Could prepaid data plans help carriers?

AT&T GoPhone had the most attractive prepaid data plan in all the land. It was just $20 per mont for all you can eat data. AT&T soon realized, of course, that people were catching onto this steal, and decided that they weren’t making enough money off it. So they discontinued the plan. Earlier this year they introduced new data plans, but the news wasn’t good for prepaid users. The new system was to be on a per-KB basis, with Pick Your Plan customers afforded a couple of bundles, neither of which is particularly attractive. Yet given recent comments by Glenn Lurie, president of national distribution, it appears AT&T thinks prepaid data plans can fuel the industry. Says Lurie:

“There are different classes of devices, and you need to deliver different pricing models if you want to sell more than four of them. The reality is you need a whole plethora of pricing models, from our biggest monthly plans to the smallest, and all the way down to prepaid and session-based plans.”

This makes it sound like AT&T wants people who currently consume no data to start consuming some, whether that be a lot or just a little bite. This might cause only a small rise in ARPU, but just that little bit could mean a new profit stream for the company: “…but these incremental revenues may bring in $1 per subscriber per month at 50 points of OIBDA [margin] on that dollar.” Lurie also believes that this will not only be a service thing, but a device one as well. In other words, they need to get 3G and even Wi-Fi features onto new phones, making them attractive to consumers. Not only that, but it would get them used to using data services. And once they let you taste, you’ll get hooked and keep coming back for more. Or, at least, that’s the idea. It’ll be interesting to see what AT&T comes up with for these prepaid data bundles. Surely they have to be better than what’s currently offered. It’s a shame, too, because AT&T instantly went from providing the best prepaid data service to perhaps the worst.]]>