NewsDude
07-29-2008, 04:00 PM
Avoiding foot pain is as easy as finding a pair of shoes neither too big nor too small.
The same is true for cell-phone plans.
The cell-phone companies want you to talk a lot. And even if you don't, they would still like to collect money as if you do.
Most monthly plans start around $40 and provide 300 to 500 minutes a month.
Family plans are better: For around $70 from most carriers you get two phones, a pool of shared minutes and free mobile-to-mobile service, which means you can call anybody in your family as often as you wish without tapping those precious minutes. Adding additional phones is relatively inexpensive. As little as $10 extra a month adds a "family" member.
So you're in for $70 or more as a "family."
But what if you need, say, only 60 or 120 minutes. How about 30 minutes? Remember when cell phones were for emergencies and "I'll be home in 20 minutes" situations?
Some of us still use our cell phones that way -- now with a hands- free headset, of course.
I have a "legacy" plan -- meaning I've had it a long, long time -- - from AT&T that's quite cheap: about $15 to $20 a month, depending on whether I go over my allotted 60 minutes.
A recent call to AT&T to replace my wife's and my aging Motorola phones in exchange for signing a 2-year contract was met with this from the telecom giant:
Our plan is no longer being offered to new customers, and we can continue month to month on it but can't get a new contract or new phones at reduced prices. We are welcome to "move up" to a $30-or- higher plan with 450 minutes or the ubiquitous $70 family plan for two.
Or we can get a couple of paper cups and...
More... (http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=60888)
The same is true for cell-phone plans.
The cell-phone companies want you to talk a lot. And even if you don't, they would still like to collect money as if you do.
Most monthly plans start around $40 and provide 300 to 500 minutes a month.
Family plans are better: For around $70 from most carriers you get two phones, a pool of shared minutes and free mobile-to-mobile service, which means you can call anybody in your family as often as you wish without tapping those precious minutes. Adding additional phones is relatively inexpensive. As little as $10 extra a month adds a "family" member.
So you're in for $70 or more as a "family."
But what if you need, say, only 60 or 120 minutes. How about 30 minutes? Remember when cell phones were for emergencies and "I'll be home in 20 minutes" situations?
Some of us still use our cell phones that way -- now with a hands- free headset, of course.
I have a "legacy" plan -- meaning I've had it a long, long time -- - from AT&T that's quite cheap: about $15 to $20 a month, depending on whether I go over my allotted 60 minutes.
A recent call to AT&T to replace my wife's and my aging Motorola phones in exchange for signing a 2-year contract was met with this from the telecom giant:
Our plan is no longer being offered to new customers, and we can continue month to month on it but can't get a new contract or new phones at reduced prices. We are welcome to "move up" to a $30-or- higher plan with 450 minutes or the ubiquitous $70 family plan for two.
Or we can get a couple of paper cups and...
More... (http://www.toptechnews.com/story.xhtml?story_id=60888)