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I've been on Visible (one of Verizon's in-house MVNOs) for a couple weeks and it's been good so far. Of course, the value of any phone plan is heavily dependent on which network is strongest in your location, so use https://coveragemap.com/cell-phone-coverage to check, and maybe ask around with your neighbors about their experiences. You can use https://www.bestphoneplans.net/plans to filter plans based on your criteria (price, network, data), though pretty much everything under the sun will offer unlimited talk and text. I would be wary of US Mobile as they've got a reputation for silly conditions on promotions and "unlimited" plans that aren't really unlimited. Certainly worth considering, but just make sure you know what you're getting into with any given plan of theirs.

As for phone, if you're an iOS Andy then of course get a slightly older iPhone, specifics depend on your price range and whether you're comfortable with refurbished or not. For Android I strongly recommend a Google Pixel, despite the obvious concerns with Google--they have super long support windows and robust custom ROM support if that interests you. The 9a can be had for $400 currently, even less if you're trading in your current phone.

Lots of MVNOs are good for service, but not a lot of deals on new phones through them. If you have something you can bring with you, that would be the way to go.

Google spits Fi has pretty reasonable service prices, and some pretty good phone deals too. If you can bring your own there, you can often get a pretty hefty discount on service too - I'm on their mid-tier unlimited plan for 25/mo that way for another year and a half.

Depending on where you live, prepaid services can be pretty solid. I'm using the annoying Ryan Reynolds ad one and the service has been pretty decent for the cost.

Mint Mobile and a 1-2 gen old iPhone, can’t really go wrong.

For other phone options, Chinese manufacturers are miles ahead of any other Android phone makers. Maybe look into one plus, oppo, etc. decent value even buying brand new.

The problem with the super budget phones like the $200 Samsung a68 or whatever are that they very quickly degrade into an unusable experience and you have to get the latest slop and probably spend more money than just getting a solid phone in the first place.

I use Mint and it works pretty well for me

Honestly, landline if it's doable.

I buy phones that are several years out of production so they cost $100-150 and there are a lot of 3rd party cell services like Mint that use networks of the big telecom companies and are generally under $20 if you aren't using it off wifi much.

Look into getting a UPS instead, and connect modem/router/switch to it. They use up a small amount of power, and can go on an average battery for like 4hrs. As long as the internet lines aren't also down during a power outage.

Tello.com has some cheap plans and tiers. I do $15 per month to get 5gb of data plus unlimited text and talk. The most I use my phone for is text, calls, and GPS. Your mileage with that 5gb may vary. Setup is easy. They quickly mailed me a sim card. I put it in my phone and did the setup online.