Wireless Carriers...Which One is Best for You?

Choosing a wireless carrier can be a little intimidating unless you understand equally your wireless needs and what each major carrier offers to its customers. Once you compare carriers, it is easy to pick the plan that fits you best.The top three carriers are compared below.

AT&T Wireless (Formily Cingular) offers several plans ranging from pay as you go, family plans, and individual plans. Most plans come with a free basic phone, but you are allowed to upgrade for a price if you choose. With their enhanced network, AT&T claims to have the fewest dropped calls of any wireless service. AT&T promises plans with no roaming or long distance charges nationwide, but there are a few holes in their coverage map.

Most of the Eastern United States and the majority of the south have AT&T coverage. A good portion of the west coast is covered or soon will be, but the mountain time zone shows vast areas with no coverage at all. If you live in Nevada or travel through the state quite often, you might want to look closely at the map before you choose a wireless plan with AT&T.

T-Mobile leads the pack in free minutes. For the money, they offer the most free minutes of any plan. They offer several plans including business plans, pays as you go, family and individual plans. They do offer free phones, including camera phones, but if you want to choose a different phone than the one they offer you will have to pay for it. Their coverage is spotty in quite a few areas around the United States and Mexico, and roaming charges do apply to some areas.

Their most concentrated coverage is in the eastern United States, although there is quite a large zone in New York and Georgia that gets limited or no coverage. Nevada is another hole in their coverage network and even California and Oregon have quite a few miles where service is not available. Their website does have a nice feature that allows you to check coverage areas by inputting your zip code. If you travel a lot, they do have international service options, but it will cost you.

Verizon Wireless touts itself as the most reliable network. With plans ranging from pay as you go, family plans, individual and business plans, they offer several options to meet your calling needs. They do offer a free basic phone with most plans, but if you want anything special of fun, you have to pay for it yourself. Verizon has good coverage, but it will cost you. Many of the plans charge roaming rates when you call outside your service area. The good news is that you can make a call from out of state, but the bad news is you will pay a different rate for that call than you will from calls made in your coverage area.

Like other carriers, Nevada is one big dead zone. There are several other small pockets throughout the nation, where extended service (translate this to service you pay extra for) is available, but there are also lots of places where you won’t be able to make a call. If you travel by car quite often check the coverage areas carefully before you sign on with Verizon.

To make the right choice when you go to choose a wireless plan, take into consideration just how important roaming coverage is, how many minutes you really need, and what your budget can afford. Once you have decided on those factors it is easy to sort through wireless offerings and choose a cellular plan that fits your needs.