MVNO Cellular Data Priority Comparison (Why I Switched to US Mobile)

I haven’t paid “full price” for a cellular phone plan for decades, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been any trade-offs. Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) buy network capacity in bulk from major carriers (MNOs like T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T) and resell them to individual customers. For a while, the main trade-off for going with an MVNO (which buys bulk minutes and data from the major carriers) was slightly worse cellular coverage due to a lack of roaming agreements with other carriers. If you were on a AT&T MVNO, you could only use AT&T cell towers.

These days, the primary catch is data de-prioritization. To manage the demand, there are different Quality of Service Class Identifiers (QCI levels) that have different priorities on the network. In areas where there are a lot of people, especially things like concerts and sporting events, there is a lot of demand and those not at the front of the line will notice slow or no data.

This r/NoContract Reddit post provides an excellent collection of the data prioritization policies of the major carriers. It’s still a lot, so I have attempted to summarize everything below as much as possible.

For Verizon, QCI 8 is the highest priority level for consumers. Includes:

• All Verizon Postpaid “Traditional” plans (except “Welcome”).
• Visible+ and Visible+ Pro (owned by Verizon).
• Total Wireless’ Total 5G Unlimited and Total 5G+ Unlimited (owned by Verizon).
• Xfinity Mobile and Spectrum Mobile (owned by cable companies).
• US Mobile Unlimited Premium “Warp” (*for 5G w/ Premium Only)

QCI 9 is a step lower, the base tier. Includes:

• Verizon’s Unlimited Welcome plan (their most basic plan)
• Visible Base plan
• US Mobile Unlimited Starter “Warp” and other Warp plans.
• All other Verizon prepaid MVNOs.

For AT&T, QCI 7 is the highest priority level for consumers. Includes:

• Select AT&T Plans with special “Turbo” data.

QCI 8 is a step lower, but still considered higher priority. Includes:

• Select AT&T Plans with “Extra/Premium/Max” data.
• Cricket Supreme Unlimited, Cricket Sensible 10GB plans (*owned by AT&T)
• H2o, Consumer Cellular, and PureTalk MVNOs.
• US Mobile Unlimited Premium “Dark Star” (*Premium Only)

QCI 6 is another step lower, the base tier. Includes:

• AT&T base Unlimited plans for both AT&T postpaid and AT&T Prepaid.
• All other AT&T plans once the “Turbo/Premium” data is used up.
• Cricket Select Unlimited, Cricket Smart Unlimited plans (*owned by AT&T)
• US Mobile Unlimited Starter “Dark Star” and other Dark Star plans.
• All other AT&T prepaid MVNOs.

For T-Mobile, QCI 6 is the highest priority level for consumers. Includes:

• All T-Mobile Postpaid and Prepaid plans (except “Essentials”)
• Google Fi

QCI 7 is a step lower, the base tier. Includes:

• T-Mobile Essentials plans (their most basic plan)
• All other T-Mobile prepaid MVNOs, including Metro and Mint Mobile (both owned by T-Mobile).

Long-time readers will know that I was with Mint Mobile for a long time. I didn’t need much data back then. But each year, I felt the low priority of Mint Mobile data became more and more noticeable. Anywhere crowded, even an airport, and things would slow down significantly. Oftentimes, I basically had no data at all, which was very frustrating when just trying to call up an Uber. T-Mobile sells a lot of data to MVNOs, so perhaps that’s another reason. I first tried to jump ship to Visible, but they messed up my number port so badly that I couldn’t get 2FA verification codes for days so I quickly switched back to Mint Mobile.

Late last year, after a positive experience with US Mobile’s customer service involving their Apple Watch plans, I decided to switch to US Mobile’s Unlimited Premium plan which offers “Priority Data” on their Warp (Verizon) and Dark Star (AT&T) plans. They run a lot of promotions (often extending them over and over) but I jumped on the Warp plan with Unlimited Premium because it also included a free Apple Watch cellular plan. I’m paying a bit more than I used to with Mint Mobile, but I’ve definitely noticed the improvement in data quality. My number port was nearly instant. With their Unlimited Premium plan, I can even switch between networks for free if one place has better coverage, allowing me access to AT&T and T-Mobile towers.

I am happy with US Mobile as I now have high data speeds, multi-network coverage, reasonable cost, and decent customer service.

The current US Winter Phone Deal is on Dark Star (AT&T). Unlimited Starter for $119/year prepaid upfront ($9.92/mo) for the first year (regular data priority) with promo code WINTER119 and Unlimited Premium for $149/year prepaid upfront ($12.42/mo) for the first year (which offers higher data priority and other perks) with promo code WINTER149. Port-in required. Starts 1/28 at 11am ET through 1/31.

You can stack the current promo with my referral link to get an additional $25 off:

To qualify for the $25 referral bonus, you must maintain active paid service in good standing for 6 months, port in a new line, and spend a total of $100 on Unlimited, By the Gig, or Smartwatch plans — Other plans, top-ups, devices, add-ons, roaming, and certain promotions (listed at usmobile.com/promo-archive) are excluded. Annual plans will be prorated monthly (e.g. $228 equals $114 after 6 months).

If you want a deal on Verizon (Warp), I’d just wait around for a bit. However, it probably won’t ever be as cheap as this Dark Star (AT&T) deal. I paid $299 for a year of Unlimited Premium (includes Priority Data and Apple Watch cellular plan) during a previous sale. Full price at renewal will be $390/year ($32.50/month), which is still much cheaper than any traditional major carrier plan after you add taxes/fees and $10/month for the Apple Watch add-on.