Service Providers and Plans

Typically, you will select a mobile phone service provider before choosing a phone, since different handsets only work with specific networks. Before purchasing a service plan, consider the following factors to help you make an informed decision.

Several mobile phone vendors (listed below) operate in the Chicago and Evanston areas. Rate plans and offerings change frequently, and service availability levels vary in the Evanston area. NUIT neither endorses nor recommends any particular vendor. Carriers often include free or discounted phones when you subscribe to their service.

• AT&T (www.wireless.att.com)
• Sprint (www.sprint.com)
• T-Mobile (www.t-mobile.com)
• U.S. Cellular (www.uscc.com)
• Verizon Wireless (www.verizonwireless.com)

If you are purchasing a mobile telephone for individual and/or departmental University business use, please visit Considerations for Business Use for direct service provider contacts.

Calling Plan Options

In most cases, you will have to sign a one- or two-year contract for mobile service; if you break this contract, you will be charged a fee, so be sure your contract will suit your needs. Ask whether you can downsize or upgrade your cellular phone package during this period for free. You may also want to explore pre-paid plans.

• Minutes — Calling plans typically divide minutes into anytime and off-peak minutes. Most plans vary mostly in the anytime minutes and have virtually unlimited off-peak minutes. If you exceed the limit of anytime minutes, you will be charged extra. Be sure to pinpoint the carrier's definition of times for anytime, off-peak and weekend hours. You are better off over-estimating your minute needs to avoid extra charges.

  You might also be able to receive unlimited minutes for calls made to other customers using the same service provider. Prepaid service offers a predetermined number of minutes, usually spread out over several months, with no monthly service fee.

• Coverage Areas — Coverage refers to the geographical area within which a mobile phone can make and receive calls without incurring roaming or long distance fees. National plans, meaning that there are no long distance or roaming charges, are now standard for most cell phone providers. Check whether providers cover areas to which you frequently travel, especially smaller towns or rural areas, as well as on- and off-campus locations. Phones may not always receive adequate reception indoors; be sure to use any trial periods to test your coverage area, including indoor areas. International travelers who have a world phone that can function outside the United States should investigate carriers' international roaming policies.

• Wireless Local Number Portability (LNP) — Allows consumers to switch wireless carriers within the same metropolitan area while retaining their original phone number. To transfer a number from one carrier to another, consumers should contact their prospective service provider who will then contact the old company with a porting request. Bringing a current wireless bill with the correct name and address on it to the prospective carrier will hasten this process.