Cellphone message: Shop around
By Edythe Jensen
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"Can you hear me now?"
When it comes to cellphone contracts, the answer is usually "Yes, but I can't understand you."
With so many options, plans and prices, cellphone service has become the latest perplexing financial decision facing consumers. And making the wrong one could end up costing hundreds of dollars a year for unused services.
We asked savvy shopper Heather Murphy, spokeswoman for the Arizona Corporation Commission, for advice.
Although the commission regulates local phone service providers but not cellphone service, Murphy was willing to share tips from her personal experiences. "Don't pay for more than you need," she said. "Consider dropping services you don't use. Basic plans are usually less costly."
Don't be shy about contacting your current cellphone provider if you think you're paying too much and want to try a different plan and a lower rate, Murphy said. "They want to retain you and will usually bend over backwards to meet your needs," she said.
Murphy also suggested a Web site: www.myrateplan.com. On it, consumers key in cellphone needs and their monthly phone budget and get a list of providers who offer those services at that price.
Don't be surprised by the big differences in prices and services.
We tested the site and found it extremely helpful. Key in a ZIP code and get all the providers in the area. For Mesa, there are seven.
We requested rates for 60 minutes a month of weekday and evening calls and 60 minutes a month for late nights and weekends. We estimated that 10 percent of our calls would be long distance and 50 percent would be incoming calls.
The results: 10 rate plans with monthly charges ranging from $19.99 to $35. The cheapest rate, T Mobile's, would give us 60 minutes of weekday minutes, 500 minutes of nights and weekends and free long distance.
Of the three $35 rates, Verizon Wireless was least attractive: $35 got 150 anytime minutes and free long distance.
Gilbert Mayor Steve Berman, who owns cellphone stores in Gilbert and Mesa, said all plans work well in the Phoenix metropolitan area, but the less expensive providers have less coverage in rural or remote places. Although it is often the most expensive, Verizon "will work where nothing else does," Berman said.
Murphy said frugal cellphone users may want to check out long distance options to help them decide whether to make those calls on a land line or cellphone. Sometimes the cellphone is less costly, she said.
To help with those comparisons, the Corporation Commission has handy price comparison links on long distance services and on phone pitfalls and scams on the state Web site: www.cc.state.az.us.
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