Choosing a Cellular Phone Plan

Choosing a Cellular Phone Plan

With so many service providers out there, it can be hard sifting through all those Cell Phone Deals. After all, they're all designed to be as attractive as possible, and while some many include some "free" extras, do you really need them? Are you paying extra for something that you're probably not going to use anyways? Let us here at [LoveToKnow break it down for you so that your cellular phone plan decision can be that much easier.

If you are a very light user, it may be in your best interest to consider a prepaid calling plan. Otherwise, a post-paid monthly plan will suit average and heavy users.

Voice Calls, Text Messages and Data

The most obvious things to look at when choosing your plan are the number of minutes included, the number of text messages included, and what sort of data plan they will be offering you.

In terms of voice calls, you will usually find a set number of "anytime" minutes that you will typically be using during the week, during the day. There are also plans that offer free weekends and/or evenings. One thing that you should keep in mind when you see these, however, is when the evenings actually start. For example, if Service Provider A gives you free evenings starting at 6pm whereas Service Provider B has evenings starting at 9pm, that can be a very substantial difference. Three hours a day, five days a week, about four weeks a month: That's sixty hours of airtime that could be free with one mobile operator and not free with the other.

A popular feature that is sometimes included is unlimited free calls to a select few numbers. T-Mobile has myFaves, Alltel has MyCircle, and so on.

If you travel across the country (or internationally), you may want to look into how many long distance minutes the plan includes and whether there will be roaming charges involved if you make and receive calls from another part of the nation. For example, if your plan is based on your residence in Seattle, but you travel to San Francisco or New York regularly for business, you may want to make sure that when you are in the latter two cities, you will not incur any additional charges.

The same can be said about SMS text messages -- which many people use in lieu of voice calls for short messages -- and mobile data, the latter of which can be very important for business users and their smartphones. After all, mobile email charges can add up very quickly if you don't get enough data included in your cell phone plan. Consider your overall average usage with all these things considered, and then select a plan that fits these needs without going overboard.

Additional Cell Phone Plan Features to Consider

Some features that you may want to look into when choosing a cell phone plan include:

• Voicemail (basic, advanced, etc.)
• Caller ID
• Mobile web
• Music and multimedia downloads
• Mobile TV
• Free incoming calls
• Free evenings and weekends
• Included text and multimedia messages (SMS and MMS)

Be Wary of Hidden Fees

You also have to be very careful when looking at cell phone plans at face value, because a plan advertised as being only $20 a month very rarely ever works out to be that cheap. There are always "hidden" fees and surcharges involved, whether they are more explicitly expressed or not. Talk with your mobile operator of choice about these fees and get them to provide you with a final estimate of how much a particular plan will cost you per month.

Fees and charges that you may (or may not) incur include:

• Tax
• System Access Fee
• 911 Surcharge
• Roaming Charges
• Other fees

Cellular Phone Plans Articles

• Alltel Wireless Cell Plans
• Cingular Cellular Plans
• Comparing Cell Phone Plans
• Family Cell Phone Plans
• Sprint-Nextel Cell Plans
• T Mobile Cell Plans
• U.S. Cellular Calling Plans
• Verizon Wireless Cell Plans

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