The Prepaid Press - September 15, 2008 - (Page 13)

PREPAID WIRELESS September 15 · 2008 - 13 Prepaid Wireless Roundup By Joe Pawlikowski Cricket adds mobile video service Making use of their EVDO network, Cricket has added a mobile video service. This is an add-on to their flat-rate prepaid plans, many of which already include mobile Web services. The selection includes one- to four-minute clips, including music videos and sports clips, plus many more. Users can rate videos and recommend them to friends, giving the service a social element. The add-on costs $5 per month, and like the rest of Cricket’s services, does not require a commitment. Users will need a WAP-enabled Cricket handset for the service to function. PC Magazine ranks Virgin tops in prepaid When looking for consumer information, the first place to look is J.D. Power and Associates. They conduct semiannual reports on the state of service and customer care in the wireless industry. They aren’t the only players, however. PC Magazine also runs reader surveys, and in August they revealed the results of their Readers’ Choice survey, which included a section dedicated to pay as you go plans. Last year, Verizon INpulse took home the top ranking. In the interim, however, the company decided to drop their EasyPay plans, which This translates to a 4 percent increase in subscribers for Metro and a 5 percent climb for Leap, a bigger percentage gain than either Verizon or AT&T. mimicked monthly contract plans without the postpaid commitment. They now have pay as you go plans, all of which require a daily access fee. This change did not sit well with readers, apparently. This year, they selected Virgin Mobile as their best prepaid provider. TracFone saw improvement and threatened to take the survey, but Virgin Mobile raised their overall score from 7.5 in 2007 to 7.8 this year, and it was enough to take home the title. J.D. Power and Associates did conduct a survey of prepaid wireless users, which was published in July. MetroPCS came out on top of that survey. Both Virgin Mobile and TracFone didn’t rank far behind. Joe Pawlikowski is a Senior Editor for Prepaid Reviews, an independent website that reviews prepaid cell phone providers and reports on the prepaid wireless industry. He can be reached at info@prepaidreviews.com Introducing MVNO 2.0 A column in Fierce Wireless by Mark Lowenstein has opened up a new line of conversation regarding MVNOs. While we’ve seen MVNOs struggle and fail, Lowenstein suggests that might not always be the case. He says these virtual carriers just have to think differently about how to approach the market; doing the same old thing will not work. There are already plenty of entrenched players, including Virgin Mobile, TracFone, and Net10. To attempt a battle with them will likely prove futile. So what comes next? Lowenstein points out an MVNO which isn’t really one: Apple. Most consider them an OEM, which they are, but they’ve hit on a new formula which could play well for virtual operators. By focusing on devices and device-specific services, new entrants in the mobile market can capture a different audience. This can lead to higher margins on device sales, and eventually higher ARPUs, the area with which many MVNOs struggle. This extends to Verizon Wireless’s Open Development Initiative, which allows handset manufacturers, once their device is approved, to buy minutes wholesale from the carrier and resell them for use on the handset. It’s a nifty idea, which essentially turns OEMs into MVNOs. Disney Mobile, a failed MVNO in the US, is using this strategy in Japan. It has been working out well for them. How quickly will this kind of carrier catch on? It might not at all. Lowenstein certainly caused a stir in the industry, though, with this column. Expansion markets make Cricket, MetroPCS fast growing carriers Carriers revealed their second quarter numbers in August, and things looked decent for prepaid carriers MetroPCS and Cricket Wireless. The latter added 171,171 subscribers in the second quarter, including 116,000 in their newly-minted AWS markets. They also added 11,000 customers to their new broadband Internet service. MetroPCS ended up faring even better than Cricket, adding 180,000 subscribers during the quarter, including 164,093 in expansion markets. This includes the greater Philadelphia area, which Metro added earlier in the quarter. Both companies have taken great strides on the heels of their AWS markets. While the two companies didn’t add nearly as many new subscribers as the major U.S. carriers, they are adding them at a faster rate. Metro UNLOCK PHONES! PH T RE H ON E E ES ! ANSWER THE CALL TO By focusing on devices and device-specific services, new entrants in the mobile market can capture a different audience. has 4.6 million subscribers, while Cricket has 3.3 million. This translates to a 4 percent increase in subscribers for Metro and a 5 percent climb for Leap, a bigger percentage gain than either Verizon or AT&T. CIT Secures Financing for Prepaid Wireless Company To Support Growth Initiatives for Pocket Communications NEW yORK, Ny (August 12, 2008) CIT Group Inc. (NySE:CIT), a global commercial finance company, has served as lead arranger in a $45 million senior secured credit facility to Pocket Communications, a provider of prepaid, flat rate unlimited wireless and voice data services. Financing for the deal was agented by CIT Communications Media & Entertainment, a unit of CIT. “CIT is pleased to support Pocket’s growth initiatives with this credit facility, which was completed in a challenging financial market environment,” said Tom Westdyk, Managing Director, CIT Communications, Media & Entertainment. “This success was due primarily to Pocket’s exceptional operating performance during this time. We remain committed to financing strong business models, such as Pocket’s, within the wireless communications industry.” Paul Posner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pocket Communications said, “This was our first senior secured facility so we were very selective in our choice of lenders. We looked at the track record of CIT in the communications space and were confident that they could provide us with the financing we needed to continue our success.” Source: Pocket Communications (www.pocket.com) CIT (www.cit.com) Be the ﬁrst in your area to help customers by ﬂashing their phones with this revolutionary software. Make money • No cellular phone inventory required Supports over 200 CDMA phones For more information call 1-800-496-0156 Visit houdinisoft.com or www.keepmyphone.com Exhibiting at The Prepaid Press Expo Las Vegas Aug 19th to 21st Caesar’s Palace, Booth 510 F http://www.houdinisoft.com http://www.houdinisoft.com http://www.keepmyphone.com http://www.pocket.com http://www.cit.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Prepaid Press - September 15, 2008

The Prepaid Press - September 15, 2008 ISOs Hold Key to Growth in Prepaid Industry Contents From the Publisher: The Show Goes On Regulatory Rundown: Early Fall Regulatory Beat 5 Minutes With Brian Rudolph, Co-owner, Krush Communications TPPEXPO’08 Spotlight Dateline Expo: Prepaid Wireless Update 2008 Wireless in Brief MetroPCS Available at Best Buy Western Capital Resources Inc. to Acquire PQH, Inc. TracFone Launches SafeLink Wireless Prepaid Wireless Roundup CIT Secures Financing for Prepaid Wireless Company MetroPCS Premiers Loopt Social-Mapping Services Virgin Mobile USA Reports Financial Results Dateline Expo: Prepaid Calling Card Update 2008 Inc. 5000 Recognizes Viscom International USAC’s “Carrier’s Carrier” Rule Comes Under Attack NetIQ Extends VoIP Management to Microsoft Office Transverse Launches OSS/BSS Open Source Platform Calling Cards in Brief Dateline Expo: Prepaid and Alternative Payments Update 2008 NETELLER and TransSend to Offer Cards Payments in Brief U.S. Treasury Introducing Direct Express Debit Card Visa Launches New Mobile Payment Services SCX Global Acquired by Rev Worldwide Metavante Selected by Corporate Network eCom ACE and NetSpend Launch March of Dimes Card AccuPOS Announces AccuCount Software Springbok Offers Private Label Prepaid Cards Prepaid 101: ATMs and Prepaid NACS Releases State of the Industry Report PaySpot to Distribute Futura Cards Hypercom Lands Element Payment Services Retail Focus in Brief Our Advertisers Contact Us

The Prepaid Press - September 15, 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.