Cellular cheap phone plan service

David Neikrug spends two weeks each month on the road running his Chicago-headquartered health benefits administration firm. During that time he relies on his Motorola StarTAC 8000 cellular phone to keep in touch. "It's my lifeline," Neikrug says over his (you guessed it) cell phone while heading back home from Atlanta. "I carry four batteries for the StarTAC, and that barely gets me through the day."

All that talking carries a cost, though. "My phone bills are easily four figures a month," says Neikrug. Although his bills might greatly exceed yours, Neikrug illustrates a growing phenomenon. Cellular phones have become as indispensable for the road warrior as a good carry-on bag. They let home-based workers keep in touch no matter where they are--whether in an airport or on an errand to the post office. And increasingly, people on the road make cell phones their primary numbers, sometimes even eliminating a traditional wire-based office phone. Keeping in touch and flexible gets pricey: A cellular phone bill can be two, three, four times as much as a landline bill.

But its possible to fight back. Conversations with seasoned cell phone users, small-business consultants, and cell phone providers have supplied us with IO proven tips for keeping cell phone bills at a level you--and your budget--can stomach.

1. Own your phone. If you're like most people, you signed up for a cell phone on a free or deeply discounted telephone promotion. The catch: You had to sign a service commitment with AT&T, AirTouch, Bell Atlantic, or another major carrier for a year or more. But chances are that time is up, and you now own the phone. Shop around with cellular service resellers in your area. Because they purchase cellular time in bulk from major cellular services and then repackage it for consumers, resellers; may be able to save you big bucks compared with your original provider.

2. Cap your allowance. Lack willpower? Maybe you can ask your cellular provider for some. Several service providers, such as OmniPoint Communications, will let you prepay the amount you want to spend each month on cell phone calls. Using digital technology, your phone will keep you updated on how much you have spent and how much of a balance you have in your monthly phone bank. "It's a way for people to know exactly what they're spending," says OmniPoint's Terry Phillips.

3. Use it when you need it. Dion Goldsworthy, sales manager for Gregory Mountain Products, a maker of high-end backpacks in Temecula, California, keeps bills down by talking on his cellular phone only when there's no other option. "I use it on the road, not when I'm at home," he says. "And when I do use it, I try to be disciplined."

4. Go local. As any cell phone owner knows, leaving your home-base range puts you in that special circle of cell phone hell: roaming. Depending on your carrier and calling plan, roaming charges can be quite high. If you travel to specific cities on a regular basis, you can dodge roaming fees by acquiring local phone numbers for each destination. That's what Neikrug does. "I do my own programming, and it's a no-brainer," he says. Because most cell phones will hold two numbers, you can keep your home number active. Check with your local or national service provider for advice on how to try this option.

5. Keep your number to yourself. Incoming cell phone calls are on your tab, not the caller's. So discriminate when handing out your cellular number. Don't even put it on your business card unless it's vitally important that everyone have access to it.

6. Reverse charges. Several carriers, such as Airtouch Cellular and Sprint PCS, allow you to add a calling option known as caller pays. For a monthly fee of $4 or less, all incoming calls are billed to the caller. Just be sure to let callers know they're footing the bill.

7. Make the most of what you have. Service providers are offering an array of high-quality, low-cost services, particularly with the newest digital technology telephones. "Trouble is, they're awful about telling you what they have," says Frank O'Mahony, a public relations specialist who works out of Palo Alto, California, for such clients as Oracle and Excite. A year ago, for instance, he was using a cellular phone simply for calling and had hired a remote answering service at $200 a month to cover for him. But recently he signed up for a digital phone with GTE and discovered he could get all kinds of useful and inexpensive services. For $6.95 a month, he replaced his remote answering service with GTE messaging. Freebies he found out about include caller ID, three-way calling, and even voice-activated dialing.

8. Whack your taxes. Taxes on telephone bills are astronomically high--20 percent or more. If you have a city mailing address but don't live within the city limits, you may be paying unnecessary taxes. Change your billing address to your home.

9. Keep good records. Chances are, much of your cell phone time is spent on behalf of a client. So get reimbursed for it as you would any other expense. "I spend $500 a month on cell phone calls," says Mark Grossman, a Long Island, New York, marketing consultant. "If I make a call on behalf of a client, I log it." Using this technique, Grossman says, nets him $200 to $300 a month that otherwise would go down the expense drain.

10. Shop around. This is a good time to be looking for cellular service, with most cell carriers aggressively cutting prices to lure customers. The reason: deregulation, which occurred in 1996 and allowed far more carriers to compete in a single market (formerly only two per market were allowed). Particularly attractive are carriers (such as Sprint PCS, Nextel, and OmniPoint) that are using personal communications services (PCS) technology, a new digital cellular service that's being introduced around the country.

Although the service is not as widespread as that provided by AT&T, AirTouch, Bell Atlantic, or other first-generation companies, it's often considerably cheaper. For a small monthly charge, for instance, Nextel and Sprint offer roam-free calling in all cities where they currently have service. They also offer bulk-rate calling plans that cut all calls to io cents a minute, as well as plans that reduce all long-distance calls to local rates for about $20 a month. But even first-generation companies are eager for your business, with special discounts and incentives that may be particularly attractive to the small-business owner.

These tips helped Douglas Gantenbein run his business from his cell phone while moving home offices.