Archive for January, 2009
T-Mobile Adds Mostly New Prepaid Subscribers
Posted by admin in t-mobile prepaid on January 30, 2009
T-Mobile, a popular wireless provider, added 621,000 new customers in the last three months of 2008. What is interesting is that well over half of these new subscribers signed up for T-Mobile prepaid service.
While eight out of ten of T-Mobile’s customers are still on a contract plan, it still seems to signal a shift that many more people are looking into prepaid cell phone offers. Some of the old stigma of prepaid is wearing thin. The ideas that only people with bad credit or people who can only afford a lesser service would go with prepaid are being shown to be myths.
These days, people are looking for other cell phone plan options, especially as prepaid cell phone users typically pay less than their contract counterparts. Furthermore, people signed onto a contract tend to overpay because they typically do not use all of their minutes each month.
Prepaid is not for everyone, however. Those who practically live on their phone and constantly text message and surf the web from their handset are generally better off with a contract package with various bundles for text, web, and data use.
The growth of T-Mobile’s Prepaid subscription base just shows that people are getting more interested in pay as you go service. I imagine we will see a greater shift as this year unfolds.
Read the details of T-Mobile prepaid phone plans. Here is some info about G1 applications.
Find the best deals on Straight Talk phones and plans at Wal-Mart.com
Cut Costs with Prepaid Cell Phones
Posted by admin in prepaid cell phones on January 26, 2009
One man cut his family cellular bill by $800 switching to prepaid cell phones.
Read this first hand account of a man who now pays less than $10 a month for his and his family’s wireless bill. He writes about the myths and misunderstood facts about prepaid and makes that point that people simply do not know that they have options other than contract cell phone offers.
The prepaid myths he cites are the following:
1) Switching to prepaid is more expensive because you are in a contract and have to pay a termination fee. I thought that this was generally the rule, but I guess there are ways to get out of the cancellation fees that can often cost several hundreds of dollars. I’ll look into this and let you all know what I find out.
2) Almost three quarters of people think prepaid cell phones are only good for those who don’t use their phones that often or use them sparingly. The writer goes on to cite that if you use 400 or less minutes a month, you will do better with a prepaid carrier.
3) Many people think that using the same amount of talk time on a prepaid or pay as you go phone costs the same as what you would pay for a monthly contract.
4) Prepaid phones don’t get good reception and only work well in certain areas of the country.
According to this article, the average cell phone owner uses approximately 260 minutes per month. His rule of thumb is that if you are using under 400 minutes, prepaid is probably a better option. Read the full article here.
Another widespread myth is that prepaid is only for people with poor credit. In a way, some people stigmatize these types of plan, thinking maybe they are a lesser kind of service. According to another article, it is possible for a family with two cell phones that collectively uses 700 minutes a month or less to save over $200 a year.
For extremely light cell phone users (100 minutes a month), there are plans that will cost only $10. But be warned that these types of cell phone offers have no night and weekend or in-network calling options. You also want to be careful with text messaging, which can cost $.20 each and add up very quickly. Remember, you pay to send them and receive them. If you send pictures and text messages frequently, then you will want to look for a bundle that will include these services.
Read my reviews on Tracfone, T-Mobile prepaid, and Virgin Mobile.
New Prepaid Cell Phone Offers
Posted by admin in prepaid cell phones on January 26, 2009
With the dawning of a new year and prospects not looking too bright (at least in the immediate future), it would seem that prepaid cell phones as a whole would take on more and more subscribers. This is true on the one hand, as this type of wireless service becomes more familiar and viable in the minds of consumers.
But on the other hand, according to this article, not all prepaid plans are bound to “take off.” The article claims that prepaid will grow by a little under 2% as competition increases and traction takes hold. Providers like Leap wireless (Cricket) and Metro PCS should fare well, while other carriers like T-Mobile may not gain a huge increase in customers.
It also states that postpaid plans will continue to grow in the coming years, not having to cede a huge amount of users to prepaid. In the end, the wireless companies will do what it takes to make the most profit. They will not bend over backwards just to get a user to sign up to prepaid because they would much rather make big media buys (and spend and estimated $400 per new subscriber) and get you into a contract plan.
One of the beautiful things about a prepaid cell phone is that you have no contract. Read more about prepaid cell phones.
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