Articles | The Pros and Cons of Different Cell Phone Plans Available Online

It's a natural phenomenon for customers to get confused about the huge number of cell phone plans available online. For one thing, the really fancy names of these phone plans don't really describe the offerings and features contained in each package. It's a good thing that mobile phone plans can be placed into different specific categories depending on their most basic features.

These basic features can help customers figure out if a particular mobile phone plan can work well for them or not. The different mobile phone plans can be categorized as individual plans, family or group plans, or pay as you go plans. Each of these categories represents a variety of plans that suit different types of customer needs. Once customers have identified specific distinguishing characteristics, then they can decide on which plan they will sign up for.

Pay as You Go Plans

Pay as you go cell phone plans are also known as prepaid plans. The major feature of plans of this type is that customers get to buy the minutes before using them as opposed to post paid plans where customers receive a monthly recurring charge. It should be noted that the minutes contained in the phone plan packages under this category aren't that much compared to plans under the individual and family plan category.

Advantage: The main advantage of prepaid plans is that customers aren't locked into any contract with any phone carrier. Customers can purchase minutes without worrying about any lock in or advantage agreement with any mobile phone company. Note that mobile phone companies usually have a two year lock in agreement wherein customers will have to continually subscribe with the company for two years. Customers will be obliged to pay a pre-termination fee in case they switch to another phone service carrier.

Disadvantage: The main drawback of prepaid plans is that the value of their minutes diminishes with each use. These cell phone plans are basically meant for people who don't really need a lot of talk time. There is also an expiration date for the said minutes if they do not get used within a specified number of days.

Individual Plans

This is the most basic mobile phone plan provided by all carriers. Phone plans under this category are meant for the use of only one individual customer. These plans have pretty much an average amount of minutes that can be used for an entire month. Customers get a monthly recurring charge with these phone plans.

Advantage: The main advantage of individual cell phone plans is that customers don't need to worry about the number of minutes they have left on their phone. However, they should also be mindful of overage charges when they go over their allotted minutes. Phone plans of this type usually have a lot of perks and other extra features that customers can take advantage of.

Disadvantage: Most mobile phone companies have a lock in period, which usually lasts about a year or two. Customers who switch to another phone carrier before the lock in period expires will have to pay a pre-termination fee, which will cost them several hundred dollars.

Family Plans

Family or group plans are designed for families or groups that want to share minutes. This makes the paper work simpler and plans of this type usually have more minutes since it is expected that more than one user will be eating up the minutes in a month.

Advantage: The main advantage of this plan is the huge amount of minutes that can be shared with each subscriber in the plan. This plan is perfect for a family or a group who want to de-clutter the amount of paper they receive each month from companies sending bills.

Disadvantage: The main disadvantage comes in the shared minutes itself. One or two subscriber in the plan can eat up huge amounts of minutes, which statistics show are usually teenagers in the family. Fortunately, some mobile companies can set up certain limits in cell phone plans under this category.