Choosing And Comparing Cell Phone Plans
By: Puripong Koomsin
When choosing a wireless carrier most people fall victim to the lure of the free phone, which you have to admit can sometimes be very hard to resist.
But you have to look beyond the free stuff and learn about the details of the plan you are signing up for. The United States is home to over 10 different wireless carriers and their rates vary from state to state. Other than the monthly dues, there are other factors that make a wireless carrier stand out from the rest. Below is a list of a few Wireless carriers in the United States.
AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless Cell Phone, Plans: It is the largest wireless network in the United States. This company offers a rollover feature. This means that you can rollover unused minutes from one month to another.
T-Mobile Cell Phone Plans: TMobile offers more minutes for the same price than any other wireless carrier. T Mobile plans offer no extra fees for roaming and long distance calls. [T-mobile uses the GSM modulation scheme, which offers superior voice quality. - russ]
Alltel Cell phone Plans: A feature of the Alltel cell phone plan is that this wireless carrier allows you to choose up to 10 landline or cell phone numbers to call for free. The problem with Alltel is its availability; it is not available in some areas.
Verizon Wireless Cell Phone Plans: Verizon is one of the country's highest rated wireless service providers. Verizon offers its users unlimited in-Network calls. With Verizon you are most likely to get service from any location.
Sprint Power Pack Cell Phone Plans: A feature that entices customers to Sprint is its option to allow you to buy add-on minutes; this eliminates the burdensome overage charges you get from other wireless service providers.
Nextel Cell Phone Plans: A feature unique to Nextel is its Push-to-Talk, which is a walkie-talkie like feature.
| My opinion of Virgin Mobile phone's prepaid service: It's cheap if you don't use it and expensive if you do use it. It uses CDMA (as does Verizon), whose voice quality is inferior to the GSM used by AT&T and T-Mobile. - Russ |
For most cell phone plans that offer a text messaging feature, the price for receiving a text message is the same for sending one out. You can however get discounts when using text bundles. Another feature offered by wireless carriers is free minutes during off-peak hours or days -- usually during nights and weekends. Most of the cell phone plans that are over $40 monthly have this feature.
Is there a local support center? |
Other than the basics, try looking out and doing the following things before signing up with a wireless carrier: Read the contract clearly and find out how long you will have to stay with the wireless carrier. Most contracts last for 1 to 2 years, and termination before the contract ends requires the customer to pay a penalty.
Try and consider choosing the same wireless carriers as your family and friends. This will help lessen monthly fees because most wireless carriers offer free unlimited calls within their network. Also, be aware of the taxes you are paying. Taxes can add up and take a significant portion of your monthly bill.
Consider everything when choosing a Cell Phone Plan and a Wireless Provider. Make sure that you are getting the most for your money.