Cell Phone Plans Reviews

The reviews below are assigned ratings by ConsumerSearch. These ratings are based on credibility in testing, evaluating and identifying the best Cell Phone Plans. See our ratings criteria

For recommendations of best Cell Phone Plans, see our Fast Answers page, which summarizes what these reviews say. A longer summary and analysis appears in our Full Story report for Cell Phone Plans. Our Where to Buy page contains information on retailers and Cell Phone Plans prices.

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Cell Phone Plans Reviews Reviewed
Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Cell Phone Plans Ratings Comments on Reviews
1. J.D. Power & Associates	Wireless Service Ratings (Volume 2) Editors of J.D. Power and Associates Oct. 2007		J.D. Power and Associates surveys over 22,000 users for the second volume of its 2007 U.S. Wireless Contract Regional Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) study. Carriers are rated across six regions in the United States in key areas including call quality, brand image, cost of service, service plan options, billing and customer service. T-Mobile performs particularly well in the study, ranking highest in five out of six regions (including four ties). Strengths include customer service, cost of service and billing. Verizon Wireless ranks highest in four regions (including three ties). Verizon's strengths are call quality and brand image. Alltel earns a tie for best in the Southeast region, while U.S. Cellular ties for best in the North Central region. J.D. Power and Associates also publishes the results of its surveys of call quality, customer care and wireless retail sales satisfaction. Verizon fares best overall in call quality and retail sales satisfaction, while T-Mobile provides the best customer care experience, according to the reports.
2. Consumer Reports >> Details/Subscribe	Best Cell Service Editors of Consumer Reports Sept. 2007		For this article, Consumer Reports polled about 47,000 magazine subscribers in 20 metro areas, asking them to rate their cell service for call quality, handling of calls and complaints, and billing problems. Results are grouped according to urban areas, including New York City, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago and Miami. As we see it, large surveys such as this one (and the J.D. Power survey above) are the only way to gauge quality of service.
3. PC Magazine >> Details/Subscribe	Trustworthy Tech: Cellular Services Sascha Segan and Eric Griffith Oct. 2007		PC Magazine reports on responses from over 16,000 of its readers for the latest installment of its annual reader satisfaction survey. Among contract cell-phone providers, only U.S. Cellular scored well enough to earn an Editors' Choice award. "If you're lucky enough to be in a state serviced by US Cellular, you'd be foolish not to consider it for yourself," the editors write. Verizon Wireless (which held the top spot in PC Magazine's previous survey), Alltel and T-Mobile finish just behind US Cellular.

Cell Phone Plans Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Cell Phone Plans Ratings Comments on Reviews

4. CNet.com	The Perfect Carrier Kent German June 19, 2007		Kent German, CNet.com's cell-phone "guru," says that finding the best carrier means considering a host of factors. Those include the comprehensiveness of the network, but also aspects like customer service, costs, plan options, phone selection and more. Though CNet.com does not evaluate cell-phone plans, it invites readers to do so. Reader feedback is summarized here. T-Mobile rates highest among readers for its customer service and plan selection. Other carriers have strong points as well: Verizon is liked for its network, Sprint for its features and AT&T for its phone selection. Though helpful, the ratings here are based on hundreds of reports, while the surveys we rate higher are based on feedback from thousands of subscribers.

Cell Phone Plans Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Cell Phone Plans Ratings Comments on Reviews

5. Top Ten Reviews.com	2008 Cell Phone Providers Review Editors of TopTenReviews.com Not Dated		This website doesn't test phone services, nor does it conduct any owner surveys. Rather, ratings are said to be based on coverage, available plans and other features. This isn't the best way to rate cell-phone plans, since it doesn't take customer service or satisfaction into account at all. Editors rate AT&T, Verizon and Sprint higher than others. None of the large customer surveys on other websites say that AT&T or Sprint are exceptional.
6. LetsTalk.com	Service Plan Reviews Contributors to LetsTalk.com As of Jan. 2008		This site sells wireless phones and cell-phone plans. It also features customer reviews. The services are rated on a five-point scale. However, the methodology is unscientific, and ratings are not weighted by the number of respondents (for example, prepaid provider Net10 is rated number one, with ten reviews, and Verizon is rated number two, with only two dozen respondents). The site does offer useful links for price and service comparisons of wireless service, though.
7. CNet.com	CNet Editors' cell phone buying guide Editors of CNet.com Aug. 2007		CNet.com's editors do a nice job outlining details about cell phones and wireless services for shoppers. In the "Buying Guide" section, editors present a five-step plan for choosing a cell phone; picking a provider is the first step. You will also find information on cell-phone service plans, phone features and upgrading your phone. However, no particular plan is rated or recommended over another.

Cell Phone Plans Reviews above this line are significantly better than reviews below.

Review Ratings	Citation	CS Credibility Rating	Cell Phone Plans Ratings Comments on Reviews

8. The Wall Street Journal >> Details/Subscribe	The Ten Biggest Problems with Wireless and How to Fix Them Sarmad Ali Oct. 23, 2006		Sarmad Ali explains why chronic problems such as spotty coverage and damaged phones occur. Though Ali doesn't rate cell-phone services, he does note carriers who are attempting to rework their services. For example, Sprint Nextel sells the Energizer Energi To Go, a portable battery charger that is an antidote to perpetually weak batteries. No services are reviewed or rated.
9. The New York Times >> Details/Subscribe	Guidelines for Using a Cellphone Abroad Eric Taub Mar. 15, 2007		Eric Taub provides a well-rounded basics course on avoiding the headaches of using a cell phone abroad by factoring in the carrier you use, the length of your trip and your destination. Taub points out that 82 percent of the world’s cell-phone subscribers use the GSM network available with AT&T and T-Mobile phones. Thus, phones that use CDMA networks -- offered by Verizon and Sprint -- are much more limited. Taub advocates that if you have a GSM phone, get a temporary SIM card and unlock your phone before you travel. No particular services are rated or recommended, however.
10. USA Today Magazine	Staying in touch while abroad takes thought Roger Yu and Marc Saltzman May 30, 2006		This useful rundown on using cell phones abroad discusses the most effective ways to avoid roaming charges while abroad and tips for purchasing prepaid SIM cards. For starters, the writers recommend visiting the website CellularNews.com to find a list of countries and their carriers.
11. The New York Times >> Details/Subscribe	Free Services to Inspire your Cellphone David Pogue Nov. 23, 2006		Given the talk about hefty fees for add-on data services, New York Times' tech guru David Pogue has found a cache of free services worth tapping into. They range from voicemail services to free answers via Google to a free voice messaging system. None of these services are offered by cellular companies themselves. Rather, they are services that have sprung up independent of the big carriers. There aren't any ratings here, and some of the information is a little out of date, but it's still a very helpful article.
12. About.com	Find Your Cheapest Cellular Service Plan Eric Bernatchez Not Dated		Eric Bernatchez, About.com's Guide to Cell Phones and Pagers, doesn't review or recommend specific cell-phone plans. Instead, he provides this tool to point readers to the cheapest plan based on their expected usage. Results are based on the responses to 12 questions and include both individual and family plans. Note that ConsumerSearch is owned by About.com.
13. Amazon.com	Service Plans Contributors to Amazon.com As of Jan. 2008		Although the emphasis here is on the phones, we also found a handful of ratings for the plans themselves -- especially offerings from Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and AT&T. In addition, there's a Cell Phone Help Center that covers basic questions like transferring a phone number to a new phone, using a phone abroad and carrier terms and conditions.
14. Epinions	Cellular Phone Service Reviews Contributors to Epinions As of Jan. 2008		Epinions has a pretty good idea -- separate ratings into major urban areas and let people rate their carriers. The trouble is that very few people are dishing out their opinions, even in New York City. (Verizon gets the highest ratings there, but only 7 people voted.) Places such as Boston, Atlanta and San Diego had even fewer cell-phone service reviews, making them barely useful.