The Cell Phone Shuffle

Now that you can keep your phone number when you switch carriers, should you change your provider? We asked the experts.

Gail Repsher Emery

Gail Repsher Emery writes for Washington Technology magazine and teaches journalism at American University in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. art director Mark Wood has tried three cell phone companies: Sprint, AT&T, and recently, Verizon. His wife, writer Karen-Lee Ryan, selected Verizon for its good coverage, particularly in the city's subway tunnels.

"It's important for us to keep in contact when we're out and about," says Wood. "On my old phone, every time I left a station the connection would cut off."

Consumer advocates say coverage area may be the most important factor to consider when selecting a mobile phone company. That's because service plans are becoming more uniform from carrier to carrier, making price less of a factor in the decision making process.

Wood and Ryan made their decisions before phone number portability came to Washington, D.C. (and the nation's other 99 largest markets) in November 2003. The government-mandated change meant mobile phone service providers had to let folks keep their phone numbers when they switched companies--something the wired phone companies already allow.

Last month, consumers nationwide were granted the same ability to keep their cell phone numbers when they switch providers. Now that the barrier to switching is gone, it's time to shop around.

But when does it really make sense to switch service providers? And how can you find a new plan that's better than your old one? Because cell phone service varies from area to area, there's no one-size-fits-all answer. A provider that's great in one city may offer mediocre service elsewhere. Finding a new provider isn't easy, but if you use a little common sense and ask the right questions, you'll find one that works for you.

When You Should Switch

The nation's 164 million wireless subscribers have plenty of reasons to want to change service providers, according to survey results published last month. Only car dealers surpassed cell phone companies in complaints received last year by the nation's Better Business Bureaus. The bureaus got more than 18,000 complaints on everything from poor service and faulty equipment to inadequate customer service and inaccurate bills.

How do you know you're a candidate for a new service? The signs are often obvious.

If your phone calls drop off the network regularly; if you sometimes get no coverage at all; or if incoming calls often get put directly into voice mail, you should see if another company can provide better service, says Steve McFerson, a Tustin, California telecommunications consultant.

If you've had bad experiences with the company's customer service or you don't like your phone, you also should consider switching, says Allan Keiter, creator of MyRatePlan.com, a Web site that helps people choose cell phone plans.

And don't ignore price, even if you're happy with your current provider. "If you haven't checked your rate plan in a year, you are probably paying too much," Keiter says. "Last year, you might have gotten 400 minutes for $40 a month; now you can get 600 minutes for $40."

How to Choose a New Provider

If you've decided to make a change, experts say to do it carefully. Don't switch before doing your homework or you may end up with worse service than you have now, McFerson warns.

First, ask family and friends about the customer service and coverage they get from their mobile phone companies. If possible, borrow a friend's phone and try it at home, at work, and on your commute, says Derek Kerton, a wireless telecommunications industry analyst in Milpitas, California.

"Very often, somebody will take a phone to their house and find that they can't get a signal in the back yard unless they stand on top of their picnic table," Kerton says. That's not necessarily a failure of the carrier; it might not be able to put a communications tower in your neighborhood. Still, you probably want to find another carrier.

Christopher Baker, a senior policy adviser at the AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired People) in Washington, recommends checking the Web site Dead Cell Zones.com, which logs consumer reports of areas lacking good service coverage. It also has maps of providers' coverage areas. He said AARP members (U.S. residents age 50 and older) have asked the association for information on cell phones more frequently than any other topic for the last three years.

Next, call your provider to see when your contract ends--even if you think you're not under contract. For example, if you accepted a new offer from your current carrier six months ago, you may also have re-upped your contract for another year or two. "It's in the fine print, so it's very easy to miss. Then you can't switch unless you want to pay the $150 or $200 termination fee. Most people don't," Baker says.

You may also have to buy a new phone. That's because some providers use the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard and others use the CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) standard. They're not interchangeable. Cingular and T-Mobile use GSM, for instance; Sprint and Verizon currently use CDMA.

You may also need a new phone because service providers tend to lock phones into their networks. When Consumers Union, the Yonkers, New York watchdog group that publishes Consumer Reports, asked AT&T to change the codes that locked phones to its network, AT&T refused. Another consumer group, the Santa Monica, California, Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights, recently sued AT&T, Cingular, and T-Mobile for preventing interchangeability of phones.

How to Choose the Right Calling Plan

Having decided which carrier you want to use, you need to get the plan that best fits your cell phone usage. First, look at your current bill to see if your plan meets your needs. If you see a lot of roaming charges, you probably need a national plan rather than a regional plan. McFerson says if you're paying extra for a national plan but never travel out of your regional plan area, you're probably paying too much and should switch to a regional plan.

Make sure you understand the providers' coverage areas. One carrier's national plan may be good anywhere in the country; another's may include calls only on its network. One carrier's regional plan may follow state boundaries; another's may follow the carrier's network boundaries. Pick the wrong plan and you'll pay exorbitant roaming charges.

Next, see how many minutes you're using each month. If you're using far more or less than your monthly quota, you probably need a different kind of plan when you switch carriers. Always pick a plan with a little more air time than you think you need, because overage charges will quickly surpass what you'd pay for a larger plan in the first place.

"Let's say you paid $30 for 300 minutes, the overage charge was 40 cents a minute, and you used 400 minutes. Your bill is now $70. You could have bought a 400-minute plan for $40," says Keiter.

Then consider your calling patterns. If you make all your long-distance calls to family and friends at night and on the weekend, go for a free nights-and-weekends plan, or a plan that offers more nights and weekend minutes than you can possibly use. Or look for a free mobile-to-mobile plan, which offers free calls between people who use the same carrier or share a family plan, like Wood and Ryan do. These free options may mean you can go for that $30, 300-minute plan, rather than the $40, 400-minute plan, and save $120 a year.

If you're on a strict budget, don't want to sign a long-term contract, or use your phone only for emergencies, consider a prepaid plan. They're more expensive than regular monthly plans, but you'll know exactly what you're spending and you may pay less than with a regular plan, says Baker.

Buyer beware: Carefully examine flexible plans and rollover plans. Sprint recently introduced a flexible plan that gives you 300 minutes for $35, and bumps you up to the next pricing level if you use more. This may be a good option if you can't gauge your usage from month to month. But if you know you could use, say, 200 more minutes each month, it's cheaper to buy a contract for 500 minutes up front. Sprint's Fair & Flexible plan charges $50 for 500 minutes; its Free & Clear plan charges $40 for the same amount of time.

Cingular allows users to roll over unused anytime minutes to the next monthly cycle, but there are caveats: The minutes expire after 12 months, and nights-and-weekends and mobile-to-mobile minutes don't roll over. This plan will help you if your usage fluctuates from month to month, but if it's pretty constant, you won't get much benefit.

What to Do When You Switch

Now that you've researched mobile phone companies and their plans, you're in the driver's seat. Before you switch, call your current provider and tell a representative about the great deal you've found with the competition. Ask what the company will give you to stay. According to Keiter, it costs about $350 to replace each cell phone customer, so your provider would rather make you happy than replace you.

If your carrier doesn't deliver, cancel your service as close to the end of the billing cycle as possible so you don't end up paying for an extra month of service. Unlike other service providers, cell phone companies don't prorate their bills.

If you want to keep your old phone number, you should understand that portability isn't painless. You must keep your old service active until your new provider ports your number and tells your old carrier to cancel the service. If you cancel early, you can't keep your old phone number.

Also, keep a bill from your old provider handy when you're making the switch. The new company will use data on the bill to set up your new service.

You can't keep your phone number in all cases. Some small, rural cell phone companies are not required to provide portability. And if you move to a new area you may not be able to take your phone number with you.

Once you've signed on to a new deal, don't assume you're finished. Your new provider might not be what you thought it was. Try the new service right away, in places you regularly visit. Your home calling area may cover your state or an area as big as the East Coast, but a dead zone in your house may be a deal breaker.

If you find that your new plan doesn't provide the coverage you need, your phone doesn't work properly, or the customer service representatives aren't as helpful as you thought they'd be, cancel your service quickly. Check your contract to make sure you know how much time you have to cancel. In most states you get a two-week window; a new regulation approved last month gives Californians 30 days.

Remember, although you can now take your mobile phone number with you when you change services, switching carriers still isn't as simple as switching from AT&T to MCI long distance. But do your homework and you'll come out ahead.