I'm finally sick of Verizon's shit to the point that I want to switch. They're expensive, nickle and dime you on buying phones, heavily lobbied against Net Neutrality, and refuse to sell a phone without a locked bootloader.
Project Fi is the one that I keep coming back to, but I'm not 100% sold.
Basic plan is $20 for unlimited calls and texts, plus $1 per 100MB of data usage (so $10 per GB). No contract, so you're only charged for what you use, and they cap your bill at $60 for a given month without cutting off data. It also uses 3 networks (Sprint, T-Mobile, and U.S. Cellular), and will jump to whichever tower is strongest at the given moment.
But there are two things that give me pause. The first is that there have been some complaints about phones leaking data, with some folks seeing a generic "Android OS" entry taking up 500MB-1GB per month. Now I haven't seen any reddit posts about this within the last 8 months or so, so this may be fixed.
The other is that it doesn't seem like you can root a phone or switch to a different OS without potentially screwing up service. This is a mixed bag: I'm actually trying to get away from Google as much as possible due to their data collection. Granted, nothing says I have to use GMail (and I'm moving towards not using it at all), and some of the more egregious things (the various services that involve always listening) can be disabled. And I'm not 100% sure there's a significant difference between giving a lot of this data to Google vs. giving it to Verizon or some other carrier. On the other hand, even if I'm not using GMail for e-mail, your phone is tied to your GMail account.
But I'm also not sure what the alternative is. Verizon sucks as I said, but the only other companies in the same ballpark price-wise as Fi are these smaller no-name ones, and it's a roll of the dice either way.
I've been with Project Fi for over two years, and on average I use about 2 GB of data of month. I pay about $50ish per month. I originally got an LG Nexus 5X and it lasted until about a few months ago when the phone's dreaded bootloop issue killed it dead, so now I have a Moto G6 (I like that recently they've expanded to a wider variety of compatible outside phones: Originally you basically had to order a compatible phone through Google since there were only 2-3 varieties, but now you can buy a qualifying unlocked phone in any store). I only mention the phones to say that I've never had the issue of Android OS using 1 GB of my data, and admit that it might be a product of what phones I used. But I also kill nearly all notifications on my phone, as well as disable a lot of default apps. The only major data hogs on my phone over time have been Twitter and Facebook, and that's all on me. If you've got understandable hangups over Google's collection and usage of data, I can understand that. It might not be the best move to take on a service run by Google if you've got those reservations, when they have their claws in Android OS and practically mandate their apps be all over the OS. But I personally have little shame and couldn't care less what of my data they have, especially since I have Gmail and they pretty much have all my info through there anyway. I disabled most of their data collection on my main Google account, and really only enable GPS on the phone for various personal reasons. That aside, the service has been terrific. No frills, not expensive, and super reliable. You can even use data as normal outside of the US, though calls still cost extra. If the Google privacy concerns aren't a dealbreaker, it may be worth it.
I actually realized that the advantage to using Google is that I'll be more conscious about what I do on my phone, not less. Because it's not like Verizon was collecting less data, but it was easier to forget about it in that case. Ordered a new phone (the LG G7) last night!
Comcast now offers mobile service that is in the same price range as Fi. I think if you have Comcast service in your home, then calls and text are free and data is like $12/GB. Doesn't have all the other connectivity perks of Fi though. I have been 100% satisfied with Fi compared to other providers I've used. That said, I don't have any ideological aversion to Google yet, so I can't really comment there.
I'm with tacocat: Comcast is an absolute no-go for me. (I don't have them at home, either). But I'm glad to hear your experience with Fi has been good. After the bullshit the Verizon rep threw my way when I asked about how my wife and mother-in-law's costs might change if I left, I'm that much more eager to leave.
Thanks, that's helpful. It sounds really good for my use case, which is in areas where T-Mobile especially has good coverage, and very little data usage. One thing: aren't you worried about the security implications of connecting to some random, open wifi point? A VPN won't prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. For the phone, I'm torn. I like the idea of a Pixel 2, but the LG G7 ThinQ is actually cheaper: it's a higher base cost ($750 vs. $650), but they're running a special right now where you get a $300 credit on your bill if you buy one.
Google claims to have some super special ultra security wifi secret sauce that makes random networks secure. I don't know how it works, but I don't like it. It often doesn't connect very well even if it is secure, which I have no idea if it is. I usually turn off wifi in those situations.
Such was my thinking, and I was sure to make sure that it can be disabled before I was willing to make the switch. I've heard enough positive experiences and am sufficiently sick of Verizon's shit after today that now it's just a question of deciding which phone I want.
I have a pixel 1. It's a good phone, but not a great one. Sort of buggy. For example sometimes it just only vibrates instead of ringing. Other annoying but not critical issues exist. Don't know if there pixel 2 had similar issues. I'm probably going to get a 3 when it comes out this fall.
It's super easy to just kill your WiFi though and always connect to a network. That's what I do at work, because the WiFi is shit. It costs a few more dollars per month, but well worth it. Also, I travel overseas a couple times per year and nothing beats Fi for international travel. The peace of mind of being able to get off a plane anywhere in the world without having any communication interruption is beautiful if you do any regular travel outside the US. I've been on Fi for about 3 years, and I've used it in at least 9 other countries. Never had to do anything more than restart to get connected. Highly useful for that specific use case.