Cellular Phone Plans — More Talk Time Than Ever

Cellular phone plans are enormously competitive, offering a wide range of deals and promotions, making it a great time to be a cellular phone shopper. As carriers develop better packages, it means more benefits for cellular customers. Two leading companies, Sprint and Cingular, have come up with new ways to help customers take advantage of unused minutes at the end of the month. Cingular rolls the minutes into the next month, while Sprint automatically lowers the monthly rate.

Cellular phone plan comparisons show that most companies offer the same basic services for roughly the same prices. Incentive programs are where cell phones plans start to differ. Most carriers offer free weekend minutes with higher priced plans. Many carriers offer unlimited free mobile-to-mobile minutes, as well as free night minutes after 9 PM. If you like to travel, say from Florence, Alabama to Kingman, Arizona or Little Rock, Arkansas, look for plans with no roaming fees.

Family plans are great when more than one person in a family needs a cell phone. These plans pool minutes to be shared by each mobile user in the family. Family plans are generally less expensive than buying two or three identical plans.

Prepaid rate plans are another low cost cell phones alternative. If you use your mobile phone several times a month for a few short calls, prepaid phones can save a bundle. The idea is that you pay ahead of time for the minutes you plan to use. The minutes expire at the end of the month with some prepaid plans. Other carriers, like Tracfone, let you keep the minutes as long as you pay a low monthly maintenance fee.

Thinking about getting a camera phone? Do you have friends who stay in touch using AOL Instant Messenger? When shopping for a cell phone plan be sure to look at add-on features such as Multimedia Messaging Service that lets you share pictures with other wireless users. If you’re thinking of getting a PDA-based “smartphone” look for a plan that lets you access data and email. With today’s advanced mobile phones the extra services are more than just icing on the cake.

Also see; compare cell phone plans.

Author Notes:

Greg Marsden contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.cell-phones-n-plans.com. A cell phone industry resource that features service plan comparisons, cellular phone reviews and articles.