So you're ready to strike out on your own — your own wireless cell phone plan, that is. It's not as easy as it sounds.
Once upon a time, the process was straightforward: Most people who bought a smartphone were automatically funneled into two-year plans offered by the vendor's preferred carriers. You could opt to keep that plan for as long as you wanted, even if you upgraded or replaced handsets.
Today, there are myriad options for what is arguably your life's most critical communications pipeline. The four major U.S. carriers — AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless — all have revamped their pricing schemes. Phone makers such as Google, Motorola, and Apple routinely offer unlocked and no-contract handsets. You can even score some good deals from a plethora of smaller carriers offering low-cost service.
With choices comes complexity, but the most important elements you need to consider when choosing a wireless plan remain price, coverage, and network speed. Here we look at what you need to know to choose the right wireless plan.
What kind of phone do you need?
In our humble opinion, smartphones (like Apple's iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy Edge 6+), are flat out cool. But not everyone needs one.
If you can get away with a good, old-fashioned cell phone fully equipped with voice and text capabilities — without fancy internet features and tons of apps — then you can buy a basic phone (typically called a feature phone). Not needing the data plan could cut your phone bill in half.
Does any phone work on any carrier?
Not entirely. It helps to know that there are two major cellular phone technologies: CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and GSM (Global System for Mobiles). Even if you have no idea what those abbreviations mean, there's a super simple way to tell them apart: One uses a SIM card and the other does not. And no, these systems are not compatible.
In the U.S., Sprint and Verizon use CDMA, which does not require a SIM card. AT&T and T-Mobile (along with most of the rest of the world) use GSM, and operates with SIM cards.
The difference in these technologies comes into play if you want to switch networks for your current phone. Any new carrier you choose must be compatible with one or the other.
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