Cell Phone Plan - Part 1
Cell Phone Plan Part 1 - Cell Phone Plan Part 2
Cell Phone Plan - Coverage
Cellular phone service offerings are different from region to region so ultimately ,where you live determines your choice of calling service. The most important aspect is, of course,coverage because it would be a shame to find out after you got a plan that you’ll have to pay roaming, or get no service where you need to use the phone.
Coverage is the geographical area within which a cell phone can be used to make and receive calls so you should check that the celluar service provider that you have decided for covers the areas in which you most frequently are in.
You can use the internet to easily find out the service provider’s availability in your area by entering your zip code at these sites www.Letstalk.com or www.FONcentral.com.
Should you have relatives or friends that live in another area of the state in a smaller town , then you must review the coverage map to check out if it has coverage areas that you feel are important to have cellular phone coverage.
Cell Phone Plan - Geographical area of usage: where will you call?
Mostly nowadays , providers segment their plans into local, regional and national calling areas so naturaly the larger local coverage area you want, the higher rate you will pay per minute.
It is only up to you to get the plan that will save you the most amount of cash so you should take into consideration some aspects . For example , if you get the local coverage plan and you travel to another area of the state you will be paying roaming and long distance fees every time you use your cellular phone.
The least expensive service plans are the ones that are limited to your home usage area ,as long as you stay in that area but if you decide to make a call from outside that area (assuming your provider has a usage agreement with the other service company) you will be charged expensive “roaming” fees for sure.However ,if you think you will make a lot of calls from outside your home usage area, select a regional or nationwide calling plan that gives you the possibility to make calls without incurring roaming or long distance charges.
Cell Phone Plan - Local Plans
These Local plans are generally attractive to the ocasional user who is searching for a low-cost option and are primarly designed for use within the home area . The definition of home area is typically the size of a metropolitan region but it varries from carrier to carrier.In case of long-distance calls, note that you will be billed long-distance charges in addition to airtime, probably at a premium rate and if you travel outside your home area, you will certainly have access to roaming capabilities, but also at a much higher rate than local airtime.Some setup options such as voicemail and caller ID are often included free with local plans which is a good thing for the concerned parent wanting to be able to reach children who are out (for emergencies, or occasional bugging).
Cell Phone Plan - Regional Plans
Regional plans are a different type of plans offering a much larger coverage area than local plans sometimes as large as a five-state region. For the user who travels through the region very often, these plans typically provide a single, consistent rate for roaming and long-distance charges within the specified area.As a possible customer you should review the coverage maps thoroughly to make sure service is available in your area of interest.
Your bill is simplified by the inclusion of long distance and it some cases may be less expensive than your landline service.
National Plans
Nationwide calling Plans let you use your phone anywhere in the country ,which makes them a good value for heavy users who are frequent travelers. You can talk to any other area in the country ,all for a single per-minute price. A single, predictable flat rate replaces the concepts of roaming and long-distance charges , that effectively go away .
Usage profile
The purpose for getting the cellular phone in the firs place should dictate which service plan you are going to choose.You should take into consideration aspects such as : why do you need the cellular phone for? - emergencies, general purpose, or business?
On one hand ,if you are a customer that needs a phone for business use , you would usually need a plan with a lot of minutes and increased flexibility.On the other hand, a customer that needs a phone for personal use is usually looking for something inexpensive.
Another aspect to be taken into consideration is the amount of time you will be using the cell phone for.Would you it for just the strictest of emergencies or do you plan to use it all the time? A person that needs a phone for emergencies, for example 10 minutes or less a month is usually a good candidate for pre-paid wireless service. There is no need to pay a flat rate every single month if the phone is going to sit in some drawer or glove box!
If you are a heavy traveller the question is : do you travel all over the state or all over the nation? This helps determine if a local plan would make more sense for the customer or if a plan that had much broader roaming range would be better. You must ask yourself this question because if you do not plan to travel or if when you travel you will only use the phone for emergencies, it might be best for you to get a local plan and more minutes for your money.
Cell Phone Plan Part 1 - Cell Phone Plan Part 2