The average cell phone bill may be around $50, but the average consumer is paying $3 per minute because they’re only using a fraction of their minutes each month. The Times reported the number based on the average number of minutes charged in more than 700 San Diego telecom bills and dividing by the average number of actual minutes used.

The Consumerist.com believes that these numbers are skewed by the small amount of people that pay for a large amount of minutes and only use a few. However, even with those people removed, the Consumerist still believes that the average cost per minute is between $0.50 to $1 per minute. This is contradictory to the common belief that cellular costs are coming down.

Consumers that want to make sure that they’re on the plan with the best value may want to check out online services like BillShrink.com and MyValidas.com. These services can help find cell phone plans that fit with the actual number of minutes used each month.