<p>Sorry if this has already been discussed. I want a cell phone for college, I live in Washington (Seattle) now and I'll be going to school on the east coast. Do most students in college just keep their old phone plans and bring those phones to college, or do they usually sign up for new plans once they get to college? We're wondering because if I bring my 206 Seattle cell phone area code to the west coast and somebody tries to call me from a local land line, won't they have to pay long distance fees? I just want to know if I should wait and sign up for a phone when I get to college. Thanks.</p>
<p>I think alot of kids bring their phones from home. Also, the long distance thing isn't just for out of area cell phones for me. If I'm at my house and call my cell I have to dial a 1 and it is long distance. I bought my phone locally but that's just how our cell service is.</p>
<p>i think i will bring my local phone service, but if i were to go far away for college (i'm not), i would probably get a new plan so i could call people close to me, or change my plan slightly so that it wouldn't have roaming charges n whatnot</p>
<p>Thanks. Under my current plan, there are no roaming charges. Any other opinions?</p>
<p>Good topic.</p>
<p>Most college students have national plans so their long distance just uses normal minutes (and roaming charges are almost a thing of the past for college students). Students will be able to call each other with mobile phones no problem with national plans.</p>
<p>I suppose the long distance is an issue, but I would rather have a phone in my home area code so my family and friends and such who would be more likely to use a land line can call me just fine.</p>
<p>I have a Cingular Family Plan; no roaming, surcharges, call anywhere, anytime (international calls are exceptions). I get full bars at home and full bars up at my university (at least when I visited). Of course, I'm staying in-state, but from SoCal to Berkeley is still a distance.</p>
<p>I'm under a T - mobile Family plan, free nights after 9pm / weekends, free long distance (in U.S.). I plan to bring my cell phone and use it to call other people... my issues of local vs. long distance and what not.</p>
<p>I would recommend Verizon or you can wait until you get onto campus to see what the most popular service is. I know for my campus, it was AT&T which is no longer in business.</p>
<p>Verizon seems to the have the best network and despite not being endorsed by my school, gave me strong signals everywhere.</p>
<p>Well, AT&T has only gotten better since their merger...at least if you are on a GSM plan (the TDMA towers are being replaced with GSM).</p>
<p>Long live the GSM Providers!!!!! (Tmobile and Cingular)</p>
<p>I actually got PREPAID T-mobile and it works just fine for me. There is no roaming/long distance. I like it because there is no contractual obligation and I don't like talking on cell phone too much so its great for me. (If I need to talk for a long time I just use the landline). In the beginning, I paid $50 flat every two months but because I've been using it for a year, I don't even have to upgrade my minutes until 2006. There are a lot of benefits after you use it for awhile. Basically, if you're like me, where you just text message and talk for only a few minutes at a time, then go PREPAID! Besides, its better to talk in person ;)</p>
<p>Be sure to check the service's coverage at the school and surrounding area. Our family plan works fine at both kids' schools. Husbands work cell doesn't ring, goes straight to voicemail, at one child's school. He got message waiting reminders on the drive home.</p>
<p>Get a "nationwide" plan. It gives you a set amount of minutes, no roaming, and no long-distance charges. I go to school in Chicago (from Texas) and that's what everyone has here. No one pays long-distance charges so you don't need to change your current phone number to a local number.</p>