Posts Tagged cricket
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
Trains and Phones: Cricket to offer service in Chicago subway system
Posted by Derek in prepaid cell phones on April 18, 2009
Wireless (and prepaid cell phones) companies are always looking to expand their reach and coverage. It’s natural to want to reach and serve as many customers as possible.
One way to do that these days is to get very creative in how they expand their reach and business. Here’s one way others have tried (and successfully): Cricket will become the third carrier to offer phone service on Chicago’s subway system, allowing passengers to speak to loved ones or important meeting people while traveling on the train.
The agreement is for 10 years and will allow Cricket customers to make calls (and receive them) all across Chicago’s 11+ mile subway system. Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular are the other two who offer this service. The Chicago Transit Authority plans to grab even more providers in the near future, thereby adding to the convenience level of patrons by allowing more calls while inside the subway cars.
Convenience is a good thing.
Familiar Face: Cricket officially releases Motorola Hint
Posted by Derek in prepaid cell phones on April 17, 2009
There’s a reason this phone looks familiar to our readers: We just reported than MetroPCS launched this phone a few days ago. Now Cricket, copycats that they are, has gone ahead and released it today.
Cricket rolled out the device on their network, and its expected to do pretty well, due to the lack of high-end phones for Cricket really until now. That’s steadily changing however, as more prepaid carriers seek to launch premium phones for their networks.
This phone must have a line with the prepaid cell phones companies, as this is the 3rd carrier to launch it already, and so also a result we’re intimately acquainted with the specs, including its MP3 player and decent 2 MP camera.
The price hasn’t changed: $249.99 retail. Cricket has it on their website already.
