Thrifty Thinking: Wireless Savings

Did you know that consumers routinely pay up to $1,500 per year on their wireless bills?       

GSM Nation, a rapidly expanding wireless retail and services company, which was incubated at the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute in 2010 and did $35 million in sales in 2011, has been leading the transformation in the wireless community by creating consumer awareness, providing transparency, and helping people save money and understand their wireless choices.  

“When people receive their wireless bill, they often feel that they are overpaying but feel helpless, they are not aware that they have options,” said Ahmed Khattak, CEO of GSM Nation.  “GSM Nation was launched to educate consumers about contract-free services so they can enjoy the same products and quality service at a substantially lower cost.  We are committed to providing information, mega-store discounts and mom and pop shop personal attention.”

Ahmed Khattak, the 26-year-old CEO of GSM Nation provides five steps to help consumers save over $1,000.

1) Buy a contract-free phone. Do not sign a two-year contract! You will lose money, freedom and convenience. Wireless carriers lure consumers with a ‘discounted’ phone but make them sign overpriced and restrictive contracts that end up costing them more than $1,000 extra over the life of the contract. Insurance plans on contract free phones are the same. It is true that when you buy a contract free phone you have to pay full price rather than the subsidized rates that carriers offer for a locked phone on a contract. However, that's the trick: those contract deals are deceptive because the consumer ends up paying more than what the phone is worth, and then some in fees. In the long run, the contract-free phone equals great money savings to the consumer.  Monthly plans on contract free services are almost always much cheaper than comparable plans on contract. 

2)  Use a contract-free unlimited monthly plan. Instead of paying $100-$200 per month for your wireless plan, pay $40-$60 for an all-inclusive, unlimited plan -- voice, text, data, the works! Contract free services are offered by some of the bigger contract-based carriers (like T-Mobile) and by carriers that solely offer service without a contract (like Simple Mobile, Boost Mobile, and h2O Wireless). Most of these smaller carriers are known as "Mobile Virtual Network Operators" or MVNO's. This is because rather than having their own network they actually use the network and wireless infrastructure owned by the four large carriers—Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint. The advantage of this is that you get access to the reliable network coverage of a large carrier without getting stuck in an unfair and restrictive contract. A few "contract-free-only" carriers use their own network, such as MetroPCS and Cricket Wireless.

3) Use GSM Nation's savings calculator, an easy-to-use comparison tool for people to see how much they can save per month by switching to a contract-free service. People enter in how many minutes they use, their text and data plan and can instantly compare the prices of different carriers and see how much they can save with a MNVO.

4) Apple products are the crème-de-le-crème, but their marketing success has actually created an opportunity for consumers.  Other amazing similar high-end products had to dramatically lower prices to compete.  Visit objective information centers to talk about YOUR needs and pick the best product for YOU.  You can find world-class smart phones for under $150 and tablets for under $300. 

5) When choosing wireless products and services, consumers should visit online digital communities such as GSM Nation, Engadget and Gismodo to see product reviews, forums and feedback from experts, other customers and objective parties. 

For more information please visit www.gsmnation.com.

ABOUT AHMED KHATTAK

Ahmed Khattak is the 26-year-old co-founder and CEO of GSM Nation, LLC, a wireless retail and services company that did $40 million in sales in 2011.  Ahmed, a finalist in Bloomberg’s 2011 “America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs,” co-founded GSM Nation at the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute.   He has a passion for wireless technology, completed his bachelor’s degree from Yale University with a double major in Electrical Engineering and History.