JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Florida (February 6, 2009) – There’s a cheap way to get cell phone service if you don’t need many minutes.  Virgin Mobile offers various levels of pre-paid service, and some of them are downright cheap.

Some of the phones are free, or come with enough free minutes to cover the cost.  You can sign up for a bonus plan Virgin Mobile calls “Sugar Mama.”  With it, you watch online five minutes of commercials and TV promos, and for each minute you watch, you get a free minute of phone service.

You’re required to prepay for a minimum number of minutes every three months, but the minutes, both paid and bonus,  carry over.  You don’t lose them.

This service is probably not a bargain if you talk on the phone a lot, but for folks like me who use it only occasionally, it’s a good deal.