Choosing the Right Cell Phone Service

Technology is constantly getting better and that's no different for cell phones. Many people are using smart phones these days like iPhones or Blackberrys which use 3G cell service. But, do you need it for your phone.

Thursday, October 29th 2009, 3:15 pm

By: News 9

By Joel Craig, NEWS 9 Contributor

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Technology is constantly getting better and that's no different for cell phones. Many people are using smart phones these days like iPhones or Blackberrys which use 3G cell service. But, do you need it for your phone.

We are bombarded with ads for various cell phone services. A lot of what we're hearing today is about 3G cell service, making it sound like it's something we've got to have. And depending on what you use your cell phone for determines your need.

The term 3G stands for "third generation technology." The original analog service back in the early 80's was first generation and the start of digital the second generation. If you're like many people who have a plain phone and use it for phone calls ,and maybe texting, then 3G service isn't important for you. But if you've got a smart phone like an iPhone or a Blackberry then you pretty much have to have 3G services. The reason is simple - speed. The 3G cellular technology brings wireless broadband data services to your mobile phone. With speeds of 144 kilobits a second while moving- a kilobit is 1,000 bits of digital information- up to around 2 to 3 megabits while stationary - which is close to broadband Internet speed.

The fastest 2G can go is 144 kilobits. Basically downloading a 3-minute song on 2G would take about 8-minutes; while at max speed on 3G would take 15-seconds. The 3G networks let you speed through Web pages enjoy streaming music, watch video on-demand programming and more. Of course you'll pay for the services, but we're now catching up with the Europeans and Asians who've had 3G services starting in 2001.

Sounds pretty good huh? Well 4G is just around the corner which could double the speed of 3G. There is even one cellular carrier already touting 4G. On a side note - if you use less than 600 airtime minutes a month or more than 1000 minutes you might want to check out some of the prepaid services. These services have been thought of for those that are credit challenged but with some of the newest pricing plans available you might save money switching to prepaid.