How to choose a new cellphone provider
— -- For business travelers who seldom know where they'll be tomorrow, finding the ideal cellphone provider is no easy feat. We've all seen those television commercials where the geek constantly asks "Can you hear me now?", or where an army of technicians appears when the subject flips open his phone. But after my recent shopping experience, I came away convinced that no single provider offers a network that works everywhere all of the time. Your options will no doubt vary based on where you live and travel, but I hope my method and experience can offer some guidance for this daunting yet crucial decision.
Every major cellphone provider's website contains maps displaying their areas of coverage. The AT&T map claimed to have "good" reception at a location where I could neither place nor receive any calls with my current phone. After AT&T told me there was nothing they could do to improve my reception, I decided it was time to find a new provider. Luckily I could switch carriers with no penalty since I had long ago fulfilled my initial contractual obligations.
Most cellphone providers offer a 30-day trial where you can return the phone and cancel the service, although there may be some fees and you must actually sign a long-term contract to initiate the trial. I decided to compare Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon to see if any would work where AT&T would not.
When all three phones I tested worked just fine in my AT&T dead zone, I began comparing other features to determine which service best matched my needs. These days most providers offer unlimited long-distance service within the U.S. and roaming charges only apply internationally. Despite those similarities, each provider offers a plethora of calling plans with numerous options. How many minutes are free each month? What is the rate if you exceed your allotted minutes? Does the plan include unlimited usage for nights and weekends? Can you roll over unused minutes from month to month? Do you need text messaging, Internet access and GPS capabilities? The obfuscated pricing plans of each cellphone vendor almost make airfare pricing look simple.
