Is paying by the second really beneficial?

Answer

Yes. In majority of cases, paying ‘by the second’ really makes a difference but how much of a difference it makes varies from person to person and depends on the kind of cell phone plan that they have.

What is billing ‘by the second’?

Some cell phone service providers offer a system of billing known as ‘by the second’ billing whereby you pay according to the seconds used by you and not in terms of full minutes. They promote it as a benefit for cell phone users to attract new customers. But the truth of the matter is that for once what they claim is true. Paying ‘by the second’ is always better than paying ‘by the minute’ but individual outcome differs.

Cell phone plans typically have a certain number of minutes included in the monthly charges. But most times they count any part of a minute as a full minute. Even if you have used your cell phone for less than a minute, you are charged for a full minute. This is called billing ‘by the minute’. If you make a call for 2 minutes 30 seconds you will be charged for 3 minutes, a call of 3 minutes and some seconds will be counted as a 4 minute call and so on.

Let us see an example:

Based on statistical analysis, a long term average overpayment turns out to be 30 seconds PER CALL. So if you are paying by the minute and you usually make around 200 calls a month then you use 100 minutes (200 x 30 seconds) of extra airtime (on an average) than you would have if you were billed ‘by the second’. This alone is not a cause for concern but has to be measured in relation to your monthly quota of minutes. If you are allowed 300 minutes or more per month, then paying by the minute would not have an impact on your bill but if your allowance is less than 300 then you could have saved a considerable amount of money by paying ‘by the second’.

To find out how much you are being overcharged (if at all) simply go over your previous bills and multiply your average usage of calls by 30 seconds and figure out if you are paying more than what you would have had you been billed ‘by the second’.

Answer

"In a majority of cases"... I don't know of a single person or situation that can not benefit by 'per second billing'. If there is, please post an example where 'per second billing' is NOT beneficial. Cut the spin.

First answer by ID1159080055. Last edit by ID1159080055. Question popularity: 120 [recommend question].