SPENDING
Simple Cell Switch
by Mark Solheim

Is it safe to switch? That is the question on the minds of the 50 million or so cell-phone users who are likely to change carriers in 2004. When wireless-number portability, which allows you to keep your number when you switch providers, went into effect last fall, early switchers encountered frustrating glitches and delays. For some, the promised two-and-a-half-hour wait to port numbers stretched to more than a week.

But it doesn't have to be that way. David Abramowitz, a 27-year-old chemical engineer in Washington, D.C., was eager to ditch his Sprint PCS cellular service after encountering billing problems. His decision to bail out was clinched when his phone's LCD display went on the blink, because he dreaded the prospect of standing in line at the Sprint PCS store to see a technician.

"If you're going to buy a new phone, the store is great," he says. "But if you have a broken phone, you wait in line forever, and then they take your phone to the back room. I think they put it on a shelf with a little timer, and after 30 minutes they start working on it."

Web to the rescue

Searching for a way to avoid the hassle, Abramowitz discovered a new Web site, Wirefly.com, devoted to helping consumers compare wireless plans and order new phones and service online. Unlike other information sites for shoppers, Wirefly handles the whole process, from comparing deals to activating your choice. The site is a division of InPhonic, the largest activator of wireless phones on the Internet. It's the only site that has every rate plan for the seven largest carriers in the U.S. and that represents every major phone manufacturer, says InPhonic CEO David Steinberg. Best of all, the site guarantees the best price on phones when you open a new plan with a new carrier. For example, in mid December, the T-Mobile Web site was offering the Nokia 3650 color camera phone for $150, after a rebate and with free shipping. But the same phone was only $50 on Wirefly (plus $10 for shipping). With the less-flashy Nokia 3595, Wirefly customers were getting $100 back after rebates.

Abramowitz signed up for a two-year plan with Cingular and picked up a free Sony Ericsson T226 phone, which weighs a minuscule 2.8 ounces and has 11.5 days of standby time. He ordered it in early December, and the activated phone was waiting for him a few days later.

Going online makes it easier to comparison shop, which is becoming more cumbersome -- and more important -- as carriers scramble to add plans to attract and retain customers. For instance, when we searched Wirefly for plans that cost $31 to $50 a month, we found 45 different offerings, including 16 packages from AT&T. (One feature Wirefly does not offer is a way to compare family plans, but you can find that information at MyRatePlan.com.)

Should you switch?

If you're happy with your current plan, ask your carrier to sweeten your service with discounts or a new phone. For your part, you'll have to commit to a new one- or two-year contract. Among the new loyalty programs, AT&T was recently offering new and existing customers a free phone once a year if they signed a two-year contract, and Sprint was offering a 5% discount if you re-upped for another year. You may see more offers involving free new phones because the carriers ordered a slew of handsets in 2003, and "they have to move them sooner or later," says Roger Entner, wireless analyst with the Yankee Group.

With early-termination fees of up to $240, it usually doesn't make sense to break an existing contract. And think twice before you accept an offer to extend your contract -- no matter what the deal -- if you really hate your provider. By all means, study the fine print. Wirefly, for example, charges $150 if you cancel your plan within six months, on top of the carrier's early-termination fee. But it also offers a generous, 30-day money-back guarantee if you don't like the phone or the service. Most carriers give you only 14 days to change your mind.

--Reporter: Elizabeth Kountze