Searching for a great find on the cellular highway? Through the jungle of ads, plans, etc, Pacific Bell is making a great push to leap off the pages. For those interested in a great local plan throughout California, Nevada, keep reading. If you are looking for a nationwide plan look elsewhere (see my epinion on Sprint).

In a recent marketing frenzy, Pacific Bell Wireless Centers and retailers (like Parrot Cellular) are offering the service are offering what could be a great deal for consumers in the SF/Sacto areas looking for a best overall package with the digital PacBell Anytime Value 125 plan. The plan includes 125 minutes anytime / 1000 minutes weekends (Sacto numbers/sign ups have a bonus: they get to use the 1000 minutes evenings and weekends).

Now comes the great package deal. Most PacBell places around the bay are offering the digital plan with a free Nokia 5190 phone and a $25 gift certificate to Lucky's provided you donate $20 to the American Red Cross. The details on the plan commitments are that you just pay the sales tax on the phone and a $20 activation charge on your first invoice, and sign a 1-year contract. You also get free voicemail (airtime charges apply to check), pager functions, and for 3 months messaging capabilities through the web (then you pay extra).

For some reason, advertised or not, the Sacramento version of the same stores are advertising the plan with the phone and a great starter kit. Most kits include the car adapter, and the leather case. I purchased mine at the Davis PacBell store and was rewarded with a kit that included the car adapter, the leather case, a free faceplate, an earpiece, and an extra battery. Wow! What a surprise. Finally more than what you pay for. I don't think it was a fluke, because most of their kits were pre-packaged. Talk to them and most vendors will throw in the additional stuff.

The phone itself, the 5190 is the most versatile phone around and has been given great reviews elsewhere. Its got tremendous options of ring tones (no vibrate mode though), call logs, timers, phone books, games, and a relatively simple to use menu navigation with speed dial buttons, etc. It even lets you customize the phone with interchangeable faceplates (check the net, etailers offer the most choices). The best 'free' phone to date.

When PacBell wireless first got off the ground I would definitely hear, "We are sorry. The Pacific Bell wireless customer is not available" or something to the effect so I was skeptical, but it seems that they have cleared themselves of the initial clutter. Also, I must admit, getting all of the freebies at first seemed too good to be true and I anticipated a really shoddy experience with the service, but so far I have yet to experience the dark side of PacBell. Reception has been clear, calls made along main routes and in major cities have been clear and never dropped, and the allotted time is enough for low to moderate use. The plan also charges no roaming in California and the greater Nevada areas. Commuters and others relying on their airtime as a precious commodity might want to get more anytime minutes, but students, emergency use or concerned parents wishing to equip their kids with cellular capability will find this plan ideal in the local SF/Sacto area.

The plan downsides include the fact that voice mail can not be accessed through a land line unless you pay an extra monthly fee, no free first incoming minute, 1 year contract, and the fact that the local Lucky's may not carry every Ben and Jerry’s Flavor.

The plans keep changing as competition gets tougher, but rest assured that this is a great deal...at least for a year.




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