response 1 of 37:

Dec 17 03:17 UTC 2002

This item is a few months old, but nobody has responded, and I just stumbled
upon it, so I will.

I've never heard of a case of cell phone use on airplanes interfering with
navigation.  It certainly seems conceivable that they might (the effect when
holding an in use cell phone near a regular wired phone while trying to talk
on the wired phone is pretty dramatic), but it also seems likely that if cell
phones were causing real problems for airplanes, given the number of people
who don't turn their cell phones off on planes, there would have been lots
of news stories.  Having cell phones turned on on planes does cause problems
for the cellular networks, which aren't designed to have phones visible from
so many cells at the same time, or to have them moving that fast.  Likewise,
there are some hills near here that give line of sight to pretty much all of
Silicon Valley and much of the rest of the Bay Area, and it's amazing how
badly cell phones work up there.

Text messaging is something that has to be supported both by the phone and
the service provider.  Old analog cellular protocols don't support it.  It
may not be well supported while roaming.  Depending on who your cellular
carrier is, I suppose they might not even support it from some of hteir own
towers, but I don't know how common that is.  For the most part, in urban
areas, it works pretty well.

Incoming calls can generally be received by roaming.  The cellular networks
have some routing protocols that tell the rest of the phone networks what
phone numbers to route where, and for the most part it works pretty well. 
Not always, though, especially since phones will sometimes roam onto networks
of carriers that don't have roaming agreements with the phone's carrier,
causing the phone to not even be able to make calls.  Quality tends to varry
depending on whether you're getting an analog or digital signal, and how far
you are from the tower the signal is coming from.  You shouldn't be able to
tell by sound quality whether you're roaming or not.

There are a few big providers that tend to cover all the major metropolitan
areas, where the licenses are expensive and the service is presumed (rightly
or wrongly) to be the most profitable.  They tend to be the only carriers in
major metropolitan areas.  In rural areas, where the licenses are cheaper but
there are a lot fewer users, there tend to be a lot more small players,
although many of them have been being bought out by the major companies.

response 3 of 37:

Jan 29 16:13 UTC 2003

This is doubtless not the best review of cellular service
but when I first made this post I saw nothing on Grex about
the subject. Here is what I've learned in the intervening
months.
 
First, the idea of "privacy" is false. Cell phones are radios,
and anyone with enough ambition can intercept my communications.
With that in mind, I have continued using my cell phone.
 
Next, I refuse to use a credit card, and haven't had a house
phone for years, since numerous "miscellaneous" charges appeared
on my bill, such as a "long distance access fee". So I opted
for prepay service. If the cost gets too high, I will discard
the phone or possibly give to a homeless shelter. The long term
service contracts so far aren't any less expensive than the
projected cost of my prepaid account, which so far runs about $40
per month. Remember, this is my experience. Just like on the
"nutritional information" section of food packages, your needs
may be higher or lower. A review of any cellular service
advertisements will show the monthly cost to be about the same.
 
Before purchasing a phone, I reviewed several web sites, and decided on
Nokia. But I wanted to buy the phone in person, not via the world wide
web. A call to the local Radio Shack revealed they were sold out of
Nokia phones, but Verizon Wireless had Kyocera prepaid packages. The
phone and service provider didn't much  matter as long as the "package"
was roughly the same. It had to be prepaid and the machine had to work.
It did. The added 'extras' included voice mail, short message service
(which I happily found out was another term for e-mail, limited to 160
character messages), a web "micro browser",(more on this later) an
electronic "phone book" which stores telephone numbers and e-mail
addresses, and several utility functions and games. The games I
can do without, but some of the utility functions came in handy, such
has tracking call times and setting up the micro browser. Verizon
of course, is just one service provider. Again by reviewing the
media advertisements, one can find Sprint, Centennial, Nextel,
Trac-fone and AT&T just to name a few of the big providers, plus
hundreds of smaller local providers. The maker of the phone apparently
doesn't have much to do with the service provider, if my interpretation
of the Usenet groups is correct. Kyocera, Motorola and so on will
make sure their phone works on the service provider's network, and
the service provider usually doesn't know much about the phone. If
the end user has a problem (say the micro browser doesn't work),
he or she is going to need a lot of patience...either keep conducting
research via Usenet and web sites or tactfully keep looking for someone
from the service provider or phone manufacturer who can answer their
questions.
 
The first "setup" done was the voice mail function. This required a call
to Verizon's support staff. It was about eleven at night when I called.
Apparently it was a slow time for the technician, because she finished
the task in less than two minutes. I had tried to set up the voice mail
function via Verizon's web site, but the default password was repeatedly
rejected. Apparently this was a bug in their software. Subsequent
experience has shown it is fixed. The voice mail is stored on Verizon's
network. The user guide indicates a limit of fifteen messages of two
mminutes each. The function can be configured to record the time and
date of the call, but the default is without. Every time someone leaves
a message, air time is being used up, so my number is passed out
extremely sparingly. Every time I access my voice mail air time is also
being used up. But Verizon has been generous with the number of minutes
they sell. I wanted to set up the e-mail function myself, but after a
month without success, I called Verizon's support staff again, this time
during business hours. It took about twenty minutes and two technicians,
but it was eventually discovered that the account balance had run to
zero (on the day the account was opened) and the account was blocked.
Again, this was apparently a bug in their software which has
subsequently been fixed. But the experience did cause this lesson to be
learned: Don't let the balance run to zero. A corollary: don't let the
expiration date pass without renewing the balance. As long as the user
renews the account before the expiration date, any remaining balance is
rolled into the new period. If the user uses too much time and the
balance approaches zero, a verbal warning  will be issued every time a
call is made, "Your balance is low." Let it run to zero and renewal
activation fees will be charged, plus there is a chance you might have
to get a new number. Verizon sells renewal [RE-UP] cards a several
locations in addition to their own retail stores. Seven-Eleven is one
such place. Some K-mart stores carry them. Denominations are fifteen
dollars which lasts for thirty days, thirty and fifty dollars which last
for sixty days, seventy-five and $120 which lasts for 120 days. Their web
site lists other locations. Of course, a credit card can also be used
to [RE-UP].
 
More later...

response 5 of 37:

Jan 29 23:48 UTC 2003

Can you fill in forms on the web and use webmail to write mail?

response 7 of 37:

Jan 30 15:57 UTC 2003

Keesan: If I understand your question, yes, you can transmit mail
from web-based pages, but the 160 character limit applies, including
the subject line. Anything over that limit never gets through.
 
Russ: The data connection follows the time-of-day rates. Nights and
weekends are cheapest. Weekdays are most expensive. A digital signal
is required...if you're "off the network" the job can't be done.
 
The privacy policy for internet use: maybe not anything specific,
but the terms and conditions for abuse certainly apply. Check Verizon's 
website. 

response 9 of 37:

Aug 12 17:58 UTC 2005

One can consider a cell phone as an alternative to a land line, or one can
consider a cell phone as an insurance policy when travelling away from the
land line. We don't have many "emergencies" when travelling, but the few we
have had convinced us to obtain cell phones as more insurance than as
regular phone service. 

response 11 of 37:

Aug 13 05:34 UTC 2005

$40 per month for two phones (with their own numbers). 

Of course, having met the emergency requirement, we do use the phones
for the conveniences they offer. 

response 13 of 37:

Aug 13 19:25 UTC 2005

You could borrow someone else's. For most people it wouldn't cost them
anything, as most people don't use their included minutes. Which makes me
wonder why there isn't some kind of cell-phone cooperative, just for such use.
It might be because *most* cell phone users feel a personal sense of power
owning a cell phone, in addition to the possible personalizations. (We use
it for a phone-number list even if we call on our land line - one of those
"conveniences".)

Our daughter has elected to not have a land-line, even though she can't make
cell-phone calls from inside her apartment due to the poor signal there. 

response 15 of 37:

Dec 15 17:11 UTC 2008

Three years later.  The latest owner of the local phone company (AT&T) has 
decided to stop charging me for a party line with 40 calls (they are less 
regulated than they used to be) at a location where we only make a few 
calls a month.  Non-party line with 50 calls/month is about $25.  What do 
prepaid cell phones cost nowadays and how long do you have to use up the 
minutes?  What is the cheapest way to make a few phone calls a month?
Is it cheaper if you only have local service?  

Most of the calls made to that number are from a block away, and we could 
use a cordless phone instead (except I think we recycled them all).

I occasionally use this line for internet but the next door neighbor offered
to share broadband (if we provide the wireless router and set it up).

response 17 of 37:

Dec 15 21:38 UTC 2008

We have not used cell phones and don't know what yadda even includes.  How
much does the phone cost?  Would any used phone work?  Do you get some basic
minutes for your $15/3 months?  

response 19 of 37:

Dec 16 00:36 UTC 2008

A friend stopped by who uses the same company.  He pays $20 or $25 a quarter
and 25 cents/minute for the first 10 min or so then 10 cents/minute and gets.
For all short phone calls this would come to about 100 minutes, or 1 min/day.
If he does not use all the minutes they carry over to the next quarter.  $25
or $50 for the phone, he thinks.

Virgin Mobile site http://virginmobileusa.com
Minute plans.  $20 for 200 minutes used in 30 days. 10 cents/min.
$30 for 400, $50 for 1000 (5 cents).  200 minutes is about 6 hours.  Regular
phone is $25 for 50 calls (you can go over 4 minutes each call).

By the minute 20 cents/minute, or pay $7/month for 10 cents/minute.
Text and messaging $5/month=200 (200 messages or 200 minutes)?
10 cent per text, email or IM - is this in addition to the $5/month?
Can you use the phone only for 'text and messaging' (does this include
emails?).

Plus taxes and surcharges except for the 18 cents or 20/10 cents talk.
(Did I miss 18 cents?).

You can send a text message to a telephone number and have it read to them.
Or get sports scores or joke of the day.

They suggest shortcuts awsm and ih8u.  Download ringtones.

Walmart sells various brands - does one have to go to a store?
We don't live anywhere near one.


Net10 phones are $60 includes 300 minutes (equivalent to $30 for the 
phone).  $30 for 300 minutes must use within 60 days.  This is $15/month.

Tracfone phones are $10.  Extra for voice mail or caller ID.  $50 with 
camera and bluetooth.   450 minutes for $80 must use in 90 days.  This is 
at least $25/month (same number of minutes as Net10).

Virgin Mobile phones $30 with text messaging, speakerphone,
and voice activated dialing.  $50 with camera and color screen.
Walmart sells prepaid cards but not the above plans.

For low usage Virgin Mobile is cheapest (nothing, if not used).  By the 
minute 30 min/month = $6, 100 min $20.  By the month $20 for 200 min.

Net10 is $15 for 150 minutes.

Does the phone ring if you get a text message?

response 21 of 37:

Dec 16 18:29 UTC 2008

Radio Shack is selling the Marbl phones for $8 until Jan 3 - I hope they can
explain how to get them working (how we provide bank info).  Four for the
price of one month of non-party line.  It used to be $17 not $30.  Even if
we talk for 200 min/month it is cheaper ($20).  With two of these I can text
message Jim to come back for supper, for ten cents.  Do they ring if you get
a text message?

response 23 of 37:

Dec 16 21:05 UTC 2008

Thanks for that useful information.   
I found an online wireless phone review site and Virgin along with most of
the others had terrible reviews.  (Several of them claimed to be 'the worst
in the US').  Did you ever have problems getting through to customer support,
or being overcharged?  I suspect 17 pages of reviews means they are a popular
company therefore more people, and more problems.

I am checking out Pages Plus of Holland OH that uses Verizon network and you
can use any old Verizon phone (or buy a $20 used LG from them).  They got
excellent reviews, and are 6-12 cents/minute expiring in 120 days.  $5 ebay
activation gets you $10 of minutes (or one hour?).  After which $10 every 4
months (half the price of Virgin) and 12 cents/min or less (depends how many
minutes you buy at one time).  Free long distance.  Not much fancy stuff.
Kiwanis has $2 used cell phones.  So for $7 we can experiment for 120 days
(plus 12 cents/minute after the first hour).  Assuming one of the Kiwanis
phones has a chargeable battery (we can test them there or here).

One company's minutes expired in 7 days.