Always a Cheaper Way

My brother dove into the wireless pool recently with both feet. He signed up for a monthly plan and got a gee-whiz phone with a QWERTY keyboard and touch screen. After a few months he's ready to pay the Early Termination Fee (ETF) because his minimum charges are $70 a month and he's only making a few calls, sending a few Text Messages, replies to some email, and visits the web even less.

At that rate he's looking at $1,680 over 2 years for way too little use. He's the kind of customer we at Mountain Wireless try to help. He decided he can't replace his laptop with an 'Internet' phone, no matter how friendly the keyboard, and he can't justify that high a rate for so little use. He needed to Do The Math.

Instead of dumping wireless cold turkey, I showed him my old T-Mobile phone, which, after the initial payment, costs me about $25 a year for occasional use. If my brother makes about 30 minutes of calls and exchanges about 30 messages a month, more than his current average, he would pay a whopping $5.25 per month with this simple T-Mobile To Go Phone. He would get Voice Mail, Caller ID, Email, Text Messaging, access to a smattering of useful web sites and, after he arrives at "Gold Rewards", only needs to refill once a year. Oh, and the phone works in most other countries. And this isn't the only option, but it's one we like. Don't less this get out, but here's always a (really) cheaper way.