Clark Howard's Tips

Sorting through the critical mass of cell phone plans

June 11, 2008

There's been so much press devoted to Apple's iPhone being lowered to $199 and beefed up with faster web-surfing capabilities. But here's the gotcha: The data plan is going from $20 to $30, with a 2-year contract required. So you'll actually wind up paying more than if you bought the iPhone when it was more expensive.

Meanwhile, Clark thinks there's a bigger telecommunications story that got wholly ignored: T-Mobile's new Family Time Unlimited plan. The upshot of this plan is that you can add additional lines for $49, which makes it perfect for small business and families. That includes unlimited calling, texting, IM and picture and video messaging.

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There's no doubt that the trend is moving toward unlimited calling when it comes to cell phones. Metro PCS offers a family plan that's $100 total for 4 lines. That's perhaps the best deal in cities that Metro already serves.

Unless you're a heavy cell user, Clark advises you to skip the traditional Big 4 carriers and check out Net10.com. There's no monthly fee and all calls are 10 cents/minute. This is particularly great if you use under 300 minutes/month.

If you're between 300 and 1,500 minutes/month, T-Mobile may still be the best for you -- not AT&T, Verizon or Sprint. T-Mobile is the smallest of the Big 4 and has high customer satisfaction ratings.

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