Prepaid wireless service, which has been gaining steam over the past year, will continue to outpace contract-based growth going into 2009, according to third party research from Boost Mobile, Sprint Nextel's prepaid unit.
The data shows a growth rate of 14 percent for 2009 in the prepaid market, compared with 4 percent for postpaid. The carriers are also seeing some returns in the market; T-Mobile USA had 370,000 prepaid subscribers in the third quarter, up from 143,000 in the year-ago period. As credit has tightened up, prepaid may look like a more attractive option to customers that still allows them to keep their wireless phone, according to Boost.
The trend also fits with research done by Informa Telecoms & Media that found prepaid growth outstripping postpaid in both 2007 and into 2008.
For more:
- see this article [1]
Related Articles:
Prepaid [2] service growth outpaces contracts
J.D. Power: Flat-rate prepaid [3] pricing plans a hit
Links:
[1] http://adage.com/article?article_id=132573
[2] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/prepaid-service-growth-outpaces-contracts/2008-10-15
[3] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/j-d-power-flat-rate-prepaid-pricing-plans-hit/2008-07-25