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| A
consumer guide to choosing cellular service. |
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| More
and more people are buying wireless telephone
service. With a cell phone, you can
keep in touch with family, friends, and work,
even when you’re on the go. Companies’
plans change constantly. Whether you already
have wireless service or you’re just
getting started, it’s a good idea to
shop around, read each company’s offers
carefully, and to ask questions, such as these: |
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| How will I use
my cell phone? Only for emergencies
or more frequently? |
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| When will I make
most of my calls? During the day, at
night, or on the weekends? |
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| Where will I be
making and receiving calls? Close to
home or far away? |
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| How much does my
monthly budget allow for telephone service,
including wireless? |
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| How
Will You Use Your Phone? |
| Wireless
plans commonly offer "buckets" of
minutes. You pay for a specific number of
minutes each month, whether you use them all
or not. |
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If you use
more than your monthly allotment, you pay
a much higher charge for the extra minutes. |
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Unused
minutes may not carry over to the next month. |
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Most wireless
plans count the minutes for both calls you
make and receive. |
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Charges
are usually rounded up. For example, a call
that takes one minute and three seconds may
be charged as a two-minute call. |
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Unlike
traditional phone service, most wireless providers
start the clock when you press the "talk"
or "send" button, not when the person
at the other end of the line picks up. |
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You use
minutes when you call toll-free numbers. |
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Some services
allow you to check by telephone or online
to find out how many minutes you have left
in your billing cycle. Depending on how often
that information is updated, it may not be
absolutely current. |
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Most wireless
plans count the minutes for both calls you
make and receive. |
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| Some
service providers offer prepaid plans. Instead
of getting a monthly bill, you pay in advance
for a certain number of minutes. When you
use them up, you can add more. Prepaid plans
may be more expensive per minute than the
monthly calling plans, but they can be very
useful for people who don’t use the
service much, have limited budgets, or want
to control their children’s cell phone
use. They may also be a good choice for people
who are trying to rebuild their credit. |
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| Another
alternative is a plan with a preset spending
limit; when you reach the limit, you have
to pay your bill before you can continue to
use the service. |
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| Where
will you use your phone? |
| Wireless
phone service uses radio waves, much like
radios and televisions. As with those devices,
your cell phone might have static, drop calls,
get busy signals, or not work at all depending
on where you are, the weather, and other factors.
Your location may also determine how much
it costs to make calls. Some wireless plans
are based on "home areas." Others
offer nationwide service. |
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It’s
important to select a service that works in
your neighborhood and other places where you
plan to use it. |
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If you
use your phone outside of your home area,
you are connecting to the network through
another company. Some wireless plans charge
a "roaming" fee, on top of the minutes
you use, for those calls. |
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Even within
your "home area," some calls may
be long-distance. Some plans include long-distance
calls for the same rate, while others charge
more (on top of the minutes you use). |
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| You
could pay roaming charges, long-distance charges,
and have your minutes assessed, all for the
same call, depending on your wireless plan
and your location. When comparing plans, consider
where and how you’ll be using your phone. |
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| Read
the Fine Print |
| It
may be hard to catch all the details in advertisements
for wireless service, so be sure you understand
the terms before you sign up. Wireless plans
often require signing a contract for a year
or longer, so be sure you know: |
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Whether
your minutes can be used any time, including
"peak times" (usually weekdays),
or if there is a certain number of minutes
that are restricted to "off-peak times"
(nights and weekends), and what the cutoff
times are; |
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How much
it costs if you use more than your allotted
number of minutes; |
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The charges,
if any, for roaming and/or long-distance; |
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The cancellation
policy. Many carriers charge more than $100
to end your contract early; |
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Whether
you can increase or decrease the number of
minutes or make other changes to your contract
after you’ve activated your phone and
started using it, and what the terms would
be; |
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If features
such as voicemail and Caller ID are included,
or if they are extra; |
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The cost
for 800-number or directory assistance calls;
and, |
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What happens
when your contract ends — do the terms
of service and charges change? |
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| Get
all promises in writing. Ask if there is a
grace period within which you can cancel for
no or a small charge if the service doesn’t
meet your expectations. Try it out as soon
as possible to see how it works in the places
you would normally use it. |
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| Choosing
the Phone That's Right for You |
| Wireless
providers sell a variety of phones that work
with their service; sometimes they offer free
or discounted phones as part of their promotions.
When choosing a cell phone, consider: |
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The size
that you want; |
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Whether
you can use the keypad easily; and, |
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Whether
it can handle features you might want such
as Caller ID and Internet services. |
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| Some
cell phones work with older analog networks.
Most sold today work with newer digital networks,
and some (called dual-band) work with both.
If the phone only works with digital networks,
you may not be able to "roam" —
make or receive calls outside your home area. |
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| To
accommodate people with special needs, some
phones can operate with voice-activated commands.
Many have raised numbers on the keypads. All
providers must offer at least one phone that
works with TTY devices. People who use hearing
aids should ask if the phones are compatible
with them. |
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| It’s
also important to know that if you switch
your wireless provider, you may have to get
another phone, and you won’t be able
to keep the same number (consumers will be
able to retain their cell phone numbers when
they switch providers under federal rules
that take effect in late 2003). |
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| Going
Completely Wireless |
| More
and more people are using wireless phones
for all of their calls and abandoning "landlines"
entirely. For some consumers, just going wireless
could be a better deal than keeping their
landline phone service, too. Be aware that: |
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You might
not get good (or any) reception inside your
house or apartment building. |
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Weak or
dead batteries can also prevent your cell
phone from working when you need to make a
call. If that happens in an emergency situation,
you would be unable able to dial 911. |
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| Families
with children, people who work at home, people
who are homebound, and other people who depend
on phone service may want the security of
having a landline as well as a wireless phone. |
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| Wireless
Internet Service and Messaging |
| Many
wireless companies provide Internet access,
including email and Web browsing. As wireless
technology advances, Internet services are
becoming faster and more varied. |
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Some plans
charge by the minute. Ask whether Internet
use counts against the number of minutes in
your plan or if you have a separate "bucket"
of minutes for it. |
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If the
charges are by the kilobyte, consider how
many you are likely to use. The average 100-word
email without attachments or graphics is one
kilobyte, but things like graphics and music
files are much larger and take up many more
kilobytes (1,024 kilobytes equal one megabyte). |
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| Some
plans provide unlimited Internet service.
Another popular service is text-messaging,
which enables you to send small notes to other
wireless users. Ask the provider what the
per-message charge is and whether you can
send messages to people who use other companies’
services. |
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| Cell
Phone Safety and Etiquette |
| Use
your wireless phone in a responsible and considerate
manner. You should know that: |
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It’s
safest to drive with both hands on the wheel.
Taking your hand off the wheel to dial or
talk on your wireless phone can be dangerous;
in some places it’s illegal. |
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Many wireless
providers offer hands-free kits and voice-dialing
features to improve safety. However, talking
on the phone while driving can still be distracting.
If you need to make or receive a call, the
best thing to do is to pull over safely. |
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You may
be unable to use your phone in an emergency
if coverage is poor in your location. As long
as the service works, you can make 911 calls
at no charge even if your phone has been disconnected
or you haven’t activated the service
yet. |
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When you’re
in a meeting, a concert, a movie, a restaurant,
or any place where a ringing phone might disturb
others, turn your phone off. |
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If you’re
talking on your cell phone in a public place,
speak softly to avoid bothering other people
and keep your conversation private. |
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| Avoid
Wireless Fraud |
| If
your phone is stolen or someone uses the electronic
serial number to "clone" your phone,
calls could be made against your account.
To prevent unauthorized charges and protect
sensitive information such as your account
number: |
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Keep your
bills and service agreements locked away. |
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Store your
phone out of sight in a secure place. |
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| "Cramming,"
unauthorized charges for services you never
agreed to, can occur on wireless as well as
landline telephone bills. You should also
be aware that downloading games, custom ring-tones,
or other products or services may result in
charges. Read your bills carefully as soon
as you receive them and contact your wireless
provider promptly about any questionable charges. |
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| Wireless
Resources on the Web |
| For
more information, check out: |
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National Consumers
League |
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www.nclnet.org/phonesandutilities |
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|
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Federal Communications
Commission |
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www.fcc.gov/cgb/cellular.html |
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|
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Telecommunications
Research and Action Center |
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www.trac.org/tips/wireless.html |
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| Join
the League Today |
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| Founded
in 1899, the National Consumers League is
America's pioneer consumer organization. Our
mission is to identify, protect, represent,
and advance the economic and social interests
of consumers and workers. |
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