Opting out of ATT seems like the most obvious no-brainer, but are there options for phone service that are actually halfway decent?
Or as an alternative, would it be feasible to get some kind of internet phone/texting service, use that over wifi, or maybe have a basic data plan to go with it at most?
I have my phone on airplane most of the time and use Wi-Fi with VoIP for calls and SMS. If I need mobile data, I have a Silent Link eSIM for mobile data only. If you ever need to make an emergency call you don’t need a sim card or provider, emergency calls always work. While the main motivation is privacy, it’s nice that it olny costs about $3 per month on average.
This sounds amazing and all but in most parts of the world a) you don’t have exclusively mobile internet SIMs b) you don’t have eSIMs and eSIM compatible devices c) mobile connections are metered (and expensive), so people talk on the ordinary cellular phone connections d) mobile data is slow and laggy, so calls frequently drop/are choppy/don’t connect at all e) you don’t have wifi in a lot of places f) people aren’t necessarily familiar with VOIP services