Sending the Kid to College? Cell Phone Bills Nothing to Fear

August 28th, 2007 @ 6:19am
by Diane Brennan/KTAR

You are a parent. Your kid is soon off to college. You shiver at the thought of those cell phone bills. Well, you don't have to if you do a little research.

What kind of cell phone should your college bound student have? "Think about what they need, not what they want. But what they need."

Yahoo! tech adviser Robin Raskin tells ABC News the first thing to think about is whether their phone will work on campus. "What carrier do you use, what's the best coverage."

You should also take advantage of wireless signals many colleges have. "They can talk to you on campus through the wireless networks that are already there and free."

Or you can chat with voice over IP -- basically talking over the internet. "They can contact the kids via text messaging, via voice mail, via the internet."

Cell phones can also help to keep your kids safe on campus. "Many schools have put in cell phone alert campus wide systems now."

Most of all, keep an eye on the minutes they're burning through.

Source: http://ktar.com