Best Wireless Carriers in Columbus, OH? The Truth!

Ah, Columbus. The home of the Buckeyes, the Blue Jackets, and my favorite: the Columbus Crew SC. It’s also home to you and I! I’ve been in Columbus for three years now working on my undergraduate degree at Ohio State.

Columbus is a pretty big place. That urban sprawl has spread the city out for miles and miles. As a very technology-forward city, I don’t know what I would do without my cell phone. I don’t own a car at Ohio State because I don’t want to fork up my soul to CampusParc’s parking monopoly, so if I want to get around I need other options.

My phone helps me get around Columbus and stay in touch with the people I care about. I can call an Uber or Lyft, or I can check the bus routes. The COTA bus system is super robust and nobody should take it for granted, especially when Ohio State students get to ride ‘free’ (an extra fee on your tuition, of course.)

However, you’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t have good cell service. That leads us to the big question: what are the best wireless carriers in Columbus, OH? Which one should you get a plan from? Read on to find out.

Coverage In Columbus? No Problem.

If you’re looking for coverage, I have good news. Pretty much every major carrier covers 100% of Columbus. UpPhone has a great coverage map that shows this. Just zoom in on Columbus and select the carrier you’re interested in and you’ll see the whole city is in their service area.

Okay, so every carrier covers Columbus. That’s great and all, but what about quality of service? Are some spots ‘spottier’ than others? Is this the deciding factor in figuring out the best wireless carriers in Columbus?

Remember that wireless connections will always be variable because of certain factors. For example, your speed might be slowed down if there is a lot of data usage going on in a particular area. When I used to go to Columbus Crew games (you know, before they started charging insane prices for seats at their new stadium), my Internet connection would be terrible because everyone watching the game is on their phone.

This has gotten better over time, but keep in mind that factors like this might effect your connection, regardless of which carrier you choose.

What Else Is There?

If we don’t need to worry about coverage, then what can we use to decide which are the best wireless carriers in Columbus, OH?

Well, quality of service is one other factor to consider, aside from natural variables like we talked about earlier. You might find that one company has better customer service than other, or maybe you just prefer one over the other.

However, I think the one thing you care about most is what you get for your money. So, finding the best deal!

An article I wrote for UpPhone.com goes into a lot more detail about this, so you should definitely go check it out to see how much you can save on a phone plan in Columbus.

Best Wireless Carriers in Columbus By Price

We have to split this up a little bit. You may be familiar with Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T. These are mobile network operators (MNOs), or major carriers. 

They aren’t the only wireless carriers out there! There are also mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs. These are carriers that lease out cell service from one of the major carriers. You may be familiar with a few of them like Cricket Wireless, Tello Mobile, and Mint Mobile.

Generally you will find that MVNO carriers like Cricket Wireless offer better deals than the major carriers. However, they tend to offer fewer features like International options, and hardly ever bundle extra services like Netflix into their plans.

If you are looking for the basics of a data plan, I personally recommend you go with an MVNO like Visible. You’ll get a better deal for sure, but you’ll just miss out on some features you may or may not have used.

If you have a little extra to spend or would just like better service in general, go for one of the major carriers. They’re huge and have a lot of resources to help you out. You can also be sure that they will be reliable outside of Columbus if you’re traveling.

Which Carrier Do I Use In Columbus?

I’m currently on Verizon’s network which works perfectly here in Columbus! I definitely recommend their service for the coverage and connection quality. However, their customer service does leave something to be desired.

I’m not a big fan of the bloatware that they tend to ship with their phones, but it’s easy to just disable and forget about. For example, Verizon’s texting app is pretty lame compared to alternatives out there like Google Messages. Just disable it and move on.

The Best Wireless Carriers in Columbus, Explained!

Now that you know the truth about the best wireless carriers in Columbus, you should be able to make an informed decision about your next wireless data plan if you’re getting one. If you know anybody else who would benefit from this information, feel free to share it with them!

Thanks for reading my article, and go Bucks!