Prepaid Podcast: May 21, 2008 – Episode 2

We’re back with the second edition of the Prepaid Podcast. Lots of goings on this month in the prepaid realm, especially with the Virgin-Helio merger talks. Of course, there’s a bit about MVNOs. And then an issue of mobile phone trafficking, from the perspective of Tracfone.

So click on over to hear the Prepaid Podcast (28 min, 41 sec).

And don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you won’t miss any future episodes. You can also subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

Highlights include:

We open up with the Virgin-Helio rumors. Many people have talked about there being little incentive for Virgin here, but I discuss the ways Virgin can benefit from a merger. Once again, if this is going to happen, it might take a while.

Moving along the MVNO discussion, I speak with Gene Retske, editor of the Prepaid Press. He talks about past trends in the telecommunications industry, and how they sort of parallel the MVNO situation.

Then to the topic of restrictions on the purchase of prepaid phones. Congress is looking into the matter, citing their untraceable nature as a boon to drug dealers. Some states are considering an ID mandatory to purchase a prepaid phone.

Yet there’s another aspect, too. I talk with Jim Baldinger, attorney for Tracfone, about prepaid phone trafficking. The idea is that traffickers buy cheap, subsidized phones, unlock them, and then sell them as new. It’s not only hurting the cell companies, it’s doing damage to the consumers.

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