Cell Phones -- A Great Question !

In many countries, texting is free & calls are cheap.  In the U.S. calls are expensive & texting is an extra add-on. 

Pre-paid plans are very expensive and only good for very minimal users or if you will be here short-term.  Contract phones are best for those who will use it a lot – or if you are here for 2 years.

Verizon & AT&T are the two most widely used carriers -- with the best coverage.  Other carriers are cheaper, but not used by very many in our area because of poor coverage (see end of this doc).
Note:  This does not mean we recommend AT&T -- see both "contract" and "pre-paid" options below.

Two biggest questions to consider:  How much will you use the phone?  And how long will you be here?

Contract Phones:  They require a deposit, but in the long-run they are much cheaper month to month for those who use it a lot, and you will never loose your number – you have to get a 2 year contract to get this best plan -- which means a commitment to keeping it.

Comparing Verizon with AT&T contract phones:

• Verizon's deposit is $400.  AT&T is $500.  You get them both back after one year -- with intereset as if in a bank -- paid by check!
• Both Verizon & AT&T cost $40 plus tax (=$43) per month and it will not change -- unless you do texting or the Internet. 
• Both give you 450 free minutes to use during the week between 7AM and 9PM.  Nights and weekend calls are free -- which is when you will probably do most of your calling.  There is also no charge if you call other (same company) phones. 
• Both charge an initial activation fee of $35.
However, if you buy Verizon at Costco stores, you get a free phone, and the activation fee is also free.

Texting with contract phones:
Both will add texting.  AT&T will give 200 messages for $5, but Verizon gives 250 messages for the same price.
•  So, with Verizon there is less deposit & more texting for the same price ($43, or $48 with texting). 
• If you get it at Costco, you also get a fee phone and there's no activation fee.
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Pre-paid phones are very EXPENSIVE!   We don't recommend these if you like to "talk" on the phone :) -- and there are no "free" minutes.  
If you will be here for less than one year, prepaid phones will still be best -- see Net-10 below.

If you are here for one year or more & bring an AT&T phone that's NOT a "smart" phone, AT&T may still be good -- it's not a prepaid (never do AT&T prepaid), but it's not a contract either -- see below and ask for more info.

All prepaid plans are purchased for talking only – no texting without paying extra.

Net 10 has the best pre-paid plan.  It also uses Verizon for coverage which is the best coverage.  See http://www.net10.com for options and phone choices:
You buy their phone, but you get 300 free minutes (with 60 days to use it).  This basically pays for the phone.  Some phones do not allow texting so you need to buy accordingly.
After that, you add minutes by having prepaid cards to activate as needed.  You can also call them and use a debit card.  The price is 10 cents per minute.  BUT, you can get CHEAPER CARDS online (about 7 cents per minute).

International calls and Texting -- with Net 10:  (Skype is still the best)

First, before you do either, register with Net 10 for the extra use -- no cost to register.  Then, understand the cost will be whatever the air-time minutes cost, plus an additional 5 cents per minute added for international calls (total 15 cents), or plus 5 cents per minute for each message, both sending and receiving.  Note, this will basically cut your available minutes for talking in half; and that can raise your bill very quickly compared to the fixed cost of a contract phone -- or not using your phone for international calls. 

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Prepaid phones seem cheap, but they add up quickly.  The following is to help you understand how they become more expensive, not to help you choose.

> Assume you buy minutes in fixed amounts, used over periods from 30 to 90 days.  The basic cost is 10 cents per minute.  DO THE MATH:  In a month of 30 days, if you use the phone for an average of 14 minute per day, that will cost $43 per month (this is without texting).  It doesn’t matter when you use it.  It doesn’t matter if you receive a call or someone leaves a message – calls out and in count the same, even if someone just leaves a message.  (AT&T also charges big bucks for every day you use it on top of 10 cents per minute)
> This same example translates to using the phone 430 minutes – any time – per month.  If you had a Verizon contract phone, you would have 450 minutes for $43 (same amount).  And, with Verizon all calls between 9:00pm and 7:00am are free; and all calls made anytime on weekends are free.  And, anytime (during the week) you call another Verizon phone, that too is free.  In other words, using the contract plan to it's advantage, you may have an average for weekday, "day-time” calls of about 20+ minutes per day (Mon - Fri), and all other times would be unlimited – for a fixed price of $43 per month.  But, as you saw above, contracts require a commitment and a deposit.
Prepaid may not be the best choice.  But, the choice is up to each student.

The biggest thing that happens with prepaid phones is students get so frustrated they turn off their voice messaging feature so no one can leave a message.  Then they stop answering their calls.  This happens a lot which makes it almost impossible to connect.  It becomes an "emergency only" phone.

Understand why many prepaid users lose their number and have to start all over.  This is with all pre-paid carriers, but there are better safe-guards with Net 10.  
You must remember when the time-period ends.  If your time expires, you may lose everything.  BUT, with Net 10, you have 2 weeks “grace period” to contact them before they deactivate you.  If you go past that, you start over. 
This part is also good:  No matter when you add minutes, any minutes you still have get accumulated – not so with other companies.  If your time-period ends and you forget to add minutes, you call them within that two-week grace period, you are still OK :).
Net 10 also has an “easy minute plan.”  You can have them automatically add minutes each month (as low as $15, or more).  This keeps your phone activated and you never have to worry about it. 
This sounds good, but you still need to realize the usage will add up to a very big bill if you use it much.
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Bringing your own phone with you:  
First understand:  International calls to the U.S. are cheap.  Calling from the U.S. is very expensive – use Skype instead, even to landline phones back home.
This is also huge: If the phone is locked, it can only be unlocked by the company that made (or sold) the phone.  Make sure it’s unlocked before bringing it with you. 
If you bring a "Smart Phone", you will be required to pay an additional $15 to $25 on top of the $39.99 minimum per month (plus tax) -- even if you never use it.  AT&T also tells us that just because it's “AT&T compatible” does not mean all the features will work.  The question is:  Do you want to pay $55 or more to have a "favorite" phone?  
Two more things:  Only AT&T can use the "AT&T compatable" phone because Verizon and all other prepaid companies require their own phone.   AND, AT&T has the worst pre-paid package available – for many reasons.
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Family Plans
Some students ask about this. This means one plan with multiple phones for different people.  It may seem to save, but this is not recommended for students.  When bills go over the minimum, there is confusion with who pays what, especially if you start out living together and end up finding other places.

Carrier options other than AT&T & Verizon:    
T-Mobile,     Metro PCS,     Sprint  
All three of these can seem good at first if you look at their cheapest package.  BUT, if you call any store that carries all of them (Radio Shack for one), and ask for an honest comparison, they will suggest against them because the coverage for T-Mobile, Metro PCS, and Sprint is so unreliable.  Enough said!

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Where to buy the phones:
For Verizon contract phones, the best place is Costco (free phone & free activation).  The best place to buy Net 10 phones is Radio Shack (closer to town), or pre-order online.