Cell Phone Service Providers And Calling Plans

What is a cell phone "calling plan"?

With regards to cell phone service providers and calling plans, a cell phone "calling plan" is basically a bucket of minutes that you get every month that you can use on your cell phone. That bucket of minutes is calculated over a time frame between 7 A.M. and approximately 8 or 9 P.M. depending on the carrier. This is called peak usage in which you're billed; it comes out of your bucket of minutes. Your calling plan determines how many minutes you're able to use every month, some carriers allow you to take whatever's left over and apply it to next month, then bill the balance of minutes to pull from throughout the year.

What factors should I consider when choosing a cell phone service provider?

The most important thing, first off, is coverage. Is your phone going to work where you are going to be at? If it is, the next thing you want to look at is going to be the features that you can add to your account; whether it be text messaging or web browsing. Look at what you are going to need in order to do whatever you are going to do with your mobile device; whether it be to check email, send text messages, or send picture messages. For instance, there are some carriers that don't allow you to send picture messages over their network to other carriers, and if you are a real estate agent and you use your phone to take pictures of houses and show them to people, then that's going to be a feature that you need to look at.

How do cell phone service providers make most of their revenue?

Most of the revenue that service providers actually get comes from two things, one being your contract. Being with a cell phone service provider for a determined period of time guarantees them a certain amount of money every single month to cover all the costs and expenses. The real revenue, however, comes from all the extra features that you add, whether it's your Blackberry data service so you can send and receive email, or unlimited text messaging package so you can send text messages, or being able to go online and download ring tones, wallpapers, games. The list goes on and on and on of things that you can download to customize your phone and make it more personal for you.

Do I need to sign a long contract to get a good deal on a cell phone?

You don't necessarily need to sign a contract to get a great deal on a cell phone calling plan. The contract's really more there to ensure your longevity with the carrier, and most carriers actually don't even allow you to sign up without a contract. Some carriers, however, offer you for an extra fee per month to be on a month-by-month basis. But you don't get the discount that you would normally receive by signing a contract when you go on a month-to-month contract.

Do any cell service providers specialize in streaming video content?

With regards to cell phone service providers and calling plans, there are some prepaid services, or MVNOs, which are basically companies that buy a whole bucket of minutes from another wireless carrier to redistribute amongst their own network. When they create that sub-lease, they have the ability to do with their part of the network whatever they want. Carriers like Amp'd Mobile, Helio, ESPN Mobile, give you the ability to download sports content, music video content, MP3s, albums. Verizon just launched a new service called V Cast Music, which gives you the ability to actually shop and buy music on your phone, just like you were sitting at home downloading stuff off iTunes.

How much can I expect to pay for TV service on my cell phone?

TV service is a very new thing in wireless, and with that being said there are services that allow you to buy hardware and pay a one-time fee for the hardware, which is typically in the range of $100 to $250. You connect it at home, and through the software that's built into the device it connects through your phone and you can transfer television shows, movies, and music between the two. There are also subscription services that are offered by carriers which can range anywhere from $10 to approximately $35 or $4 a month.