Prepaid's Popularity on the Rise

By Marisa Torrieri, TMCnet Editor

The bad economy took with it some antiquated technology, and now that the economy is improving again, you'd think the number of smartphone subscribers would rise.

But think again. According to the New York Times, AT&T and Verizon (News - Alert) Wireless reported steep declines in the number of customers who signed up for contracts during the first quarter of 2010.

AT&T reported a mere 512,000 post-paid customers under contract, down 43 percent from last year. Meanwhile, Verizon boosted subscribership by about 423,000 customers under contract, a 55 percent drop from the year ago period.

The reason: The rise of Prepaid.

These days people are trying to keep their budgets in check - given the sky-high cost of wireless data service - and are apparently flocking back to prepaid plans.

 "The postpaid wireless industry is hitting a brick wall," Craig Moffett, an analyst with Bernstein Research, told The Times.

(source: http://4g-wirelessevolution.tmcnet.com/broadband-stimulus/topics/mobile-networks/articles/82917-prepaids-popularity-the-rise.htm)