Decide what you need

When signing a contract for a new cell phone be sure to read whether or not you are signing up for local, regional, or nationwide coverage. The cut-rate deals that carriers advertise are usually local plans. Local plans only cover a limited area so if you plan on making a lot of calls outside your local area, it would be best if you signed on with a regional or nationwide coverage. Otherwise you will be charged with roaming minutes. Roaming minutes are those minutes that are used when calling outside your area of coverage.

If you have a family you may want to consider a family plan. A family plan allows you to share your monthly airtime and additional lines with your family. There are some plans that don’t have a family plan but do allow you to easily add additional lines at an extra rate, to your account.

Special Plans

If your cell phone usage is rather erratic, you may want to consider using a prepay plan. Most carriers offer some form of a prepay plan. Typically these plans allow you to prepay a certain amount of money toward a certain amount of minutes per month. When you have used all of your minutes, you are give an opportunity to renew. There are several advantages of using a prepay plan. First, there is no contract to sign. Secondly, this type of plan is good for those people who have bad credit and would not otherwise be able to obtain a phone. And last but not least, prepay cell phone service is good for those people who only use their cell phones in emergencies or just used it sporadically during the month.

Extra Points to Consider

You may sign up for a plan that costs $35 a month but when you get your bill that $35 turns into $49. It is important to remember that there are extra expenses that may make your bill be higher. Here are a few of the extra expenses you may have:

• Activation Fee: when you first sign up with a carrier you may be billed for an activation fee of your service. You also may be charged this fee if you change phone numbers, switch a number to a different phone, change your account number, or activate a different phone on your existing account. Most major carriers charge at least $35 for this activation fee.
• Number Portability Charges:  This covers the carrier’s costs for complying with federal regulations. This amount will vary from carrier to carrier. Your carrier has the right to change the amount of this fee at any time.
• Early Termination from a Contract: You will also be charged a hefty fee for early departure from your contract. This can be as much as $200. You will also be responsible for any outstanding bills from your old carrier.
• Text Messaging and Web Browsing:  If you plan on using these services on a regular basis it is best to pick a plan that includes these features. You will also need to ask whether or not the time you use in downloading will be deducted from your monthly allotment of minutes.

Important Points to Remember:

1. Ask how much grace period you have for trying a service and find how much it costs to break a contract. When your contract expires, you cannot be forced to sign another contract.
2. Know how many minutes you have both peak and off peak as well as when the off peak hours begin and end.
3. Be aware of extra fees such as roaming and overtime.
4. If you travel a lot go with a nationwide plan with free long distance.
5. Ask whether your plan includes making free calls to another phone using the same carrier.
6. Know the numbers for customer support.
7. Ask about extended warranties and insurance which will come in handy if your phone is ever stolen, broken or if you have lost it.
8. Get only what you need.