TracFone Wireless makes TracFones, a unit of Mexican telecommunications company America Mobil. They are sold at regular stores like OfficeMax, Target, Office Depot, Wal-Mart, and are also available at other electronics retail outlets across the country. TracFones are designed for the prepaid wireless market, which has an estimated 10 million customers and bills of approximately $6 billion annually. Most of the people think that prepaid mobile phones are expensive if they are to be used as a normal mobile phone.

The truth is that all GSM model TracFones are “one-time” (ie no roaming charge). Depending on the phone, a TracFone will often have better text message rates than T-Mo. By paying for everything in advance at a specific rate, you know exactly where you are. Any new TracFone you buy these days will be a flat-rate phone, because the old standard-rate phones on sale aren’t new anymore. Long distance calling plans are also available if you make frequent international calls, but depending on the plan, you will also be charged for domestic long distance calls that would normally be free with regular TracFone service.

TracFone does not have its own network and only uses well-established carriers like Verizon, Alltel, Cingular, Suncom, AT&T, etc. Many telephone companies around the world resell the services of other telephone companies. They buy circuits from the incumbent at wholesale price and resell them at retail price to people like you and me. For example, you may have heard of PAETEC Communications or US LEC. Both companies only own switches there, they don’t own any networks, so they resell the BellSouth (AT&T) network or the Verizon network. Bell South and Verizon and similarly Cingular, Verizon Wireless, AllTel, T-Mobile all have their own wholesale departments that serve companies like TracFone. Also, on the other hand, all those companies buy in bulk from each other to complete the network. It is a common practice among telephone companies.

TracFones are great for people who don’t want a contract or who only use their phones for emergencies. They’re also great if you don’t use your phone much. You get 10 cents a minute if you get the double min card and then a 400 min card for $80. TracFones are a good alternative to a regular cell phone if you don’t use many minutes each month or if you have bad credit and can’t get a contract with a standard cell phone company.

I don’t know who these people are who say TracFones are “cheap” and don’t have good service, but as someone who has used them since they came out, I can say without fear of credible contradiction that they are as good as any phone out there. . I would say that if used correctly as a casual cell phone user, Tracfones are almost always cheaper than paying for a plan on a regular phone.