How to Buy a Cell Phone

Black Collegian, Apr 2005 by Parson, Harry L III

When I was a student in the late 80s, wireless phones were unavailable to the general public, much less to students. Instead, students had to wait in line to use a payphone, (remember those?). Lucky students had long distance calling cards. Very few students had hard-wired phones in their dorm rooms. Having a phone line in your room was almost as valuable as having a car on campus.

In 1987 there were fewer than 6,000,000 cellular subscribers in the United States. By the end of 1997 that number had increased to over 55,312,000, and today, according to EMC, an independent source for operational data and analysis on the wireless industry, subscriber numbers passed the 1.5 billion mark in the first week of June 2004.EMC forecasts that global net additions of more than 240 million in both 2004 and 2005 will set the mobile industry up to break through the 2 billion subscriber mark as soon as July 2006. Wireless usage has exploded and continues to grow.

When selecting a wireless provider, you must understand the various calling plans. Be aware of or prepared to monitor your own calling patterns and plan to stay within your communications budget. Don't get caught up in the "cool" factor i.e., don't select a wireless provider because it offers a device that you just have to have. Select a provider on the basis of your calling needs and your budget. Rest assured, most providers have "cool" phones. Keep in mind that even if you get a great deal, wireless is usually more expensive than regular phone service. Only you can say how much you want to spend for your wireless service, but no matter how much it is you want to get the most value for your money.

Because there are so many carriers and calling plans to choose from, selecting a wireless provider and a handset has become a nightmare. I tried to build a spreadsheet that would compare and contrast all of the top wireless-company calling plans, and I almost pulled my hair out. 1 majored in English, not Math. You don't have to be Einstein to select a wireless provider, but you do need to know something about the wireless industry, its terminology, and your wireless needs to make an educated decision.

Wireless providers focus on three things: signing more subscribers, keeping those subscribers under contract, and driving ARPU (average revenue per user). Have you ever called customer service to report a problem and been forced to wait for more than 30 minutes? I spent forty-five minutes on the phone trying to correct a billing problem (which was never corrected by the way) and when I called a new provider and followed the prompt that said, "To order NEW service, press 1," my wait time was less than 15 seconds. Have you ever talked to a sales representative at a wireless store and he started talking in acronyms and technical terms you really didn't understand? It happens everyday. If you take some time to learn the language used by wireless industry personnel, you won't be intimidated into buying the wrong service. Without getting too technical, I will try to provide you with some of the most frequently used wireless acronyms and terms.

The four largest carriers in the US use GSM (global system for mobile communications), CDMA (code division multiple access), TDMA (time division multiple access) or iDEN (integrated digital enhanced network). Even though Analog networks are still used in many parts of the world where digital technology is unavailable, I wouldn't recommend buying an analog phone, because they are prone to interference, static, eavesdropping and cloning. Seventy to eighty percent of the world's wireless subscribers use GSM technology or something more advanced, but in North America GSM, CDMA, and TDMA dominate. Many carriers use the SIM card (subscriber identity module) or smart card. The SIM card looks like a tiny credit card that resides (usually) under your battery; it identifies you to the network as a subscriber and holds your wireless plan. These smart cards can be transferred from wireless device to device, as long as the device is with the same wireless carrier. TDMA phones don't have SIM cards. TDMA phones are identified by an ESN number (electronic serial number), which is embedded in the phone. ESN should not be confused with MIN (mobile identification number) or IMEI (international mobile equipment identity). Simply put, your MIN is your telephone number and your IMEI is the manufacturer's serial number on GSM phones.

Those who don't understand the value of time tend to waste it. In the world of wireless time is broken into minutes. There are several types of minutes to consider: ANYTIME, (MTM) MOBILE-TO-MOBILE, (N&W) NIGHTS & WEEKENDS, PEAK, OFF-PEAK, POOLED, (PTT) PUSH-TO-TALK, SHARED and ROLEOVER. In wireless, ANYTIME is not anytime. ANYTIME really means PEAK: PEAK minutes are what we are really paying for these days, because that occurs when the network traffic is usually highest, i.e., wireless rush hour. PEAK minutes are usually between 8:00AM and 9:00PM Monday through Friday. MOBILE-TO-MOBILE minutes (calls made between mobile devices using the same carrier) are cheaper for the wireless providers to complete because there is less switching taking place. Make sure y ou have unlimited Mobile-to-Mobile in your next calling plan.