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Giv Mobile
Looking for a new carrier for your smartphone? Giv Mobile, an MVNO that operates on T-Mobile’s network, can provide a home for any T-Mobile-compatible or unlocked GSM phone. Even better, the company gives 8 percent of your monthly payment to charity.
Today, Giv Mobile announced four new Unlimited Everything plans, including one that costs just $29 per month. That’s a competitive rate for unlimited voice minutes, text messaging, and data — but as you might expect, there’s an asterisk.
That unlimited data is limited to 2G speeds. For users who spend most of their time connected to Wi-Fi, or don’t plan on streaming a lot of media while out and about, that might be fine.
For everyone else, Giv offers a $35/month plan that includes 500MB of 4G LTE, a $45 plan for 2GB, and a $60 plan for 4GB. You also get a few bucks’ worth of international dialing credit with each plan, and Giv’s international rates are noteworthy: a penny per minute to over 40 countries. Another nice perk: unlimited global texting.
How does all that compare with other MVNOs? Straight Talk offers a similarly unlimited $45 plan that includes 3GB of high-speed data. And H2O Wireless has a $30 plan with 500MB. So Giv Mobile is slightly lower in the bang-for-the-buck department, but it’s one of very few carriers that gives to charities.
Speaking of which, the company works with dozens of the charities across eight categories, and you can choose up to three to divvy up your 8 percent donation between.
Is that enough to convince you to make a switch? Or how about the allure of a $29 no-contract monthly payment — even if it is just pokey old 2G?
