Best Cell Phone Carriers in Athens, AL

Cell Phone Coverage in Athens, AL

You’ll first want to consider the actual coverage that you get from a cell phone plan in Athens, AL. This is one of the main reasons you are looking for a plan, is it not? You may easily find a great cell phone plan with a low rate that you would love to sign up for, but what good will that rate be if you aren’t getting the best coverage for your area. That is why we offer our comparison tool at PhoneDog. On a brighter note, most carriers are aware that consumers need good coverage, so they do their best to provide it in as many areas as possible. Before choosing a plan, simply check out their coverage map to see if your city is covered reliably.

Types of Wireless Plans Available in Athens, AL

Even though every consumer is a bit different, they’re all looking for the same basic things when it comes to cell phone service. They want a plan with enough minutes and text messages that they won’t go over their limits, and enough data to cover the amount that they use.

A consumer always needs a cell phone plan that fits his needs, but it’s even more essential if he plans to use his cell phone for the majority of his communication. This is becoming more and more common as consumers eschew home phones entirely. Using PhoneDog, the consumer can check out the plan and carrier options in Athens, AL to see how much money he could save over his current wireless plan.

There are three types of wireless plans: individual, family and prepaid plans.

Individual plans are also known as single-line plans, and the name is self-explanatory. The consumer pays one rate and receives a certain amount of data, texts, and minutes per month for his one phone line. For single adults, an individual plan is usually the most affordable option.

A family plan allows a group of people to each have their own device. This is by far the best deal for two or more people who want to get phone service together, as they’ll pay less on a per-line basis than they would with multiple individual plans. With a family plan, everyone shares the same pool of minutes, texts and data, making it important that the plan has a sufficient amount to cover everyone’s needs, whether they live in Athens, AL or not.

Prepaid plans have several other names, including no-contract plans and pay-as-you-go plans. The consumer pays in advance for phone service, which means he only has to pay for what he uses, although there can be extra fees. The main advantage with these types of plans is that the consumer isn’t committing to a contract. The downside is that phones can have a higher upfront cost because the consumer must pay the full price. The most recent and advanced smartphones are often available with prepaid plans.

Individual and family plans are either contract or no contract plans, and the consumer must commit to the plan for a certain length of time if it is a contract, with the standard being two years. Some carriers with service in Athens, AL also have one-year plans available. The consumer must pay for the plan monthly, and if he wants to get out of his contract early, there will almost always be an early termination fee. The early termination fee will typically include a percentage of whatever was left on the contract, along with a penalty.

Best Wireless Plans in Athens, AL

How do you know what plan will work best for you in Athens, AL? First of all, ask yourself how many people will need to be on your plan. Is it just you, or are you looking to get a family plan? Next, you should calculate exactly what kinds of services you will need. The three basic things to consider when forging your plan are your minutes, your text messages, and your data usage.

Cheaper plans let you limit your minutes and text messages. Usually, you will have about 400 minutes to talk and 400 text messages to send every month. However, if you're always on the phone or constantly texting your friends, it's often best to get an unlimited plan, that way you will never run over your talk, text, or data limits. Data plans in Athens, AL usually are sold per gigabyte, and you should be aware that in many cases, if you go over your data limit, you will be hit by significant overcharges. Make sure that you choose a data plan that will sufficiently cover your communication needs, otherwise you might run into this problem.

Compare Cell Phone Carriers in Athens, AL

The four major national carriers are Sprint, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile, and these major networks often rent space to smaller providers who cover overlapping areas. There is a high probability that your area in Athens, AL is totally covered by all of these carriers.

The two largest providers in the country and in Athens, AL are Verizon Wireless and AT&T. AT&T offers several different plan options, including pay-as-you-go, no-contract, individual, and family plans. They also have unlimited options for voice and text. Verizon has several no-contract, individual, and family plans. They also offer shared data plans that include a high data limit with unlimited text messages and voice minutes, and these plans can be used by groups or individuals.

T-Mobile only offers a single style of plan, which is the no-contract plan. All of their customers receive the same unlimited coverage in all areas for a flat monthly rate, but heavy users experience data throttling after using a certain amount per month. They even offer no-contract family plans, which is rare.

Sprint boasts an advanced 4G LTE network and very affordable plans. They also provide a number of different plans, including an unlimited talk and text option.

Take advantage of PhoneDog to discover what cell phone plans will work best in Athens, AL and for your needs in general.