Spectrum Mobile for Seniors: Plans, Prices, and Reviews

Spectrum Mobile Pros and Cons

Spectrum Mobile Plans and Pricing

Spectrum Mobile Plans for Seniors

Spectrum doesn’t currently offer a cellular plan or discount specifically for seniors; however, we think their By the Gig plan is a great option for affordable cellular service. At $20 per month, it’s one of the most affordable wireless plans for unlimited talk and text. That said, if you plan to use your phone for music or video streaming outside of a WiFi connection, this plan could quickly get pricey, and you might instead opt for the Unlimited plan.

How to Purchase Spectrum Mobile

To purchase a mobile plan from Spectrum Mobile, you’ll want to start by visiting Spectrum’s website. If you’re not already subscribed to Spectrum Internet, you can purchase both this subscription and a cellular plan at the same time.

You can also purchase a phone directly from Spectrum. Currently, the options are predominantly smartphones from Google, TCL, Samsung, Apple, Motorola, and only one flip phone, the TCL FLIP 3.

Alternatively, Spectrum allows you to use your existing phone with their service by requesting a free SIM card. If you have an unlocked phone, this could be an affordable way to keep the same device.

Spectrum Mobile Costs

While Spectrum Mobile plans cost as low as $20 per month, this price is a bit misleading. It fails to account for the amount that you also must pay for Spectrum Internet, which starts at $50 per month. So, technically speaking, the lowest price you stand to pay is $70 per month for a bundle of mobile and internet.

Another factor to consider is the number of lines you’ll purchase. While the By the Gig plan can work with one to 10 lines at the same price, the Unlimited and Unlimited Plus plans cost $30 and $40 per line, respectively. There is no discount for each additional line.

Once you’ve paid for your mobile and internet service, you should be aware of other fees, some of which are optional:

• Activation fee: A one-time, $20-per-device payment.
• Fee for canceling internet: Even if you cancel your internet once you buy mobile service, you’ll have to pay $10 per month in addition to the cost of Spectrum Mobile.
• International fee: Spectrum Mobile includes 2,000 minutes of free calls to Mexico and Canada per month, and free texting to and from over 200 countries. Though, with the Ultimate Plus plan, you only get free roaming in Mexico and Canada. But with any plan, you can add international roaming in over 200 countries in one of two ways. One, you can get a Global Day Pass for unlimited talk, text, and up to 1GB per day in over 200 countries; this all comes for a flat rate of $10 per line per day, or just $5 per line per day in Mexico and Canada. The other option is Global Pay-Per-Use, which differs by country and the amount of calls, texts, and data you make and use. In Japan, for example, rates are $0.08 per minute of conversation, $0 for texts, and only $0.03 for every MB of data.

There are no late fees, as Spectrum Mobile requires autopay. Nor are there any cancellation or data overage fees, as all contracts are monthly. With the By the Gig plan, you’ll pay $5 for each additional GB you use after your first in any given month.

Spectrum Mobile Network Coverage

The Spectrum Mobile network, powered by Verizon, offers coverage throughout the nation. That said, this coverage is mostly 4G, whereas 5G coverage is limited to major metropolitan areas for now.

Data Speeds

Speeds on the Spectrum network are 45 to 702Mbps when it comes to downloads, 6 to 75Mbps when it comes to uploads, and latency is 42 to 62ms. Compared to Verizon, Spectrum’s “parent network,” which has download speeds of 11 to 643Mbps, upload speeds of 1 to 53Mbps, and latency of 49 to 64ms, it’s clear that Spectrum is faster. But, given that streaming a high-definition video only takes download speeds of a minimum of up to 25Mbps, you shouldn’t have any speed or buffering issues on either network.