Pre Paid Cell Phones
Pre paid cell phones are mobile phones requiring service to be purchased prior to use. Buying credit on a prepaid mobile phone network allows consumers to make calls without monthly bills or other long-term obligations. Prepaid cell phones are an excellent way to keep in touch without the usual headaches of a contract service plan.
For years the only way to get mobile telephone service was through signing a one- or two-year service agreement with a mobile network provider.
Prepaid cell phones have been popular in Europe and Southeast Asia for years, but they're only now beginning to catch on in North America. They were originally appealing only to those with bad credit, as they often could not qualify for long-term service agreements. They are now gaining mass appeal, however, as younger people, immigrants, and tourists use them for their flexibility and ease of use.
Using a pay-as-you-go billing model, prepaid cell phones allow consumers to control their spending better, as they are notified right away when their credit balance is low or exhausted.
Pre Paid Cell Phone Plans
Prepaid
cell phone providers typically offer entry-level phone packages for next to
nothing. These packages include a prepaid SIM card and a nominal amount of free
credit to get started. Providers also allow consumers to use their existing
phones provided they were originally designed for the same network or are
unlocked (that is, they are free to operate on any network worldwide).
Pre paid cell phone plans allow consumer to change to another network immediately if they are unsatisfied with their current one, the only obligation being their remaining credit balances and phone package (if purchased). That being said, in some instances it is possible to unlock starter phones for use on another network. There are no fees associated with termination.
Another added benefit to prepaid cell phone use is that most carriers only charge you for the days you actually use the phone. AT&T's GoPhone network, for example, charges subscribers $1.00 per day of actual use.
Cheap Pre Paid Cell Phones
Casual users making infrequent calls and international travelers only making calls while in the country can save money by not paying monthly fees for a phone that is only used a few days a month.
Users who only use cell phones for text messaging also benefit, as text
messaging does not trigger the daily usage fee.
Prepaid cell phones may also be used as a backup phone kept in a car or second
residence for emergency use. One often used technique in other countries where
prepaid cell phones have been popular for years is to use swap out SIM cards
from different carriers to take advantage of the individual promotions each
network carrier offers.
One provider may have a low-cost option for daytime calls, while another provides cheaper calls for nights and weekends. Having two SIM cards from two different networks allows a customer to benefit from both promotions. Customers who are locked in to a service agreement with one provider would be more reluctant to experiment with other carriers in this way.
This technique is so popular in countries like China and Japan that cell phone manufacturers are now offering "dual SIM" phones, allowing two SIM cards to operate concurrently in the same phone. This removes the burden of continuously swapping SIM cards in and out of a phone and adds the ability to receive phone calls from two separate phone numbers.
How Much Do Pre Paid Cell Phone Plans Cost?
Higher per-minute costs originally made pay-as-you-go plans less enticing to mobile phone users. Increased competition by newer network providers has lowered these costs though, with per-minute fees more on par with their monthly plan counterparts. In reality, prepaid plans can often be cheaper, as you can buy exactly how many minutes you want to use.
With monthly plans, the actual cost per minute skyrockets if users do not completely exhaust their monthly package's allotment each billing cycle. Fees for additional services such as text messaging and data are expensive if not explicitly purchased from one's credit balance. It is important to check each individual carrier's price plans and purchase these individual add-ons if text message and data transmissions are going to be frequently used.
Credit purchases, also known as "top up" cards, can typically be purchased online or in retail outlets in fixed increments ($15, $25, $50, $100, etc.). Some providers allow you to purchase in any amount for a subscriber's own account or as a gift for another user. Retail outlets give customers top up credit in the form of a scratch off card or PIN code on a paper receipt.
Online sites usually credit your phone directly or allow you to enter a PIN code you already received from another source. Some countries even offer automated kiosks where subscribers can top up any phone from any provider in that particular country using cash, coins or credit cards.
How to Cancel a Pre Paid Cell Phone
Most providers cancel your phone after 30 days or so if you fail to add more credit to your account. The more credit you purchase at one time, the longer validity period they will grant your phone number. On the GoPhone network, for example, a $25 dollar top up will grant subscribers 30 more days use. A $100 dollar top up card, however, will grant them an entire year's worth of time to use their phone.
A subscriber only topping up $25 at a time would have to continuously pay $25 every month, while a subscriber topping up $100 at a time is effectively only obligated to $8.33 worth of usage per month. As with contract-based cell phones, it is still important to check a network's coverage area, price plans, and feature packages before choosing a prepaid cell phone provider.