Cell phones

[Hub]

Who's your provider?
Cellular South, Cingular? that is more likely to be the difference- unless you've recently dropped the phone lately.
Cell towers are supposed to be a semi-permanent part of the landscape, but they have issue from time to time and need service themselves.

I have a new Razr v-3- and really like it.- and I'use cellular south

[sandra]

I have Cellular South too. We do not have a landline phone, only cells, so I need my cell to be reliable. My hubby has the "free" Motorola flip phone and he never has this problem, but he doesn't have voice mail either. I wonder if it is the voice mail somehow.

[sandra]

I was reading about Tracfones to see if that would work for me. This is my primary phone, not just one that I use occasionally. I use between 500 - 700 minutes per month. It varies. Is Tracfone for someone like this?

There plans are confusing. How much is it per minute and is this nationwide, no roaming?

[Tuckervill]

No, I think you'd be better off with a flat rate plan at those minutes per month. I don't use a pay-as-you-go because I don't want any chance that it won't work on my travels and don't want to pay extra for roaming.

I spend way too much a month for a cell phone to have both me and my son on the same plan. But during baseball season I go over my minutes (I'm president of the league now so it will only get worse!). The rest of the year I barely register (most people who call me are also on Alltel, so there is no charge anyway).

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Sandra, with all that mega-yakking you do (700 minutes/month?!) yes you might be better off with a flat rate plan. (just teasing)
Tracfones are the absolute CHEAPEST of the cheap for people who tend to use their cell phones occasionally and for emergencies, like me. They are worthwhile for moderate users too.
Of course they do have decent plans for heavy users as well, but you have to check it all out on their website. You might just need "unlimited".

P.S. I don't get charged roaming fees at all. Same cost per unit/minute no matter where in the USA I go. Same cost calling across the street as across the country.

[bmccasland]

First - the original question - i have Alltel because at the time I was phone shopping they had better coverage in rural parts of the country. Digital and analog. Am loath to do the research to change companies. I have found that "all digital" will not cover the entire country (well nothing does). But in some areas analog is the only option.

Secondly, and this is from experience kids - you really need a basic land line with a hard wired phone (not portable).
1. Portable phones don't work in power failures, but there's enough power in a regular phone to call out.
2. you are cut off from the outside world if you cell tower goes down. After Katrina the lines were limited and so clogged that people couldn't reach me. I was evacuated far enough that technically I was "roaming" so I could call out, but to receive calls, they had to go through the main tower in New Orleans. Frankly I liked having a modicum of control - I could call folks when *I* felt like it, but they couldn't call me.
3. If your cell goes without power long enough, it's dead. If you're home, you still have ways to call out in an emergency if you have a land line.

[sandra]

Oh Lisa! I am mistaken. I SHARE 710 minutes a month with my DH and he uses his phone for work. Also these phones are instead of our home phone.

The funny thing about this is, I really don't do phone. I hate talking on the phone. I never pick up the phone to call a girlfriend just to say "what are you doing" I figure I'll see her later. And here I made myself out to have a phone glued to my ear!