Prepaid Cell Phone Plans

There is no doubt that prepaid cell phone plans are gaining steam in the United States these days. People from Bakersfield in California to Minneapolis in Minnesota have been talking about the advantages of prepaid plans and some even have decided to switch from the usual contract-based cell phone plans to the prepaid one. The number has increased significantly all across the country and this could be the reason that more and more cell phone carriers are offering prepaid cell phone plans that are more attractive and more affordable. I believe that this is a very positive progress since I have long promoted the advantages of using prepaid phone plans.

For those who have missed my previous posts about the advantages of prepaid cell phone plans, you may read it here at Pros and Cons of Prepaid Cell Phone Plans. Though I had elaborately explained the benefits, I would like to recall some of them as I see that those are the main benefits of using prepaid plans. The best part about using prepaid cell phone plan is the power that you have as the user. You control how much you are going to spend on the cell phone usage in terms of calls and text messages (SMS). You are the one to decide on how much you are going to refill your prepaid airtime. No one and not even the cell phone carrier can stop you from refilling as much as you want or as low as you want.

Apart from that, prepaid cell phone plan is a good way to educate yourself as well as your family members on saving the amount you use to refill the prepaid airtime. Since most of the prepaid cell phone plans available these days offer more and more features that are specifically designed to fulfill our needs, you can’t go wrong by switching to prepaid plans. In fact, if you know the principles behind using this plan, you will eventually notice that the cost would be much cheaper than you thought or at least better than some negative comments about prepaid cell phone plans.

A prepaid cell phone plan is quite easy to apply since you won’t be asked to produce your credit card. The store won’t check your credit background since prepaid plan is all about how much you are going to pay every month to refill your prepaid credit airtime or your prepaid minutes. Just go to the cell phone store and get yourself a low cost cell phone, get some discounts for few of the cell phone’s accessories, and then get yourself a SIM card. Then you are good to go and enjoy calling out on a prepaid cell phone.

I can see the reason why some people don’t even know that a prepaid cell phone works differently than the normal cell phones. A prepaid cell phone has a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) card located under the cell phone’s battery; slotted nicely there. The SIM card looks like a miniature version of a credit card with a cut-off at one corner. The SIM card is considered as the brain for the prepaid cell phone which is used to identify the subscriber. In other words, the cell phone itself is not prepaid (as in most cases) but the SIM card is. Without the SIM card, the cell phone is virtually useless.

If you are using contract-based cell phone, you are more likely not to find any SIM card in your cell phone. This is because the cell phone itself has been locked to the specific cell phone carrier you subscribed to. In other words, the cell phone can’t be used for prepaid plan unless you unlock the cell phone. That’s why you see few websites offering to unlock your cellphone. There is a possibility that the cell phone still has a slot for the SIM card so you can switch to prepaid plan. Even if there is, the cell phone’s IMEI number might has been locked by the carrier. I do not have idea how some managed to unlock the cell phones but if you do know how, perhaps you can leave a comment down there so we can help each other.

Our aim today is provide you with the list of prepaid cell phone service carriers available in your state. I will try my best to list down all the cell phone carriers at all the states in the United States. The list is an extensive one but might not be exhaustive. So if you find any of the cell phone carriers that are not listed in any states, please do tell me so I can update the list from time to time. There are more than ten cell phone carriers in America and most of them are still considered new to me. Some are just the usual phone carriers such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless. Another thing is, if you see any carriers that are not offering prepaid services in the listed states, please tell me as well so I can correct them.

Ok, shall we start? Let’s see what’s in Minnesota.

In Minnesota, we have several cell phone carriers that are offering prepaid cell phone plans. They are T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Cingular, Alltel, US Cellular, Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile cell phone plan, Tracfone, STI Mobile, and also Net10 cell phone plan. T-Mobile famous prepaid cell phone plan is known as T-Mobile To Go. T-Mobile To Go cell phone plan can be used for long distance calls, for instance, a call made from the Minnesota to Canada will cost you 40 cents surcharge per minute. I hope that you by now have already known how the cell phone service carriers charge you per minute.

Prepaid Cell Phone Plans in Arizona – we have again T-Mobile cell phone plan, Verizon Wireless, Cingular, Alltel prepaid, Boost Mobile prepaid, Virgin Mobile, Tracfone prepaid, STI Mobile and also Net10 prepaid.

T-Mobile cell phone plan is available in many states such as Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, and Florida. Apart from these states, T-Mobile can also be subscribed to at these states and cities – Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, and Kentucky.

Verizon Wireless cell phone plan can be subscribed at these states or cities – Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, and Kentucky.

In Arkansas, there are also a number of prepaid cell phone plans offered by several companies such as T-Mobile, Tracfone, STI Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Virgin Mobile, Cingular, and also Boost Mobile.

Few of the major cell phone carriers which offer prepaid cell phone plans are available throughout the country. They are T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Cingular, Boost Mobile, Alltel prepaid, AT&T prepaid, Cricket prepaid, Earth Tones, Jump Mobile, Kajeet, Liberty Wireless prepaid, Locus Prepaid, Metro PCS, Mojo Mobile, Net10 prepaid, O2 Wireless prepaid, Omni prepaid, Page Plus Cellular, Simple Freedom, STI Mobile, SunCom Wireless prepaid, Total Call Mobile prepaid, Tracfone prepaid, US Cellular prepaid, Venture Mobile prepaid, and also Xtreme Mobile prepaid.

If you live in Arizona, you can also find out more about prepaid cell phone plans at local stores and branches. We have Verizon Wireless prepaid cell phone plan in Glendale and we have Cricket Communications in Peoria Arizona. To find out about Alltel prepaid cell phone plan, you may visit its store at Lake Pleasant Pkwy Peoria Arizona. There is also a company called Mobicel Systems Inc located in Scottsdale.

T-Mobile prepaid cell phone plan and Verizon Wireless can be found at almost all states and cities. Some of the cities include Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, and Nevada. Prepaid cell phone plans from both carriers are also available in New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York (of course), North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Island, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and also Wyoming.

Apart from all the 50 states, some major prepaid cell phone plan providers have also expanded their services to Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands. But that is not what we are supposed to be looking for when finding the right prepaid cell phone plan for us. There are few other things that you need to check out first. For instance, you should check whether the prepaid plan has a good coverage area at your particular location. Even if the carrier is popular at your area, it does not mean it has a good coverage. Sometimes the popularity is just the hype created by some cheerleaders hired by the cell phone carriers.

Apart from that, what decides whether the prepaid cell phone plan is great or not is also the reliability of the service itself. Check if the prepaid plan has any activation fees or not and if there is, how about the charges per minute for each call made using the plan. You should also find out if there is any expiration dates on the minute and if there is, how are you supposed to refill the prepaid airtime and where can you refill the prepaid card airtime. All these have to be considered and have to be kept in mind at all time to ensure that you will get the best out of the prepaid cell phone plan.