1.   It also advises consumers to compare per-minute fees and avoid cards with activation fees or expiration dates.

2.   Many of the services include a one-time activation fee.

3.   Some card issuers, for instance, tack on initial activation fees, surcharges for every call and monthly or even weekly maintenance fees.

4.   Sprint said it will offer pager leases with no activation fee and allow unlimited pages per month.

5.   There is no activation fee from Nortel or MSN, which hopes to integrate the monthly charge for Internet call waiting into its monthly bill.