Tips on finding the best cell phone plan and checking coverage.      Includes the MyRatePlan cell phone rate plan comparison tool.

From:  WWLP 22 News, Springfield, MA

Straight Talk, a no-contract service that offers two of the cheapest cell phone plans currently available, announced this week that they have expanded their service to include the AT&T network.  Previously, Straight Talk was exclusively running across the Verizon Wireless network.   This change will expand the number of locations where Straight Talk is available, as there some locations not yet covered by Verizon.

If both AT&T and Verizon are available where  you live, the network you use with Straight Talk will be dependent on the phone you choose.   AT&T works on GSM technology, while Verizon uses CDMA, and the technology is not compatible.

How to Choose a Network

If you live in an area served by both carriers, the Straight Talk website will offer you phones from both carriers. However, if  you know Verizon (or AT&T) has better coverage where you live, you will probably want to get a phone that works on the better network.

While not explicitly providing this information on their website, Straight Talk has made it easy to tell.   Just look at the letter code at the end of the phone model.  If it is a “G”, it is a GSM phone and will work over AT&T; if a “C” it is a CDMA phone and will work over Verizon.   For example, the LG100C is a CDMA phone, while the LG620G is a GSM phone.

Straight Talk Plans

As mentioned earlier, Straight Talk has a couple very attractive rate plans, particularly if you are a fairly heavy voice user and also want to use text and data.   For $30 a month, you get 1,000 voice minutes, 1,000 text messages and 30mb. of data.  For $45/month, you get an unlimited allowance of all.  Both plans include calls to 411 at no extra cost.

To make sure Straight Talk is best for you, compare it to other prepaid and no contract cell phone plans.

This is the latest in our series of how to reduce your cell phone bill.

Do you call internationally (from the U.S.) on your cell phone?  If you are using your cell phone provider for international long distance, you probably have run up some pretty significant bills.  For example, calling France on AT&T is $1.49 per minute, while it is $3.49 a minute to India.  One way to cut these costs is to see if your carrier has a monthly feature that offers reduced rates.  AT&T has “World Connect” which, for $3.99/month, shaves quite a bit off these rates.   Similarly priced programs are available with Verizon and Sprint.  T-Mobile is $5/month.

To save even more, try a carrier bypass service.   We work with a company called Enjoy Prepaid that has made the process rather simple.    Basically, you purchase a calling card with some value on it (e.g., $20) and register it.   Since it is registered, you won’t need to dial a PIN.  There’s an access number you call, but that can be set up as a speed dial on your phone, meaning you only need to dial the phone number… just as if you were dialing directly.    Call a landline in France or India for just a couple pennies a minute.  (Calls to cell phones in foreign countries, whether with a calling card or directly with your carrier are usually at higher rates.)

If you want to try out Enjoy Prepaid or just check out the rates to where you call, click here.   Use coupon code FRW15-943201586 by July 4 for 10% off your order.

A few other things to keep in mind as you consider your international long distance options

1. Even if you make just one 3 minute international call a month, you’ll be better off with either of the two options above
2. Enjoy Prepaid (and similar prepaid programs) are generally cheaper than even the discounted carrier rates.  However, you should compare rates for the places you call the most.  Make sure you compare the cost to both landline and wireless calls in those countries.
3. The carrier wireless program fees are charged monthly, so if you don’t plan on making international calls for a while, remember to have the plan changed on your account or you’ll pay a monthly fee for no reason
4. Enjoy Prepaid offers a number of different card programs.  The lowest rates tend to round calls up by a couple minutes and may have a small weekly fee.    In general, if you make short phone calls or make international calls infrequently, you should opt for the card with the least rounding and no fees.  The longer your calls, and the more frequent, the more beneficial it will be to take the lower per minute rates.

In a move that will eventually be copied (in some form) by other wireless (and possibly home broadband) providers, AT&T has moved to a tiered, usage-based data pricing for its smartphone devices.

The previous smartphone/iPhone/BlackBerry data plan, at $30 month, was for unlimited usage.   Going forward (current customers are not required to switch), purchasers of the will be able to choose a 200 MB DataPlus plan for $15/month or 2 GB for $25/month.   Those on the lower-priced plan who exceed their bucket will be charged $15 for an additional 200 MB.  Those exceeding the bucket on the higher plan will receive an additional 1 GB of data for $10. All plans include unlimited AT&T Hot Spot access on Wi-Fi capable devices.

MyRatePlan Comments

• For light users of data (emails with no attachments, web browsing), there is an opportunity to save up to 50% on the prior cost of smartphone data.   (AT&T claims 65% of its smartphone subscribers fall into this category).   Since all other national carriers have a required smartphone data plan of about $30, AT&T may have an opportunity to poach some of those customers
• At the same time, by grandfathering in existing customers with the unlimited plan, AT&T reduces the risk that those people will defect.   It is unclear if/when Verizon or another carrier will have the Apple iPhone, but this move may help AT&T retain those customers when the phone does become more widely.
• The overage pricing structure somewhat discourages taking the 200 MB plan, as the monthly cost doubles if that is exceeded.   It is also somewhat punitive that any excess doesn’t roll over to subsequent months, as AT&T does with its Rollover voice minutes.  If a user ends up going over their allowance two days before the end of the billing cycle, they will still be charged $15 even though it is unlikely they will utilized much of that data.
• For the heaviest 2% of users (those that AT&T says exceed 2 GB usage per month), the price for data will increase, perhaps sharply.   For example, someone that uses between 5 and 6 GB per month, will now pay $65, more than 100% increase.  As we mentioned earlier, existing smartphone customers can keep their unlimited $30 plan, so initially this will impact a small number of people.  In fact, this may be a tacit effort to get prospective new customers who would tax their network to go somewhere else.  At some point, when AT&T’s network fully catches up to the exponential use of data, we would expect the carrier to introduce at least one new high allowance tier, to be perceived as more welcoming to heavier users.
• The other quirky thing about the new data pricing is that AT&T is now the only carrier where a smartphone rate plan can be cheaper than a quick messaging phone rate plan.   AT&T voice rate plans start at $39.99, making the lowest monthly cost on a smartphone plan $54.99 ($39.99 + $15 data plan).  However, that minimum cost is $59.99 for quick messaging plans, as those require at least $20 of some combination of messaging and non-smartphone data plans.   Given how profitable text messaging is for carriers, this non-competitive high minimum monthly cost (vs. other carriers) in this category is somewhat surprising.

Dish Network announced today that, as of June 3, 2010, they will offer local channels in the 29 local markets they don’t currently serve.  As of that date, they will provide local channels in all 210 television markets in the United States.     The final 29 markets are:

Alpena, MI; Biloxi-Gulfport, MS; Binghamton, NY; Bluefield-Beckley, WV; Bowling Green, KY; Columbus, GA; Elmira, NY; Eureka, CA; Glendive, MT; Greenwood-Greenville, MS; Harrisonburg, VA; Hattiesburg-Laurel, MS; Jackson, TN; Jonesboro, AR; Lafayette, IN; Lake Charles, LA; Mankato, MN; North Platte, NE; Ottumwa-Kirksville, IA & MO; Parkersburg, WV; Presque Isle, ME; Salisbury, MD; Springfield-Holyoke, MA; St. Joseph, MO; Utica, NY; Victoria, TX; Watertown, NY; Wheeling-Steubenville, WV & OH; and Zanesville, OH.  (Source:  Dish Network press release).

The last time we checked, Dish offered HD channels in 157 of the 210 markets.   To see whether HD locals are available in your market (and to compare to the offerings of DIRECTV), visit our local channel lookup page.    By contrast, DIRECTV offered locals in about 155 markets, HD in 138 of those.   These numbers are likely a bit higher now.   In any case, HD local channels are available to the vast majority of Americans on both satellite providers.

When MyRatePlan began its side-by-side comparison of Dish Network and DIRECTV back in 2003, the two providers were just starting to carry local channels and the carriage at that time was limited to just the largest markets.   This was one area that the cable companies had satellite beat.  However, over the next few years, local channels were added to most markets, followed by the HD version of local channels in most locations.

This is the fourth in a series of how to cut your cell phone bill.

It wasn’t that long ago that prepaid was an afterthought in the cell phone marketplace.  High rates and limited phone selection kept interest in prepaid limited to those whose credit didn’t allow them to get a cell phone contract.

A number of things changed in recent years.  First, cell phone carriers started requiring two-year contracts for most subscribers, vs. the one-year norm that had been in place.   This likely served to make more people at least aware of the prepaid alternative.     Second, the emergence of companies like Virgin Mobile USA and Boost whose marketing efforts pushed no-contract into a teenage market that had mostly been ignored by the major carriers.   Third, prepaid pricing began to fall and  ”pay monthly” plans arrived, with a structure that looked like contract plans, but without the contract.   Finally, led by expanding regional no-contract carriers like Cricket and MetroPCS that offered unlimited service for a flat fee, the national prepaid providers began offering monthly pricing at a level that was actually below that of the major carriers.  For a time, carriers like AT&T and Verizon had rates 100% higher than some of these no-contract carriers were offering.

Whether prepaid service makes sense for you depends on a number of things.   From a rate perspective, very light and very heavy users of wireless can save; it is less clear-cut for those using a moderate amount each month.

• Light Users:     Pay-as-you-Go prepaid can minimize your monthly cost, even though the per-minute rate might be higher than in a contract plan.  Consider a 100 minute per month user.     A 10 cent per minute prepaid plan would cost $10/month vs. a $40 per month minimum with carriers like AT&T and Verizon.   For those looking at this option, keep in mind that airtime cards have expiration periods that effectively put a floor on how little you can spend each month.
• Heavy Users:   Several carriers offer unlimited no contract voice service for $50 a month.  Straight Talk offers unlimited voice, text and data for just $45.   T-Mobile comes closest to this at $60 for unlimited voice, while AT&T and Verizon are at $70.

To see if you can save money with prepaid, use our CellCalc rate plan comparison tool.  It will recommend specific plans based on your usage and the features you want in your plan.   However, even if you can save money with prepaid, there are other reasons why you still might choose a contract plan.

• You’ll pay full price for the phone. This can be very little or can be several hundred dollars for a smartphone (see next bullet).   When you get a contract plan, the price of the phone is heavily subsidized by the carrier.   The future of cell phone pricing can be seen with what T-Mobile does:   They have a series of contract and no-contract plans, where the no-contract ones are $10 cheaper per month but require customers to pay full price for the phone.   Basically, you can pay up-front for the phone or effectively pay some each month for it.
• Phone selection is limited. This is just starting to change, and will mostly disappear in the next couple years. For now, however, most smartphones and other higher end phones are not available with prepaid.   In addition, most carriers don’t offer phones with 3G access.  As a result, those who want to use the phone for data are going to have an inferior experience in many cases with prepaid.

**Update June 1:   The list of advanced devices that incur the higher $325 termination fee has now been published by AT&T.

According to Digital Daily, AT&T is increasing the termination fee on smartphones, including the Apple iPhone to $325, from $175, effective June 1.     This change is similar to one Verizon made last fall, when it doubled the termination fee on its lineup of smartphones.

AT&T termination fees currently decline by $5 per month from the $175 starting point.  For the new $325 termination fee, the decline will be $10 per month.

Curious how they decided $325 was the right number instead of matching Verizon’s $350 (since their termination fee schedules are otherwise identical).  Of all the considerations that go into someone choosing Verizon vs. AT&T, it is hard to imagine that a $25 lower termination fee — that is still over $300 — would be one of them.

By the way, if you’re under contract and curious what your termination fee would be, try our termination fee calculator.

Update: As part of the pricing changes, AT&T is actually decreasing the early termination fee on non-smartphones (feature and messaging phones) by $25 to $150.   The prorated reduction each month will be $4, instead of $5.   All the changes apply to contracts created on or after June 1.

We’ll preface this tip with an example.     Let’s say you wanted to sign up for a 2 line AT&T family plan today. Specifically, you are going to get the AT&T Family Talk 700 plan ($69.99/month).with a BlackBerry Bold 9700 for each line.     Before you buy, you decide to check the price from 3 websites:   AT&T, BestBuy and MyRatePlan.  Here’s what you would see for the cost of two phones:

• AT&T:                 $399.98
• Best Buy             $199.98
• MyRatePlan        $0.00

Prices checked 5/17/2010

That’s right, just based on where you bought, you could spend up to an extra $400 (enough to pay for more than 5 months of service on the $69.99 family plan) at the outset, for the exact same phones and rate plan.    Here are some more examples (all for a single line of service).

The point is not that we have the low price (we don’t even sell the phones ourselves– just try and point visitors to our site to a low online price), but that there can be a tremendous difference in price across retailers.  Furthermore:

• The hierarchy of pricing shown above tends to hold across devices:   online 3rd party retailer is cheaper than 3rd party offline retailer which is cheaper than buying directly from the carrier; the carrier prices tend to be the same whether online or offline.
• Regardless of where you buy, the rate plans (e.g., the 700 minute family plan) are the same, because those are determined by the carrier
• Signing up for service from a 3rd party is essentially the same as buying directly from the carrier:  there is a phone component and a plan component.    When you don’t buy directly from the carrier, the best way to think about it is that the retailer is selling you a phone at a discount in exchange for getting you to subscribe to one of the carrier’s authorized plans.  The carrier then pays the retailer a commission.  If the retailer wants to make a profit, that commission needs to more than cover the discount given to you plus their overhead.
• Since online selling is impersonal (i.e., no salesperson), the only real differentiator between websites is the price of the phone.   Online only companies tend to have lower overhead, as well.  These two factors combine to make online the best place to get the best price on a new phone.
• The biggest price discrepancies occur for phones purchased with a rate plan (either new service or a contract renewal).   There are price differentials across retailers for ‘phone only’ upgrades, but the differences are much smaller since there are no carrier commissions:  The retailer will only make a profit if they sell the phone for higher than its cost.

To compare phones and see some low online prices, use our interactive phonefinder.

The cell phone companies make directory assistance almost effortless…dial 411… get the information… and get connected automatically.   Of course, if someone paid you $1.79 (Sprint, T-Mobile) or $1.99 (AT&T, Verizon) for each 411 call, you’d make it easy for them to connect as well.

Directory assistance charges can really add up:  10 calls a month comes out to over $200 a year.

There is a free* directory assistance alternative from Google.  Just dial 800-GOOG411 ( 800-466-4411) from your cell phone.    The service is voice-activated and can help you find the business you choose (it doesn’t do residential numbers at the present time).    In addition to a voice reply, the service can send you a text message with more details and a map.

A related free* information service is also available from Google.  Just text 466453 from your cell phone with a request for information –  movies, sports scores, weather, business names and more.

There may be some situations where your cell phone company’s 411 service makes sense to use, but these free services can be just as good in many cases and can save you a considerable amount of money if you use them frequently.

*  Charges apply as they would in any regular cell phone call or text, but your bill will only go up if you go over your plan allowance of minutes or messages.

For those in the market for a family plan today, T-Mobile is waiving activation fees on 2 or more lines.    Unfortunately this offer is for today only.

AT&T is also waiving activation fees through the rest of May.  That’s a savings of $36 on one line and up to $150 on a five line family plan.  (As of now (5/10), this includes the iPhone.  However, we’re not sure if AT&T is including the iPhone in the program all the way through May.

To compare all cell phone plans, and find the one that will cost you the least each month based on how you use your phone, visit our CellCalc page.