I work in the wireless industry. This is a pay now or pay later kind of deal. Virgi. Mobile is a MVNO which stands for mobile virtual network operator that uses Sprint's infrastructure. So you get the same towers and the same signal. The key difference is with sprint they subsidize the phone cost for you where virgin doesn't. However with that more expensive sprint bill does come better customer service.
Not that you need back up on your post, but that is 100% correct. I am in a contract with Sprint (very good customer service) and moved my significant other's phone to Virgin last year when she was looking for more affordable service.
Before choosing Virgin, I had read a long article on the tech talk part of a site I frequent and they talked about Virgin being "leasing space" and buying bandwidth on the Sprint system. I thought that might be true for some areas, but not for all, leading to good metro service in some areas and none in others. So I
called Virgin mobile tech support, and they very begrudgingly told me that they were indeed using Sprint's hardware.
Got a really nice sliding keyboard phone with touch for $99. Activated the phone and immediately started saving $54 each month (Virgin bill is $45 unlimited everything plus normal stuff on all cell phone bills) or about $650 a year!
Had a small problem with activation of the Virgin phone and CS was in some place that had difficulty with English. They were bright and cheeful, but difficult to understand. It was like calling to a manufacturer's tech support when you have a problem with your computer or printer. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. But until Sprint was losing customers by the thousands a few years ago, their customer service was worse. But locally they were the most reliable service so I hung on with them.
Recently, the Virgin phone was damaged. Now Best Buy handles the whole customer service issue here for us as local Virgin reps, so she went in with her old phone, paid her deductible, and walked out with an activated phone with all her contact info, pics, etc., transferred. No charge for any services and she was in and out in 45 minutes, and the phone was even 1/2 charged, ready to use.
As always, your mileage may vary, but when MY contract is up with Sprint, I will no doubt be buying a Virgin phone and their service.
Robert
