by Derek—2007.05.20 @ 1307
We bit the bullet and got a “Family Plan” for our cell phone service. The first cell phone service we had only did voice calls. Then came text messaging. Now our phones are capable of taking photos, recording video, playing games, and downloading services from the internet. I’ve been accused over the years of being a gadget geek, but I think I can put that to rest today, especially regarding mobile phones. Over the past few years, I’ve come to only use my cell phone for making calls. Imagine that! So when I looked at upgrading our service so both Melissa and I could have a phone (an unfortunate increasing necessity), I really only wanted a simple phone and service. Today, it is hard to find a phone that only makes phone calls. I signed up for a “Family Plan” service that allows two phones to share a bucket of minutes, but there are a TON of features we could have purchased to round out our plan.
The Cost Breakdown
Phone Line 1 700 minutes $70/month
Phone Line 2 -- $10/month
Taxes and Fees -- $10-20/month
Messaging 250 messages $5/month + airtime
Video -- $15 + $3-10 premium content
Music Per song $2/song + airtime
TV Shows -- $15/month
Ringtones 100 limit $1/month, $2/tone/year + content
Games -- $10/game + airtime
Parental Watch -- $10/month/phone
GPS Navigation -- $10/month + $3/day + airtime
Extended Warranty -- $6/month
Roadside Help -- $3/month + airtime
Address Backup -- $2/month + airtime
Detailed Billing -- $2/month/line
Mobile Web -- $5/month + airtime
Int'l Calls -- $4/month + 9¢/minute + airtime
Int'l Roaming -- $1-2/minute + airtime
Int'l Messaging -- (fees apply)
Account Info via Phone FREE!
So, if with my two-phone plan, if I added messaging, video downloads, music, a couple custom ringtones, a game or two, and the extra features, my monthly fee would be:
$188/month
Yikes! I think, for now, we will stick with just phone calls.
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