Prepaid phones have largely gone under the radar for the past five years. There are two reasons for this. One is that consumer expectations were different than they are now. The second is that prepaid wireless providers have become more aggressive with their offers and prices.
In the past, prepaid cell phone plans were considered the “lesser” option. It seems fun to think about now, but they were considered only for people who didn’t qualify for standard contract wireless plans. Since you must pass a credit check and qualify for a contract phone, since you pay after you use the service each month, if you have bad credit, all you can do is get a prepaid phone. Prepaid phones don’t require a credit check, which actually sounds like a good thing.
Worse yet, prepaid phones were often associated with people who didn’t want to be “tracked.” They have long been used in police shows and procedural dramas as a way to evade prying ears. In other words, some people associated pay-as-you-go phones with crime. It sounds strange, but add all the negative connotations and you start to see that a lot of people didn’t see prepaid as a viable option.
Many people simply did not know anything about prepaid cell phone plans, since they have not been widely advertised by wireless companies. Still, many people saved money each month by using prepaid cell phone plans.
The new unlimited prepaid plans provide more for the money than similar plans you’ve actually had. As a way to compete in a crowded market, many wireless providers have introduced easy-to-use unlimited plans that give subscribers unlimited talk time, text messages, and web browsing. It’s a testament to how far the prepaid market has come that some of these carriers now compete directly with contract-based plans.
The economy is also a factor, as it always is, in consumer decisions and perceptions. Since many people are struggling financially, they have started to reduce the costs of their daily lives. The first things many people look at when deciding to cut back are cable TV, entertainment expenses, and cell phone bills.
Prepaid wireless plans offer people the opportunity to cut their spending crucially. Many consumers overspend on their current plans but don’t realize it. Getting ahead financially is not about how much money you make, but how much you save.
Unlimited plans seem to cover moderate cell phone users very well. Tracfone has two plans under the Straight Talk brand, which offer extremely competitive deals. A plan for 1,000 minutes per month costs $30, while the Unlimited plan costs $45. Boost Mobile has a monthly unlimited plan that costs $50. Other contenders are MetroPCS, Page Plus Cellular and Cricket.