Amp’d subscribers offered a poor alternative

Apparently, Amp’d subscribers have been receiving messages over the past few days from a company called Prexar Mobile. They work from the same network as Amp’d, and have an agreement with the company to transition their subscribers to the new service. You can keep your handset and your number — but you can’t keep your minutes, no matter what your plan or status was with Amp’d. There’s just this slight problem, though: they don’t offer prepaid services.

No, everything with Prexar is postpaid, though the length of contract could not be found in a review of their website. Plans range from $40 per month for 450 anytime minutes and 3,000 night and weekend minutes, to $180 per month for 3,000 anytime minutes and 3,000 night and weekend minutes. With the least expensive plan, you’re looking at 45 cents per overage minute. That’s a bit nutty.

They also offer a ton of text messaging plans, from 100 for $3 per month to 5,000 for $60 per month. Why anyone on this planet would pay $60 per month for text messaging is beyond us. You can also nab 1,000 mobile-to-mobile minutes for $7 per month, but unless you know other Prexar subscribers (we don’t), it’s pointless.

Since Prexar does not own Amp’d’s content system, they cannot offer those services. For now, it’s just voice and text. The worst part: you cant port your Amp’d prepaid number, even if you want one of their postpaid plans. Yeah, great idea, Prexar. I’m sure it would have been uber-difficult to pull that off.

Not that anyone should really want to sign up for the service anyway. We’re not sure if this in other companies’ terms and conditions, but do you know that Prexar charges a 40-cents-per-month Number Portability Fee? We don’t think we’ve seen that on our bill before. Scrolling further through the terms — because we’re nerds like that — it says mobile-to-mobile is $8 per month. Nothing we love more than inconsistency.

And then there’s that $45 activation fee, and a $4.50 fee to change your plan mid-contract. If you’re roaming, it’s going to cost you, too: 69 cents per minute.

Basically, Prexar is trying to shake you down like they’re a big telecom, but in reality they’re just another startup MVNO. Why would Amp’d subscribers, after dealing with the failure of a much more innovative startup, want to deal with Prexar? We plead with you to just ignore these guys until they go away.

[Prexar Mobile] [Information Week]