Picking a Cellphone Plan
A cellphone has become an essential tool in modern society. Having a cellphone is a wonderful thing, but actually selecting a cellphone and cellphone plan can be a complex undertaking. The cellphone carriers offer a dizzying array of choices in terms of number of minutes allowed, times at which cheaper (or free) evenings and weekend minutes start, sharing of minutes between two phones on a family plan, and so on. Furthermore, cellphone technology has advanced to the point where a cellphone can do much more than just make phonecalls. You can now send and receive text and multimedia messages, surf the wireless internet, or even play games. So how do you choose the right plan?
The first step in the process is to ask yourself a few questions about your current situation and calling needs. How many minutes per day are you likely to use your phone? At what time of day and on what days of the week do you need to use the phone? Will you be using the phone regularly for business or personal use, or will you be just using it for emergencies? Will you be taking advantage of extended services like text messaging, ringtones, games, or the wireless internet? Are there other members of your family who also need a cellphone so that you could share a family plan?
After you make a list of answers to these questions, it is time to consider the available options. Most users will choose to purchase a phone with a 1 year or 2 year plan. This means that you are committing to using (and paying for) your cellphone service for the length of the plan and you are subject to a penalty of around $150 if you want to quit early. The advantage of choosing a plan is that the carriers will give you a very steep discount on the cost of your phone, and in fact will give you the phone for free for many of the popular phones. Cellphone technology has advanced so fast over the past couple of years that the quality of free phones is quite good. For example, the popular Motorola RAZR cost several hundred dollars even on a 2 year plan when it first came out, but now it is often offered by carriers for free with the 2 year plan.
One alternate solution that is especially attractive for people shopping for a cellphone for a teenager is to consider getting a prepaid cellphone. With a prepaid cellphone, you pay for minutes in advance, thereby eliminating the possibility of incurring huge phone bills from using minutes in excess of those allowed by your calling plan. Many parents who have purchased regular 2 year plans (not prepaid) have faced unpleasantly large phone bills incurred by teenagers who don’t realize how fast their cellphone minutes (and text messages and game download) start to add up. On the other hand, prepaid cellphone users can expect to pay a bit more for their minutes than regular users on a plan, and the prepaid minutes can also expire after a preset period of time (1-3 months depending on the prepaid plan). So prepaid plans can limit your risk but they can also cost you more than wisely used minutes on a regular plan.
So let us assume that you have decided to purchase a cellphone with a plan. You will get the best discounts on a 2 year plan, so that is usually the wisest choice. But which carrier should you choose? You best bet is to ask your friends and neighbors which carrier has the best coverage in your area. Some carriers may work great in some areas but not so well in others. Some carriers even have dead spots with no coverage at all, although these are becoming rarer as carriers continue to add cell towers across the country. But ask people you know to get an idea about which carrier will work best for you.
Once you choose a carrier, the next step is to choose the plan that best fits your needs. If you plan to use the phone just for emergencies, then go with a cheap plan costing $30-$40 per month. If you are a typical cellphone user, then you will probably need a plan that has more minutes, say 900-1400 minutes per month. These plans cost around $50-$70 per month. If you are a cellphone poweruser, then plans with thousands of minutes are available for as much as $200 per month. If you have a family, then you can save some money by getting a family plan and sharing your minutes across two or more phones. Again, it all depends on your situation.
