using cellular even less. They offer a moderate number of phone models and they do let you bring your own phone for a very limited number of iPhone models. Their plans can be tailored to your data usage including an Unlimited data plan (throttled after 20GB in a month).  International roaming is available but all calls and data use foreign cellular networks, with different rates for each feature, based on country, no foreign "Wi-Fi Calling" is available. Xfinity also offers a Prepaid version, branded "NOW Mobile"

Our use of Wi-Fi for Calls & Texts has not been as reliable as other methods. We often receive a weak Xfinity Wi-Fi signal in areas where we would normally receive a good normal cellular signal. Time spent in our own home Wi-Fi coverage it works fine.