How did you pick a wireless plan?

[sniffles]

I've been thinking about getting cellphones for my fiancee and myself, but am overwhelmed by the variety of carriers and plans available. For those who have cellphones already, how did you decide which carrier and plan to go with? How do you determine whether a contract or pay-as-you-go is better suited to your needs?

 

[Viking Bastard]

I picked mine because I dislike the two big companies in Iceland.

 

[buzzard]

I shopped around for the cheapest plan possible because I:
A) Don't like cell phones, but have to have one for a variety of reasons though I barely use it
B) Forget to carry it much of the time in any case.

This I went with a plan which is 60 normal minutes with a bunch of weekend minutes. It's around $20/month.

buzzard

 

[loki44]

3 words.....Catherine Zeta Jones (ahhh...the power of advertising)

T-Mobile also has decent family plans, I almost always have a signal, they work overseas, and I've been happy with their customer service. Depends on your needs really. If you don't use one much you might want to consider a pre-paid plan.

 

[Umbran]

First, we thought reall hard about how we were likely to use the things. Typically, when you sign on, it is for a two-year agreement, so forethought is called for.

Then, we went through and found a plan that allowed us:
1)The types of phne features we wanted - and nothing more
2)Two phones at minimal cost
3)enough shared minutes to cover our expected use.

We sorely wish we had also had friends on various services come by to see what kind of signal we'd get at particular places we frequent - home and work.

As it is, I find the cell phone annoying - I go through all the effort to carry it and keep it charged, but I almost never use it.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Short answer -- they're all about the same price, and they all suck.

First, figure out which carrier has the best reception in the areas where you will use it most -- home, office, etc. Ask around and I'm sure you'll find enough friends or relatives to check the major carriers.

Then, decide on how much you'll be calling each other, which will help you decide if you need one of the family plans or not. If you're gabbers, get a lot of minutes. It's always easier to up your plan, though, so it might be wise to go a month or two with a cheaper plan and see how many minutes you rack up.

 

[Balgus]

I've been thinking about getting cellphones for my fiancee and myself, but am overwhelmed by the variety of carriers and plans available. For those who have cellphones already, how did you decide which carrier and plan to go with? How do you determine whether a contract or pay-as-you-go is better suited to your needs?

I kind of chose mine by default. I had cingular for two years- and they sukked. I hated their customer service and billing errors and coverage. I swapped to ATT, which has almost the same coverage. Then they got bought out, and still hating cingular, I switched to Tmobile. Coverage isnt better but customer service is way better.

Plus, you have free mobile to mobile if you both have Tmobile. But you will prolly go family plan- so it wont be a problem. And I think they have the best looking phones.

Objectively, I think cingular has best coverage and best plans. I am just biased against them.

In certain areas, verizon has best coverage (like in Bay area)

 

[Bront]

It all depends on what you have in your area. In general, I've been happy with Sprint for 6 years now, and get an extra discount through my employer (Ask about rate discounts with your employer. You'd be supprised how many offere them).

If you're bothing going on the same plan, if you get unlimmeted mobile to mobile calling (or whatever it's called), you'll probably not need a lot of minutes for anything else. I recomend a plan that lets you make long distance calls in and out of your local calling area (Some of the cheeper plans don't)

I'd recomend 300-500 minutes to start, hopefully with mobile to mobile, and a reasonable night and weekend plan (I get nights at 6 PM, some offer 7 or 9). Reception can varry from location to location. If you travel, look to the more national carriers (Cingular, Verizon, and Sprint).

 

[JediSoth]

I decided that while they are convenient and good for emergencies, I didn't need to be one of those people who always has a cell phone glued to their ear. Plus, I don't like the idea of always being in contact with anyone, anywhere, at anytime.

So, I went with pay-as-you-go. My wife already has a contract with Sprint, but she has long-distance relatives and it's cheaper than paying long distance rates on our landline. I, on the other hand, just needed it for quick/emergency usage. I liked that I had no committment, no plan, nothing like that. I only have to pay a minimum of $20 every three months to keep my service active. Except for the time around GenCon, I rarely go through $20 every three months. I can still get ringtones and fun stuff like that, but if I decide I want to switch carriers, no problem and no penalties.

I use Virgin Mobile, by the way.

JediSoth

 

[Thunderfoot]

Eanie - meanie - minie - moe....