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Cell Phone Carriers – Looking After You

A glossary of cell phone terms can help you understand more about cellular phones and the jargon surrounding them. You can do a comparison of the features being offered, but how do you evaluate the cell phone carriers that are responsible for getting the signal out to the places you want to reach?

There are many manufacturers of cell phones such as Sony, Ericcson, Nokia, Sanyo, Samsung, Siemens, Panasonic, Motorola, Kyocera, NEC Audiovox, Hyundai, Novatel and Mitsubishi, to name just a few. However finding the right plan for you depends on selecting the right cell phone carrier. Some of the things you should know before choosing a carrier are dealt with below.

What is There Coverage Like?

Coverage varies from cell phone company to company, and even within a single carrier you can have different areas of coverage depending on the plan you choose. Some plans offer nationwide coverage with no roaming or long distance, but others within the same company can charge as much as 49 cents a minute for roaming. Roaming is defined as calls made to or from an area not covered by your plan.

What About Service

Surveys about customer satisfaction show that overall customers are satisfied with the service they get from their cell phone carriers, with the chief complaint being dropped called and roaming charges. Of course there are complaints about every aspect of cellular service but that happens in any business. Some carriers are refunding money to their business customers for dropped calls and this is likely to drift down to the rest of us.

Get What's Right for You

One thing you need to do, is make sure that whatever carrier you choose you get a plan that has enough minutes to fill your needs and that they are roll over minutes, so that if you don’t use them one month, they carry over to the next month. Report dropped calls and ask for a refund. You may not get it, but if enough of us ask that may change. Also be aware of your peak hours and that they vary from carrier to carrier, going over your peak allowance can get costly.

Who Do I Pick

Sometimes cell phone carriers share or lease out resources such as network air time. But, when it comes to getting your cell phone dollars they fight tooth and nail to convince you that they have the best service to meet your needs.