The four rate plans described (emergency, individual, group, and corporate) all require customers to pay for access one month in advance. The calls are charged at the end of each billing month, so each phone bill contains charges for the previous month’s usage and the next month’s access. Prepaid wireless users never pay a fee for access. To begin service, a new prepaid wireless customer simply buys the phone and pays for a block of airtime, such as 500 minutes. Some carriers charge an activation fee, but most do not; they make up for this lost revenue by requiring users to buy the phone directly from them. Some advantages of prepaid wireless are that the carrier requires no term contract and does not perform a credit check on a new customer. In Asia, prepaid wireless service is the only offering.
When additional minutes are needed, the user must buy a card and input the data into the phone. Most prepaid wireless systems have time limits. For example, at the end of six months, the phone is deactivated unless the user buys additional airtime. Once the additional airtime is purchased, any minutes that remained on the old card will again be available to the user. The Tracfone prepaid cellular program in the United States requires users to buy new cards every 2 months. If the customer fails to buy a new card, the phone is deactivated and the phone number may be reassigned.
Save money with prepaid wireless
Prepaid wireless is best for people who only sporadically use the phone. If a user regularly has months with almost no calling, he should consider prepaid wireless to avoid paying an access fee in a month when he will not be using the phone.
Association discounts
Like other telecom services, such as long distance, some wireless carriers offer association discounts. Being a member of a specific organization such as a chamber of commerce, civic organization, or trade organization may qualify your business for an association discount. Regional wireless carriers are more likely to offer association discounts than nationwide carriers. A cellular company operating near the automobile factories in Detroit gives a 5% discount off the total cellular bill to businesses that belong to a certain manufacturing trade organization. To find out about association discounts, ask customer service or one of the carrier’s outside sales representatives.
Save money on features
The original cellular phones were cumbersome and came with no bells or whistles. Today, a host of advanced features are available. The most common features include the following:
Call forwarding;
Call waiting;
Caller ID;
Basic 911;
Voice mail;
Phone insurance.
Sometimes, these features are given to the customer at no charge, but other times carriers charge for the features. Telecom companies are notorious for nickel-and-dime charges that can double a monthly telephone bill. Sales representatives are given bonuses based on the number of advanced features they can sell.
The features are provided by the carrier’s network technology. Once the features are available in the system, they cost the carrier almost nothing. Consequently, every dollar spent on features is sheer profit for carriers. Ask the carrier to waive the charges for all features. If the company says its billing system will not allow it, ask for a one-time credit equal to the cost of the features for a year. If the carrier will not waive the charges, consider canceling any unnecessary features.
One of the most unnecessary features is mobile phone insurance. This covers repair or replacement of your phone if it is broken, lost, or stolen. This feature costs $3 to $5 per month. With the exception of construction workers, most mobile phone users are not too hard on their phones. Today’s phones are hardier than the original phones, and the new smaller sizes make them less susceptible to damage.
Cloning
Cloning is making fraudulent calls on someone else’s wireless phone account. The thieves use radio scanners at major roads to intercept a cell phone’s electronic serial number (ESN) and mobile identification number (MIN). Sometimes, industry insiders sell ESNs and MINs to the thieves. This information is then reprogrammed into another cell phone. The thieves then make calls that are billed on the other person’s account. They usually use the clone phone for up to a month. Once the billing cycle ends, the carrier, or the customer, notices the dramatic increase in calling volume and disconnects the phone.
Customers are not liable for fraudulent charges; carriers must write these charges off. Cloning and other cellular fraud costs carriers half a billion dollars each year. If your phone has been cloned, notify your carrier at once. You should dispute the charges, and the carrier will remove the charges from your account. To remedy the problem, you will probably be issued a new telephone number.
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