Prepaid expanding with sights on “light talkers”

A writer, no matter what he’s writing, always strives for a strong opening. Allie Winter of RCR News accomplishes that in her column yesterday: “Once considered the red-headed stepchild of wireless, prepaid services are finally gaining mainstream appeal…” She talks about new offerings from prepaid carriers, notably from Boost Mobile and Cricket wireless which broaden the carriers’ appeal into new demographics. It’s all part of the reason why prepaid growth is outpacing postpaid growth.

This “light-talker” specification is exactly what Bill Ho, analyst for Current Analysis, said prepaid services are all about. Ho divided prepaid customers into three segments: light talkers, moderate talkers and heavy talkers. Light talkers go for the pay-as-you-go services, paying minute by minute, he said, while the moderate talkers will be likely to sign up for the hybrid or bundled prepaid plans. Heavy talkers are the people that the top-tier carriers go after because they’ll spend a little more, Ho said.

“Carriers are trying to pick and choose and get the most ARPU they can get in the prepaid space,” he said. “Just because you’re in a prepay segment doesn’t mean you don’t have any money.”

Emphasis mine. This is an important point that many of us seemingly overlook. It’s been assumed since the beginning that prepaid was for people who don’t have enough money to buy a postpaid cell phone plan — or who have bad credit. As we’ve been saying since the inception of Prepaid Reviews, that is changing quickly. Prepaid is an economical option, yes, but economical solutions aren’t just for those without money.

Ho goes on to praise Verizon INpulse (“they’re willing to pay for the network”), though he isn’t as high on AT&T Go Phone:

“AT&T should be doing something,” he said. “From a competitive standpoint, they’re weak right now, relative to the competition and they’ve got a lot to lose because they’ve been adding a lot of prepaid people in the past, and in the last quarter, they didn’t do so hot.”

Oh, AT&T has done plenty. Namely, eliminating unlimited MEdiaNet and hiking a la carte text messaging to 20 cents.

Honestly, I think another sign of prepaid growth is the fact that an entire RCR column was dedicated to the subject. It’s rare to see the major rags give this kind of attention to prepaid. Let’s hope we see more of it.

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2 Responses

1. Melissa E. Says
   

   Yeah, I agree with AT&T. Their prepaid plan options are much worse than other prepaid carriers. The only thing that gives them an edge is the amount and variety of phones they offer on prepaid.

   
   Posted on October 22nd, 2008 at 6:56 pm
2. Wireless Services Says
   

   Compared to Post paid wireless services, Prepaid wireless services serve the customer to the extent until where he need the services. Customer can control his usage and charges of the plan. He don’t need to worry about the charges he is going to pay.

   
   Posted on October 23rd, 2008 at 2:08 am

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