-CH> The biggest
-CH> problem I have is that the companies want to tie me down to
-CH> a contract
-CH> of at least one year.  That's something I don't want.
I used to thing that the contracts were lousy too. They are a good deal if 
you don't already have a phone. Say you just want a basic rate plan, 20 bucks 
a month, 240 a year. The price of a new phone, without any committment, is 
going to be close to or more than the 240 for the year of service with a 
phone included. If you move within the first year, usually your company will 
work a deal with a provider in your new area so you can sign up with them, 
and not have to pay an early termination fee.
Another example is with PCS. The phones are around $150 to $200 from Sprint 
PCS, add $240 for a year of service and you're up to 400 or more.
Personally, I have plenty of phones, I wouldn't need any new equipment and 
wouldn't think too much of a yearly contract either.
The last thing I would go with is the prepaid, it's a ripoff. In this area 
you pay 24 bucks a month for the basic service then you have these cards you 
buy that give you credits. Each credit is 50 cents. The minimum you pay a 
minute is 50 cents and depending on where you call that can jump up to a buck 
a minute or so.
Fortunately, for those that don't want to be tied down, there is PCS. I 
haven't seen any PCS companies yet who want to tie you down with a contract. 
You pay outright for the phone and then the monthly service and then you're 
all set.
I'd rather have a year contract the first year, have them buy me the phone, 
that way, I'm the one who's pocketing the savings. After the first year, then 
I would want to be on a monthly basis.
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