Prepaid cellular service can be
found both in the digital and analog markets. This service isn’t
necessarily for those folks who have poor credit. People buy
prepaid for their children who are in school or away to
college, for emergencies, and for business. Prepaid cellular
service is a great way to control costs.
Prepaid cellular service will
work the same as a postpaid cellular service phone. Based on
which technology you choose, there is not a visible way of
anyone knowing whether you are using a prepaid service or not.
Some digital carriers offering prepaid require that the caller
dial an extension to reach the subscriber. In general, prepaid
cellular will cost more since it uses a totally different
system to track time used and available. A computer system
called an IVR platform actually tracks the call from start to
finish. It will then automatically calculate how much time you
have used and how many units are remaining to make cellular
phone calls.
On average, you are looking at a
price per minute rate of 38 cents to $1 dollar per minute for a
local call. Your best bet in reducing the price per minute is
to purchase the highest denomination airtime calling card you
can get. The bulk volume purchase principle applies here. The
more you buy in airtime, the lower your rates will come out to
be.
If you are buying the phone for
emergencies only, then the prepaid cellular phone may
save you more money in the long
run. You won’t be under contract and you don’t have to pay
a monthly package fee for having the service. You can buy the
airtime as you need it (with some exceptions). And you do not
have to pay a deposit for service.
The most common prepaid cellular
service is local coverage area only. Which means that with the
service, you are restricted to making calls within your local
calling area. There are a few other items you need to look at
before choosing prepaid cellular service.
As noted, you need to decide if
you want analog or digital coverage. You will have to check
around your area or on the Internet to find out who is offering
the best deal that will work for you. Now, there are a few
things you need to consider when selecting a source for a
prepaid cellular phone. Once again, we move into the gray area
of what most retailers are hoping that you don’t know or will
not study too closely.
You are offered a cellular phone
package for $49.95, which includes 20 units of airtime. That
sounds like a great deal until you get there. You find that you
only get the phone with the airtime and nothing else. Plus, you
are required to pay an activation fee of $20 to $40. Now you
are up to $90 plus tax for a prepaid cellular phone. And then
comes the real kicker. The phone being offered is a used phone
that comes with only a 30 to 90 day warranty and will not be
replaced if it stops working after that time. This is the most
expensive case that you will see. Some retailers will mix and
match to give you an incentive to purchase from them.
So you decide that you must have
the phone and go ahead and pay the activation fee, buy the
phone and set up service. Just when you think the worst is
over, you get the bomb dropped on you. The airtime units you
purchased will expire in 30 to 60 days and will not carry over
to accumulate on your minutes available. If you don’t use
them, the airtime units are lost and the retailer pockets the
money anyhow. You in turn must go back and buy another card to
continue your service.
Prepaid cellular is the one area
that we recommend that you shop around quite a bit to find out
who is offering the best deal on the package being offered. And
if you need the prepaid for traveling, find out if they allow
roaming with the phone. You will obviously pay more for roaming
charges as all cellular phone users must, but if you need it as
a service, ask whether they offer it.
The other prepaid cellular phone
option you have is the service that offers national coverage.
The national coverage allows you to roam all over the US and
still make calls from any location where there is an analog
service area. This service works especially well for the person
who lives in one state and commutes to another to work. It is
also an excellent gift for holidays and special occasions,
since it can be operated and activated nearly anywhere. You
will find that these packages range anywhere from slightly over
$50 to $480 per package. As with the local coverage carriers,
you will want to ask the same questions of the supplier for the
national coverage prepaid cellular phone.
One of the corporations who
initiated a roll back in national coverage prepaid cellular
service pricing is EarthVision
Cellular. They
challenged competitors to lower pricing of the packages offered and began offering a free leather case and a rapid car
charger with their selected packages. Since that time, more
competitors have followed their lead and began offering the
same free items.
Although the national coverage
prepaid cellular is available, it does not mean that you are
going to have to be traveling to use the phone. When you
activate a phone in your local area, all calls made within that
area will be local calls and will be deducted as such. Keep in
mind that the activation location of the phone dictates when
you are in local calling area, and not the activation of
airtime cards. The best part is that with most national
coverage cellular phones, they will allow your airtime to
accumulate without expiring. Not to mention that you should not
have to pay an activation fee either. You will probably have to
buy an airtime card every 60 days to keep your account active
but your airtime is still valid for making cellular phone calls
anytime.
Therefore, if you are worried
about buying a used phone with a short warranty and your
airtime expiring within a month, you may want to consider using
a national coverage prepaid cellular phone. It may appear that
you are paying more for the national coverage prepaid cellular.
However, you need to look at what is being offered, what isn’t
being charged, and what benefits apply to you based on the type
of prepaid cellular service provider you select to provide you
with cellular phone service in the long haul. Do you want to
risk using a used phone and having your airtime expire before
you actually have a need to use it?
