One word of caution, this site generally writes about prepaid cell phone plans. AT&T’s Plan for Seniors is not a prepaid plan. Every once in a while I come across a few plans that are not prepaid, but are worth mentioning. The AT&T America Plan for Seniors has earned such a mention. At $29.99 per month it’s one of the more economical plans available for seniors.

There is one caveat. You must be 65 or older. Anyone attempting to horn in on the savings and is not yet 65 yeas of age, will be charged a higher rate once the true age is discovered.

A Little about AT&T’s America Plan for Senior Citizens

The cell phone plan includes local, long distance and roaming, 200 anytime minutes and 500 minutes for nights and weekends. It also offers unlimited mobile to mobile minutes. That means that you can talk as long and as much as you want with your friends and family as long as you are speaking to them a mobile phone (home land lines are not included).

This plan does not include the popular AT&T roll over minutes, so if you don’t use your talk time, you lose it. You cannot carry cell phone minutes over to the next month. Plus, if you go over your allotted minutes, AT&T charges a rate of .45 per minute, so it’s wise to keep track of your usage.

Text Messaging

The basic AT&T America’s Plan for Seniors (also called Senior Nation 200 plan) does not come with text messaging. If texting with the kids or grand kids is important, there’s the option of spending an additional $5 for 200 messages (there is also an option for unlimited texting at $30 a month but if you’re going to spend that much, you need to find a more economical cell phone plan).

Contract Term

This plan works well if your cell phone usage is minimal. The Senior Nation 200 plan requires a 2 year contract and charges a $36 one time in activation fee. So, if you think you may eventually need more time than this plan provides, think twice before signing up. Two years can be a long time if you’re unhappy with your cell phone contract.

Most prepaid mobile phone carriers allow folks to send short email messages to a cell phone (called SMS messages for Short Message Service). In order to send such an email message, the sender must not only have the complete phone number of the cell phone (which means the area code and 7-digit number), but it also requires the cell phone providers SMS address.

It’s easy to find the SMS address for most providers, but NET 10 seems to be a little different. Because Net10 service is provided over several different networks, in order to send an email text message, you first have to find out which network the recipient’s phone uses.

For example, a NET10 prepaid phone using the AT&T network would use the following format to send an email/text:

3356584597@txt.att.net (please be sure to substitute the correct area code and phone number).

However, if you find that the above doesn’t work, then maybe the Net10 recipient isn’t on the AT&T network. To find out which network the recipient is on, go to the Mobile Carrier White Pages Lookup and in the “Select a Carrier” option click “Other.”

Once you’ve selected “Other,” insert the area code and number for the NET10 user, click “Find” and the website will display the proper network SMS address under the “In Network” section. Now all you have to do is send the email (make sure to keep it short because SMS can only accept 160 characters).

For some reason some people still think that prepaid cell phones don’t have the same capabilities as monthly contract cell phones.
That’s not quite true. Even prepaid cell phones can receive text messages from email addresses.

How to Send a Text via Email

To send a text message to a pre paid cell phone via email is the same as sending one to a contract phone. There are two very important things that are required:

1. The 10 digit cell phone number
2. The Cell phone service provider

Each cell phone service provider has an SMS address (which usually takes on the form of @name.com) which allows computer folks to send text messages to cell phone folks. The 10 digits appearing before the @name.com is the recipient’s cell phone number, and the @name.com is the cell phone provider’s messaging address. You’re on your own when it comes to the cell phone number, but I can help you with the cell phone service provider’s SNS address.

Listed below are the @name.coms for some of the most popular cell phone providers.

Emailing the Text Message

Now that we have all of the necessary info, it’s time to send the text. So, if I were to send a text message to my friend on the Nextel network, I would open my email program, insert the 10 digit phone number followed by the SMS address in the “To” line. I would then send a short message (remember it’s SMS which stands for short message service) to my friend.

For brevity sake, I usually send the entire message in the “Subject” line, keeping in mind that it’s a text message and not a regular email. Once I start typing in the body of the email program, I know for sure that my message will be too long for the cell phone to accept. The maximum character length of a text message usually falls somewhere around 160 characters.

After I finish my “Subject” text message, I send it. Simple as pie.

You can replenish your GoPhone Pay as You Go plan online by going to the AT&T site and logging onto your account.  In order to use this option, you must register using your wireless number and selecting a password.

If you don’t have internet access, you can add air time to your AT&T phone directly from the phone itself.  All you have to do is dial 611 from your prepaid phone and follow the instructions.

If your cell phone battery is dead, you can use a landline and call 1-800-901-9878 to add time to your cell phone.

Lastly, you can add more time to your GoPhone by purchasing a prepaid Wireless refill card.  Stores such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Sam’s Club, to name a few, sell AT&T prepaid wireless airtime cards.

AT&T Phone GoPhone Funding Amounts

Cards range in price from $15 to $100 which expire anywhere from 30 days to 365 days.

Purchasing a $15 card extends your phone time for thirty days, $25, $50 and $75 will get you an extra 90 days worth of talk time and $100 will extend your service for a year.  Keep in mind however, that even though the expiration is extended 30, 90 or 365 days, if you use up all of your talk time, you won’t be able to make calls.

So, if you feel particularly chatty one month and use the entire $15 worth of minutes in one month, while your phone is technically still on because your account is active and you can retain your same phone number, you won’t be able to make any more calls until you add more funds to your account.

That’s the beauty of the GoPhone Pay as You Go prepaid cell phone.  It prevents you from running up a bill that you cannot afford.  If you don’t pay…you don’t talk.

AT&T prepaid cell phones have various text messaging plans. Before you decide which plan to purchase, take a look at your usage. If you’re purchasing a phone for a pre-teen or a teen, skip the evaluation step and go directly to the unlimited text-messaging plan. No need to waste your time.

Both the AT&T GoPhone (Pay as You Go and Pay by the Month) plans offer the same text-messaging package. All you have to decide whether you’re a light, medium or heavy texter. Almost forgot, there is also the “What is a text message?” category. If you fall into the novice category, don’t sweat it. You most probably won’t need to purchase anything more than the plan that comes with the GoPhone.

AT&T Prepaid Text Messaging Plans

For the novice who doesn’t know what text messaging is or how to use it, be careful as you discover the nuances of text messaging. The cost is on a per message sent/received basis not on the size of the text message. Therefore, if you’re experimenting and send one or two “LOL” texts or the occasional “BRB”, each will cost .20.

If you want to test it out before you go for the most expensive plan, keep monthly track of your text message usage. If you find that you are increasingly utilizing the text-messaging feature, bump up your text-messaging plan. The same goes in reverse.

Since we’re on the topic of cost, it only makes sense that our next topic will be… Funding Your AT&T PrePaid Wireless Phone.

If you rather pay a set monthly fee every month at the same time of the month, then AT&T’s GoPhone Pick Your Plan option is for you. With four different monthly payment plan options, the Pick Your Plan option allows users to buy a prepaid phone without having to undergo a credit check or commit to an annual contract. The one aspect where AT&T’s Pick Your Plan GoPhone that mirrors an annual contract plan is that you pay a monthly fee every month for as long as you have your plan.

Since you already checked the coverage area and you know AT&T has a wireless service plan in your area and you already ruled out the GoPhone Pay as You Need plan, you now have to decide which of the four Pick Your Plan options best suits your cell phone usage.

Let’s look at their options and then decide which one works best for you:

*Mobile to Mobile minutes means to cell phones within the AT&T wireless network. Each plan includes nationwide long distance and rollover balances. **Nights and weekend minutes are used before the mobile-to-mobile minutes.

Now it’s necessary to know how much you use your cell phone and what network your friends and family use in order to get the most bang for your cell phone dollars.

Emergency Only: If you only use your cell phone for rare emergencies, take a look at AT&T’s GoPhone Pay as You Need Plan. The per minute cost is higher than the cheapest GoPhone Pick Your Plan option, but if you only make one or two emergency calls a month, it will cost you much less than the $29.99 per month plan.

Almost Daily Cell Phone User: If you use your phone most days of the month and talk to folks both in and out of the AT&T wireless network, it makes sense to purchase the Pick Your Plan $39.99 option. However, if you only make calls to folks within the AT&T wireless network, you might want to compare it with the GoPhone Pay as You Need Plan Unlimited Talk option.

Daily Cell Phone User: If you are a heavy cell phone user, then you’ll lean towards the $49.99 or $69.99 plans. You’ll have to determine how many anytime minutes you will need (for those out of network calls) and how much you’re willing to spend each month. For $69.99 per month you can talk as much as you like with unlimited talk time nights and weekends.

Next let’s look at the AT&T Prepaid Text Messaging Plans

AT&T (formerly Cingular) offers two prepaid wireless cell phone plans. Known as the GoPhone plans, these plans allow cell phone users to purchase a cell phone and plan without the need for a credit check, no annual contract and best of all they can choose whether or not they want to be billed monthly.

If you’re thinking of using an AT&T prepaid wireless plan, first check to see if a service plan is offered in your area. Next, analyze your own cell phone use. You must decide what type of user you are and evaluate your cell phone-calling list. In other words, find out which wireless network your friends and family use. As with most wireless cell phone plans, you get the most bang for your buck if the people you call are on the same network as you are.

AT&T has two types of prepaid wireless plans; they offer the pay as you GoPhone plan that allows you to pre pay when ever you need to and a GoPhone pay once a month plan.

Let’s dive a little further into each of the plans.

*Note: Daily usage fee applies only on the days when you use the phone.

Now that you see the details offered by AT&T’s pay as you need GoPhone option, see how well it fits in with your phone usage and your calling network.

TYPE OF USER

Emergency Calls Only Cell Phone User: If you only use the phone for emergencies, then the .25 per minute plan should work well for you. The .25 applies whether you’re calling a landline or another mobile phone within the AT&T wireless network.

Moderate Cell Phone User: If you use the cell phone for more than just emergencies, but not quite a power user, you will do better using the Unlimited Talk plan. It works out especially well if the people you normally call are on the AT&T network.

Heavy Cell Phone User: If you’re a heavy cell phone user, the only option that makes sense between the two GoPhone plans listed above is the Unlimited Talk plan. However, you should make sure the people you spend your time on the phone with are also on the AT&T network; otherwise you could end up spending a fortune in calls. If you’re really a heavy cell phone user and want to stay within the AT&T wireless prepaid network, it’s time to look at the GoPhone Pick Your Plan option and pay by the month.

Next we’ll take a look at AT&T’s other prepaid plan…GoPhone Pick Your Plan option.

If you’re undecided as to which pay as you go service to use, there is one factor that cannot be ignored when making a decision. You have to make sure that the wireless cell phone provider has service in your area.

To make it a little easier to find the coverage location of the various providers, below are links to the national coverage maps for several prepaid wireless cell phone providers. Once you have confirmed that there is coverage in your area, you can take the search to the next level.

By clicking on the national coverage map below, you’ll be taken to the wireless provider’s current coverage map. The maps as displayed below are current as of January, 2009. Be advised, however that although the maps may display as providing wireless coverage in many locations, check with each cell phone provider as the national coverage map is much different than the regionally available plans.

National coverage maps display where phone service is available and whether roaming charges apply or not. It is not an indication as to whether or not the wireless provider offers a prepaid plan in your area. For that you must contact the wireless service provider.

National Coverage Maps
AT&T GoPhone	Alltel Pay Per Day
Boostmobile PayGo Plan	Jump Mobile Prepaid Wireless
Kajeet	Net 10
TMobile	TracFone
US Cellular	Verizon INPulse Plan

Additions (and subtractions) are made to this list quarterly.