Choose The Right Cellular Service/Equipment Using The C4 Method

Introduction

The C4 (Four Choices) method of cell phone service selection is a proven technique for making sure you get the Coverage, Capabilities, Contract and Cost that’s right for you.  For those of you who are interested, a description of the various service protocols, which carrier(s) use them and their future as standards, is included at the end of this document.

The four major cell phone providers are:

Cingular (AT&T)
 Cingular / AT&T phones on eBay

Verizon
 Verizon phones on eBay

Sprint / Nextel
 Sprint phones on eBay - Nextel phones on eBay

Alltel
  Alltel phones on eBay

The following four selection criteria are arranged in order of importance.  Analyze your needs in this order will help you get the best possible cell phone service/equipment for your individual needs.

  Coverage - ‘Can you hear me now?’

This is the most important consideration when choosing a cell provider.  Begin your selection process by identifying where you need service.  Then use the cell carriers coverage maps to identify which providers appear to offer the coverage you need.

Once you have identified the carriers that appear to offer the coverage you need, 'demo' a phone for a day and test the coverage quality where you live, work and travel on a daily basis.  Note:  If you travel out of state or internationally you will want to talk with other people in the areas you travel to about the quality of coverage in those places.

  Capability - ‘Lily Tomlin or James Bond?’

Once you know which carriers can satisfy your coverage requirements, you need to identify, what capabilities you need in your mobile device(s).  After basic voice service, here are the major features you should consider:

• Enhanced Voicemail* – Provides an indicator for voicemail and one-button dialing.
• Caller-ID – Almost all phones now support this.
• Messaging* – Much easier on phones like the Sidekick I/II, that are optimized for messaging functions.  Converged devices like the Blackberry, Palm Treo, Windows Mobile devices, etc. also offer enhanced messaging services**.
• Camera – Offers a way to take and potentially share quick, low-resolution photos.***
• Video Recording – Typically 15 frames p/second (half motion)
• Video Streaming* - The ability to play streaming videos and TV**.
• MP3 Player – Take your music with you, like you would with an iPod.
• XM Radio* - Listen to popular XM radio stations**.
• Push-to-Talk* - Think of it as the walkie-talkie you had as a kid.  (Just as annoying)
• GPS* – Most new phones have GPS functions built in for E911 purposes.  Nextel and Verizon now offer software for their phones that allow them to function like a typical stand-alone GPS unit providing your location and even turn-by-turn directions.
• eMail* – Access to your POP3 or corporate email.  Most PDA+Phone devices as well as high-end phones offer this feature.**
• PDA* – Devices that offer both Personal Digital Organizer functions as well as phone features.  The most common converged devices as offered by Palm, Blackberry and HP.  Converged devices offer many additional features via add-on software.  Palm devices offer the widest choice of 3rd-party applications with over 10,000 titles available.

Be aware that the coolest new phone features come at a price.  It’s a good idea to ask yourself if you really ‘need’ a particular feature or if it would simply be a ‘cool’ toy to have.  Weigh the ‘cost’ of the latest features against the cost being tied to a long-term contract or particular carrier.

*     Additional plan feature/cost frequently required
**   Additional 3rd party service fee likely required
*** Basic 320x240 (Good 2'x3" prints) - Enhanced 1.3 Megapixel / 1536x1180 (Very Good 8"x10" prints)

  Contract - ‘A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.’

Once you know what features you need in your phone, it’s time to compare contracts.  Many people overlook the contract as a significant decision making element when choosing a cellular provider.  This is a mistake!

Choose a provider/plan that offers a contract you can live with.  The idea of getting a cool new phone when you sign up for a 2yr x $79 p/month contract may sound good at the moment, but if you move or need to switch carriers it could cost you $200 or more in early contract cancellation fees!

Owning your own unlocked (see Unlocking Services below) cell phone can provide you with great leverage when it comes time to choosing/changing cell phone providers.  With an unlocked cell phone you can shop for the best plan, without worrying about a long-term commitment.  Owning your own phone may also make it possible for you to use both contractual as well as pre-paid services.

Pre-paid cellular service offers two great benefits.  One; pre-paid service is a foolproof way to control your cell phone costs.  Two; pre-paid service gives you the potential to use multiple carriers (GSM Only) for maximum coverage flexibility (US & Europe) or to separate business and personal use.

  Cost - ‘Price is what you pay.  Value is what you get.’ – Warren Buffett

Cost is the last component of the C4 Method of cell service selection.  Many people make the mistake of only comparing ‘advertised prices’ for cell phone service.  What they don’t realize is that the ‘advertised price’ is seldom the final price you pay.

Adding additional features such as text/multi-media messaging, Internet access, Voice Mail, Additional Lines, etc. can more than double the base cost of a given plan.  Once you have the total for the services you want, you will need to add whatever additional taxes and surcharges the carrier adds.

Once again, you may want to look into purchasing an unlocked phone or having your current phone unlocked.  Owning your own unlocked phone allows you to negotiate the best possible plan rate with a carrier and allows you to walk-away from a carrier without penalty.

  Unlocking Services

The concept of ‘unlocking’ only applies to GSM phones.  GSM phones are enabled by a SIM card and offered by Cingular(AT&T), T-Moble, Alltel, etc.

Unlocking services allow a phone that has been ‘locked’ to a particular provider to be used with an alternate provider.  Note:  Unlocking a phone does NOT release you from any contractual obligations you may have with a particular cellular provider.  If you are purchasing an ‘unlocked’ phone, make sure it is also ‘contract free!’

Link to Unlocking Services on eBay

Summary

Congratulations!  You now have the information you need to pick the cell phone provider and equipment that is right for you.

Protocols - (GSM vs TDMA vs PCS vs IDEN vs CDMA vs 3G or 4G/WiMAX)

Each of the major cell providers uses unique protocols and frequencies to connect a wireless device to their network.  Different cell providers offer the same protocol support on different frequencies.  A Multi-band (frequency) phone will have more options for use with multiple carriers or overseas.

GSM - Cingular (Now AT&T), T-Mobile and AllTel use this standard.  So does most of the EU and many other parts of the world.  Note:  AT&T customers see TDMA info below.

If you have an unlocked (see Locking below) GSM device, you can use it on any other GSM network, simply be replacing the SIM card.  This means if you are currently a Cingular customer you can potentially use your newer Cingular phone on say T-Mobile's network.

TDMA - An older analog (vs digital) protocol that is rapidly being replaced by the various digital protocols.  Note:  AT&T has announced that it will be charging cutomers with older TDMA-based phones a $4.95 p/mnth fee if they don't upgrade their phone.

PCS - Sprints was the first and is still the primary user of this digital protocol.  Because of it's shorter range, it has the least coverage of all of the digital protocols.  Now that Sprint has merged with Nextel(see IDEN below), the two companies are working towards a common standard.  They have just announced a move towards 4G/WiMAX (see 4G/WiMAX below) which will require ALL Sprint/Nextel customers to upgrade their phones over the next couple of years.

IDEN - This is the digital protocol that Nextel and Motorola used to introduce the world to 'Push-to-Talk' cell phones.  Since their merger with Sprint, Nextel is moving quickly towards a next-generation 4G/WiMAX infrastructure, with Sprint’s PCS as an interim standard.

CDMA - Verizon uses CDMA technology.  They have built out an extensive coverage infrastructure using this protocol.  In fact, their 'It's the network' slogan you see in their commercials highlights this fact.  Despite the 'hype,' the GSM protocol has 20% greater overall coverage than CDMA.  Like Sprint/Nextel, Verizon is looking to move to a 4G/WiMAX standard in the next couple of years.

3G - We will likely never see 3G here in the states.  Although 3G systems have been widely deployed in places like India and South Korea, the US market is skipping past 3G in favor of 4G and WiMAX offerings.

4G/WiMAX - The future standards/protocols on the block.  Adoption has been announced by Sprint/Nextel, with other carriers looking on closely.  The standard for WiMAX is still in flux.  It has the potential for allowing a phone to intelligently switch from a WiFi network in your home/office to a cellular provider and back again on a single call.