My 84-year-old mother would like to get a cell phone for emergencies
only, i.e. heart problems while driving to bowling.  I can't find a
plan for less than $40 per month.  Where can I find the most basic,
yet reliable, plan?

Dear didi6446-ga 

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. I?m
going to let you in on a little secret. You?re apparently unaware of
this (as most people are) but there?s no need to buy a cell phone plan
for your 84 year old mother to make sure she?s safe on the highway.
Seniors (and their caregivers and loved ones) are often duped into
buying a cell phone ?for emergencies? by some convincing salesperson.
However, like many things nowadays, those offers are mostly scams -
and I detest those kinds of parasites so I cherish every opportunity
to I get to mess up their con game. What is the secret that they don?t
want me to tell you? Read on:

Being in law enforcement and having also been a supervisor of a
police/fire/paramedic E911 Communications Center for several years
during some of that time, I happen to know that they actually make
cell phones just for this purpose, with someone just like your mother
in mind, and that require absolutely no monthly fees. You simply buy
the reasonably priced unit and that?s it . . . no fees, no minutes, no
charges - ever! The secret that the salesperson doesn?t want you to
know is that most cells phone will allow you to make a 911 call even
WITHOUT a carrier subscription. That?s right! Chances are that old
phone you?ve got lying around that you?ve disconnected and don?t use
anymore, when charged up, will actually make a 911 call. Try it and
see.

If that model doesn't do that, this phone, for example, will. It is
free to use if you are calling 911. It also had a large, east-to-find
red panic button that acts similar to a lifeline unit and calls 911
for you at the touch of a single button. In addition, the phone comes
equipped with a 95-decibel panic alarm to draw attention to the caller
so passersby can also know there is an emergency and render aid if
necessary until professional rescue arrives.

Mobile 911 Emergency Cell Phone - No Monthly Fees!
http://www.safetyandsecuritycenter.com/mo911emceph.html

Here are some others:

911 Freedom Fone
http://www.emergencycellphones.com/
http://www.emergencycellphones.com/n918.html
http://www.emergencycellphones.com/911_for_seniors.html
(This one is said to be popular among AARP members)

SHOP.COM
911+ Emergency Cell Phone
http://www.shop.com/op/~911+_Emergency_Cell_Phone-prod-27007913


If you get lucky you can sometimes even get a cell phone for free from
charitable organizations:

USED CELL PHONES.COM
FREE 911 CELL PHONES
http://www.free911cellphones.com/contactus/phonerequest.cfm

I might also recommend that you call your local police, fire or
ambulance department and ask if they provide emergency cell phones
free to elderly residents. Some departments do this as a public
service. They accept donated phones and pass them out to the elderly
or people who have medical problems for this purpose. You should also
call your local AARP or your county?s Area Agency on Aging. They too
may have such a program.

84 years old, huh? You go girl. Good luck on that bowling. 

I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;

Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher


[INFORMATION SOURCES]

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SEARCH ENGINE(S) USED:

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Emergency 

CELL

PHONE

911

E911

FREE

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 05 Jun 2006 20:23 PDT

PS:  I sincerely do hope that I saved you $60 for a cell phone and $45
a month for the rest of eternity. It really pleases me to no end to
know that the con buzzards didn't get it. Let me know how it turns
out.

tutuzdad-ga

My in-laws had one of the phones mentioned in tutuzdad's excellent
answer and it always served them well.  Eventually, however, they
found that they wanted a little bit more flexibility than only 911
calls.

There is another option that does not require a service contract. 
They now make cell phones with pre-paid minutes in them.  They are
marketing these to the parents of teenagers because it is a way to
guarantee cost control over their children's cell phone minutes (you
can't go over pre-paid minutes, as the phone will simply cut out). 
You may be able to buy a reasonably priced phone and then only
purchase enough minutes to use in an emergency or to make the
occasional call home.

I believe that every major carrier now has a pre-paid option, which
you can get almost anywhere (I saw one at the gas station the other
day, believe it or not).

With that said, there's probably a catch that I don't know about (I
come from the super-fortunate group of employer-paid cell phone).  It
sounds ideal, but as always, buyer beware:)

Good Luck!