Inexpensive Cell Phone Calling
There are many advantages to cell phones. You can carry
them on your person and they'll operate in almost any populated
area. A lot of them have extras such as a full-color
screen, text messaging, built-in camera, special ring tones and
much more. If you're safety minded, you'll appreciate the
"wireless enhanced 911" technology that is steadily being rolled
out: if you call 911, they can pinpoint your location (or
will soon be able to).
The cell phone industry has developed a poor reputation for
customer service: According to a survey by J.D. Power
and Associates, the cell phone industry trails even insurance
companies and car dealers in this category. Problems
include confusing bills, poor customer service, spotty quality,
limited coverage areas, and long-term contracts. The good
news is, there are ways you can protect yourself:
- Don't like long-term contracts? Companies such
as TracFone and Virgin Mobile USA don't have them. You
shouldn't have to sign a contract for more than one year,
although it usually comes with a slightly cheaper rate.. Be
careful about upgrading your cell phone: this usually
extends your contract.
- Already stuck in a long-term contract? You
can trade your cell phone and its plan for a better deal at
Cell Trade USA.
You'll save yourself the $35 activation fee that almost all cell phoning
plans cost, and you can search for a contract that ends sooner.
- Put off by high costs? If you're an
infrequent user, you can get a prepaid phone and pay only about
$7 per month (add airtime anytime by going online, or buy
Tracfone cards in any 7-11 store and many other
outlets). But be aware that prepaid minutes cost upwards of
20¢/minute, more than twice the cost of most monthly plans.
- Ticked off by poor customer service? J.
D. Power reports that T-Mobile performs well in customer service
and plan option, and Consumer Reports rates both T-Mobile
and Verizon highly.
- Billing disputes? If you know you're
right, don't cave. Cell phone companies won't fight a legal
battle if they don't think they can win, so be sure to document
every mistake they make. If you file a complaint with the
Better Business Bureau, they will
try to mediate the problem if the company is a member.
- Spotty reception? Sometimes cell phones
can work poorly indoors, so if you buy a cell phone make sure you
test its signal everywhere in your home and the places you often
go. Return it within the grace period if it doesn't work
well.
- Want better voice quality? Modern cell
phones are almost all digital, with good audio quality (but still
not as good as normal phone lines).
- Any other concerns? Make sure any
contract you sign allows you to test the service for a few weeks
(a "grace period" that allows you to cancel service if the cell
phone doesn't suit you.) 15 to 30 days is usually
offered. After that, you would have to pay a fee of up to
$200 to cancel.
Calling Plans
- Carrier networks come in three flavors:
CDMA (which sends multimedia data faster and has the widest USA coverage area), GSM
(which conserves batteries much better and has wider coverage worldwide) and iDEN (used by NexTel,
but it has no "3G data network" for computers.) You can get
combo GSM/CDMA phones but you'll pay more. While the
old analog networks are being phased out, some phones have
analog roaming which will give you extra coverage in some
rural areas that aren't yet digital.
- Choose a coverage area that best meets your
needs: local if you stay mostly at home, regional if you
travel within 2-5 states, or national if you're a big-time
traveler. Avoid those expensive "roaming" charges!
Some supposedly "national" plans will charge you if you are not
in their own national network but are within range of
another carrier's network. Your phone should have an
indicator that tells you whether you're roaming.
- Ask about extra fees such as an activation
fee, a security deposit, accessories you've ordered, and a fee to
port your number to your new cell phone. Tracfone doesn't
charge an activation fee, but most other companies charge about
$35. Don't get pressured into buying phone insurance.
- Know the extra charges that some plans have,
such as paying for incoming calls, roaming charges, and long
distance fees.
- Free calls are sometimes allowed by a carrier
if you call another cell phone on the same network.
- A "data plan" would let you do text messaging,
send pictures and videos, and browse web sites that support small
screens (just make sure the cell phone you buy supports the data
plan you want).
- Family plans are available with shared
minutes, and/or you can usually add a family member to a calling
plan for about $10 per month.
Phones & Accessories
- Salesmen will often push the most expensive
phone with the most features. Only get one if you're sure
you're going to use those extra features.
- "Free phones" means (of course) "free if you
sign up with us for at least one or two years."
- Phone styles include flip phones which
are better for voice quality and carrying in a pocket, and
"candy-bar" phones which usually are more
full-featured. There are also new swivel and slider
designs, which keep the display always visible while protecting the
keypad an maintaining good voice quality. Check each phone's buttons and pick one
that's easy to use.
- Accessories to consider include an extra
battery, a car charger, and a hands-free headset for in-car
usage.
- Professional users should consider
push-to-talk which connects you to co-workers immediately,
speakerphones, headsets, and conference calling.
Afterwards...
- You can sell your cell phone at sites like Cell For Cash and Cash My Phone and get anywhere
from $3 to $90, depending on its age and quality.
- Consider dropping your landline if you don't use the
phone much, you don't need dial-up Internet service, and cell
phone reception in your home is decent. You can port our
landline number to your cell phone, and some cell phones can even
take on an additional phone number. But remember that
a cell phone may not work during a power outage.
- Evaluate your plan after a month and consider
switching plans if you're not using it much. Re-evaluate
periodically because your usage patterns will probably change
over time. But be aware that if you change your plan, your
carrier may extend your contract to a full year or two.
- Tracking your minutes is easy, all major
carriers let you do that on their websites or you can check by
calling a phone number. Your cell phone may also come with
a minutes timer, but sometimes they don't tell you which minutes
were used during "peak" hours, and sometimes they don't round
numbers accurately.
- If you switch carriers you'll probably have to
get a new phone because most carriers have unique equipment that
only work on their own networks.
Cellphone Vendor Comparison
Shopping for cell phones in stores has the undeniable advantage
of allowing you to get your hands on them and test them
out. But stores have scant or biased information, and the
salesmen can sometimes be pushy. At online comparison sites
you can search for plans using your own criteria, compare most
phones and plans side-by-side, get unbiased information and read
customer-submitted reviews, get fast approval, and save money
with free FedEx shipping, no sales tax, and (usually) lower
prices. If you use Letstalk.com, we suggest that you start
with their Rate Plan Finder listed on their left-side
menu. This lets you find plans based on their features, or
find a plan that is least expensive for your usage
patterns. All sites have secure ordering, unless otherwise
noted.
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Inexpensive Cell Phone Calling 
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Time to complete:
| About 30 minutes |
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Money you'll spend:
| Varies |
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What you'll get:
| A better cell phone plan |
List of Cell Phone Companies:
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Name |
Vendor type |
Notes |
LetsTalk.com
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Compares plans from many carriers. |
• Interactive tools help you pick a phone.
• Includes many user-contributed reviews.
• Offers exclusive rebates not available in stores.
• Offers free shipping on all phone orders.
• Rated in "Best 50 web sites" by PC Magazine,
and "smartest site for wireless plans" by Money Magazine.
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Wirefly.com
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Another plan comparison site |
• Easy shopping by carrier, phone brand, or calling plan.
• Offers free FedEx shipping.
• Won 2005 Keynote Web Award, "Wireless: Best in Overall Customer Experience".
• Won 2004 Forbes "Best of the Web" award.
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TracFone |
Carrier, GSM or CDMA |
• Leader in prepaid cell plans.
• Inexpensive cell phones.
• No contract & no credit check.
• Nationwide long distance included.
• No added taxes and fees.
• No risk of high overlimit charges.
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T-Mobile |
Carrier, GSM |
• Available in 140 countries.
• Coverage in USA is spotty.
• Highly-rated customer service.
• Has some inexpensive plans.
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Verizon Wireless |
Carrier, CDMA |
• A leader in data plans.
• Optional push-to-talk service.
• Roaming in 11 countries.
• Offers combo GSM/CDMA phones.
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Cingular Wireless |
Carrier, GSM |
• Offers a 30-day grace period.
• Lets you roll over minutes.
• Available in 150 countries.
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Sprint/Nextel |
Carrier, CDMA & iDEN |
• Offers CDMA/GSM "combo" phones.
• Both have "push-to-talk" phones.
• Nextel has durable phones with many business features, but it's expensive.
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Further Reading:
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