Cellular Phone Plan Reviews and Buying Guide:

When looking through the newspaper or viewing web pages online, you see dozens of offers for cell phone plans from Cingular (now AT&T), Verizon, T-Mobile, Nextel, Alltel, US Cellular, etc. In recent years we have seen some mergers in the industry that had AT&T Wireless merging with Cingular and now Cingular has become the new AT&T. Meanwhile, Nextel merged with Sprint to create another massive wireless company. Verizon Wireless has remained on their own and not surprisingly has the best consumer satisfaction ratings for cell service and call quality. All the companies that have merged seem to have more problems with reception quality and customer service probably due to the massive undertaking of merging all those employees and wireless networks into 1 package. Perhaps in the near future AT&T or Nextel will emerge as the best wireless service available, but for now that title stands with Verizon. T-Mobile is a close second in surveys done by JD Power & Associates and Consumer Reports.

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Customer turnover, or churn, is the biggest problem that wireless carriers face in their industry. Many of use do change our wireless plans all too often to get a new phone or "better" service we think. Consumer Reports did a survey and found that almost 33% of the respondents had changed their wireless services in the last year. Pricing is certainly one factor to consider when looking at cell phone plans, but don't expect the cost of wireless plans to come down much further. Cell phones are so convenient these days that many homeowners are doing away with conventional land lines that are no longer needed. Ultimately call reliability is the #1 feature that customers want in a cell phone service. There's no doubt that some regions and cities get better service with certain wireless carriers. Also, you need to consider the type of network your phone will work on - CMDA (Code Division Multiple Access), GSM (Global System for Mobile), or TDMA (Time division multiple access). Cingular uses GSM and TDMA while Verizon uses CDMA. There is no type of network that has fewer dropped calls or better network coverage, it all comes down to how built up a carriers network is and how many users they can handle in a given region. Regional cell phone companies like Metro PCS and Cricket Wireless have started taking a decent share of the market in some areas with their unlimited minute plans that compete with the limited minute plans offered by the major carriers like Verizon and Cingular. You hear lots of cellular users complaining about "going over their" minutes or "terrible reception". Although the network coverage rankings will surely change over the next 5 to 10 years, for now there are some clear winners and losers. Beyond wireless plans for individuals, there are cell phone plans for families and businesses where you can share minutes and get additional cellular phones for only about $10/month. Other plans offer free unlimited minutes between users within a particular network or between family members. Text messaging is another issue that parents have to deal with amongst their children. Teens are notorious for being on their cell phones 24 hours day either talking or texting and parents will need family plans that allow unlimited texting and plenty of rollover minutes. You can go online to check the latest pricing rates at the major carriers websites like Cingular.com, Verizonwireless.com, Nextel.com, or T-mobile.com. A new development coming in the summer of 2007 is what AT&T (Cingular) will do with the new Apple iPhone. They will be the exclusive carrier for that cell phone which is expected to sell millions of units in the first few months. They hope to retain more customers by carrying the latest phone exclusively and perhaps they can raise their monthly pricing rates as well. Other carriers may try similar tactics in the coming months if the Apple iPhone deal with AT&T is a success. It's hard for the carriers to differentiate their wireless services and so having the latest cell phones is one of their few hopes of getting new customers and retaining others.

Best Wireless Service:

Verizon Wireless takes the top spot for wireless carriers in recent reviews. They have fewer dropped calls and less "busy circuits" as compared to their competition. Pricing starts at about $40 for a monthly plan (if you sign a 2 year contract) with Verizon Wireless and that is their basic plan. For $60 you can get more minutes and messaging possibilities within their network or out of the network. The one drawback to Verizon is that they currenty function on the CDMA network which is not what they use in Europe or Asia (both on GSM) so your phone will not work in those regions. For that matter, Verizon is your best choice for domestic cell service in the US, but not for those who travel internationally. Go to the Verizon website to check where your local dealer is.

Family Cellular Phone Plan:

Teenagers can sap your minutes in a hurry, so family plans that let you share minutes and offer unlimited night and weekend minutes are invaluable. Another key feature to consider is unlimited Mobile to Mobile calling nationwide. Cingular (the new AT&T) offers some of the best family plans with all the features listed above. Another nice feature is that all lines share the Rollover minutes on the family plan. This is a nice feature since some months mom or dad may not use all their minutes and the next month those minutes rollover so that the kids can use them. The most basic family plan from Cingular is $59.99/month for 2 lines and 550 minutes. Each additiona line is $9.99/month or you can get 700 minutes a month with 5 lines for $69.99. You can always pay more for plans with lots more minutes. There are no long distance or roaming charges and the Cingular.com website does a good job of laying out the options and pricing tiers for the plans.

Business Cell Phone Plan:

Nextel is a great cell phone carrier for those with employees that need wireless access. Businesses can use their Nextel Walkie Talkie access for convenient calls. Employees share anytime minutes and many rate plans offer unlimited walkie talkie minutes which saves on your cell minutes. The walkie talkie feature on Nextel phones is what makes them ideal for businesses that have employees out in the field delivering things or for repairmen that need quick access to their home office. I noticed that our cable company uses Nextel/Sprint phones for just this service and the repair guy said the phones work great. The group walkie talkie feature allows you to connect instantly with up to 20 users nationwide. Rate plans start at $39.99/month with additional lines $25/month. You get unlimited night and weekends (starts at 7 PM) and domestic long distance. For promotions and coverage maps go to the Nextel.com website.

US/International Cell Phone Plan:

With a global economy in full swing, wireless customers need to choose a phone service that will take them around the world without a hassle. T-Mobile gets ranked #1 for customer service and their GSM world phones let you use them in the United States and in dozens of countries worldwide. One of their most popular plans is their 600 minutes plan for $39.99 which gives you unlimited weekend and night minutes. Check out their website for details on all their rates and plans. There is no better overseas wireless service than that offered by T-Mobile.

Unlimited Minutes Wireless Plan:

Depending on your area, Metro PCS or Cricket Wireless may be your best solution for a wireless plan with unlimited anytime minutes. The catch to these cellular phone plans is that your minutes are not nationwide, they are in your local or regional calling area. You will need to check their respective websites for network coverage areas and coverage maps to find out what is offered in your city. Both Cricket and Metro PCS are expanding fast so if you can't find their services in your area just yet, stay patient. Another benefit these niche wireless companies offer is that there are no contracts to sign which many of us can't stand. You are not locked into their service for 2 years, leave when you want. Mycricket.com is the Cricket Wireless website with all the details on unlimited anytime minutes, unlimited U.S. long distance, unlimited text, picture, and IM (instant messaging). Their plans starts at around $45 and go up to $60. check out Metropcs.com for their similar cell phone plans that start at $30/month with no signed contracts.

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