Despite troubles, growth forecasted for prepaid wireless
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We live in odd financial times. Some scream recession, while others claim it is overblown. Things certainly aren’t all smiles and sunshine, as the business catch phrase of the year has been “Flat is the new up.” As it pertains to the prepaid wireless industry, we’ve seen a few MVNOs drop out, and we’ve seen some poor growth numbers from strictly prepaid carriers. This might not be all that bad, though. According to telecom research firm Atlantic-ACM, we could see some huge growth from prepaid wireless in the next few years.
How much growth? Convenience Store Decisions, provided via Retail Wire, discusses the possibilities. We’ve touched on the convenience store topic before, noting that business is picking up in this sector. The selection of cheap prepaid phone packages and minutes, which can be paid for with cash, makes it easier for “unbanked” customers to make purchases. This can help prepaid sustain growth while the industry overall might be flattening a bit.
How much growth? According to the report, we’re looking at sales of over $30 billion in 2010, just a year and a half away. That nearly quadruples the sales from 2005, which totaled $8 billion. As with all forecasts, we must not take this as gospel. However, it does shed a positive light on the industry.
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While the growth figure quoted may be somewhat aggressive, I agree that prepaid will be the growth segment. While not many are talking about this in the U.S. yet, I believe that prepaid will transcend the unbanked and credit challenged, and start meaningfully penetrate the postpaid customer. Prepaid shouldn’t have a stigma, but rather, it’s a payment method…and no contract! Only time will tell…
Cheers,
PrepaidWirelessGuy
http://www.prepaid-wireless-guide.com
Posted on July 28th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Can someone give me an idea whether or not I should go for a smart phone or just use a more stylish phone and wait for some better technology? I am on the Sprint network, and was referred to http://www.sanyowireless.com , but I’m not seeing any options that look like smart phones. I don’t need an MP3 player or a camera, I’d rather have a phone that is lighter and easier to carry. Any recommendations would be welcome.
Posted on July 29th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Are you looking for a prepaid phone on the Sprint network or a postpaid phone? Depending on your needs and your budget, you may enjoy the Palm Centro (great for messaging, email, google maps, etc.). There’s also the MotoQ, which isn’t touch screen. If you let me know what your needs are, I may be better able to guide you. Please feel free to contact me thru my website: http://www.prepaid-wireless-guide.com/contact.html
Posted on July 31st, 2008 at 1:11 pm