Kyle
We knew when we reported earlier this month, that Cricket Wireless was getting a prepaid version of the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4, that other prepaid carriers wouldn’t be far a long. Cricket will start offering the iPhone on June 22. A mere 10 days later the iPhone will also arrive on Virgin Mobile, one of Sprint’s prepaid arms.
While Cricket has a presence in most of the Best Buy’s in the continental United States, they are still considered a regional carrier. At last count they covered 60 million pops with their own network, however they have a roaming agreement with Sprint and even offer service in Best Buy stores that aren’t part of Cricket’s actual footprint.
In contrast, and using Sprint’s entire footprint, Virgin covers 278 million people.
Both prepaid brands offer an “unlimited” data option although there is throttling involved on the Cricket side.
The prepaid wireless industry has evolved over the last few years. Earlier on it was considered an industry aimed at older folks who literally only needed a phone for emergencies, people with bad credit and people who needed a “disposable” or “burner” phone.
Now cost conscious consumers across the country are going with the reliable convenience of prepaid carriers like Cricket Wireless, Virgin Mobile (Sprint), Metro PCS and Boost Mobile (Sprint). T-Mobile has a pretty big prepaid arm. AT&T and Verizon also offer prepaid services but nothing to the likes of any of the other prepaid carriers.
Consumers may rather opt for the higher cost of phone acquisition to get the iPhone without having to be roped into a two year contract.
Source: Business Insider