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| Data service plan | Text or instant message fees | Email and Web use fees | Multimedia message/photo fees | Light user2 | Moderate user3 | Heavy user4 | Comments |
| AT&T Wireless MMode | Free to receive; $0.10 to send $2 for 25 messages $5 for 100 messages $10 for 300 messages | $3 plus $0.02 per kilobyte $8 for 2MB $13 for 4MB $20 for 8MB | Free to receive; $0.40 to send | $11 | $38 | $110 | Light and moderate users should consider this plan if they want to use AT&T's faster EDGE network. Heavy users should steer clear due to the high price. |
| Cingular Wireless Internet Express | $0.10 to send/receive $3 for 100 messages $5 for 250 messages $10 for 750 messages | $0.01 per kilobyte $7 for 1MB $15 for 5MB $25 for 10MB $35 for 20MB $55 for 40MB $75 for unlimited e-mail and Web use | $0.25 to send/receive à la carte $3 for 20 MMS/photos $5 for 40 MMS/photos | $5.75 | $25 | $62 | Cheapest option for light users (charges for light users are à la carte rather than part of Express plan). Using data services won't deduct minutes from voice plan (as Nextel's and Verizon's plans do). |
| Nextel Online Account | $0.15 to send/receive $5 for 300 messages $5 for unlimited IM $5 for 300 messages $5 for unlimited IM $9 for 1000 text messages $10 for unlimited IM and text messages | $8.50 to send/receive 1 $10 for 1MB 1 $20 for 5MB 1 $10 for 1MB 1 $20 for 5MB 1 $25 for unlimited e-mail and Web use | Not available | $10 (airtime charges apply) | $13.50 (airtime charges apply) | $50 | If you have minutes to spare from your voice plan, Nextel is an affordable choice for light and moderate users. However, Nextel does not offer camera phones or picture messaging. |
| Sprint PCS Vision | $0.01 per kilobyte | $0.01 per kilobyte $15 flat fee for unlimited use | $5 flat fee | $15 | $15 | $15 | Hands down, it's the best bargain for moderate and heavy users because there are no airtime fees. You can send and receive data to your heart's content. |
| T-Mobile T-zones | $0.05 to send/receive $3 for 300 messages $7 for 1000 messages | $10 flat fee | $0.25 to send/receive à la carte $5 for unlimited MMS/photos | $11.75 | $18 | $18 | Data services incur à la carte fees yet are reasonably priced. Using e-mail or browsing Web services doesn't count against minutes from your calling plan. |
| Verizon Wireless Get It Now | $0.02 to receive; $0.10 to send $3 for 100 messages $5 for 250 text messages | $5 flat fee 1 | $0.25 to send/receive à la carte $5 for 40 MMS/photos 1 $8 for 40 photos plus 250 text messages | $6.85 (airtime charges apply for pictures) | $13 (airtime charges apply for pictures, email, and Web) | $18 (airtime charges apply for pictures, email, and Web) | The most affordable plan, but only if you have tons of minutes in your voice plan. If not, choose another carrier. Also, plan descriptions are buried on the site. |
1 Minutes are deducted from calling plan. 2 Light user transmits 10 text messages, 5 pictures, 10 e-mail messages, and 250KB of Web content per month. 3 Moderate user transmits 100 text messages, 50 pictures, 100 e-mail messages, and 2MB of Web content per month. 4 Heavy user transmits 300 text messages, 100 pictures, 300 e-mail messages, and 10MB of Web content per month.