the Informer

If you’re like many students on campus, your parents have dropped you from the family plan and said, “Pay for your own phone.”

Now on a college budget, that’s not cheap. I went into Verizon to get an iPhone, only to learn I would be throwing away $99.98 a month.

Like most college students, I don’t have a hundred dollars to give away. So I had to find an alternative. I was one of the lucky ones.

My parents only made me pay for a share of the family plan, but some students need a new option.

So what can you do? For a lot of students, the prepaid route seems like the way to go. There are many providers out there that all offer the same crappy plan.

AT&T offers its GoPhone: pay as you go service. Their plan is cheap costing only $2 a day. That gets you unlimited talk and text but no data and a fairly cheap phone.

But don’t expect to do anything other than texting and calling with these phones. Although they can cost a mere $0, they are the basic of basic phones. One inch screen and it’s in color. That’s about it on features.

If you want to do more with your phone than text using your number pad, your next best option is the no-contract plan. Although they are a great value, there are some limitations compared to full contract plans.

T-Mobile offers the cheapest option for no contract plans. For $30 a month, you get unlimited everything, except for minutes. You only get 100 of those. So you have to be careful about your talking habits.

Virgin Mobile offers unlimited data and texting for only $35 a month. But keep in mind that only gets you 300 minutes. Want unlimited minutes? That’s another $20 a month. And it’s only on the Sprint network, so be careful not to start racking up roaming fees.

That brings me to a new wireless service provider called Republic Wireless. They offer unlimited everything for just $19 a month. Talk, text, data, it’s all included.

The company only offers one phone, the LG Optimus. You can’t bring your own phone to this provider. However, with all great deals, there is a catch.

But this one isn’t so bad for students at the University. First, there is an upfront cost of $199. That gets you the phone and the first month of service. The big deal you have to promise to use Wi-Fi as much as possible.

When you’re not on Wi-Fi, it will fall back to Sprint’s network. But if you use your cell service too much, they will send you a friendly reminder, telling you to get back on Wi-Fi. Still using too much cell service? You’re kicked out.

But here at the University, there is Wi-Fi all over campus. So staying on Wi-Fi all the time shouldn’t be too difficult for students.

If you’re lucky, your parents pay for your service. Otherwise, it’s really up to you what to do. I highly recommend trying to convince your parents to let you pay for part of a family plan. It get’s you the most bang for your buck.

If you have $100 a month to shell out, go for the full plan. If you are on a very low budget, get a pay as you go phone. If you can pay a little extra in the beginning, go for Republic Wireless.