E-911 Life Line

Some people do not think about owning a wireless phone until they are face to face with an unpleasant situation: experiencing car trouble on a busy highway, witnessing an accident or a crime or finding themselves stuck in traffic on the way to their child's first soccer game. Is it possible to purchase a phone and use it just for 911 emergency calls?

Aerial Communications
Total Hold Time: 0 minutes
Transfers/IVR Layers: 1
CSR: You called, we answered. Thank you for calling Aerial Communications. This is (name). Hi, can I help you?
WR: Can I purchase a phone from you without a service plan?
CSR: OK. You want to purchase a phone without us providing the service?
WR: Yes. I only want the phone in case of emergencies.
CSR: OK. We have a service called prepaid where you pay for minutes as you use them. I recommend that service if you just want to use it for emergency reasons.
WR: What is the cost per minute?
CSR: It's 45 cents per minute. It comes in increments of $30 for 66 minutes, $45 for 100 minutes ...
WR: OK. Well, I didn't know if it was possible to have a phone for dialing 911 if it didn't have a number assigned to it.
CSR: Right. You have to have a number assigned to it.
WR: Well, how much is it for a service plan vs. the prepaid cost?
CSR: It's much cheaper. Prepaid service is more expensive than the billing service.
WR: Do the prepaid minutes expire if I don't use them?
CSR: Yes, the $30 amount expires in 30 days, the $45 expires in 60 days, and the $90 amount expires in 120 days.

Bell Atlantic Mobile
Total Hold Time: 2 minutes
Transfers/IVR Layers: 3
CSR: Thanks for calling customer service. This is (name). How may I help you?
WR: I was wondering if it was possible to purchase a phone without a service plan?
CSR: Without a service plan?
WR: Yes, I only want the phone for emergencies — nothing more.
CSR: You could do the prepaid.
WR: So would the phone have a number assigned to it?
CSR: Yes, the phone would have a number.
WR: Is it possible to have a phone that only works for 911 calls? I don't want to pay for more time than what I will use.
CSR: Then you may want to do the mobile minutes because it's a prepaid service without a bill. They sell minutes in denominations of $25, $50 and $100. You also have to buy the phone. They're running two specials right now — one is $49.99 where you get a refurbished phone, and you get a $25 card with 33 minutes on it. They also have one for $89.99 and a $25 card.
WR: And how many minutes does that one offer?
CSR: The $25 card is for 33 minutes, and the $50 is for 74 minutes, and then they have a $75 card for 119 minutes.
WR: Do they expire?
CSR: They expire two months from the date of being initialized. So any unused minutes are forfeited, but a recording will come on once you get low and tell you how many minutes you have left.
WR: But if I use none of the minutes, they still will expire and there's no way around that?
CSR: Right.

VoiceStream Wireless
Total Hold Time: 0 minutes
Transfers/IVR Layers: 1
CSR: Thank you for calling VoiceStream where you get more. This is (name).
WR: Can I purchase a phone without a service plan?
CSR: OK. Why would you want to buy a phone if you're not going to have service with us?
WR: I only want to have it in case of emergencies.
CSR: For dialing 911? I'm sure you can't. You need to go to a VoiceStream office and have a purchase there.
WR: So I'd have to purchase a phone and have a service plan in order to do that?
CSR: Well, I believe that even if you don't have service on any phone, you can still dial customer care and 911.
WR: Without a service plan?
CSR: Yes, without service. But no one is able to call you because it wouldn't have a number. If you go to one of our store locations, they'll be able to give you more information about how our service works and everything.

Mystery Caller is Wireless Review's ongoing series of random calls to service providers to determine how a customer might be treated and the accuracy of distributed information.