Mom needs help with cell plan for student....

[Aisha]

I'm searching for a cell phone plan for my son who is a student at the U of Miami. Any ideas on what is considered optimum in terms of anytime minutes for a student? He seems to think he needs at least 400-500, but I'm trying to find a plan that will be no more than $50 a month if possible.

He won't be doing much traveling outside of the south Florida area, but free long distance is a must (gotta get those calls home, ya know!) and I would like to avoid the obvious roaming charges etc. Should I look at text messaging and mobile to mobile as necessary options and what about Sprint's option to do month to month service as opposed to a lengthy contract? Is that worth the extra $10/month?

Primarily I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction for a carrier that will give him the best service and the most "bang for my buck". Once I know that, I can play around with option plans.

Some phone advice would be wonderful too. I need to find a compromise between my budget and his high-tech desires! This search is giving me eyestrain....

[ComicalMoodyDan]

You might want to consider the America's Choice 400 plan avaible through Verizon Wireless. It gives you 400 anytime minutes a month, 1000 mobile to mobile minutes, and unlimited nights and weekends for $50 a month. Long Distance is included on this plan and the rates apply to anywhere on the America's Choice Network which seems to cover a good portion of the country. Check Verizon Wireless's website for plans, phones, and etc...

Verizon Wireless

[cryogenic]

If he's not going to be doing much travelling, he could opt for a local plan, which would most likely give him all of Florida with more minutes for less money. However, with the America's Choice plan, he'd be able to use it when he got home as well, which would probably be nice... along with the fact that the America's Choice covers most of FL anyway.

[Aisha]

I know everyone is different, but does 400 anytime minutes seem reasonable for a college student? I really hate to see us get buried in overtime charges and am willing to overestimate as a result, but is 400 in the ballpark, over or under what a kid needs to stay connected to his buddies?

By the way, his friends are no help, most of them don't even know how many minutes they have, never mind how many they use. Ahh...the luxury of someone else paying the bill!

[jmccrane]

Get him in the habit of using the phone on nights and weekends...it's easier than you may think. Limit the daytime calls to a few minutes and have the nighttime for longer calls.

Always get a contract, and for that matter try to stay away from Sprint. Sprint is a big wild card when it comes to service. It could be perfect or terrible depending on where you go. Get a 1 year contract unless you get an extraordinary value for a 2 year deal.

Mobile to mobile is only necessary if a lot of his friends or family use the same carriers' phones.

Text messaging is something he should pay for if he wants it. It's cute but not necessary.

Just don't get a really cheap phone. You don't have to shell out even $100 in most cases, but try to avoid freebies. Over where I used to work (RadioShack), we gave away Verizon phones as freebies that were about to be discontinued or were lousy sellers.

Hope that helps [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[Aisha]

Thanks for the info on Sprint...this is exactly what I am looking for since I know nothing about coverage in the area. I'm sure that within any companies' offerings, I can find a plan that works, but which company?? Some seem to have terrible connections, dropped calls, etc and it's hard to know who to choose.

With Sprint off the list, I can begin to narrow it down!

Thanks.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

[ATLguy]

So far, all of your responses appear to be from folks who do not reside in the Miami area. It might be worthwhile to explore 2-3 carriers and decide on a phone/plan combo first. Rank the carriers, but don't actually sign the contract until your son is in Florida. This way, you can start with carrier #1, give them a try and if it doesn't work as expected, return it within the trial period without penalty.

I'll tell you why I suggest this: a few years ago, a friend selected service through AT&T Wireless in the Washington, DC area based on recommendations he had received. He purchased the service and had really good coverage ... that is, until he set foot in his new college dorm room. You see, the service worked well all over town, except it wouldn't work at all in his room, and the call quality was very poor in his dorm's hallway. Basically, the phone turned out to be a waste because he couldn't use it when/where he wanted.

When it comes to cellular service, it might be in your best interest to just wait until you or your son are on-site before signing a contract ... at least it will give you an opportunity to adequately test the service during the trial period.

Good luck!

ATLguy

[IdiOTeQnoLogY]

Originally posted by: Aisha
Thanks for the info on Sprint...this is exactly what I am looking for since I know nothing about coverage in the area. I'm sure that within any companies' offerings, I can find a plan that works, but which company?? Some seem to have terrible connections, dropped calls, etc and it's hard to know who to choose.

With Sprint off the list, I can begin to narrow it down!

Thanks.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

as a matter of fact sprint is actually very good in florida where you are saying you need it most. people didn't even really pay attention to where you were requesting service b4 they dismissed sprint. florida is a good market for sprint and as you said in your first post that is where your son will use his phone primarily. If you go with sprint I'd strongly recommend a Sanyo phone- they perform the best by far......and just use the 14 day trial period (the $34.99 activation fee is non refundable) but you do not pay a cancellation fee in that time frame.

[waycath]

And at least check out T-Mobile. $40 plan has 600 anytime minutes and unlimited weekends. This includes nationwide long distance including Hawaii and Alaska and Puerto Rico. Plus nationwide roaming on the GSM network. For $7 bucks he can add unlimited nights, and for another $3 he can have 500 text messages. There is your $50.

However, as others have said, he will need to see if the service is good in the places where he will be spending most of his time. No service provider is good for you if it doesn't work in the places you need to be.

[Airb330]

Sprint really does have good Florida coverage, I'd go with them or Verizon's America's Choice plan. I would check out T-Mobile also.

[COtech]

Originally posted by: Aisha
I'm searching for a cell phone plan for my son who is a student at the U of Miami. Any ideas on what is considered optimum in terms of anytime minutes for a student? He seems to think he needs at least 400-500, but I'm trying to find a plan that will be no more than $50 a month if possible.

He won't be doing much traveling outside of the south Florida area, but free long distance is a must (gotta get those calls home, ya know!) and I would like to avoid the obvious roaming charges etc. Should I look at text messaging and mobile to mobile as necessary options and what about Sprint's option to do month to month service as opposed to a lengthy contract? Is that worth the extra $10/month?

For unlimited local calling, with $0.05/minute long distance, there's http://www.metropcs.com/ , a 1900 MHz CMDA carrier.

I have equipted my two TSU daughters, sophomore and freshman, with Cingular 500 minute plan (3000 N+W) National and 400 home (3000 N+W Nashville) plans. The older one is an athlete who travels extensively. The plans are $49.99 and $39.99 respectively. The national plan is no longer available with Night and Weekend minutes.

Cingular Wireless in Florida is 800 MHz cellular-b IS-136 (TDMA) in Miami, and up and down the Atlantic coast. Several other areas are covered using 1900 MHz. According to the text with the map, you can use your HOME minutes throughout Florida, but digital features and mobile to mobile minutes only while within Cingular coverage. Nights are 9 pm to 7 am.

Cingular does not cover any of Vermont, his roaming while visiting home would be $0.79/minute.

ATT is the 800 MHz cellular-a IS-136 carrier in Miami, but I'll let someone else who watches them closely summarize their plans and VT coverage.

[parthery]

AT&T just won the JD Power award for best cellular service in the Miami market....for what its worth.

The best deal is prob. their National Network $34.99 plan which will give him 500 minutes + 3000 nights and weekends...plus...when he comes home to visit, if you have AT&T service in your city, then he will not pay roaming charges.

Plus, AT&T has a 15 day return policy...so if he gets it and the coverage is no good in his dorm room, he can return it and look at someone else.

[tearsonurcheek]

Just don't get a really cheap phone. You don't have to shell out even $100 in most cases, but try to avoid freebies. Over where I used to work (RadioShack), we gave away Verizon phones as freebies that were about to be discontinued or were lousy sellers.

I agree completely. When I was researching carriers here, I noticed that everybody and their brother was giving away the Nokia 5165, except AT&T, which gives away the 3360. Anyway, out of curiosity, I went to the manufacturer's website for research (www.nokiausa.com) and discovered that although the 5165 is still supported, it is not made anymore, which, of course, means that it is being phased out. So, after my research, I found out that the Motorola V120t (only out for approximately 3 months as of this post) could be had for only $15 with a 2-yr. agreement with U.S. Cellular. It is a very good phone with great reception and VERY good battery life (all better than the aforementioned Nokia). Whichever carrier you decide on, go to their website first and see your options, it will also tell you which phones are avialable for that area. More info about motorola phones...www.motorola.com After you see the available deals online for a carrier, call several of the local authorized dealers for that carrier, and compare, ofttimes the local authorized dealer will not only have the same deal as the carrier's website, but will throw in several extras. For example, right now, U.S. Cellular offers unlimited N/W for free on any plan higher than $35...however, check the specifics, as I found out recently, the unlimited N/W is local only, with any out of local calling falling under my anytime minutes (even if I switch to the regional 5-state coverage). Another thing to watch out for, is deposit. I checked every carrier in the area (my credit is horrid) and found that the required deposit ranged from $125 for Sprint PCS, to $750 for Cingular! The only exception was Cricket, which you prepay month to month for unlimited local usage, but as I want to use my phone outside of Tulsa (they offer NO roaming capability, in fact, their phone's are digital only), and wanted the free LD, that ruled them out. Up front, you'll have the deposit plus the phone...Sprint's deposit was cheaper, but U.S. Cellular's phone was MUCH cheaper, plus I've heard nothing but bad things from Tulsa Sprint users...I wound up saving $75 up front, by going with U.S. Cellular.

Ok, please note that I'm NOT trying to sell you on U.S. Cellular, because, as it's been said in several places on this forum, one city's "best provider" is another's "also-ran" (or doesn't even offer coverage)...I just use my personal experience to point out things to look for.

Keep the Faith,

Lance

P.S. Thank God for the "preview" feature, as I learn the ins and outs of this board's software...lol

[Spdracr]

I just bought a metropcs phone and I must say that I am very impressed with the sound quaility.
With the Nextel some calls would go straight to voicemail instead of ringing. The long distance rate for
Metropcs is 5 cents per minute .... not bad I must say.
The Nextel phone makes a ticking noise through my car radio that would drive me nuts!
I would recommend Metropcs to you because there is no contract and the service is very good.
Nextel is always charging me for minutes even though I have free incoming ......I don't trust them.
45 dollars a month with caller id , voicemail, call waiting , taxes , and unlimited minutes.... Keep it up Metropcs!!!!!

Its my advice to get a larger minute plan first because its always cheaper to spend more on a month service charge, then it is to go over in minutes. And thats true for any carriers. If your not sure how many minutes are going to be used then keep this in mind.
lets do the quick math

(using sprint pricing for an example)

500 anytime unlimited n/w 45.00 month +.40/min overage

or

800 anytime/ unlimited n/w 60.00 +.40/min overage

If he was on the 500 min plan and uses 600 minutes. He is over by 100 mins at .40/min = an addition 40.00 bucks
If he was on the 500 min plan and used 800 minutes. He is over by 300 minutes at .40/min =an addition 120.00 bucks

See how it addes up. If you would have started out on the 800 min plan then there woudn't be any addition charges so your savings would be 25.00 up to 105.00 dollars for the same amount of airtime being used.

And lets say he doesn't use the full 500 minutes. Then your loss is only 15.00 dollars, and you can call customer service and change plans. To me the extra 15.00 a month for 1 or 2 months is well worth the piece of mind. Untill you can get an idea of what his average usage is going to be.

Just my option.

The Anonymous Sprint PCS Supervisor