Choosing The Right Cell Phone Plan

 

Over the life of your phone , the calling plan service will cost much more than the phone itself-especially if the phone is free. Thus, the best way to control your budget is to choose the most cost-effective calling plan from a carrier with good coverage in your area. Aggressive competition for subscribers among carriers (also known as service providers) has driven the monthly and per-minute costs of wireless calling dramatically downward and even made some of the latest phones, packed with cutting-edge features, unprecedented bargains. Subscribers’ ability to keep their existing wireless phone  number-and even their landline based numbers-when starting or transferring service to a new carrier has created more downward-pressure on comparative service plans through direct competition. As a result, every day more people are switching to exclusively wireless, giving up their landline based service altogether.

 

With the right calling plan, a wireless phone shouldn’t cost much more than a landline service phone. But the sheer number of choices and complexity in rate plans can make simple comparison and selection a challenge for anyone.

Two key differences that make wireless calling plans more complex than typical landline service. First, wireless phone customers pay for service based on the number of minutes for both incoming and outgoing calls, unlike landline service which is typically unlimited in nature excepting long-distance fees. Second, by their very nature wireless phones are not tethered to land-line access, allowing a customer to send and receive calls or messages from a virtually infinite number of places.

As a direct result of these differences, a wireless calling plan bill is a very accurate tally of where a customer uses their phone, how long they talk, what time of day they talk, and what numbers they called or received calls from.

Components of a Cell Phone Bill

Estimating an average or maximum monthly usage in each of these categories will help narrow the field of calling plans to a more manageable selection of cost-effective choices.

Talk Time (also known as Air Time) is the total amount phone use, typically measured in minutes, for both call placed and calls received. Most monthly calling plans include a specific allowance of talk time, frequently divided into peak and off-peak minutes, for a flat monthly fee. Any talk time used over this allowance will cost extra, usually at comparatively much higher per-minute rates.

Peak Minutes (also know as Anytime or Whenever minutes) are talk time minutes used during the prime calling periods when the carrier networks are most active, typically between 6am and 9pm Monday through Friday. Because of this demand, Peak Minutes are expensive. Plans that include more Peak Minutes typically have higher monthly fees.

Off-Peak Minutes (also known as Night and Weekend Minutes) are Talk Time minutes used outside of prime calling periods (typically at night and on weekends) when the carriers are least active. Off-Peak Minutes are the least expensive Talk Time minutes and are often included in generous quantities (frequently unlimited) even in many inexpensive plans. Customers who expect to use their phone frequently at night and on weekends should make sure to choose a plan with a generous allowance of Off-Peak minutes.

Roaming refers to any wireless phone use outside of a customer’s home calling area or carrier network coverage. Because most phones feature multiple network capabilities, Roaming agreements between carriers let customers use their phones over a much wider area than a carrier’s network service coverage. However, customers typically pay significantly more than even Peak Minute rates for using this capability. Unless a calling plan specifically offers no Roaming charges, this Talk Time is usually the most expensive. International Roaming is possible with some wireless phones, and accordingly is even more expensive. Frequent travelers are best served with plans that feature no roaming charges.

Long Distance charges may apply to calls that are placed to numbers outside your local area codes. Because Talk Time charges also apply, wireless Long distance calls can be more expensive than on a land-line phone. However, all carriers offer a selection of calling plans that include free Long Distance service where all domestic calls placed are billed at only the applicable Talk Time rates. For frequent long distance callers, these plans are often more cost effective than landline long distance service.

Additional Talk Time (also known as Additional Minutes) is the amount of wireless phone use that exceeds your allowance of Peak- or Off-Peak Minutes or both. After Roaming charges, these Additional Talk Time minutes are the most common cause of unexpectedly high wireless phone bills.

Mobile-to-Mobile Minutes (also known as In-Network Minutes) are minutes used for calling or receiving calls from another customer on your carrier’s service network. When included in a calling plan, are not measured as Peak- or Off-Peak Minutes and are tallied in a third distinct category. When offered as an unlimited allowance on some carrier plans, Mobile-to-Mobile calling becomes especially valuable with friends and family who have service from the same carrier, effectively making any wireless-to-wireless call between them free.

Data Services including multimedia messaging, downloads, wireless Web access and wireless modem capabilities are typically optional carrier plan services that are offered for an additional charge, either separately or bundled together as packages. Unlike voice service, Data Services come in many forms and are packaged and priced in many different ways from per-message charges for text messaging to bulk charges (per megabyte) for all data (non-voice connection service) sent or received by a wireless phone to unlimited data plans for a flat monthly fee. Carrier by carrier, most of these services require a separate subscription. In some carriers, the most popular Data Services are often featured in bundles or packages suited to typical wireless customer profiles, for example Instant Messaging or Wireless Calendar or Contact Book Synchronization. A customer planning to use their wireless phone for more than just talk can find some very significant savings in reviewing these optional services or packages carefully.

Types of Calling Plans

With few exceptions, most carrier calling plans fall into one of these categories:

The most geographically limited plans where a customer would pay extra for any wireless phone use outside of a relatively small local carrier network service area, typically a metropolitan area and the adjacent suburbs. Many local plans do not include long distance but will connect any long distance calls with a per-minute surcharge in addition to any applicable Talk Time minutes. While these plans carry the lowest basic monthly fees, frequent out-of-area travel use (Roaming) or long distance surcharges can make monthly bills skyrocket above the cost of comparable Regional or National plans. Local plans are most cost-effective when a customer doesn’t venture too far from home or place frequent long distance calls.

Regional Plans

Regional Plans typically offer the most economical Talk Time per-minute rates over a much larger multi-state area or Region, for example the entire Northeastern or Southwestern U.S. Only calls placed or received while outside this area will incur additional Roaming surcharges. While not universal, more carriers are offering included long distance service in Regional plans. Customers who frequently call or travel to regional areas outside their carrier’s Local service area will find the best value in Regional calling plans. Be sure to check local and regional carrier coverage maps carefully for calling area eligibility.

National Plans

National Plans carry somewhat higher per-minute rates, but they permit wireless phone use anywhere in the country with no extra charge for roaming and/or for long distance calls when on an approved network. These plans are best for wireless travelers or customers that are simply willing to pay a bit more for freedom from worry about where, when and to whom they are calling.

Shared Plans

Shared Plans give two or more wireless customers their own phone and separate phone numbers, while sharing a common allowance of minutes. These plans offer a lower cost per minute than separate wireless plans that add up to the same number of minutes. As a greater bonus, Shared Plans often reduce costs by addressing common multi-phone problems, for example some wireless users frequently exceed their allowance of minutes, while others don’t or some wireless customers use primarily Peak Minutes while others use more Off-Peak Minutes. Best of all, Shared Plan usage is summarized on a single wireless bill. Cumulative call timers and call restriction capabilities on each phone as well as online network usage monitors can help Shared Plan customers avoid surprises in their monthly wireless bill.

 

Prepaid Plans

Prepaid (also known as Pay-As-You-Go) service is an option for customers who do not wish to process a credit application or expect to use their phone very infrequently or only for emergencies. Prepaid Service per-minute rates can be more expensive than monthly Local, Regional, National or Shared Plans and purchased minutes can expire after 90 to 120 days. On the plus side, Prepaid Service phones are usually inexpensive, and increasingly stylish and capable models are offered with standard calling features such as voicemail, call waiting, as well as optional Data Service features such as Messaging and Wireless Web similar to those sold with conventional calling plans.

Advertisement