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Cricket expands coverage in Louisiana

Joe — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:44:09 +0000

Cell phone companies are always expanding their coverage. It seems like every few days there’s a press release about Verizon or AT&T expanding coverage in a part of a state. Yet I’m much more interested in the expansions of the regional carriers. They have a limited range of network, so when they add markets it’s actually a significant move. The latest comes from Cricket, which has expanded coverage in Louisiana. This includes the areas of Lake Charles, extending from the Texas border to the town of Crowley. This brings Cricket an additional 241,000 covered POPs.

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Cricket expands coverage in Louisiana

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Cricket expands coverage in Louisiana

Churn hurts Cricket’s third quarter subscriber additions

Joe — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:10 +0000

One killer in the wireless industry is churn, the percentage of customers who packed up their things and left. This is an even bigger issue in prepaid, where a contract doesn’t tie a customer to a service. Cricket announced their third quarter results yesterday, and churn stood out. It was at 5.4 percent, up a full point from the second quarter 2009 and up 1.2 points from the third quarter 2008. That hurt their subscriber adds, which clocked in at 116,000. They added 156,000 in the same period last year, and 203,000 in the second quarter of this year. Their average revenue per user (ARPU) fell, but that’s likely because they added more features to less expensive plans. Cricket ended the quarter with 4.65 million subscribers.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Churn hurts Cricket’s third quarter subscriber additions

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Churn hurts Cricket’s third quarter subscriber additions

Cricket adds $25 plan

Joe — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:30:48 +0000

Last week we learned that MetroPCS was offering a $30 unlimited plan that included unlimited long distance and unlimited text messaging. They say it’s available for a limited time, and for new customers only, but it’s still a great deal for those who just use the phone’s basic functions. Cricket is trying to keep up, offering a $25 deal that would seem to undercut Metro’s plan, though it has a major shortcoming.

Cricket’s $25 plan includes unlimited talk, text, and caller ID. The only problem is that it does not cover long distance. In an age when area codes mean much less than they did a decade ago, this seems like a major pitfall. Looking through my address book, I see maybe a quarter of my contacts with the same area code as me. That would render the $25 Cricket plan useless.

Even with Cricket’s $30 monthly plan, long distance is not included. To me, that makes Metro’s offering superior in every way. They don’t have the $25 plan because, frankly, local-only calling is becoming irrelevant. The addition of long distance to Metro’s $30 plan makes it better in every way. I’m sure Cricket has a rationale for offering only local calling — they wouldn’t offer it if there weren’t a market — but I have a feeling that demand will continue to dwindle.

If you only need local calling, you can check out the plan at Cricket’s website.

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Cricket adds $25 plan

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Cricket adds $25 plan

Cricket adds text messaging option to $1 PAYGo plan

Joe — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:30:26 +0000

Cricket wireless tried something new when they released their PAYGo plans. Instead of offering flat-rate, unlimited calling plans only on a monthly basis, PAYGo offers them daily. Their $1/day plan offers unlimited local calling and 10 cents per minute for long distance, but no text messaging. That changed over the weekend. Cricket will now offer an unlimited incoming text message plan for $1/day customers. Sent messages will cost 10 cents each. This is effective now, so $1/day customers should already have the option to begin text messaging.

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Cricket adds text messaging option to $1 PAYGo plan

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Cricket adds text messaging option to $1 PAYGo plan

Cricket adds LG Helix to handset lineup

Joe — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:42:00 +0000

It seems that regional carriers MetroPCS and Cricket wireless are always adding new handsets. Some of them are good, but many of them are low- and mid-range devices. That’s because the companies don’t subsidize their phones like contract carriers, putting the cost burden on the consumer. Since low-end handsets are cheaper, it makes sense to load up on them — they’re more affordable to the consumer. We learned yesterday that Cricket has launched the LG Helix, a clamshell phone that features a 1.3 megapixal camera and Bluetooth. It also contains a feature called Voice Clairty, which helps when talking in a noisy area. It’s $139.99, and it’s available now at Cricket’s website.

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Cricket adds LG Helix to handset lineup

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Cricket adds LG Helix to handset lineup

Cricket says no to Android, yes to mPortal

Joe — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:57:39 +0000

While Cricket wireless has expanded its nationwide distribution, making its product available to a larger swath of consumers, it will not move away from its core business. Cricket positions itself as a low-cost provider, and they know that adding high-end handsets can disrupt that message. Senior director of devices Sergio Garcia said that the company will not commit to Android handsets, an unsurprising move for Cricket. They might in the future, but for now they’ll focus on low-cost handsets, on which they can deliver an expanding range of content.

On the content end, Cricket has entered an agreement with mPortal to provide widget-based content, plus basic cellular content like ringtones, wallpaper, games, and more. The platform works well with basic mobile Web browsers, meaning the service will fit in with Cricket’s current handset lineup. The mPortal platform will initially be available on the following handsets: Samsung MyShot II, Motorola VE465, Cricket TXTM8, Samsung Messager II, and Cricket A200

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Cricket says no to Android, yes to mPortal

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Cricket says no to Android, yes to mPortal

Cricket PAYGo headed to Target

Joe — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:50:54 +0000

When Cricket announced that they have distribution deals with big box retailers, they left out the specifics. We got word of one of them yesterday: Target. Cricket will be available at 650 locations starting Sunday, October 4. This will be Cricket’s PAYGo services, which were expanded last week to include $40 and $45 monthly plans in addition to the $1, $2, or $3 daily plans. Two phones will also go up for sale: the TXTM8 and the CAPTR. Again, look for the phones and refill cards on October 4.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Cricket PAYGo headed to Target

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Cricket PAYGo headed to Target

Cricket upgrades domain name

Joe — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:30:56 +0000

Cricket wirelessCricket could become the nation’s No. 1 wireless carrier and it would still suffer from the same problem: its name. Not that Cricket is a bad name. But in the Internet age, having a fairly common word — not to mention a major worldwide sport — as your brand name can be rough. It means you might not get your brand’s domain name, and Cricket doesn’t have theirs right now. It was actually the subject of this blog’s biggest boo boo. Cricket.com is now dedicated to the sport, but that won’t stop Cricket from upgrading MyCricket.com. This weekend Cricket got a new domain, CricketWireless.com, reports Domain Name Wire.

The move will certainly increase Cricket’s visibility. From the Domain Name Wire article, users type CricketWireless.com into their browsers between 10,000 and 35,000 times a month. Those people would find a parked domain and might not think to type in MyCricket.com. In fact, there’s almost no chance they will. Cricket’s only hope is that they perform a Google search, or else that’s a potential customer lost without even really becoming a prospect.

Cricket acquired the domain name by filing with the National Arbitration Forum, which prompted Standard Bearer Enterprises to hand it over. There are no details on the terms of that move, or if there were any. The domain currently redirects to mywirelessphoneservice.com, another parked domain. Presumably Cricket will have that redirect as soon as they officially acquire it.

In other Cricket news, look for their services to debut at Best Buy Mobile. Cricket PayGo phone packages and top-up cards should have hit stores this past Sunday.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Cricket upgrades domain name

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Cricket upgrades domain name

Cricket releases low-priced CAPTR

Joe — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:30:11 +0000

Cricket has a new phone available, the CAPTR, pronounced “capture.” It’s as basic as they get, featuring a VGA camera, Bluetooth, and messaging capabilities. This includes MMS — what would a camera phone be without that? The good news is that it’s relatively cheap for Cricket: just $79.99 after a $50 web discount. You can get it at Cricket’s website.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Cricket releases low-priced CAPTR

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Cricket releases low-priced CAPTR

Cricket to integrate monthly plans into PAYGo

Joe — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 12:30:45 +0000

Cricket wireless announced yesterday that they are adding new options to their PAYGo service. Introduced about a year ago, Cricket PAYGo is a pay-per-day version of the company’s unlimited services. Instead of paying a flat monthly fee, users can pay $1, $2, or $3 per day, only on days they use the phone, and receive varying levels of unlimited service. Yesterday’s announcement added monthly plans to the PAYGo offering. This brings with it two advantages: the absence of taxes and fees, and the ability to pay for the service with PAYGo top-up cards.

Both the $40 and $45 monthly plans are now part of PAYGo. They are basically the same as before. The $40 plan provides unlimited voice minutes, including Cricket’s extended calling area, plus domestic and international messaging. The $45 plan adds unlimited mobile Web and directory assistance. Both plans include all fees and taxes, so they will cost only the flat $40 or $45. Boost Mobile does this with their unlimited plan.

Not only can customers now pay for these plans with top-up cards, but they’ll see said cards at more national retailers. The company currently has 2,500 points of distribution, but that will increase to 3,500 over the next few weeks. Cricket also says that the plans will “be available at four of the most trusted names in big box national retail,” though no specific names are mentioned. Figure on Wal-Mart and Target. Not sure which the other will be. Would K-Mart be one?

Along with their PAYGo service, Cricket also plans to offer their broadband service to the national distribution chain, though to only 1,000 national retail stores.

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Cricket to integrate monthly plans into PAYGo

This post originated at PrepaidReviews.com - The number one resource for NET 10 Prepaid information on the web!

Cricket to integrate monthly plans into PAYGo