When looking for the best cell phone plan for you or your family, you must consider many factors. Consider first, that wherever you may live, phone companies have figured out the lowest price that customers will pay for basic cell phone service. And, when you add all of the features and data plans that smartphones require, you will pay more - perhaps more than you want to pay. but, because you value the service and consider the service an essential one you pay the price. The only question, really, is which company you will choose to be your service provider. How will you choose? By what criteria will you make your decision to select the best cell phone deals and plans?

Here are 3 things that will help you make an informed decision.

1. Phone companies want you to pay to most possible for the service that you want. This is a fact. Just consider that all over the world, people pay very different rates, some seemingly excessive, some quite inexpensive. What are the reasons for this price inequality? Some contributing factors could be put down as technologically based, things like the actual costs of providing the service. The infrastructure required to provide such a service could be at a stage that requires the providers to invest and therefore require, a higher cost for the service. Then there are the costs of maintaining the position and visibility that service providers enjoy, things such as advertising, operations and customer service. However, if you weigh all of these factors and still believe you are paying too much, you are most likely not wrong.

2. Is the company you favour different than the one you are with now. If you are looking for another service, why would you not continue on with the present service you already have? Chances are that you feel slighted or are paying too much. Perhaps there is not enough incentive to make you stay. Why would your company not care if you switch? The reason has probably something to do with the similar pricing of all of the services. If there is no real difference, why would you switch?

3. If you consider all of the various options and offerings, it is quite possible that it is not possible to make a reasonable comparison between the various services and offerings. This is not a unique situation. I fact many services of highly competitive services or products are this way. This forces the consumer to make a choice based on something other than price. This is where advertising comes into the picture. Companies hope that they have sufficiently bombarded you with the message that they are "friendly" or "fast" or something equally vague. If you are swayed by these sentiments then it will seem as if you have very little choice.

What is there was a way you could choose a reputable service, but pay less than the amount they want you to pay. There are a few tricks to negotiating a better rate, but they are rare and based on very favourably conditions. These usually take the form of credits applied to the term of your cell phone service. Plans are plentiful but deals are rare. Either way, it is never a bad move to ask before you sign up for a plan.