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Choosing A Wireless Phone Plan
Wireless Phone Services can either make or break your budget, so it’s important to not only pick a
wireless plan with a monthly rate within your budget, it’s important to understand your plan’s calling area, network architecture,
and fee structure.
Once you have a basic understanding of your needs, you need to find a wireless phone service that meets those needs. And the first step in doing that is to understand how the phone company’s network architecture works. Wireless cell phones receive reception through radio waves. Those radio waves travel through the air and are transmitted through towers and antennas. If there aren’t enough towers or antennas the wireless carrier’s service can be very limited:
Choosing a wireless phone plan that fits your needs and budget can be tricky. That’s why it’s important to read the fine print and understand the terms used in your contract, such as: Contract Term Most wireless plans come with a contract. That contract spells out the terms of use, payment structure, and fees. It also commits you to using that carrier’s service for a specified timeframe: six months, twelve months, or two years. If you decide to sign a two-year contract, make sure you have the cancellation fee reserved in a savings account. Two years is a long time and anything can happen to warrant you canceling the contract: a move, a company buy-out, an illness, poor customer service, a job loss, or even a divorce. Roaming Fees Roaming fees are extra charges added to your service when you travel outside of your wireless plan’s "home area." In other words, if your wireless plan as a limited calling area and you happen to go on vacation and decide to make a call back home, you’ll be charged a roaming fee. In fact, if you simply travel three towns over and your calling plan doesn’t cover that area, you’ll be charged a roaming fee. Another incident of where roaming fees come into play is when your wireless phone plan outsources your call to another wireless carrier. This usually occurs when there is a high volume of callers in your area and your wireless carrier cannot handle all the calls on its towers. Roaming fees often cost double (sometimes triple) the rate of your per minute fees because your wireless company has to pay another wireless company for the privilege of allowing you to use their towers. are on TOP of your other expenses, including long distance fees for being out of your calling area! Nationwide What does nationwide really mean? Each wireless carrier defines nationwide differently, so it is important that you understand what nationwide means to the carrier you plan to sign up with. While one company may have reached an agreement with other wireless carriers to allow you to make calls anywhere within the United States at no extra charge, other wireless carriers may limit your nationwide calls to their network only. International Calls Most wireless plans do not include international calls. That means the caller must pay for international calls on a per call basis, which can get pretty costly. Therefore, if you travel overseas or plan to make several calls outside the US, make sure your wireless carrier has a plan to meet those needs. Long Distance Fees Long distance fees are what you pay when you make a call outside your wireless carrier’s local calling area. These fees can really rack up, especially if your wireless carrier considers toll calls long distance. Even if you think you don’t enough many long distance calls to warrant a nationwide plan, you owe it to yourself to investigate your options. Often, FREE long distance is more affordable than a wireless plan without it. Peak Minutes Peak minutes are usually calls made during the most used portion of the day: after 6 a.m. and before 9 p.m. on weekdays. If you go over your peak minutes, the per-minute rate can sky-rocket your cell phone bill. Off-Peak Minutes Off-peak minutes are usually calls made on Saturdays and Sundays or during the weekday before 6 a.m. and after 9 p.m. Anytime Airtime Minutes Anytime minutes are calls you make during peak or off-peak hours. If your plan has free nights and weekends or free member-to-member calling, many carriers will convert your anytime minutes to peak hour usage. Choosing the right anytime minutes is essential to keeping your cell phone costs down. If you don’t estimate the right number of minutes and go over your plan’s allotted minutes, you could double your normal bill. A wireless plan that offers 200 anytime minutes averages out to ten minutes per weekday, per month. In essence that’s a little over three hours per month. Nights and Weekends Free nights and weekends sounds great, but if you do most of your calling during the week, these minutes will not do your budget any good! Free nights and weekends usually start during off-peak hours: after 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and anytime on Saturday and Sundays. Overage Charges Overage charges are fees for calls you make when you go over your wireless plan’s allotted minutes. Overage charges run anywhere from .25 cents per minute to well over .65 per minute. Rollover Minutes Rollover minutes are offered by several wireless carriers as an option to keep the unused minutes from one month and use them the following month. There’s usually a limitation on how many minutes you can forward to the following month and how long you can keep those rollover minutes. Free Cell-To-Cell Calls Free cell-to-cell, otherwise known as member-to-member or two-way calling can really cut down on your minutes. How it works is simple: you can call anyone within your wireless carrier’s network for free; anytime day or night. If you have a group of friends or family members you call on a regular basis, free cell-to- cell may be the way to go—that is, if you can get everyone to sign up with the same wireless carrier. In other words, if you have Verizon wireless service and your partner has T-Mobile, this plan will not work for you. Shared Plans Shared plans mean exactly what the name implies: you have two different phones, but each user shares the same wireless plan. In other words, two users share the same allotted minutes. Shared cell phone plans are more affordable than signing up for two separate wireless plans, but if not monitored carefully, could prove to be very detrimental to one’s monthly budget. For example, if you have 300 anytime minutes and your partner uses 200 minutes without you knowing about it, and you in turn use 200 minutes, you will be charged for the extra 100 minutes at your per-minute overage rate—which can be very costly. Extra Features Extra features are anything above-and-beyond what you “need” to make a cell phone call. Extra features usually cost more and depend on the wireless carrier you sign up with. Extras include, but are not limited to:
Accessories Accessories are thing you need to keep your phone working, to keep you safe while using your phone, or fun perks. If you get lucky, the wireless carrier you sign up with will throw in the accessories, free of charge, just for signing up with their service. Accessories consist of, but are not limited to:
Wireless phone plans and cellular phones can be an asset or a hindrance. It’s up to you, the consumer, to choose wisely. While there are many benefits to using a cell phone, there are also disadvantages such as not knowing who your children are talking to and the extra monthly expense. Know why you’re using buying a cell phone and what you need before you start shopping around and you'll make a well-informed decision that makes even the tightest budget happy. About The Author Alyice Edrich is a mixed media artist, freelance writer, and aspiring photographer. She enjoys creating things that bring joy to others. Visit her blog, Coming Home, to check out her latest art. Or stop by her resume site, AlyiceEdrich.net to learn how you can hire her for your next project. Reprint Rights This article may NOT be reprinted without monetary compensation and written permission from the author. For reprint rights or comments/questions about this article, please contact the author. |
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