Cheap Prepaid Plans are Shaking up the Wireless Industry?

I was just reading an article about cheap prepaid cell phone plans and the affect they have had on the wireless phone industry. Apparently prepaid wireless is making big gains. According to this article by the Associated Press, " Cut-rate prepaid plans shake up wireless industry."

This article is about wireless carriers reporting their financial results this week. Many investors are going to be keeping an eye on these reports, looking out for any data evidence of losses caused by cut rate plans available for prepaid cellular phones.

While prepaid phones were traditionally used mostly by those with problem credit and only offered on a pay as you go basis, the big change in recent years ( especially of the last year), is the increasing availability of prepaid plans that are much better deals than the old per minute prepaid plans. Many of these prepaid plans offer values very similar to traditional monthly wireless phone plans offered by contract carriers. They also offer the benefit of no credit check and no long term contractual commitments.

What does this have to do with the wireless industry? Analysts see carriers adding more prepaid customers this year than postpaid customers, a change from years past. Many providers will be adding new cut-rate prepaid and postpaid plans to either capture the prepaid market or keep with it. These also include special offers to preferred customers.

For example, Sprint Nextel runs the Boost Mobile brand, which offers 50 dollar plans that allow unlimited wireless calling, text messaging, and wireless web.

Options for AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and other major carriers including starting their own prepaid plans or acquiring existing ones.

It seems the trend in cell phone is going to be either very low cost prepaid services with a lot of features or more expensive but very highly valued plans that offer unlimited usage of both calls and messaging features.


See: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iNAaUjbjXb0uJLpxTbHB9X4uq3tgD97MB4QG5

Prepaid phone service from Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile is the only pay as you go wireless service that I have personal experience with. My wife used Virgin Mobile with prepaid top-up cards for the last 3 years. The rates and service were pretty good. There was an option of just paying per minute and text or choosing from the pay as you go cell phone plans. The pay as you go plans were pretty competitive with major contract carriers without requiring a contract for cell phone service.

My wife mostly used her Kyocera phone for text messaging, making a few wireless calls here and there. So she went with the per minute deals. Everything was prepaid and we usually got her a $20 topup Virgin Mobile Prepaid card every month or so.

Pay as you go cell phone plans are a good alternative for those who do not want a contract or do not need extra features. It is also helps those with credit that is not perfect.