-=PCTechTalk=- Re: our cell phones

I too was appalled when I first got a cell phone and found out that I had to 
pay for incoming calls as well as outgoing calls.  What a racket.  And the 
phones and charges were higher then.  I had purchased the phone as I drove 
40 miles each way to work

As for 'Free' minutes, I get 500 'anytime minutes' and then either 3500 or 
5000 nights (after 9 pm and 7 am  my time and all Sat & Sunday.)  The thing 
I like about my plan is that I can rollover my 'anytime minutes'.  If I use 
100 minutes, then 400 get rolled over.  You can keep the minutes up to a 
year.  I currently have almost 3000 minutes available in the rollover 
account.  We have two phones on the plan and we share the amount of minutes 
in the plan.  Talking to one another is free..(is not included in the 
minutes)  I believe talking to other 'customers' may also be free, but this 
is not an issue for me as I did not check it out.  This occurred after 
Cingular bought A T & T wireless).  These re nationwide minutes, so it does 
not matter where we are or where we are calling to (in the covered area). 
There are no roaming charges.

While this sounds awesome and really is, the drawback is I live in the 
Southwest, (Las Vegas).  There are MANY areas with NO service.  Not just 
from my provider (Cingular) but any service.  It is a 450 mile trip to 
Carson City to see my kid/grandkids.  Approximately 350 of those miles have 
no cell service  (There was maybe 50 miles on each end of the trip where 
there was service.)  It is very rural and you are just out of luck.  We 
experienced the same thing on the way to Phoenix last month.  A good part of 
the trip is through very rural areas.(Maybe the word rural should be 
replaced with desolate!).  I had originally been thinking I could catch up 
on some phone calls I needed to make during the drive.  I was NOT driving. 
So much for that thought!

You can get a map (usually) from your cell phone provider showing you the 
areas where there is service.  I think you can probably check this out on 
line at each carrier's website.
A cross country road trip plan and the cell company's coverage map might be 
good tools to have in the planning stage.

So, not only do you need to be aware of the charging of air time for both 
sending and receiving calls, but also check to be sure there is service in 
the areas you are most likely to use your phone.  You also need to make sure 
what areas ARE included in your flat monthly charges and what areas are NOT 
covered in  your plan.

It seems as if there is a plan by the cell companies to NOT offer the same 
plans.  It is difficult to evaluate one plan against another because of 
'different' features of the plan.  Some companies have night time calling 
(cheaper or free) start at 7 PM and others at 9 PM.  (I have 9 PM and most 
of my family is on the east coast, so, 7 PM would be nice, but still, 
calling at 10 PM their time is late - so it is not enough to make me switch 
companies)  Some have 3500 free night and weekend minutes and others have 
5000.  Even I could not talk that much! And that is really saying something. 
I get 500 Anytime minutes and I think the most I have ever used. when I had 
company and let them use the phone to call home and stuff, was 300 minutes! 
I do not use my home phone to make long distance calls, I use my cell phone.

Hope this helps muddy the waters..oops! I meant clarify the areas to check 
out....

Rose
Las Vegas


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