I'm sighted.  I have a prepaid phone from Cingular.  Every time I
place a call, I get a voice message that tells me how many
minutes I have left.  I buy the $20 cards (about 75 minutes), and
each card expires in 90 days, and any remaining minutes are lost
unless another card is bought and activated before the expiration
date.  If a new card is bought and activated before the 90 day limit,
any remaining minutes roll over to the new card.  A few days before
the current card expires, the message begins telling me also how
many days are left before expiration.  Also, I can check my
account online and find out how many days before my minutes
expire, and the $ balance of my account.  I do not know if the
online account info is accessible for screen readers.  I can also call
a toll-free number from any phone, enter my cell phone number and
a passcode, and get a message with the $ balance from my
account and the number of days left before expiration.  I can also
buy a "card" for my account online or by phone, charge it to my
credit card, and activate the new "card" immediately.

The screen on the phone shows the number for Caller ID for
incoming calls.  Voice mail is available, but I haven't activated
mine.  Checking voice mail uses minutes from the account, in
addition to using minutes when the message is left.

The features available for prepaid phone plans vary from one region
to another, even for the same company.

--Liz--

> I was wondering if any of you folks who are blind have used a prepaid
> wireless phone; sold by at&T, TracFone, etc.  Particularly I wondered
> how you find out if you have voicemail and how you know how many
> minutes you have left, both things shown on the screen.  All info
> gratefully received. Kathie
>