Finding the right cell phone plan

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) - AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon offer their customers dozens of plans that can be difficult to weed through.

Before you start looking for a plan that best fits you, you need to know what's most important to you. Coverage, affordability, the actual phone?

"I want as much coverage in as many areas as possible, so the phone doesn't fail, when you're some place different,” said Steve Wittenberg of Longmeadow.

"Definitely coverage, unfortunately we don't have it where we live, but that's the most important thing because I have little kids,” said Sheila Thompson of Chester.

Checking out a company's coverage is only a click away. Go to cellreception.com and you will be linked to provider's coverage maps. You can see their signal strength on a national scale or type in your zip code and see how well the company covers your neighborhood.

"It's important to have a plan that's affordable but also meets my needs and my family's needs,” said Darcy Andre of West Springfield.

If you go to myrateplan.com, you can compare companies' different plans and narrow down your search by clicking on the features and specifying the amount of minutes and texts you want and more.

But for many, coverage and cost isn't a big deal. All they care about is the phone.

"I pick the phone that's easiest for me to text with. The deal doesn't really matter to me, it probably matters to my parents, but I am not paying quite yet,” said Jeff Dean of Virginia.

"I actually use a blackberry, so text messaging on blackberry for emails is important to me,” said Steve Dean of Virginia.

Most of the companies do offer the same or similar phones….with one major exception. If you want the I-phone, that will definitely limit your search, only AT&T carries it.

For the most part, the plans, coverage and phones are similar, you just need to figure out what you want and do a little homework to find your plan.