No, it’s not the fees or taxes or even text messages that are leaching your wallet.
It’s your voice plan.
The feature that made cell phones useful and popular
is now an overpriced relic. Fortunately, a growing portfolio of options
exists to rid you of that unnecessary burden, although the biggest
wireless carriers are reluctant to talk about them.
The reason traditional voice plans are becoming
obsolete is that many phones are now perpetually connected to the
Internet over high-speed networks, whether that’s Wi-Fi, 3G or (for
some) 4G.
That data connection means it’s possible on many
mobile phones and other handheld devices to make voice calls over the
Internet using a technology called voice over Internet protocol, or
VoIP.
VoIP is not new. But until recently, it has been
mostly limited to desktop and laptop computers connected to the
Internet. You’d put on a headset, launch a program and dial numbers on
your monitor.
The benefit is that you get to make low-cost or free calls to users anywhere in the world.
But many people these days are ditching their land
lines for the convenience of cell phones, so being able to make cheap
calls on a land line is less of an attraction than it once was.
Many VoIP developers have started offering their
programs as mobile apps, and you can download them on almost every
smart phone available.
But their utility has been limited because almost
every wireless carrier requires you to sign up for a traditional voice
plan when you buy a phone.
When you’re already paying for the voice plan, using VoIP doesn’t save you money unless you make an epic number of calls.
However, if you could ditch the voice plan and just use VoIP, the savings could be huge.
And that’s now possible.
There are two current and near-term ways to get a cell phone without a voice plan but with VoIP.
The existing route is a bit clunky, but it works.
First, you’ll need a portable Wi-Fi device that lets you download a VoIP app such as
The most popular such device is the iPod Touch. Download
However, Wi-Fi is still nowhere near as pervasive as cellular networks.
So you need to connect your iPod Touch to those networks.
The easiest way to do that is with a 3G-to-Wi-Fi
converter such as the MiFi. This ingenious device is no bigger than a
small pile of credit cards. It sucks in a 3G cell signal and spits it
back out as a Wi-Fi signal.
Presto! Your iPod Touch with a VoIP app is now an iPhone without a voice plan.
You have to pay for the MiFi service, but it’s less expensive than a typical smart phone plan. For example,
Not only is that less expensive than the minimum
Over the life of a standard two-year iPhone contract, that’s an extra
Still, that’s a bit cumbersome, requiring two devices that each have to be recharged and toted around to make calls.
But Apple’s upcoming iPad tablet computer will
simplify that. Some versions of the iPad will include the ability to
use the Internet over 3G.
And Apple has confirmed that it will allow 3G VoIP apps on the iPad.
So for the cost of the monthly data plan, you will be able to use an iPad to browse the Web, send e-mail and make phone calls.
If you don’t mind schlepping the netbook-size iPad around with you, the machine will be the least expensive smart phone ever.
Let’s do some math.
If you buy an iPhone 3GS with 16 gigabytes of memory for
On the other hand, if you buy a 3G-capable iPad with 16 gigs of memory for
By ditching the iPhone and its voice plan for an iPad and VoIP, you’re saving
Granted, unlimited VoIP access to call any land line or cell phone generally isn’t free, but you’ll still come out way ahead.
For example,
Subtract that from your
That’s
Those companies are reluctant to talk about doing away with voice plans.
Both
T-Mobile, though, sells Windows Mobile and BlackBerry phones with data-only plans — T-Mobile Total Internet for
T-Mobile doesn’t yet offer a data-only phone built on
“It’s definitely something we’re considering,” he
said. “I think each (operating system) has its own unique items to work
around. It’s something we’re looking at, but I can’t confirm if we
definitely will. Technology is evolving all the time, and we want to
provide the best experience for customers.”
“We know that the data services are very popular,
and we’re looking at ways to make them more robust for all kinds of
things, including voice,” she said.
Telecom analyst
“The wireless carriers don’t like this because they
can’t charge by the minute for these calls,” he said. “However, they
can’t stop this.”
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(c) 2010, The Dallas Morning News.
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