Wireless carriers offer all kinds of billing models, which consist of bundled services and options. This list shows just some of the types of plans you commonly see:

- Voice minute only

- Text messaging

- Family

- Unlimited

- Premium

- Data only

- Specific applications and services

- PDA and smartphone

- Blackberry

- Pay-as-you-go

Wireless carriers commonly bundle, or package, their services based on the type of mobile phone you have.

Sifting through all the plans can be quite confusing! Don’t forget to ask about current promotions or even try to negotiate your own deal.

A billing model refers to how the wireless carrier accounts for your use of its services and how it charges you for that use. In this section, we describe the four billing models — pay as you go, metered services, metered package, and unlimited — that most carriers typically offer.

Each wireless carrier may have a different name for its version of a particular billing model. Even if different wireless carriers use the same name for a plan or service option, it doesn’t mean that their plans or service options are the same. Read the fine print on the plan you sign up for. Not all plans are equal, even if they’re referred to by the same name. An unlimited plan from one carrier may not include the same services as an unlimited plan offered by another carrier. And the plan might not even be unlimited.

Pay-as-you-go

In the pay-as-you-go billing model, you’re charged incrementally as you use a service, similar to ordering a la carte in a restaurant. The service charge shows up on your monthly statement.

For instance, in this billing model, you’re charged for each individual text message you send or receive, for each picture message you send or receive, for each kilobyte (or megabyte) of data you download and receive to your phone, and for every piece of mobile content you purchase. Depending on the specific mobile service you’re using, the pay-as-you-go model can get extremely expensive. If you plan to use your phone for text messaging or extensive Internet surfing, we don’t recommend this billing model.

Metered services

In the metered services billing model, you subscribe to individual services separately and commit to a minimum monthly payment. For example, you may subscribe to a text-messaging option, a picture-messaging option, a fullsuite mobile Internet option, or some other configuration and then commit to paying an additional $3, $5, $10, or more per month (whether or not you even use the service).

For each service option you select, you receive an allotted amount of use before you’re charged under the pay-as-you-go model. For example, you may choose the option to use 500 text messages per month and then get charged at the pay-as-you-go rate for any additional text messages you send in the month.

Metered package

In the metered package plan, billing model services are grouped in a package. For a single price, you receive a package, or bundle, of services. For example, your package may include an allotment of voice minutes and voice services; an allotment of text messages, pictures messages, and mobile Internet data use; then, when you reach the allotment threshold for each service in the package, you’re charged at the pay-as-you-go rate.

Unlimited

The unlimited billing model refers to just what you might expect: For a single fee, you can use as much of a particular service or package of services as you want. You can make and receive as many calls as you want, send and receive as many text messages as you want, access the mobile Internet products and services as much as you want, and more.

Check the fine print to make sure that you’re truly getting unlimited use. Some wireless carriers may refer to a plan as unlimited when it may not be. Rather than unlimited, the threshold on a service is simply set “very high.” Moreover, as in the metered package billing model, check exactly which services are included in the unlimited billing model. Some wireless carriers offer unlimited voice calls but charge you for data services; whereas others have unlimited programs that include voice, text messaging, picture messaging, and mobile Internet, but not other services.