As Pre-Paid becomes more popular better offers and plans are coming out all of the time.

I would give TracFone the edge in bang for the buck. If one wants a cell phone to use as a telephone TracFone can't be beat.

In matters of privacy, as far as I know, none come close to TracFone in keeping personal information private.

Was that a typo? I do agree with you 110% on the privacy issue. Provided you buy the phone in a generic store with no cameras, pay cash, buy all future refill cards with cash, block caller ID, turn phone off and remove battery when not in use, etc., etc., etc., ad nauseum paranoium, LOL. But those are issues for any carrier. Tracfone is superb in what they DON'T require in order to activate a phone, but it comes at the expense of skipping the best internet deals on them or jumping through complicated hoops to keep the internet purchase anonymous.

But regarding using a cell phone as my primary phone, I have switched to T-Mobile for that, and am quite pleased with the final outcome of my Target shopping this week: 6.3 cpm cash retail price *after* taxes. I bought 2 of the $88 deal and immediately returned the phones for $27.50 + tax credit on each phone, making the airtime cost $60.50 for a $100 card before tax. I got very little hassle about the returns, all I had to do was educate the clerk to the clear printing on the receipt that said the refund value on the phone alone was $27.50.

If by some miracle there are no family emergencies or drama in the next year (fat chance! LOL!), hopefully that airtime will last a whole year, maybe with a little left over. If there are leftovers, I can extend my airtime expiration for a whole year for $10. If there are not leftovers, I will try to time my next $100 card to coincide with another sale.

If you have somebody you talk to who uses Cingular wireless and you talk more than 10 minutes at a time or per day, the GoPhone makes sense as an additional line. I have one of those, and my phone contact list on that phone has 10 names, 3 of whom I call regularly, 2 others whom I get chatty with more willingly now because it's that flat $1/day rate. I don't talk on it every day, though, so that $100/year will probably be more than I need. The last time I figured my per-minute rate on that one, it was about 4.5 cpm, and that was including some non-Cingular calls I had to make due to aforementioned family dramas.

Finally, if I had another $30/month to spend on a phone, I'd consider one of those cellulars (almost always a Sprint-based MVNO) that offers free nights and weekends in order to cope with a couple relatives who think they can talk for hours just because it's after 9 p.m. or Saturday. But another $30/month would just about double my monthly phone costs, so I'm trying to behave myself on that one.

The problem with all post-paid plans is the fine print, hidden charges, the complicated calling structure and the long term contract. That is why I have never had one.

I like simple, one may find a cheaper plan then TracFone but it would require special circumstances, allot of thought and reading fine print to MAYBE find one.

Fees, shorty, FEES.

TMobile is the cheapest carrier that I have found for my PP service. And and afaik they don't have any privacy issues at all.

Really, does T-Mobil know who is assigned to the number on your phone?

Who's buying cell records online? Cops - Security - MSNBC.com

Of course they do! When I call them I always have to tell them the name on the account and the pin number, also I have a security question associated with my account that has to be answered before they will access my account for me.

[/QUOTE]Really, does T-Mobil know who is assigned to the number on your phone?[/QUOTE]

T-Mobile does not *have* to know who really owns the phone. They don't ask for ID, DL#, SS#, or any positive form of identification when you activate a phone.

Tip for those who are new at this...: Write down the fake info you give them, and keep track of it if you need to call customer service for anything. They will ask for it, and they will have your original "facts" on record. But if it's a fake ID, how would they know? I had a brain freeze the last time I called CS and couldn't remember my "birthdate" or my "zip code" or my "address." OOPSIES! I ended up confessing that my original info was fake, and they DID NOT ask me for truth, I just had to make up new fakes!

You were lucky that they resolved it for you without just closing out the account.

Another thought: Your information is not safe with Cingular! They keep detailed call records, including the locations from which the calls originated, who you called, how long you talked, etc.

I have yet to find similar information available regarding my T-Mobile account. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, I'm just saying it's a lot harder to find.

Besides that, individually purchased SIM cards are a lot easier to get for T-Mobile, and can be swapped out at will. The ones you buy off Ebay are usually already activated (by someone else), so not only are you anonymous, but there is actually a "disinformation" campaign in place with those SIM cards. All you really need with T-Mobile is a "name" and a PIN number or password.

Yes, I was, but did "fess up" politely and pleasantly. I think treating the CSRs with respect goes a long way. Plus being Gold Rewards with several refills, LOL

So it can work just like TracFone, I register all of my phones and keep a detailed record of that information.

I like the idea of being able to use any GSM phone.

Not only that but we're talking about TMobile here the carrier with the highest amount of awards for customer service excellence.

Plus I'm quite certain their responses would have been very different if I had been a post-paid with an SS# on record who couldn't remember her own birthdate - THAT for sure would have landed my IMEI and SIM # on a blacklist (with good cause!). That particular CSR did seem to understand the concept of prepaid privacy!

Earl, did you notice this article was dated summer of 2006, with lots of references to how Congress was debating the issue, gonna do somethin' about it... yada yada yada....

AND NOTHING HAS HAPPENED SINCE THEN!
grrrrrrrrrr..........