AT&T No-contract Phones and Plans

A large number of consumers are expected to choose prepaid services over mobile phones and plans with wireless contracts. So I thought that it would be interesting to look at some no-contract offers in the market.

AT&T is one of the major wireless carrier's in the US and it offers both no-contract offerings as well as mobile phones and plans that require a contract. his time let's take a quick look at AT&T no-contract phones and plans.

The carrier's prepaid program is called GoPhone. This prepaid mobile phone service is divided into Pick Your Plan and Pay As You Go.

The Pick Your Plan program is no longer available for new customers but existing Pick Your Plan service accounts are still being supported.

The Pay As You Go prepaid program provides no-contract phones and plans. Consumers can refill airtime at their leisure by purchasing prepaid cards. They can also purchase airtime packages available through the AT&T refill site.

These are the advantages of the Pay As You Go prepaid program:

• No long-term contract and no credit check
• No bills to pay and no age requirements
• Unlimited calling to anyone nationwide on select plans
• No long distance fees across our national service area
• Usage tracking
• 24/7 account refills

But what about the cellphones. Well, the AT&T GoPhone program offers a selection of new or refurbished cell phones and devices and choose from a wide variety of styles and manufacturers. Many of them can be purchased for less than fifty bucks.

That's it for this quick preview of AT&T no-contract phones and plans. Join as every week as we look at mobile phone contract or wireless contract news and updaes.

One in Five Wireless Contract Cosumer to Switch to Prepaid

It appears that the decline in consumers committing to wireless contracts is still continuing. A study conducted by Infogroup for the New Millennium Research Council indicates that 20 percent of wireless customers (estimated to be about 24.6 million adults in the U.S.) will move to "less expensive unlimited prepaid wireless service with no early-cancellation penalty" at some point within the next six months.

Last year's study estimated the number at almost twenty percent.

The reasons for abandoning mobile phone contract offers? Well, its about cost. Most prepaid plans are cheaper than contract offerings.

Interestingly, 10 percent of respondents said they would switch to a prepaid plan if they weren't "subject to an early-cancellation penalty." his indicates that the infamous early termination fee or ETF for mobile phone contracts are successful in encouraging consumers to be faithful to their agreements.

So what can carriers do to keep their customers from switching to prepaid deals? Well, the study shows that unlimited talk, text, and Web or e-mail access for $50 a month with no penalty will do the trick.

Will this trend continue next year? Stay tuned as we bring you the latest news and updates on wireless contracts and related topics.

AT&T Settles In Class Action Suit Over Fees and Taxes

Here's some good news for Cingular/AT&T customers who paid for mobile internet services between November 1, 2005, and September 7, 2010. The carrier has decided to settle the conflict over collected taxes on mobile data plans.

The carrier was hit with a class action lawsuit filed over the improper collection of some taxes and fees. Apparently, AT&T collected the fees and taxes even after some states and local governments ceased requiring the payment of certain taxes on mobile data plans. Thus, a class action suit was filed.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted preliminary approval of the settlement on Aug. 11, 2010, and the carrier has requested the judge to issue a final approval of the settlement.

AT&T denied any wrongdoing in a statement to the folks at Phonescoop,

"AT&T Mobility collected only those taxes that we believed we were required to collect, and turned them over to the appropriate taxing bodies. We strongly deny any wrongdoing, and no court has found that AT&T Mobility committed any wrongdoing. However, we agreed to settle these cases to avoid the burden and cost of further litigation, and to facilitate any tax refunds that we may be able to obtain for our customers."

So what is the result of this settlement?

Well, AT&T will no longer charge some taxes and fees on data plans. The carrier will refund its customers from whatever monies are reimbursed by the state and local governments involved.

Do you think that you deserve a piece of this settlement? Consumers that take Data Connect Plans (wireless Internet on your PC), Smart-phone Data Features bolt-ons, smartphone data plans, iPhone data plans, personal Blackberry plans, or enterprise smartphone plans are all potentially included in the settlement.

That's it for this update. TUne in o more wireless contract related news and updates.

Cell Phone Contracts and Taxes

A cell phone bill contains information that can cause confusion among consumers. The taxes included in your bill are a good example of this especially for consumers who have recently transferred to another state.

Taxes and governmental fees are included in your bill. That's why your residential or business street address is very important because it allows a carrier to determine which jurisdiction's taxes and assessments to collect for you cell phone bill. This information is emphasized in your mobile phone contract.

On average American cell phone consumers are taxed 15.75 percent on every month's cell phone bill. This average percentage includes state and local taxes as well as federal taxes.

Now, calculating the cell phone tax that goes into your bill may not be accurate. This means that a carrier may be overcharging you. Of course, it may also mean that you are being charged less than the amount that you should be charged.

So how do you know that a carrier isn't over charging you with taxes?

Well, you need to know that you are paying for several cell phone taxes. Your bill includes the federal tax, which is about 5.05 percent of your phone bill a and is used to fund the Universal Service Fund.

Then there are state taxes and local taxes and fee. Some states also include a sales tax ands add fees for e911 service. Refer to MyWireless.org to get the average state and local tax rates for your residence.

You may contact your carrier if you feel that you are being overcharged with the taxes on your bill. It's the carrier's responsibility to charge you the correct tax based on your billing address. A refund is justified if a carrier is not applying the appropriate rates.

That's it for this pice of info on cell phone taxes. Tune in next week for more information on cell phone contracts and related topics.

The Anti-Bill Shock Rules

There have been recent talks of the FCC's efforts to lessen the occurrences of bill shock. But what is "bill shock" anyway and why should consumers be concerned over it.

Well, here's a good illustration of bill shock from Cnet:

When Kerfye Pierre returned home to Maryland from a visit to Haiti in February after the devastating earthquake, she received yet another shock: a $30,000 phone bill from T-Mobile USA.

Pierre, who had gone to Haiti to visit her sister who was having a baby, was there when the earthquake struck in January. Before her trip, she had suspended her phone service to avoid expensive charges. But after the disaster struck, she was told by a T-Mobile representative that she could use a courtesy plan that allowed her to communicate with people back home.

What she didn't realize was that the plan only included voice minutes. But because the voice network was so unreliable after the quake, Kerfye used texts, e-mails, and Facebook posts from her phone to update loved ones.

Eventually, Pierre was able to get a $25,000 credit to her account, but she still owes T-Mobile $5,000.

Have you ever experienced this? Well, I sure hope not. Fortunately, the FCC has started making a way to counter bill shock. The agency has proposed new regulation that would require wireless operators to alert customers with a text or voice message when they are about to exceed a bundle of voice, text, or data.

The FCC also suggested that wireless operators notify customers when they are about to incur international or other roaming charges that are not covered by their monthly plans, and if they will be charged at higher than normal rates.

The agency proposed that all wireless carriers offer easy to find and use tools that help customers monitor usage and review usage balances.

Hopefully, these efforts will not go to waste and consumers will be able to avoid any incidences of bill shock.

That's it for this post. See you next week for more wireless contract news and related topics.

Pros and Cons of Wireless Contract Services

Last week, we discussed the pros and cons of prepaid offerings. This week, we'll go to the other side and look at the advantages and disadvantages of phones and plans that come with a contract agreement.

Hopefully, this info will help you decide between prepaid services or post pais offers that require a wireless contract.

Contract Pros:

• Subsidized price on mobile phones: Contract consumers can get subsidized prices on phone upgrades every two years.
• Strong phone selection. the latest and greatest cell phones on the market come with contract plans.

Contract Cons:

• Early Termination Fees: If you break your contract, then a hefty fee awaits.
• Expensive: contract plans could be more expensive than a prepaid offering especially for consumers with an individual cell phone plan with expensive data and texting services.
• Credit check: a credit check is a requirement for those who want a taste of contract goodness.

That's it for now. Keep on visiting for more information on mobile phone contracts as well as related news and updates.

Pros and Cons of Going Prepaid

The current trend in consumer preferences show that a majority of subscribers are choosing prepaid options of phones and services that come with a wireless contract. Should you also choose the prepaid route?

Well, here are the advantage and disadvantages of prepaid services. This should help one decided to choose this option or go for services with mobile phone contracts.


Prepaid Pros:

• Cheaper. Prepaid can be less than some postpaid contract service plans depending on the consumer's usage pattern.
• Absence of credit checks. Prepaid has historically offered the best option for consumers with less than perfect credit.
• No wireless contract. One can cancel service at any time without a penalty. yeah, no need to worry about annoying ETF's or early termination fees.

Prepaid Cons:

• Can be more expensive. Individual usage patterns may cost an individual more. Contract family plans can be less expensive than some prepaid deal.
• Limited Mobile phones. prepaid handsets are getting better but the best mobile phones come with a contract
• No subsidized price. Consumers will need to pay the full retail price for a new device that may locked to a single operator's network.

That's it for this post. Check out our blog every week for more on mobile phone contracts and related subjects