Prepaid plans from major carriers

AT&T GoPhone
After its 2004 acquisition of AT&T Wireless, Cingular not only became the largest wireless carrier in the United States, but it also jumped into the prepaid market with AT&T's GoPhone plan. Now that Cingular is once again AT&T, the GoPhone plan continues on.

Pros:		Some plans offer reduced-rate or unlimited nights and weekends, plus unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling with other AT&T subscribers; popular Motorola Razr V3 is in the lineup.
Cons:		Incoming text messages cost 10 cents each; access fees for some cash accounts.
Plans:		Several options available, including a 10-cents-per-minute prepaid plan with access fees for days on which you use your phone (minutes expire on a sliding scale of days, depending on the size of the bucket), a 25-cents-per-minute plan with no access fees, and a monthly plan with rollover minutes, unlimited night and weekend minutes and unlimited calling to other AT&T phones for the pricier plans. Prices range from 10 to 25 cents per minute.
Text and picture messaging:		10 cents to send and receive text messages; 25 cents to send picture messages.
Downloadable ring tones, graphics, and games?		Yes (prices vary from $1.99 to $2.49).
International calling?		Yes (variable rates plus airtime).
Roaming charges:		No.
411 calls:		$1.50 plus airtime.
Phones:		Prices range from $30 to $200; models include: LG CG180 Samsung A117 Pantech C150 Sony Ericsson W580i

T-Mobile ToGo
While it's the smallest of the major U.S. wireless carriers, T-Mobile made an early and aggressive push into the prepaid playing field, especially by adding the flashy, headline-grabbing Sidekick II to its handset lineup; the sexy Motorola Razr V3 is a more recent addition, as is well as the updated Sidekick 3.

Pros:		Handset lineup includes the camera- and keyboard-enabled Sidekick 3 and the stylish Motorola Razr V3. Three prepaid services to choose from; Pay by the Day, Pay as You Go, and Sidekick Prepaid. Pay By the Day include unlimited nights and unlimited nationwide calling to any T-Mobile number.
Cons:		Smallest network footprint of the big U.S. carriers.
Plan:		The Pay by the Day plan costs $1 for unlimited nights and unlimited nationwide calling to T-Mobile customers, and 10 cents per minute for all other domestic calls. The Pay as You Go plan offers buckets of minutes that expire anywhere from 30 days to a year and prices range from $10 for 30 minutes to $100 for 1,000 minutes. The Sidekick Prepaid plan costs $1 a day for unlimited email, Web browsing, instant messaging, and text messaging, plus 15 cents per minute for all domestic calls.
Text and picture messaging:		If you're not on the Sidekick Prepaid plan, it's 10 cents to send SMS messages, 5 cents to receive; 25 cents for MMS messages, for both sending and receiving.
Downloadable ring tones, graphics, and games?		Yes (prices start at $1.49).
International calling?		Yes (variable rates plus airtime).
Roaming charges:		No.
411 calls:		$1.49 plus airtime.
Phones:		Prices range from $50 to $280; models include: Motorola V195 Samsung T219 Samsung SGH-T329 Stripe Nokia 2610

Verizon Wireless Inpulse and EasyPay
A relatively late arrival to the U.S. prepaid arena, Verizon offers a wide network footprint and a growing 3G network; unfortunately, prepaid customers can't take advantage of Verizon's 3G V Cast service, even with the growing number of V Cast-enabled phones in its prepaid lineup.

Pros:		Unlimited night calling and calling to another Verizon phone; camera phones, a keyboard-equipped phone (the LG VX9800), and the sleek Motorola Razr V3c included in phone selection.
Cons:		Roaming fees; daily access fees for 10 cents per minute InPulse plan; no V Cast service, even with V Cast-capable phones.
Plan:		InPulse: 10 cents per minute, with a 99-cent daily access fee, regardless of whether you use the phone; minutes expire on a sliding scale of days, depending on the size of the bucket.  EasyPay: monthly plans ($50 for 350 minutes, $70 for 700 minutes) with no access fees, unlimited nights and weekends and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling.
Text and picture messaging:		10 cents to send and receive SMS messages; 25 cents per minute to send and receive picture messages
Downloadable ring tones, graphics, and games?		Yes (prices vary).
International calling?		Yes (variable rates plus airtime).
Roaming charges:		69 cents per minute for InPulse; 99 cents per minute for EasyPay.
411 calls:		$1.49 plus airtime.
Phones:		Prices range from $60 to $350; models include: Samsung SCH-u340 LG VX5400 Samsung SCH-u410 Motorola Razr V3m

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