Why is cell phone service so expensive?

in our country we have an option to have a prepaid sim card so if we can just buy the phone and the sim card separately. the reason why i like prepaid its because i can control my monthly cost than having the post paid that you really need or obliged to pay the monthly bill even if you did not use your phone that much. and i guess the cellphone company just took advantage as theres many user of it the reason why they charge too much as they know people will have no other choice but to follow them since they need it.

Are you referring with the network services here my friend? Network companies were charging us with high price becoz,out government is not talking any actions regarding this matter. If only our government will implement such acts to lower the charges,then,those company will surely obey. Or,maybe,if there is any new network company that will provide a cheaper and much better services,i am sure these two big companies here in our country will cut their charges too.

In U.S., because more & more people are getting a cell phone, bills are actually going down. I remember not too long ago, they didn't offer unlimited plan. But when I finally came out, they were around $200/month. That didn't even incude taxes & fees. Now I'm paying $90/month for unlimited everything, talk, any type of messaging & blackberry data plan. And that includes taxes & fees. Little bit less than 1/2 the price from 2 - 3 years ago. I can't remember any major surgery going for $90. Last time I've gotten a surgery to have apendix taken out, doctors told me it was "fairly simple" surgery. I stayed 2 days in the hospital after the surgery. Bill came out close to $35,000. My insurance paid most of it but I still had to pay $3,000. That was for a "fairly simple" surgery. I don't think it's all that ridiculous. It can be on a high side but for what most people do with their phone, it's ok. I did see that 90% of the people over pay their cell phone bill. Studies have shown that most of the people can cut their cell phone bill by 25% to as much as 60%. When new & cheaper plan comes out, people are hesitant to change because they don't want to be stuck with another 2 year contract so they just stay with paying few extra every month. My bill was $129/month before new plan came out & when I changed, it brought it down to $90/month. That's almost $40/month. And I'm getting exactly same service. Look into different service provider & different plan type. You might be able to save some money. Also take a look at your last 4 - 6 month cell phone bill. If you are using on a average 300 - 400 minutes & you are on a plan that gives you 700 minutes, see if you can change it down to a plan that covers only 400 - 500 minutes. Typically, that alone should save you $10 - $20 every month.

I checked on your profile, I saw you are from the United States. I thought cellphone service there in your place is not that expensive! Here in our place, the Philippines, just recently, the government, the Senate in particular, have succeeded in forcing Cellphone Service Providers to lower down the cost of their service. :)

I have a pre-paid service and I spend, at most, $100 a year. But then I am content to not have it on all the time, not text message, etc. I typically use it just when my mom and I are on vacation to let people know we're ok and I don't have access to a landline, which I prefer.

Hi, cell phone services here in Philippines have low charges. In fact, almost all carriers here are giving one day unlimited text/SMS messages if a person will send message to the same carrier plus 10-50 SMS message for other carriers. You just need to pay a little less than $.50 to avail the unlimited text and sometimes it is with free 5 minutes call. They also offer one day unlimited call and some have unlimited call and text package. That's in prepaid account, it's a bit pricey in postpaid but some networks offer unlimited call also. Filipinos love communicating that's why even if the carriers offer low price they still earn a lot.

maybe check other companies.

I don't know why, and most of those prices are due to huge taxes and other fees. I think its because the demand is so high now a days for cell phone service. T-mobile actually has very reasonable prices and dispite the compition, they continue to keep their prices low. But, I believe a lot of it has a lot to do witth supply and demand. So many people feel cell phones are the must-have item (myself included) so it doesn't occour to most of that we are paying high prices for service. But, also stop to think. Most phones aren't just phones they transmit more then just sound. Most phones are mini-computers and providers have to cover the overhead costs to keep those towers up strong to handle the traffic coming and going.

But in India the charges are constantly going down regarding cell phones. You will believe or not, I want to say a fact that most of the beggars in India possess atleast a cell phone.

Depend your activity today, for me cell phone very important to support my acticity, call to client, sms to friend and now cell phone can connect to internet. So expensive or not, that is relatively. In my country thae famous cell phone selled by 50 U$, and free of charged in one year ( one year waranty, spare part and software .

I buy my phone last year and it took me a $450 in my money Ls 250. Than the phone was very popular and now too it's popular. My phone model is Nokia N95. I don't think it is the big amount for this model. And about calling for me it is not expensive in dollars it be $10-$15 a month included sms. I'm a big sms fan.