Republic Wireless Review

Let me start by saying I'm not being paid by Republic Wireless to say this.  Let me also start by saying that today's post is focused on saving money and not so much on science.  However, finding ways to save money is a form of science, in my opinion.  My wife and I have been customers of Verizon Wireless for 14 years.  She was a customer a few years prior to that before I purchased my first cell phone.  Over the years the monthly costs have gone up as texting became more common and data plans were introduced.  We often look at our finances to see if there are ways to save money.  The cell phone bill is a big chunk of change each month, coming in at about $140/month.  We spent a couple of months investigating low cost carriers as a way to save money each month and eventually decided to make the leap and leave Verizon to join Republic Wireless.

Republic Wireless is a low cost carrier that uses wireless networks for phone calls as opposed to a cellular network.  Whenever your phone is connected to a wireless network and you make a call, that call is made using that wireless network.  If you move off a wireless network, you can still make phone calls as your phone will switch to T-mobile's cellular network.  The phone will make the switch even if you are currently on a call.  I've tested this out by starting a call when on a wireless network and walking out of wireless range.  The phone call remained connected with no interruption.
So what are the advantages?  I have a smartphone that does exactly what I was doing on my smartphone with Verizon.  My wife and I now have two phone plans that total (and this is the true cost) $45/month.  That's a savings of $95/month!!!  We have the same amount of data.  On Verizon we had a shared plan of 2 GB/month.  Now we each have our own plans with 1 GB/month.  No contracts or 2 year plans either.

What are the disadvantages?  Phone calls are probably a bit less reliable, but I've had no phone calls dropped thus far.  On top of that, making phone calls is not the primary use of my phone.  Phone choices are limited to about 7 to 8 phone choices and all are Androids.  There are a few top of the line choices, however.  I went with a mid-level phone, Moto 5G+.  Works as well as my previous top of the line phones.  If you are a big iPhone user, you are out of luck.  I've never had an iPhone and I consider them highly overrated.  The Verizon coverage map is quite large.  It was very rare I found myself in an area with no coverage, although there were times this was the case, particularly in West Virginia.  With Republic Wireless using a T-mobile coverage map, I have found myself, when in rural areas geocaching, with spotty cellular coverage.  So this is something to consider depending on where you live.  Another possible disadvantage is that there is no real-time customer support.  If you have a support question, you go to their website and fill out a form.  To be honest, this really doesn't concern me.  Whenever I had a issue with Verizon, I always went online and searched forums to find my answer.  Calling Verizon was always a pain in the butt and rarely helpful.

Most of the disadvantages above are not really disadvantages in my opinion.  The only real disadvantage to me is the smaller coverage maps when not on a wireless network.  But with a savings of $95/month, I'm more than willing to accept spotty coverage in areas I don't often find myself.  It's well worth the trade off in my opinion.  Republic Wireless is not necessarily a good fit for everyone, but if you are looking for ways to save money each month, taking a look at your cell phone expenses is a great start.  A savings of $95/month is nothing to sneeze at.  I've been on Republic for about a month now with no complaints.