What Wireless Plan is Right for Me?
Everyone will agree that there is one thing about every wireless company that attempts to seduce the consumer into the willowy halls of cell phone confusion and useless spending. Cingular has the ever-popular “rollover” minutes. While the concept is benign and the aim intended to save the consumer money the truth is that most people tend to go over their minutes every month anyway. If you aren’t using your peak package minutes then you aren’t on the right plan to begin with. Don’t you think that it would make more sense to adjust your plan and save yourself money that way rather than paying for a 69.99 plan and ending up with thousands of rollover minutes that you will never use. If you don’t use your regular plan minutes then why do you think that you would be able to deplete your rollover balance? It is this mirage that helps the company win your money anyway.
Another smoke in the mirror trick to lure the consumer into spending money is the walkie-talkie phone. The concept of this feature seems to be to just blatantly show off a useless attribute. Wireless companies often charge from ten to twenty dollars extra on top of the wireless plan for this frivolous product. Why is it frivolous you say? Well, first of all, you can only use the feature within your wireless carrier to those customers that have the same feature. Two, if you can only talk to consumers of the same company why not call them? Most wireless plans come with unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes to phones that are within your company so why not just call them? And lastly, to place a walkie-talkie conversation you still have to go through your phonebook and then press a button to initiate the call. There are just as many steps in placing a cell phone call as in starting a walkie-talkie conversation. Why would you want to waste your hard earned money on something that you already have?
Now one of the best offers out there now is the new “add-a-line” special or family plan as some call it. This feature is really useful for families, of course, but also for friends as well. This aspect of the wireless industry allows you to add up to three additional lines onto your existing line and share the minutes. The cost per extra line varies from carrier from ten dollars all the way up to twenty. This plan is excellent for keeping in touch with a grandmother, child or even a friend. There is no need to worry about using up peak minutes talking to one another because the mobile-to-mobile minutes we talked about earlier apply here as well. This plan can save you loads of money and give you the piece of mind that only having a cellular phone can bring.
Lastly, there is always the dilemma of which plan to start with. It is the consumer tendency to start on the “cheapest” plan, however, this isn’t always the best. If you start on a low 300-minute plan and end up using 500 minutes then you end up paying outrageous overage charges. This method will definitely not save you money and you probably will become upset and want to throw your phone out the window. Start one plan above what you think you will need. If you think you will only use 1000 minutes a month then go for the plan that is just above 1000 minutes. The saying “better safe than sorry” applies to cell phones as well. It is definitely more economical to pay ten dollars extra a month just to be safe than to shoot too low and end up with a three hundred dollar phone bill.
Once you learn to navigate through the maze of wireless deception it doesn’t seem so bad. New technology could throw even the most seasoned pro a few curve balls. The most important thing to remember when shopping for a cellular phone is to know what you need. Don’t rely on the company to choose what is right for you. You know what you want and with your new education you will find that cell phones aren’t as intimidating as once thought. Remembering what is good for you is the key to finding what wireless company is right for you.
