Should you stay with your grandfathered cellular plan?

TOPICS:

I got my first cell phone in 1992. The company I used was bought by another company, and that company was bought by another company. That company was bought by Cingular and then Cingular became AT&T.

So I’ve had a lot of opportunity to change cell phone plans. Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don’t. And I recognize that there are a lot of people who don’t think about their cell plan from year to year.

There comes a point…

I know someone who started on a cell phone plan with 100MB of shared data. That was the cheapest plan at the time you could get, I assume, with their iPhone 4. In all these years they’ve never upgraded the plan. Because of administrative changes, their cell carrier keeps upgrading them to the lowest plan you can get today. That means, with no effort, they’re now on an 8GB shared plan.

Needless to say my friend is happy to share the details of how they got upgraded for free, over and over. But, with this latest upgrade they realized that they may be at the end of the line.

It’s not always good to be a grandfather

They call cell plans like that “grandfathered” plans. I think the term comes from an earlier time, when those who had been in their houses a long time (and in a more gendered time, were thought of as grandfathers) were exempt from new laws.

If you have a grandfathered plan from your cell carrier, you may be missing out on a lot. You probably won’t be able to get 5G. You’ll run out of data after a movie or two. And, sooner or later, it’s gonna happen.

“It’s” gonna happen?

Yep, it’s gonna happen. You’ll go to get a new phone and be told it won’t work with your plan. You’ll call support because something doesn’t work and you’ll be told there’s nothing they can do. At some point you’ll begin to feel like a technological pariah.

So don’t let it happen to you. I know it’s a pain to manage your cell phone plan. And I know that sometimes in the past you’ve been made to feel bad because you have an older plan. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Call the experts at Solid Signal

Our Signal Connect Team works with AT&T and uses the same computer systems as AT&T itself. The only difference when you deal with us? We won’t make you sign in. We won’t keep you on hold. Best of all, we won’t transfer you to an international call center.

Instead, you’ll get a rep in our Novi, Michigan offices who will help you out. They’ll explain all your options and let you know what plan makes sense for you. They’ll check all the discounts, and maybe even get you a plan that costs less than what you pay now! Best of all, when you have questions you can call them back or email them directly. No more phone trees, no more anonymous operators. You’ll get the top flight service that you deserve. We’ll help you decide what the best step is, and then get you signed up with the plan you really need.

Call us now at 888-233-7563 or, if it’s after East Coast business hours, fill out the form below! We’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.

 

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.