We have Alltel. For a base price of $59.99, we got a single phone. Added another phone for daughter for $9.99, texting for her of 750 per month for another $5.99 (they do have additional plans). Other miscellaneous taxes and surcharges bring it all to around $90 per month. However, we can call all Alltel mobile without using minutes from our shared plan (1000 anytime minutes), she can call the home phone without using minutes, and we can add 10 people to our "circle" without using minutes. Long distance charges do not apply to any of this, so anywhere in the country is good to go.

tobygirl wrote: Wow, I can't believe the deals some of you get. We live in the country with one phone company and no cable available. Per month we pay $30 for local phone, $35 for DSL, $61.50 for basic Directv and about $25 to AT&T (for their 7 cents a minute plan), not including the cost of toll calls. Ditto for us! No cable and no DSL. $30 for land line (must have for my business) $5-20 for long distance (depending on usage) $90 for Dish (includes HD) $80 for cell phone service (2 phones) $50 for Internet (WildBlue satellite) It seems high to me compared to what others pay. :(

Since I don't know (and don't have a need to know) who this person is to you, I can't say what he will do. But I found out the hard way that if someone is going to that extreme to "get to you", and they don't get the response they are looking for, they may take up a new "hobby". You don't want this person getting so frustrated that they resort to some other unhealthy way to get your attention. I do know that in some jurisdictions, the phone company has to initiate the block. In others, it's a police matter. Either way, it can still be a crime. I would have the calls blocked - report it to the authorities and at least you will have a record of theses calls in case you decide you've had enough. Build your case early. I didn't, and it escalated into a huge mess and I ended up having to get the authorities involved anyway - by that time I was a wreck! FWIW, I wasn't used to being around that type of situation and was so afraid I would get this person in some sort of trouble. But I learned through what I saw / heard from the authorities how bad it can really get if someone really wants to get to you. The peace that had after it was over was amazing, and nothing bad hadpped to the other person. Best wishes and I hope you get some relief soon.

I guess it all depends on how much you call from home versus away from home or on the road. We use pre-paid cellular. The new phones were free after rebate and my wife and I each spend about $5-$7/month for the STI Mobile/Sprint service. We only make quick 1-2 minute calls for necessary reasons and it works fine anywhere in the country that Sprint covers. Voice mail and text messaging are turned off on both cellular phones. Other cellular providers are now joining the pre-paid game with good deals. We are still stuck with the old telephone company for home and home office lines. I must have the reliability and quality of a landline for my business. I do pay too much for long distance, toll-free, and local service for my business compared to the low rates available today. Bills are typically $35-$50/month for relatively low volume usage. The last time I switched was from MCI to Ameritech(i.e. SBC/AT&T/who knows?) It was a pain to switch, but the new lower rates were good for a year before they went up again. Our home phone line just went up to $22/month for local phone service. It started at $18 several years ago. Pre-paid long distance service is $.025/minute using cards from companies like Cheap Phonecards. The latest cards don't require you to enter the pin every time from home and you can program the 800 access number into speed dial. The long distance cards are great from hotels too. We are seriously considering the switch to broadband phone service, but our local numbers are not yet portable for Vonage or the others. We are just outside of their large markets. Broadband cable internet is $30/month and speed is around 300K or 10 times faster than dial-up. It is fast enough for our needs. The total bill (excluding my business) is around $67/month for all phones and broadband for my wife and I. Here is a link that might be useful: Cheap Phone Cards