Virgin Mobile is the ideal fit for light users like me. Since I switch to Virgin Mobile in January 2004, I never regret my decision. For the entire 2004, our cell phone bill totaled $297, including two phone purchases at $65 each, and our 2005 year-to-date bill only adds up to a mere $85 for two phones.

Of course, we are truly light users. We usually keep both phones in the car for emergency and sproadic communications when we are on the road. Virgin Mobile's pre-paid minute-to-minute plan charges 25 cents/min for the first 10 minutes a day, and 10 cents/min thereafter, with a minimal of $20 every 90 days. Even so, we have a hard time use up $20 every quarter. To us, it is really a nice deal to enjoy the benefit of mobile calling while paying less than $7 a month for each phone.

Apparently, Virgin Mobile is no longer content with a pool of light users. Recently it introduced two more rate plans targeting heavier users:

Day2Day Plan: 10 cents every minute while paying 35 cents each day. Recommended for people using 150-500 minutes/month.

Month2Month Plan: 150 anytime minutes and 150 night/weekend minutes for $29.99 + tax. Once you use up all minutes, you will be charged with $10 for 100 additional anytime minutes and 350-500 additional night/weekend minutes.

I will certainly stay with the minute-to-minute plan, and I'm not sure if the new plans are competitive. If you want to join the prepaid plan camp, take a look at CNET's review of plans from major carriers and other carriers.