[pct-l] Keeping your Cell Phone Number Without Paying for It (Cingular/ATT)

[mlissner at aidshike.org (Michael Lissner)]

I just got off the phone with Cingular/ATT Wireless. I've been thinking 
about a way to keep my cell phone number for after I get back from the 
trip without paying a bucketload of cash to keep the phone active during 
the trip, and I've figured it out. This only works if you are no longer 
on contract, but I have a manager's word that it will work:
When you get your last bill before the trip, pay it, but cancel your 
service, being sure to put your number on hold. They will hold it for 59 
days after the end of that payment. No more, no less. At the end of the 
58th day, call them, and tell them you want to start the service again. 
Start it, and then cancel it again. This will put your number on hold 
for another 59 days. Do this one more time in another couple of months, 
and bingo, you've kept your number without paying for it.

The alternative is to send them a check for $200 before the trip, and 
let that pay for five months of the cheapest plan (the $29.99 plan that 
actually costs $40). These are the musings. The question is, how much 
effort will you go through to keep that number. Is it worth $200? Is it 
worth making phone calls two times during the trip? These are the 
questions I don't know the answer to.

-mike

-- 

www.aidshike.org
 -510.547.4299-