How to Choose Cellular Phones and Services

Choosing a cellular phone these days have gotten more confusing with so many different wireless carriers and phones to choose from. You almost need some kind of certification to be a cellular phone buyer because of all the information and choices that consumers have these days. This guide will help you in your search for that new cellular phone and make you into a smarter consumer.

Many different competing technologies

Many different networks exist in the United States which is good and bad. Many of the networks aren’t compatible with each other but the good news is that we have many different networks to choose from and it’s a buyers market. You probably just want to know which the best is but the argument will go on for many years on who has the better network as each network has their pros and cons. The two main networks in the United States are Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM).

You can take a look at what networks some of the following major wireless carriers operate on.

• Cingular (AT&T) – GSM; previously TDMA
• Verizon Wireless – CDMA
• Sprint PCS – CDMA
• T-Mobile – GSM
• Nextel – iDEN (Developed by Motorola)
• Alltel – CDMA
• Small Regional Carriers – Majority operate on CDMA

Digital and Analog

A lot of people wonder about getting digital or analog phones but we’re not living in the 90’s anymore. We don’t have to worry about choosing analog service anymore because all major carriers operate on digital networks now but still use analog networks in addition to the digital networks. You may wonder why we’re still using analog when we have digital but that can be the difference between reception and no reception especially in rural areas. Wireless carriers can’t cover every inch of land with cell towers and sometimes it’s too costly to build a new cell tower in remote areas. It’s also challenging to build a cell tower in some villages since they won’t issue permits and residents don’t want them in their backyard. This is where analog service comes in handy when you’re stuck in the middle of the desert or camping out in the woods; if you’re lucky enough you may get reception from an analog tower.

With one less thing to worry about you still have more choices with the different digital networks that each wireless carrier uses. A lot of people ask “what’s the best network?” and there is no answer for everyone. The best advice is probably to ask your family, friends, and neighbors what service they use and see how they like their wireless service. I’ve heard from many people in different cities argue about a wireless carrier working well in Chicago but the other person may live in New York and have a complete opposite experience with the same carrier. Most carriers will give you a trial period to try out their service and return the phone without penalty.

Choosing different wireless plans

Local Plans

If you don’t travel much this can be the most cost effective way of having a cellular phone. The downside is that if you travel outside the calling area or sometimes call outside the calling area, you can be hit with long distance or roaming fees by your service provider. Local plans are most cost-effective when a customer doesn't venture too far from home or place frequent long distance calls. Find out about the long distance and roaming fees when signing up for these plans so you can be prepared if you call long distance or travel outside your calling area.

Regional Plans

Regional plans will offer you a much larger calling area than local plans; they tend to cover multi-states such as the Southwestern area or Midwestern region if you live in those areas. Every wireless carrier has different terms with long distance and roaming fees with their plans so find out about these things and most carriers these days will offer no roaming or long distance charges in these plans as long as you’re in their calling area.

National Plans

Nations plans offer consumers the greatest freedom in where they can use their phone or who they can call. This freedom comes at a price and you will tend to pay a little more per minute but if you’re a power traveler this can be very cost effective because you won’t have to worry about long distance or roaming charges in most cases.

Shared/Family Plans

Shared plans offer consumers to share their bucket of minutes offered in their calling plan with other users. These plans are great for people looking to get free mobile-to-mobile calling so they can call each other for free. Everyone in the shared plans will get their own phone and number but just be cautious about how many minutes everyone is using so you don’t get shocked with overage charges next month when you get the bill. These plans can also be great for members where one person may use a lot of minutes while the other person may only use a small percentage of the calling minutes.