Archive for April, 2009
Growth is Good: T-Mobile adds lots of new blood in 1st Quarter
Posted by Derek in Uncategorized, cricket wireless, t-mobile prepaid, virgin mobile on April 24, 2009
T-Mobile is learning the ropes when it comes to the prepaid industry. The sad fact is, it may be hurting their (much more profitable) postpaid side of the ledger. The latest numbers show a much greater leap in customers with prepaid than postpaid. With the economy the way it is, no huge shock there…the same thing happened the last two quarters.
This quarter though, the disparity of prepaid vs postpaid was even greater. 60% of their new customers in Q1 2009 were prepaid (415,000 total new additions this quarter, so the numbers weren’t as high as they would like, so it stings a little more).
So the question is: does T-Mobile believe in the prepaid cell phones business, or should they resist moving too far into this sector? Analysts believe they should embrace the prepaid model, as long as its working:
“We believe T-Mobile will have no choice but to match the new $50 level going forward – being priced twice as high as the market is not a viable strategy,” Moffett said in a research note. “And when that happens, the competitive dynamic of the unlimited pre-paid segment will be exactly where it was a few quarters ago … but with a lower price point. Whatever momentum Sprint has gained as a result of its Boost Unlimited offering will become much more challenging to maintain beyond that point.”
MetroPCS and Cricket Wireless offer their top prepaid plans at $50, so odds are T-Mobile will have to do the same to compete. Virgin Mobile joined the $50 parade too recently. It’ll be interesting to see how this race shakes out, given the price points being the same.
Find the best deals on Straight Talk phones and plans at Wal-Mart.com
Mysteries and Omissions: Page Plus coverage area expands due to Verizon/Alltel merger
Posted by Derek in alltel prepaid cell phones, prepaid cell phones, verizon prepaid cell phones on April 23, 2009
When companies distribute a press release, it’s usually concise, with lots of info about the wondrous events and happenings of a company. Obfuscation isn’t usually in the agenda when writing them. Apparently, Page Plus uses a different technique.
This release informs people that Page Plus Cellular has “recently expanded its coverage area.” Verizon and Alltel merged recently, and this benefits Page Plus cellular as its child network, so no more roaming charges in the expanded area, so good news for all.
What’s really weird about this release is: there’s no mention of Verizon and Alltel at all. Listen to this wording: the expansion is “due to a merger of unrelated carriers that was announced in June 2008 and finalized in January of this year.” In other words, Verizon and Alltel. It’s odd as a MVNO that these carriers were not mentioned at all.
As far as Page Plus goes, they now have coverage in the Central Plain states, which they did not have before. Good stuff, and more convenient for customers of all 3 carriers of prepaid cell phones.
Earth Day Story: Cricket launching phone recycling program
Posted by Derek in cricket wireless on April 22, 2009
Today is Earth Day across the globe, and so to celebrate the occasion, we’re writing about a cool program from Cricket Wireless.
They’ve announced a cell phone recycling program, and since old cell phone parts can be reused, those old cell phones sitting in landfills does the earth no good at all.
It’s a nationwide program, and to remedy the fact they don’t have stores everywhere in the US, they have a webpage where you can print a postage-paid label and send the phone to them. The page is here: mycricket.com/green.
Here’s the bottom line from Cricket about the dangers and benefits of the program:
A typical phone contains materials like arsenic, zinc and lead, therefore throwing out old cell phones is not only wasteful, it’s dangerous. These materials can seep into groundwater or even end up in the air we breathe. We at Cricket feel a responsibility to do what we can to help protect our environment and our communities. By making this recycling program simple and convenient we hope customers will partner with Cricket to do something good for the environment and help raise funds for Rebuilding Together.
We commend Cricket for their earth-saving program, and wish them luck with their efforts.
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