Cellphone plans and my nightmare ...

Mobile phones are one of the best technology products of this century.  With the introduction of smart phones, the need for a computer is almost eliminated. What I find very disturbing though is the cost of owning a cell phone in the US. A customer at any of the major US based wireless provider could end up paying $40 just to carry a cellphone - not make any calls or receive any calls but to just carry it. With the popularity of smart phones, add another $30 to the monthly price and you are looking atleast $70 to own a cellphone.  A customer is charged not only for calls originating from his cell phone but also for receiving calls and for a reasonably priced plan (at ATT , I am on a $39.99/ mo  for 450 min of voice), you get a grand total of 450 min - 7.5 hrs. Its one thing limiting yourself to making a few calls every month and ensuring that your calls do not run too long but how do you control the number of calls or the duration of each call you receive? When I got my first cell phone in the US, I was already working for more than a year and still felt it was a luxury. At the persuasion of my family that they needed to reach me in an emergency, I went in for a cell phone. When I was first explained by the salesman about how I would be charged for receiving and making calls, I was taken aback! Added to it, I was told that I would be allotted a certain number of minutes which would expire at the end of the month even if I had any remaining (no roll-over with Verizon!!!). This did not make any sense to me then and still does not make any sense. Why should I not retain the minutes I have paid for. Does it cost the wireless provider more if I used my minutes this month versus last month!!! Should it even matter to the wireless provider when and how I connect with friends, family and coworkers? The concept of weekend / night time discounted prices is something I find even more ridiculous. If I have a cell phone and a calling plan I have paid for and if I need to talk to someone during the day, just because I do not have sufficient (day-time) minutes this month, I need to postpone my conversation or go in search of a land line! On top of all this, I wont even touch the topic of limiting my choices of cellphone instruments to the ones offered by wireless providers as a part of their contract and cell phone plan. Everytime I shop for cell phone plans or cell phones, I feel I have no to little choice as a consumer when it comes to finding economical plans.  


On a regular basis, I contrast this to the cell phone payment options and plans (or lack thereof) in India and other Asian countries where the option of pre-paid plans or "pay as you go" plans are very popular and used by the majority of cell phone users. And yes- you pay only for calls you make and you do not pay for calls you receive.  On my last trip to India, I was pleasantly surprised to find the concept of pre-paid plans for data plans as well. For a very small daily fee, you get access to the internet from your smart phone.  And ofcourse, customers in India and Asia walk into any cellphone store, buy the phone they like and bundle it themselves with a carrier of their choice. If they are not happy with the provider or the phone, they change it immediately (no concept of contract!!!)

I recently read about the two major wireless providers in the US limiting the amount of data transfer for the  flat monthly rate they charge now!!! I had forgotten all about this and a couple of days back dreamed about cellphones and cellphone prices - yes - dreamed about cellphone plans!!! Thats what happens when you are finally nearing the end of your contract with your current cell phone provider and you so badly want to make a choice for a cellphone plan/ wireless provider that you cannot change for the next two years once you have chosen it! Every time I have to do this, I dread the fine print and wonder which rule kicks in before which rule as a part of your plan. A couple of years back, when I wanted to switch to ATT (purely driven by my desire to carry an iphone!), I had questions like - What happens to my 5000 night and weekend minutes if I talk to another customer thats on ATT wireless during the weekend or night time?? Do my weekend/ night time minutes get consumed or do I talk for free??? This particular question required some research on the salesman part (after giving me a stare that said - the fine print is not something you are supposed to be reading!!)

Back to my dream - I am calling different cellphone providers to understand their latest plans (Its been two years since I shopped for cellphone plans and lots could have changed!) , how their contracts work etc and one of the salespeople I am talking to says - "Ma'am - for new customers, we have introduced a tiered rate plan depending on the daily cellphone usage.  If you keep your cell phone ON for 24 hrs a day, we charge you a flat rate that will put your bill at $112/ mo!! If you think you keep it on for 16 hrs a day, the rate falls a little and the rate further drops if you keep your phone on only for 12 hrs / day. I immediately ask the salesperson - "how do you know when i keep my phone switched on or off" and I immediately get a reply - "we would send a signal every few min to your phone to check if its on or off".. OMG- the next thing I know is I have hung up on the salesperson and shaking my head wondering if the fees and the plans these cellphone providers come up with and keep changing will ever stop!!! One more thing the salesperson told me - Once you have a signed a contract indicating the # of hrs you will keep your cell phone on per day, you cannot go to a plan that has a lower number of daily hours that you will keep it turned on. So, I have to decide how many hours a day I will keep my phone switched on for the next two years!!!

Now, thats what I call a nightmare ....:-) :-)

PS: Once I woke up and thought about my dream a little more - I wondered - isnt the cellphone something you keep switched on 24/7 and what a concept would it be in reality if the cellphone carriers charged you for just keeping the cellphone switched ON.