New Cell Phone Purchase and Prorated Charges

When I purchased a new cell phone, I was told I will be paying for prorated charges, what does this mean exactly?

At the time of your cell phone purchase and activation, you are automatically assigned a billing cycle and date. Assuming you are given a ending billing cycle date of the 15th and today being the 27th, this means that during this month, you will pay only from June 27th to July 15th. This is not a complete month, so therefore you will not be paying the whole amount, but the portion that applies for that time period. This is called prorated charges. In addition, since you are not paying for the whole month, you will also not be receiving your full amount of plan minutes, but the portion that applies for that time period. July 15th to August 15th will be your first complete month.

Please remember and keep in mind your billing cycle date because there are times where your billing cycle might be just a few days from the date of your purchase. For example, if your billing cycle ends on the 2nd of the month and your cell phone was activated today, the 27th, you will be paying prorated charges for the 27th to 2nd and then from the 2nd to the 2nd of the following month will be your first complete month.