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Prepaid Wireless Sees Staggering Growth as New Markets EmergeCEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- While some mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) are struggling due to a lack of distribution, the prepaid wireless market, which targets the youth market, low income and credit-challenged Americans, and anyone who wants full control of their wireless expenses, is seeing record growth and has become one of the nation's fastest growing industries. "We have made it a point to service an overlooked niche, and we are seeing the rewards from that in a huge way," said David Stanek, CEO and founder of Airlink Mobile, a company that has seen its growth rate exceed 800% in both sales and subscribers since March 2006. "Our biggest challenge right now is keeping up with both consumer and retailer demand." Prepaid wireless companies like Airlink Mobile are doing a number of things differently to establish such a profitable dominance. Through targeting convenience stores as the primary method of distribution, and placing a primary focus on new product development, aggressive consumer offerings, and category management, Airlink has managed to triple its wireless subscriber base. "In-store promotions drive sales better than anything else, and we have worked tirelessly to get to know our consumer," said Stanek. "For instance, our product is perfect for parents who are trying to budget their children's cell phone usage, in addition to people who can't qualify for or simply don't want to be locked in to typical cell phone contracts." With many c-stores seeing 80% of their prepaid sales coming from prepaid wireless, and those margins compressing the last couple of years, progressive retailers understand that the next step in growth is selling prepaid wireless handsets from MVNO's that typically offer higher margins than many of the large wireless carriers for top-ups, and a solid margin on the handset sale. Nearly 80% of mobile users in Europe and Asia prefer using prepaid, causing many analysts to see prepaid as the inevitable future of consumer's cell phone habits. "Airlink Mobile has successfully differentiated itself by remaining focused, relevant, and efficient in operations and marketing," said Stanek. "We have remained focused by targeting specific markets and aggressively driving sales in these channels. That's what we'll keep doing as we continue to grow and respond to our customer base." Airlink Mobile is a leading provider of nationwide wireless products and services. http://www.airlinkmobile.com/ Airlink Mobile CONTACT: Suzy Ginsburg, +1-713-721-4774, or [email protected] , forAirlink Mobile Web site: http://www.airlinkmobile.com/ |