Introduction
Cellular technology allows anyone at any place to be able to receive and send signals through waves sent to satellites which send them back to the second receiving device. In simple words, mobile phones allow you to move around anywhere in the world and still be able to make phone calls. Not just voice calls, technology has become so advanced that in most countries you can make video calls as you are walking down the sidewalk, send written text messages to other people instead of making a phone call and leave voice messages in their voice mail in case they were not able to attend the call. The 21st century has really made communication a lot easier. You will get acquainted with words like texts, sms, voice mail and much more. Another phrase you will become familiar with is Mobile phone tariffs. Mobile phone tariffs are fees that you are being charged with for obtaining all or any of the cellular services that you are using.
History
Basically, the cost you are paying for making and receiving calls. Tariff is basically the duty or tax charged for import and export of goods. Since making any calls using the cell or mobile phone involves exporting cellular signals, governments and service provider companies call these charges mobile phone tariffs. Tariffs are charged for any kind of communication you make through cell phones. Sending texts, receiving calls, making calls, voice mail recordings all involve you having to pay tariffs. That is why you have a long list of items to check or cross-out whenever you are registering yourself for a new SIM CARD. The new SIM CARD you get from your cellular provider will have all the services you have checked in the list and you will be charged for each and every one of them.
Features
Now there are two ways to pay these mobile phone tariffs. You can either opt for a “pay-as-you-go” call plan or a contract plan. The “pay-as-you-go” or also known as “prepaid” plans and are most common in every country in the world. It was originally started in Italy and Portugal simultaneously. The prepay plan just requires to you to first load, pay or buy credit from the service provider in advance of making any calls or texts. The companies make it very easy for customers to be able to buy these credits from any ATM, store or via internet. Some prepay services also involve you to able to purchase different packages at prices which you pay by loading credit on to your phone. For example, in Pakistan you can buy a sms bundle from various service providers for a limited fee and get vast number of free sms a month.
Tips and comments
The second most common way of paying mobile phone tariffs is through the contract plan. This involves you paying your tariffs in regular intervals or after you have used a lot of the services you have been provided in your plan. For example, a monthly contract plan which gives you a certain number of outgoing texts, on network minutes and off network minutes. If you utilize your limits before the month is ended you have to pay your monthly bill and buy more minutes from the service provider.
