Cell Phone Consumer Information

What You Should Know about Wireless Phone Service

• Coverage. . . "Coverage" refers to the geographic area where mobile telephone subscribers can use their phones. Cell phones must be able to receive or "pick up" a signal from a mobile telephone carrier's network. Coverage varies by carrier and is determined by the extent to which carriers have built out their networks. Read this section for more information on coverage.
  
  
• Pricing. . . Most wireless pricing plans include a certain number of minutes per month (often called a "basket" or "bucket" of minutes for a certain price, and any minutes over that specified amount are chared on a per-minute basis. Any unused minutes at the end of the month expire. Carriers generally offer several variations of these types of plans with increasing baskets of minutes at increasing monthly fees. Carriers also vary their service plans by where subscribers can use their phones without incurring additional roaming and long distance fees. Read this section for more information on pricing.
  
  
• Handsets. . . Mode, storage, screen size, etc. Read this section for help in choosing a handset.

(Information provided by the Federal Communications Commission)

Last Modified: Wednesday, 14-Feb-2007 12:48:52 MST