If you’re a parent, you know how difficult it is to maintain proper communications within your family these days. Kids are involved in more activities than ever. Parents are busier than ever. We cannot freeze time, and we cannot seem to get in touch every time we need to. Mobile plans aren’t cheap, and many families cannot afford to add lines to their plans so that their children can carry a phone with them. Those of you who don’t have children may scoff at the though of a child or teen needing a phone. Trust me, though – all of my friends who are parents will vehemently tell you that this is imperative.

T-Mobile understands that being able to add your kids to your phone plan often doesn’t work with your budget. They introduced the new Kids are Free program yesterday. With Kids Are Free, new and existing T-Mobile customers who sign up for a qualifying family plan through Nov. 2, 2010, receive free add-a-line service on up to three lines of their plan until 2012. “Not only is T-Mobile offering the most flexible and affordable family plans among national carriers today, we are also making it more affordable than ever for families to add their kids or other family members by eliminating the associated monthly service fee until 2012,” said Ashley White, marketing director of value offers at T-Mobile USA. “The up-front cost of purchasing new phones and dealing with monthly service fees for an entire family can add up quickly, so this promotion is designed to make it easier for families.”

The mobile carrier is offering a few other new plans this fall, as well:

• Special deals on the latest devices. Starting today customers who purchase a Samsung Vibrant receive a second Samsung Vibrant for free after a $50 mail-in rebate with a two-year service agreement. Also, T-Mobile’s new line of messaging phones are all under $75 after a mail-in rebate with a two-year service agreement. Adding unlimited texting for the whole family is just $20 per month.
• Different types of contracts:T-Mobile’s Even More® and no annual contract Even More Plus® family plans offer customers affordable options for their family’s wireless communication. T-Mobile’s Even More family plans start at $59.99 per month and T-Mobile’s Even More Plus family plans start at just $49.99 per month.
• T-Mobile’s Family Allowances service lets parents set up-front monthly allowances for their family’s phone usage — minutes, messages, and downloads.

Does your child or teen have a cell phone? Does it put a painful dent in your monthly budget to keep them connected to you in this way?

T-Mobile Adds Kids are Free Plan to Help Your Budget

A recent study by Consumer Reports determined where cell phone companies rate when it comes to customer satisfaction. It seems as though everyone these days has a cell phone, and most of those people have very strong opinions about the carrier they have their service with. Too often, people blame the companies directly for problems such as lost calls when in reality there are several contributing factors. Your location and the type of phone you use can affect how often you drop calls.

It’s interesting to look through these results, and see where each company rates. Surprisingly, TracFone rates the highest amongst the pre-paid plan gang. I’ve heard horror stories about their service in the past. It’s good to see that they have apparently tightened up the ship and made things better for their customers. Amongst the contract carriers, Verizon comes out on top while Sprint and AT&T are nearly neck-and-neck at the bottom of the barrel. They even rank lower than Canadian carriers!

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It’s even more interesting to see that AT&T holds almost as big of a market share as Verizon does – despite their obvious lack of customer satisfaction. Who will be the first to point out the obvious: AT&T is only “holding their own” thanks to their exclusive contract with Apple and the iPhone?

AT&T Ranks Dead Last for Customer Satisfaction

Just got word that Amazon is starting to sell cell phone plans through their long-standing Associates program. This means YOU can make money by referring people to any provider that sells through Amazon:

The Associates Team has teamed up with the Amazon Cell Phone Team to create an exciting new offer for you to earn additional referral fees. Beginning May 1, 2007, when you refer a cell phone with a service plan, you will earn an extra $15 bonus on each referral! Why market Amazon Cell Phones and Service? Amazon offers the hottest phones, 30-day returns, an easy comparison shopping experience, and some of the most competitive cell phone pricing on the Web.

Get started today! We’ve updated our Cell Phone banners with graphics of the newest phones in the market. You can also build direct product links by linking to your favorite cell phones and then recommending your visitors also sign up for service with one of the service providers.

You can use your Earnings Report on Associates Central to determine the bonus you will receive. In the Cell Phones and Service section of the Earnings Report the bonus-eligible products are listed as “Service Plan + Phone” (e.g., Cingular Nation 900 Rollover Minutes + Sony Ericsson W810i Phone). This bonus will be applied at the end of each month, at which time you can view how much you’ve earned by going to Associates Central. We will be automating this reporting as soon as possible. Please note that the only referrals that are eligible for the bonus are cell phones sold with service plans in the same order. All other wireless products, including accessories, still earn referral fees up to 8.5%.

No word on whether or not this will make cell phone plans suck less.

Cell Phone Plans on Amazon