Prepaid cellular a hot topic in the mainstream media

Associated Press raving about prepaid wireless. I’ve honestly seen the topic of prepaid tied into the recession — netting an article about frugality — come across my reader and alerts multiple times per day for the past week. So why not kick off the new week with another one? This comes from Jenna Wortham of the New York Times. She notes how much greater prepaid grew in 2008 than postpaid, a topic we’ll surely hear more of as 2009 progresses. Specifically, prepaid grew 13 percent in North American last year, while the rest of the cellular industry grew at about a third that rate. That was in part, of course, due to T-Mobile’s trend of adding more prepaid subscribers than of their post paid counterpart. Prepaid kicked off 2009 right, too, with the launch of Boost Unlimited’s $50 per month plan.

“Frugal is the new chic,” said Joy Miller, 33, a piano teacher in Aubrey, Tex. After almost a decade on contract plans with Verizon Wireless, Mrs. Miller and her husband decided this month to test-drive a few prepaid plans, including MetroPCS. “In today’s economy, it’s not cool to pay $120 a month for a phone. It’s a waste of money.”

I liked it when geek was chic, but frugal isn’t a bad alternative. You should check out the whole article. It provides a nice look at what prepaid has to offer.]]>