Cellular Phone Service
Plans
A Cellular Phone Plan
Right for You
Before you can make a
good decision on which type of cellular service plan is best for you it is
a good idea to try to determine how you will be using your cell phone.
Some people use their cell phone all the time and do not even have a land
line number. Others just want to have a cell phone in case of an emergency
like a problem while driving or falling at home.
Here are some
important considerations when choosing a cellular phone plan.
ÈCoverage
Do you need a local,
regional,
national or a
family plan. This includes where you
believe you will be calling and calling from. If you go from L.A. to Vegas
often, make sure your cellular phone service plan includes that area as
part of normal service if possible.
ÈCalling
Times
When you will
be using your phone is very important. Cellular phone companies know when
people call most often. Be sure you understand when the free minutes stop
and how much it costs to use non-free minutes. Some plans have night and
weekend free minutes but be sure to know they the start and end. If your
nighttime minutes start at 9pm and you make a call starting at 8:59 p.m.,
be sure you know how you will be charged.
ÈBudget
Even if you decide
to get a free cell phone, you will
still have to sign up for a service contract of some length--usually one
or two years. Most plans offer a bundle of some type including free
anytime minutes, free nighttime minutes and maybe a rollover of unused
minutes. Be careful the first month. Minutes go very fast with cellular
phones so try to keep track of what you are using. Some services allow you
to check to see how you are doing on the Web by logging into your account.
This can be very useful.
ÈCalling
Features
With digital
phones becoming the standard in the industry, there are more and more
cellular phone features being offered all the time. You need to decide
which ones will really be useful. Most plans offer some basic features
like voice mail, caller ID and text messaging. If you don't use these much
with your land line at home then you may not use them very much with your
cellular phone. Before you sign up for features which have an additional
monthly charge, be sure to evaluate whether you will using that added
feature or not.
ÈCompany
Reputation
Signing up with a
well-known company sounds great, but in the cellular phone business,
service is everything. Be sure to research how companies stand with their
service records. This changes all the time, but you can usually get a good
idea from past history. The Internet is a good source of information. Here
is a recent comparison of phone services.
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