| The seeming slowness with which the market has | | | | packages for as little as $60. Such low rates are |
| adapted to the availability of an unlimited plan | | | | bound to have their effects on the contracted |
| illustrates the massiveness of the effect such a | | | | cellular market, and contracted customers should |
| plan will inevitably have - most major service | | | | expect to see unlimited talk plans being |
| providers now offer some form of package that | | | | contracted for as little as $49 per month with |
| gives customers unlimited minutes. Slowly, | | | | monthly, unlimited everything packages being |
| providers have started expanding the idea of | | | | contracted as cheaply as $99. As you can see, |
| 'unlimited' to the quickly growing texting market | | | | these trends are very beneficial to cell phone |
| as well, first offering the service between | | | | service customers. |
| accounts of shared providers, and eventually | | | | As is typical with new products and services, the |
| opening it up to any new or refurbished cellular | | | | overbearing cost of owning and using a cell phone |
| phone. | | | | is slowly coming down and stabilizing as the |
| This trend of expansion held steady last year, | | | | number of cellular service customers continues to |
| when Sprint pulled ahead again with their creation | | | | increase. I personally predict that, at the rate |
| of an unlimited 'everything' package, which lets | | | | things are going, it will soon be unnecessary for |
| customers talk and text as much as they want in | | | | service providers to perform the credit checks |
| addition to being able to send and receive | | | | that currently keep so many people from |
| unlimited picture messages. The original $200 per | | | | becoming customers, lowering the overall cost |
| month price tag was lowered to $149 per month, | | | | further. Due to the removal of this limitation and |
| which has since been reduced to only $99 a | | | | partially thanks to the competitive nature of |
| month for a single line. A lot of people decided it | | | | business, service providers will soon likely offer |
| was time to recycle their used Blackberry and | | | | nothing but unlimited everything plans for less than |
| sign a new contract. | | | | $50 a month. |
| With so many phones being recycled recently | | | | Owners of used or even refurbished phones |
| because of dropping contract rates, the industry | | | | should drop in at their local retail outlet and inquire |
| has begun to change again. Recycled and | | | | about the types of unlimited packages offered! |
| refurbished phones are turning up in abundance, | | | | Retailers are often very eager to do what it |
| and the prepaid market is expanding. Local prepaid | | | | takes to get customers onto an unlimited plan, as |
| retail outlets currently offer unlimited monthly | | | | they typically make commission from such sales. |