Cell phones are staples on most college campuses today, but some customers are not using all of their minutes.

JD Power and Associates released a study last month that measured wireless regional customer satisfaction. The group found customers use only 60 percent of their minutes in an average plan. The researchers defined a typical service plan as one that has 1,583 minutes.

Casey Schardt (senior-architectural engineering) said he does not use all of his plan's minutes.

"I bought a bigger plan than I need to make sure I don't go over," Schardt said.

Allan Keiter, president of www.myrateplan.com, said in a e-mail message that if a customer had a $39.99 plan with 500 anytime minutes, but ended up using 600 minutes, his or her bill would double.

When shopping for a cell phone plan, Mike DiGioia, AT&T Wireless spokesman and Penn State graduate, said customers should consider how often they will use their phone, where they will use it and the type of features they want.

"It's a very simple way to determine what plan is best for you," DiGioia said. "Those are the questions we ask people when they come in."

Alexa Kaufman, Cingular Wireless spokeswoman, said rollover plans can help customers use all of their minutes.

"It's especially popular with college students," Kaufman said. "[Their] calling patterns are very different from when they're at school and at home."

Researchers also found that 32 percent of cell phone households have a family plan, a 52 percent increase from last year.

Also according to the study, more wireless subscribers are also using text-messaging services.

Since last year, JD Power and Associates found that the number of people who text-message has increased by 44 percent.

Cathlyn Troskosky (sophomore-premedicine) said she likes text-messaging.

"You can do it during class, and if you're in the library, you can't really talk on the phone. You could just text-message them very quickly," Troskosky said.

Cell phones have many uses and each customer can customize the phone to his or her needs.

"For people in their 20s, it's just as much a messaging device as a phone," Kaufman said. "It's a more overall communication device, rather than a voice centric communication device."

Laura Merritt, Verizon Wireless spokeswoman, said that in the second quarter of 2004 Verizon Wireless customers sent and received more than 2.3 billion text messages. Customers also sent 21 million picture messages and had 23.4 'get-it-now' downloads, which include ring tones and games.

Keiter said coverage issues are also important when choosing a plan.

Sam Jordan (freshman-biochemistry and molecular biology) said he ended his wireless contract because he wasn't pleased with the coverage area of the plans he had.

"I was supposed to get coverage all over the United States and I didn't get coverage," Jordan said. "I was charged for minutes I should have had free."

Keiter said customers should make sure they understand the parameters of the plan.

"People tend to underestimate what they need," Keiter said. "You want to end up buying the next highest plan that you'll need."

Major wireless companies have issued a voluntary "consumer code," Keiter said in an e-mail message, which, among other things, allows customers to have a minimum 14-day trial period with no cancellation penalty.

The customer would need to return the phone and pay for any used minutes if he or she chose not to keep the plan after the trial period.

Merritt said customers should make sure their wireless company would allow them plan flexibility as well.

"They should make sure their wireless carrier lets them change plans anytime," Merritt said.