How To Choose Cell Phone Plans
Cell phones are an important part of our lives today and can cripple us any day we forget them home or they go out on battery while traveling. Businesses expect you to carry a cell phone and most individuals need them to go about their daily lives. Perhaps equally imperative then is the choice of cell phone plans.
Looking for the most reasonable cell phone plans in the country can be quite a task with so many providers and networks available in your area. Researching and assessing the various offers and plans steers one onto the right path while zeroing down to the most suitable cell phone plans for you. In fact before you decide to buy a cell phone, you must narrow down the service provider and cell phone plans. If you decide on prepaid cell phone plans then it is an easy task all the way! No credit checks and no contracts, you just pay upfront and begin using your cell phone. A number of service providers even offer free cell phones with the cell phone plans so you may not have to buy that cell phone after all!
When choosing from monthly cell phone plans, you need to predict your future usage with some accuracy. Cell phone plans are clocked either by the minute or by the second. Plans like family plans or a regional plan are popular both for individual use as well as for small businesses. Family cell phone plans provides free access for emergencies and cell phones within one billing are cheaper to call. National plans include free long distance and no roaming charges either. So, if your family or friends stay within the long distance coverage area of your provider or if you travel within that area, national cell phone plans will suit you well. Regional use cell phones may charge you to pay for any occasional long distance calls you make but the per minute costs are low.
Cell phone plans must be suited to your needs so that you have enough calling minutes every month and also make sure you are utilizing them entirely. If your cell phone is only for emergency purposes or for infrequent calls, prepaid cell phone plans save you from the hassles of a contract as well. The traditional cell phone plans with no roaming charges and no long distance charges suit a traveler as well as any prepaid plan. As long as your usage, frequency of calling and requirements from your cell phone are perfectly thought out, you will be able to decide on the best deal for your phone.
Since you are required to sign at least an annual contract with your service provider for the traditional monthly cell phone plans, you need to be that much more careful while selecting them. Cancellation during the contract period attracts a huge fee to the tune of $150 to $200! Even after deactivating your phone and swapping with another carrier for a better deal, you may have to purchase another phone altogether. The provider's information and settings are on the cell phone and once the services are deactivated the proprietary settings do not allow the phone to work with any other service provider. The phone becomes useless and though it can be 'unlocked' for a fee, it may never work fully well!
So, take a minute to write down the five topmost things you will be looking for in cell phone plans like low cost or roaming or long distance; with these in front of you start looking at service providers in your area. Often GSM network providers have a better coverage on highways and rural areas. Make an intelligent and informed choice with your cell phone plans.