OK! You're tired of looking for a phone booth in the rain, snow, wind and dark! You're sick of paying those outrageous rates "Fly-By-Night Phones, Inc" charges when you finally do find their booth! Perhaps you're a road warrior who needs to stay in touch with clients or the office or you just want to put those endless travel hours to good use. Maybe you simply want the security of having 911 in your pocket at all times or you want to look really cool and hip to whoever is around. Are you about to making a killing in the market and need real time stock quotes and constant web access? Cellular service CAN provide all of this and more but you need to do a little homework to find the service that fits your needs.

Can't I just go buy a cell phone and sign up for a calling plan and be all set? Only if you're very lucky! Cellular service comes in numerous incompatible varieties (remember VHS and Beta?) and you need a phone compatible with the type of service you choose. A service that satisfies the "911 in your pocket" scenario, will likely be totally inadequate for the road warrior or the stock trader. Also, prices on cell phones range from less then $100 to nearly $1000 so you'll want to insure the cellular telephone you buy includes all of the features you will use and not many more. To further complicate shopping, some types of service are available nationally for the most part while others can be had only in very limited areas.

What about those package deals, cellular service and a telephone all for one price? If you choose the package that meets your needs up front, these are generally the best deal! Package deals can offer basic cellular service from less then $30 per month if you choose carefully. But first a little background...

Analog or digital? Yes! Cellular phones are two way radio transmitters and receivers and the first designs used analog technology exclusively like most radio systems. Because they've been around the longest, analog networks offer service in virtually all populated areas of the US and, unlike digital phones, an analog phone is compatible with most of the numerous analog networks. The newer digital phones offer several advantages over analog models like enhanced sound quality, security, and privacy, data transmission capabilities, and extended battery life. Unfortunately, they also include two big disadvantages. There are presently several incompatible networks that will only communicate with phones designed to work with their network (VHS and Beta again!). Also, these digital networks, like most communication networks, are evolving from the most densely populated urban areas to suburban areas, and then into rural areas as demand dictates, so digital cellular coverage is more "spotty", available in fewer areas and/or smaller areas. Many of the cell phones now being sold include support for both analog networks and for one or more digital networks as well, and for most shoppers this is likely to be the best choice.

What else do I need to know before I "go wireless"? For your cellular phone to be useful, obviously you must be within the range of a "radio station" that can communicate with your phone, called the coverage area. Analog coverage now extends across nearly the entire US but… Most cellular service calling plans will include a "home area" in which you can make calls for a basic cost per minute rate offered with your plan. Your cellular service will be extended beyond this home area through agreements that your provider has with other providers but "roaming charges" and other charges usually apply. In addition to roaming charges, you may pay long distance rates and airtime rates for calls outside of your home area. Airtime? You will pay for your cellular usage based on how much you use it, by the minute, similar to a long distance service and airtime is most commonly billed in one minute increments.

Click CLICK HERE for an example of a coverage area map. This one is for AT&T's Digital PCS network in the western US. This is an extensive network but notice that the Digital PCS Services (outlined in bright red) are only offered in comparatively small pockets. With this wireless plan you can only get your e-mail and stock quotes in limited areas, but you can call somebody to read them to you from nearly anywhere! Also, this plan requires a phone that includes both analog and digital abilities. 

Where and how you plan to use your phone are the most important things to consider when shopping. Many larger cities may offer 50 or more calling plans and some small or isolated rural areas may not offer service at all.

A visit to Cellularphonespecials.com's web site will provide a list of cellular offerings in your area. Just enter your zip code or a city near you. If your city is not listed, pick the nearest one that is listed, then hit "Go." Click on any plan that interests you and the page that appears will include a link called "See Coverage Map". Click on it! Coverage areas are usually surprisingly large, amorphous areas that don't correspond to any of the boundaries people normally use. If the area where you expect to do most of your calling from is not covered under this calling plan or does not include a service you need, back up a few pages, select another plan and check their coverage. Each company's network varies in their coverage areas and chances are good that you'll find something that will meet your needs.

Cellular phones now offer all of the features available with a wired phone including call waiting, call forwarding, caller ID, voice mail and more. Some digital capable cell phones also offer e-mail and Internet access. Keep in mind that as features are added, the price of your phone can skyrocket (what if you loose it, drop it, or Junior gives it a bath?) so choose carefully. Most cellular calling plans offer several phones at various price points that include more features as the price escalates. Also, keep in mind that these features, which have become very inexpensive for your home phone, can add dramatically to the monthly costs of your cell phone.

Obviously, there are many factors to consider before going wireless and this page touches on some of them. The Wireless Advisor offers a good "Intro To Wireless" page as does Nokia. Nokia's page also includes a "monthly cost estimator" worksheet and a modest glossary of cellular terms. As you've already seen, Cellularphonespecials.com's web site offers a very complete comparison shopping feature and we highly recommend it for refining your choices.