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Night & Weekend Minutes Matrix

Read recently that Cingular and Verizon had adjusted their free nights to end at 6AM instead of 7AM. That in mind, we decided to check all the major carriers to see what their current polices are. Check out our Night & Weekend Matrix.

If you are interested in a specific carrier, just click their logo to see a listing of the current plans available in your location.

Disney Enters Wireless Business

The Walt Disney Company announced today that it will sell wireless services beginning next year. It will function as an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) which basically means they will be reselling airtime they buy from a network wireless provider, in this case Sprint PCS. Previously, Disney's ESPN group made a similar announcement. ESPN's MVNO will focus on sports, while Disney will focus on the family.

Talk More with No Contract

If you talk a lot on your cell phone but don't want to sign a contract, there's a new option out there called Net10 Wireless. As the name implies, it is 10 cents a minute for all calls local, long distance or roaming across a nationwide network. Looking at their coverage maps, it looks like they are using either the Cingular or T-Mobile networks, depending on where you live.

Can You Hear Me Now?

On June 9th, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reaffirmed previously issued rules that will require some hearing-aid compatible phones by September 16th, 2005. Here's a summary of the ruling:

Who the ruling applies to: The 5 national wireless providers (Cingular, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon)

Raising Rates --- Without Raising the Price

Sneaky..sneaky...sneaky. The wireless carriers, particularly Verizon and Cingular, have done two things recently that will increase their average revenues per subscriber, even though they didn't actually go out and announce a price increase.

Cingular Tweaks National Rate Plans

Cingular's rate plans changed on June 1st... they got rid of most (or all, we haven't figured it out yet) of their regional plans, while making slight modifications to their national plans.

On the national side, Cingular has lined up almost exactly with Verizon, taking a slight premium to the rest of the carriers. The biggest difference is that Cingular continues to offer rollover.

On the family plan side, Cingular increased the additional line charge from $9.99 to $14.99/line.

One Year is Enough

If you haven't read our Guide to Buying a Cell Phone and Plan, what are you waiting for? If you have, you know that one of the things we harp on in there are the disadvantages of signing a two year contract. However, one year contracts are pretty hard to find these days, except with T-Mobile, where they are standard.

PC Magazine Names MyRatePlan a Top 100 Site

PC Magazine named MyRatePlan one of its "Top 100 sites you didn't know you couldn't live without", specifically featuring our nifty interactive phone finder.

While this probably overstates the importance (in the big scheme of things) of a website that helps people find a cell phone and save money, we'll take any accolades we can get ---- keep 'em coming.

You'll Never Find Another One Like Me

About two months ago, we started working with a company that will try and match people up with a used replacement phone. As more people sign 2-year contracts, the number of people who lose or break their phone during the contract period continues to grow. As these people quickly discovered --- the phone prices offered to them when they bought new are not available to existing customers.

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