Wireless Phone Services: Checklist: Before Signing up for Cell Phone Service

Before signing up for new cell phone service, you may want to consider the following questions.

• How much do you want to spend each month?

• Will you use the phone more during the daytime or evenings and weekends?

• About how many hours will you use the phone to make and receive calls?

• Will the majority of calls be made near your home area, or will you call while traveling?

• Will you make long distance calls from the cell phone?

• Will you use extra features, such as wireless web, text messaging, voice mail, camera phone functions, etc.?

• Will more than one member of the family need a phone?

If you are thinking of getting cell phone service or changing service, use this quick and simple check list to make sure you are getting the plan right for you:

• Before signing up, know all your choices. It can be difficult to compare cell phone plans side by side. However, it is a good idea to compare plans on service and price. Also, ask your friends and neighbors about their experiences with each provider. A low cost deal may not be a good deal if you can't reliably use your phone due to poor coverage and call quality.

• Read the contract. Do not rely on advertisements or the word of a sales representative to give you all the details of the calling plan.  Carefully read the Terms of Service Agreement or contract.  Look for additional charges and conditions (see below); compare the activation fees and termination penalties, etc. Contract terms may differ if you purchase through a retailer or agent—that is, the retailer may impose terms in addition to those set by the cell phone company.

• Find out how much the plan really costs. The advertised price probably does not include taxes, fees, and surcharges. Remember that these can add up—increasing the bottom line of your bill by several dollars per month. These charges vary depending on where you live and the size of your bill before taxes, but we've seen these charges add 20 or more percent to cell phone bills.

• One year or two? Increasingly, consumers are being asked to sign two year contracts in order to get free phones.  There's a trade off between lower up front costs and possibly being stuck with service you don't like for two years.  Remember, contract plans come with hefty early cancellation penalties, which apply to each phone on a plan.

• Check out the company and the coverage.  All cell phone companies offer at least a 14 day no-risk trial period that lets you try the phone. Check out the phone's coverage, dropped calls and ease of use.  A coverage map alone won't give you the complete picture of how well the phone will work for you.  Carrier signals can be affected by topography and sometimes fade inside buildings.  Make sure the phone works at your home, work, travel routes, or other places you regularly visit. Also, check with your friends and neighbors about their own experiences with a particular company's coverage and customer service.

• Know how the company defines "minutes."  Many plans offer a combination of night, weekend, peak, and off-peak minutes vs. "anytime" minutes.  Be careful though, because these terms don't mean the same thing for all cell phone companies.
• Locate "home" for this service plan. How does the company define "local," "regional," and "national" coverage areas? The definitions vary by cell phone company, making it difficult to compare plans.  For one plan, a "local" home calling area may meet your needs, while for another company, a "local" area may be too small.

• Nationwide may not cover the entire nation after all. For some companies, nationwide plans include only calls from, and sent to, an area covered by the company's network, resulting in less than true nationwide coverage.  That's why it is important to ask specifically if a company has roaming agreements, which increase your ability to get coverage. However, roaming charges will apply to calls made off the phone company's network unless your plan includes roaming.

• Roaming off the network may cost more. Cell phone companies usually charge additional per minute fees for calls made from another company's network.  Some have eliminated these fees in nationwide plans.  If you are likely to place calls outside your "home" area, be sure you understand the additional charges and whether you should consider a regional or national plan that includes roaming.
• Consider all the ways minutes get used up. Typically, incoming calls are charged against your minutes, but some plans are offering free incoming calls. Checking voice mail can count against your usage time. Many cell phone companies round usage up to the next full minute, even if only a fraction of a minute was used.

• Going over your allotted minutes comes with a high price tag. It's important to understand the cost of exceeding your minutes since doing so not only increases your calling costs but also the overall taxes you're charged. On the other hand, avoid getting drawn in to paying more for a large number of included minutes, especially if you don't use your phone that often.  Before you sign a contract, see if you can upgrade or downgrade your rate plan during your contract terms without penalty.

• Long distance service may be included in the package.  Some plans include long distance service, others charge additional per minute fees for long distance.

• Unused minutes are generally lost.  Generally, remaining minutes at the end of a billing period are lost.  Recently, some cell phone companies have begun offering plans that allow customers to roll over minutes into the next month.