If You Think Pre-Paid Cellular Service Isn't For You....Dec 10 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Cellular Phones
The Bottom Line Think that no pre-paid services can offer all that you need in a cell phone service? Think again.
Anyone who is searching for a new cellular service plan, or anyone who watches T.V. commercials for that matter, has heard of the relatively new trend of service plans known as pre-paid wireless service. While flipping through the endless strands of television commercials, I've seen many advertisements for pre-paid cell phones and service, and they all seem to have one thing in common: an obvious advertisement theme geared toward teenagers, college students, and young adults. But think that pre-paid wireless is only for the "teeny-boppers" of the world? Think again.... Being relatively young myself (early 20's, let's leave it at that) and previously employed in a professional occupation that demanded the use of a cell phone, I have experienced the need for both a reliable cell phone for my employment use, complete with voicemail, as well as the need for the convenience and simplicity of a "no credit check, no monthly bills" plan that the pre-paid plan offers. I didn't learn the latter part of that last statement until I attempted to purchase a cellular phone and monthly service plan from several different carriers. After a routine credit check, to my surprise, I wasn't able to get approved for the regular monthly service plan unless I scraped up a $600 cash deposit! (Who knew that no one gives credit to a recently-graduated high school student with no credit and a blank credit report?!!??) After a few weeks of pouting, and still with the need for a cellular phone to use for my job, I saw the advertisement at Ameritech (now Cingular) for a pre-paid cellular phone, which included the pre-paid cellular plan and some starter minutes. I felt like a child with a new toy when the customer service representative explained the process to me: "No credit check, no monthly bill, just purchase the phone, which includes the activation and some starter minutes, and when you need to add minutes to your account, just come in the store and pay cash for the minutes you need." And to add to my excitement, the phone I purchased was soooo COOL....it even had wireless web key, messaging key, voicemail key, and all the cool features I wanted. But then the customer service representative started to explain further....and my excitement went down the drain. First off, pre-paid service only works in your home calling area, and you can't make or receive any phone calls when roaming outside that area. So okay, that part wasn't too bad, since I didn't anticipate roaming outside that area much anyway. Then more bad news....even though the phone itself had all the cool feature keys and options I wanted, like the wireless web and voicemail, the pre-paid service plan didn't allow those services. This was more of a problem, since I really needed voicemail for my employer to contact me or leave a message any time of the day, even when my cell phone was off. So I resumed to my pouting and ended up purchasing the phone anyway, and resigned myself to the fact that I would just have to settle for having a cell phone that was only capable of making and receiving calls, and only in one calling area. Just several weeks ago, while roaming around a Radio Shack store, I spotted a cell phone on the wall. As I looked closer, much to my surprise, I discovered that this phone, a Motorola V series, included a pre-paid service plan from Sprint My Wireless and included the wireless web, web messaging, voicemail, caller ID, three-way calling, call waiting, and many other features. Could this be true? A pre-paid plan that allows you to utilize all these features normally reserved only for monthly subscribers?!? I checked with the customer service representative, and indeed, yes, it was true!!! And to top it all off, the cellular phone, including the service plan and $10 worth of minutes, was only $98, $40 cheaper than the first phone and plan I purchased from Ameritech. I snatched up the deal, got it home, called the 800 number and activated my phone number and pre-payment card, and played with it for hours! I am no longer a skeptic of pre-paid service....this phone and My Wireless service plan from Sprint are great! I don't even feel like I'm a pre-paid subscriber, since I have all the features available to me with no restrictions. So whether you're young and unable to get anything but pre-paid service, or whether you're just browsing for a new cell phone service, whatever the age, I highly recommend My Wireless pre-paid service from Sprint. No long applications to fill out, no hassle with getting and paying monthly bills, pay only for the minutes you want to use, no wasted money on minutes you don't use, all with the same features and "goodies" that come with regular monthly service plans....do you see a reason not to try it?  |
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