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When
you get wireless service, remember
you are shopping for two things:
the phone and a wireless carrier.
The idea is to pick the phone, the
carrier and the pricing plan that
fits how, when, where, and how
often you'll use the phone.
Consider the following suggestions
while looking for service.
- Do
a personal calling
inventory. Determine
how many calls you're
likely to make, the
time of day you're
likely to place the
calls and what days
you're likely to make
the calls.
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- In
addition to a monthly
access fee, your bill
is based on the number
of calls, the length,
the time of day, the
day of the week, and
sometimes your
location. Rates are
higher during peak
periods, which may be
from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00
p.m., Monday through
Friday, and lower
during off-peak hours
-- early morning,
later at night and on
weekends.
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- Carriers
provide a variety of
pricing plans.
Usually, there are
plans designed to
accommodate the light,
regular and heavy
volume customers.
Carriers sometimes
also offer other
pricing incentives,
such as free weekend
calling, free minutes
of usage or reduced
off-peak rates. Choose
a plan that best fits
your calling patterns.
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- If
you plan to use the
phone only
occasionally, select
economy plan. If you
make frequent calls,
it may be more
economical to sign up
for a plan that
provides a certain
amount of free minutes
of usage. Heavy users
should sign up for a
service plan which
provides a higher
monthly fee, several
free hours and the
lowest rate of air
time.
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- Compare
local coverage areas.
A roaming charge
applies when you call
from outside your home
area. Some home areas
span several states,
so any call made
within that large area
is a local call.
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- There's
usually a fee for
activating service to
your phone. These fees
vary by carrier.
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- Check
with current customers
of the carrier you may
know to see if they
are satisfied with the
service provided.
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