Posted on: Wednesday, February 14, 2001
Navigating the cell-phone maze
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
Finding the best cell-phone plan ranks among the quests that bedevil us in this wireless age. The choice consumers make usually depends on whom they ask.
Brent MacNab and Ray Chan hope Hawai‘i will start asking them.
They are the principals in Wireless Hunter, a new company that bills itself as "Hawai‘i’s Unbiased Information Source." They’re aiming for an end-of-February launch of their Web service (to be posted at www.wirelesshunter.org), which will assemble data from competing cell-phone plans and guide consumers to a selection that suits their needs.
The flat fee for this service: $10, to be charged via online credit-card transactions.
"I read a study that said consumers are paying $8 billion more than they should for their wireless phone," MacNab said. "Many people are buying more minutes than they use or, even worse, many people are buying not enough minutes and then being charged a high rate when they go over."
The pair, partners in this new enterprise, are banking on cell users finding this a small price to pay for an informed decision.
Both formerly worked at a local wireless-phone company, but won’t disclose which one because they want to underscore their independence. Other companies that promise consumer guidance like this are also in the business of selling rate plans for specific carriers and can’t be objective, MacNab said.
"We want to be the consumer magazine for wireless phones," Chan added. "A high percentage of consumers are on the wrong rate plan and remain there, month after month."
MacNab worked in developing new rate plans in his last industry job; Chan worked in operations and procurement. Both were in a position to see statistics about consumer practices and become attuned to the various niches, from business people who talk on the cell constantly to parents who use phones to coordinate soccer practices and after-school pickups.
They’ve spent the past 18 months building a matrix, primarily using data from Hawai‘i’s roughly 100 rate plans but also factoring in carriers’ promotions and other information they say is proprietary.
A customer can visit the site, pay the fee and then fill out a survey about their needs and preferences. After it’s submitted, the three best plans are recommended.
Eventually, the partners hope to expand the service to the West Coast market and beyond, but they expect the Isles’ higher-than-average proportion of cell-phone use to keep them occupied locally for a while. They plan to expand the database as well, including some qualitative information like each carrier’s customer-service record.
And, for businesses and other consumers who have more complex wireless needs, the door is open for face-to-face consultations as well (e-mail them at info@wirelesshunter.org or leave a message at 778-4868) .
There’s been feedback already from industry, some of it tinged with concern. MacNab said the Wireless Hunter challenge is to convince local carriers that the aim of the service is to funnel customers to the company and rate plan that will make them happiest, something that in the long run serves the industry as well.
"Part of what we’re doing is helping educate their niche customers a little more," he said.
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