Wireless Guide for Parents

[MOTOhooligan]

I see posts all the time about parents who have gotten their children a wireless device and are then shocked by the bill they receive. I'm writing this little guide as a means to help parents who, perhaps, are a little ignorant of the wireless industry.

First, let me just say that a wireless phone is not a necessity. Kids don't need a cell phone. Sure, they're convenient and can be used in an emergency but people up until, pretty much, the current generation grew up without cell phones and turned out okay (and probably with less brain cancer, too!)

Prepaid
If you're going to get a wireless phone for a teenager, PrePaid might be a valid option. This basically means that you pay a certain cost per minute/text message before there is any usage on the phone and when the allotted minutes/messages are used up the phone cannot be used until a payment is made to replenish the minutes/messages.

Usually the phones available for prepaid are low-end and you pay, usually, between $50 and $100 for the handset, depending on the features.

Some prepaid options would be AT&T's Go Phone, T-Mobile To Go, Alltel's U Prepaid and Verizon's prepaid.

There are also MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operators, companies that resell other carriers networks) such as Virgin Mobile or Helio.

Then, somewhere between prepaid and postpaid are services like T-Mobile's Flex Pay and AT&T's Go Phone Pick Your Plan, which allow a psudo monthly plan but prepayment is still required.

Post Paid
Then there are the post paid plans, where you get a rate plan with a set number of minutes with a set cost per month. You have a set per minute charge if you go over the included number of minutes, certain features, like messaging packages, cost extra in addition to your plan and typically give you a set number of messages.

Many times it is convenient, if you already have a post paid plan with a company, to add your child as an additional line (typically costing between $10-$20) to your plan. Things to keep in mind here are that the secondary lines do not have their own anytime minutes so if you usually use 850 out of the 1,000 minutes in your plan, you will want to increase the main line on the account to accomidate the additinal line.

Contract
If you agree to add another line to your existing plan, most of the time this means you are agreeing to a 12 or 24 month contract. The new line does not fall under the existing contract, if you have one. All carriers require a contract if you get a new phone at a discounted rate (the least expensive phones start at about $125 and move up from there) and many carriers require a contract with a new line regardless of the price of the equipment. Make sure you check out what you are agreeing to when you add the new line.

Agreement
Make sure that you and your child have a clear understanding of what the phone is for and what they can do with it. Is it for emergencies only? Are they able to use it to talk to friends? Are you going to allow them to use text messaging? Picture messaging? Mobile web? Come to an agreement on what is and isn't okay for them to do with the phone.

Usage
Make sure you know how to keep track of their current usage and talk to them at the first sign of excessive usage. Most carriers allow you to check this online, by calling 611 and some, like T-Mobile or Alltel, allow you to check it via text message. Typically, these estimates of current usage are between 24-72 hours behind and may or may not include roaming. There are some external companies, like Minute Watch, that will keep track of your usage for you. See their websites for details.

Roaming
Make sure that your child understands what the coverage area of their plan is and how to use the roaming indicator on the phone. Sometimes, large bills can be avoided if the user of the phone simply doesn't answer or place a call while roaming. It is possible to roam, even in your home area, if you are picking up a network from outside of your home area or, if you have a network-based plan, if you are picking up a non-covered network. The indicator on your phone should indicate this. Both types of roaming will be considered valid by your carrier.

Messaging
Text messaging is roughly $0.15/msg these days with the major carriers on a pay-per-use package. Both outgoing and incoming messages are charged so if your child receives a message and then replies to it, that counts as two messages. On pay-per-use packages, generally speaking, picture and video messages cost more than simple text messages so that is something you'll want them to be aware of.

Even if your child says they won't send messages, you will probably still want to get them a package because they will probably receive some from their friends once their number gets out and the temptation may prove too hard for some teens to resist. It's probably best to pay $20 for the unlimited package than pay $0.15/msg for 2,500 messages. If you don't want to pay for a package, blocking text/picture/video messaging entirely might be an option for you.

Premium Messaging
Premium messages are insidious, annoying messages sent to your phone by shady companies out to make a buck. They're basically legal only through a loophole. If you've ever seen the ringtone, wallpaper, horoscope or joke of the day ads on TV or in magazines that say, "Text joke to 12345," those are premium messages. They are very hard to get rid of once you sign up for them (either by sending a text and sending a response to a reply text received from the company or inadvertantly signing up for them by trying to get a "free ringtone" from a website.) Premium messages are best avoided at all costs so please, please, please make your children aware of them so they don't sign up for them not knowing that they can be charged $0.99 to $9.99 (or more) per message.

If you do see premium messages on your bill, get the phone and send the words STOP, END, CANCEL or QUIT to the five-digit short code immediatly. You can also get information, such as their 800 number, e-mail address or website from your carrier to contact them about stopping the messages.

Downloads
Games, ringtones, wallpapers, etc. can be downloaded on your phone. You can block this with many carriers but not all, I don't think. Make sure your child knows that these are not free items but there is a cost associated with them. Many carriers also charge airtime (minutes) to browse and download these items so even if your child doesn't actually buy anything, if they spend an hour browsing, it can use a lot of minutes. Mobile web also typically uses airtime.

Phone Selection
Your child probably does not need a Blackberry, Palm Treo or other smartphone and these devices typically require expensive data plans. Figure out what you are getting the phone for and discuss this with your child. Explain why you are getting them the phone then take a look at the phones available on whatever carrier you plan on going with together. Figure out which features are required and which features are unnecessary.

I tend to go with Motorola handsets because they are pretty reliable, usually get good signal and are quite customizable but they are usually a little more expensive than an LG or Samsung. Another great feature about Motorola phones is that certain applications, such as downloads, messaging, mobile web, can be locked with a four-digit code so that they cannot be used. Low-end Motorola phones such as the W315 (Verizon, Sprint, Alltel) and the v195 (T-Mobile) are simple, great phones that are fairly easy to use. They would be just right for someone starting out with a new cell phone who doesn't need a whole lot of fancy features and really would only be using the phone to place calls.

The two phones mentioned above (and most, if not all current Motorola phones) also have the ability to restrict calls. You can restrict outgoing calls to all, none or phonebook and incoming calls have the same option. This allows you to enter all the numbers you want them to be able to call and the numbers you want to be able to call them and restrict all others. I have also seen some handsets that allow you to restrict the numbers to the top ten and top three numbers in the phonebook, but I cannot remember which brand of handset this was. Not all phones have the restrict dial feature, however. (Thanks to Jay2TheRescue for reminding me to include this.)

[MOTOhooligan]

[continued]

Look on the carrier's website and decide before going to the retail location what phone you want. Pick a few backups in case your first choice is not in stock. Don't let them talk you into a different model, go with the one you chose when you weren't in a bright, shiny environment designed to sell you things. Don't let your child talk you into a different model once you get to the office (and believe me, they'll try.)

Mail-In Rebates
Remember that, many times, the best price for a phone with a contract involves a mail-in rebate. Rebates are typically between $25-$100 so if the phone is $9.99 after rebate and the rebate is $100, you'll be paying $109.99+tax at the register and then sending the rebate in.

Rebates are processed by an outside rebate vendor, they don't go to the carrier. Rebate vendors make their money because they reject any rebate that isn't 100% correct, according to their many rules. Make sure that each rebate (if you purchased more than one phone) is in a separate envelope and make copies of everything, including the side of the phone box with the serial number on it. For more information on rebates, please read this thread (Rebate Tips).

Phone Insurance
For children or people who work outside, handset insurance is almost a must. For phones that start at about $125 and then quickly move to $300 or $400, paying $5/mo for insurance is a pretty good deal. Insurance will cover theft, loss or damage. An additional option with some carriers is an extended warranty which will cover warranty issues even after the manufacturer's warranty has expired (usually after 12 months of purchase.) Most of the time you'll get a refurbished phone that is the same model as the phone that was lost/damaged but occasionally you may get a phone that is similar (has the same features) as the phone that was lost. For example, if you lost a RAZR you might get an LG VX8600 or a Nokia N75 to replace it because they have similar features. There is a deductible that you must pay to get a phone replaced under the insurance but, depending on the phone and how long you have had it, it makes financial sense to pay for the insurance.

Location Based Services
Some carriers offer location based services (LBS) which allow you to track the location of a phone using GPS. NEXTEL offers a host of LBS and Alltel recently unveiled their GPS-based location service from WaveMarket. Please see your carrier for more information regarding location based services they offer.

Guarantee Period
This may be the single most important thing for parents (or anyone) to read before getting wireless service or adding a line. Carriers have a period of time from the day you sign your contract that lasts between 15-30 days, typically, where you can return your equipment and cancel service without paying a termination fee. I cannot urge you enough to use this time to your advantage. As soon as you get the phone, take it out, make sure it works all the places you typically go. If you want your child to be able to call you from school, make sure the phone works at school. Make sure it works in your house, in their room, at their grandparents house, the mall, the soccer field, etc.

You can use the Service Locator on the main page of Wireless Advisor.com to see which carriers offer service in your area. It is based on zip codes and sometimes will display information for carriers that do business under different names so it may take a little digging to figure out that the carrier name listed actually does business as CellularONE or something along those lines. When you're testing the service, please remember that the coverage maps in the sales offices, online and in brochures are just an estimate and, sometimes, may be based on the markets in which the carrier is able to offer service and not the full, actual areas in which they do offer service so be aware that what you see might not always be what you get. Though, most of the top five carriers (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile & Alltel) have coverage maps which are fairly accurate.

Some, but not all, carriers will waive all of your charges for this trial period. Make sure you're aware of this before you activate the line. Also, in order to qualify for the guarantee, some carriers require that the phone have only a certain number of minutes used on it and it has to be returned in good condition with the original packaging with all the accessories. Check with your carrier about their guarantee process.

Carriers will not waive an early termination fee if you cancel service after the initial trial period. Even if you move to an area where they don't provide service, even if you can't use your phone within 100 miles of your home.

Something else to consider is that if your child is going to be moving to college during the length of the contract, you might want to ensure the phone works in the college town, if you know where that is.

Getting a wireless phone for your child can be a good thing. It can help keep them safe and help them learn responsibility. This guide is by no means all inclusive and I urge you to seek out many other sources of information before taking the next step of actually purchasing wireless service for your child(ren.)

[MOTOhooligan]

I have closed the thread to keep it clean. If you have any suggestions, ways I might improve it or things I omitted, please PM me and I will add them (and give you credit.)

I am pretty much done for now but I see this thread as an ever-changing, living document so please, if you have questions, need clarification or have something you think should be added, PM me and I'll update it.

For now, I hope this helps!

EDIT 11/15/07 8:12AM CST: Thanks to Ellen for sending me info that Disney Mobile is shutting down as of 12/31/07. Additionally, she sent me info on T-Mobile's Flex Pay and AT&T's Pick Your Plan. I also added information on rebates and the trial period most providers have.

EDIT 11/15/07 5:27PM CST: Added information about restrict dial on Motorola handsets from Jay2TheRescue.

EDIT 11/17/2007 11:56PM CST: Added info on location based services thanks to RadioRaiders.

EDIT: 4/29/08 10:01PM CST: Added information about Minute Watch from golfingbug.