The competition is fierceJan 20 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
Popular Products in Cellular Phones
The Bottom Line Investigate all your options before signing on the dotted line. It will save you time and money in the long run.
My cellular experience started out about 6 years ago when the only 'big' name was Cellular One. The sales booths were everywhere, Wal-mart, malls, shopping centers, and anywhere else that they could rent a space. Like most everyone at that time, I seen the 'free phone' and 'free weekend air time for the first 6 months' sign and joined up. This is NOT the way to select a cellular service. I got stuck with a 3 year contract (that automatically renews without warning if you don't cancel it on the date it expired) on a junky phone that had little to no reception. Although their service areas did grow and the reception got better, those 10 cent per call charges sure did add up. We won't even mention the long distance and roaming rates that could take a person broke! Finally lets not forget that 150.00 early termination fee! Nextel began their advertising venture with lower price plans, no 10 cent per call fee, and the ability to use them as 2 way radios. Wow! With owning a service company, we just had to give them a try. The only thing that Nextel does not offer is the 'free phone' but in the long run, it may be worth the extra money. The first time trying Nextel was a bad experience. You would loose service constantly for no apparent reason. This became too frustrating. The great thing about the Nextel plan was that there wasn't any service contract so I was able to turn them off for free. Our third venture was Verizon (formally Bell Atlantic Mobile.) Their service included a free phone, free weekends, and great reception. The Nokia phones are easy to use and I hardly ever seen additional charges on the bill. They do require a one year contract but each monthly bill has the contract expiration date on it. The rates are a bit higher than Nextel and we missed the 2 way radios so again, we switched back to Nextel. Lucky for us that Nextel has greatly improved their service and we are finally happy with our choice of Cellular service. Some things to look for when checking into cellular service are : - Rate plans (how many minutes a month are included and is it a good overall value) - What is the minimum contract available? It may be worth it to pay a couple dollars more a month for a shorter contract than to get stuck with those very high early termination fees if you are not happy with your choice. - What is the local service area? Make sure that your home and work are included in the local area. Some services could be long distance or have roaming charges for areas the you may need to call regularly. - The cost of the phone. Digital phones are usually the ones that they charge extra for but the reception is much clearer and you don't loose service as often. The 'free' phones are not always a good value. - On any service you can upgrade your plan for no additional charge but it will renew your contract. If you choose a plan and want to upgrade to one with more minutes, do it as soon as possible. Almost everyone is using cellular service but many people don't investigate all the competition before jumping into a contract and end up unhappy with their choice. There is so much competition that you can find a service that fits all your needs if you just check into all the details before making a decision.  |
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