Many people are not happy with their cell phone plans. Well they might like them at first, but most of the cell phone plans are two year commitments. Two years is a long time to commit to something as everyday as a cell phone. Cell phones have become such commodities that people are having trouble justifying a two year commitment to a cell phone plan. Furthermore, the economy is making many people think twice before to committing to anything like that.
This is why PrePaid Phone Plans make so much sense now. People simply want something they use as a commodity versus a commitment. Quit often in 2 year plan, people will find things wrong with their plan or some limitation they hadn’t planned for. Usually these are not discovered until after the customer has signed the agreement; much too late to do anything about. With a pre paid plan, they don’t’ have to worry and can change the phone out if there is something they don’t like about it.
So are you happy with your plan?
Late last month, the FCC launched a probe into the current state of the wireless industry. What does this mean for the industry and more important (to me and my Lightyear Team) is what will it mean for Lightyear Wireless?
This will probably good for Lightyear Wireless because the FCC is really looking out for leveling the field here. One of the main things that is driving this inquiry is handset exclusivity agreements. The biggest handset exclusivity agreement of course is the AT&T / Iphone agreement that creates an unfair advantage for AT&T over smaller carriers and even over their peers due to the extreme popularity of the device.
This inquiry will take months and the recommendation or ruling from it might take even longer. But hopefully this will open up the market a bit more so that handset availability will be more open. Lightyear Wireless has a nice selection of handsets but we could always use more. The more options for the customer there are, the better the business will be. For now, Lightyear doesn’t sell the iPhone but sells much more useful phones than the iPhone.
FCC Votes for Wireless Probe
As someone who has a wireless home business, naturally I have been watching the Buzzirk Mobile / GlobalVerge fiasco since about early June. In case you haven’t heard about it, it was a company that was supposed to deliver some new tethering technology that would allow you to use your cell phone as an internet appliance along with your computer. It would have been like a combined cell phone and netbook service all in one. At least that was my understanding.
What happened? It failed to even get off the ground after thousands had signed on. That’s the short story. If you want the blow by blow, check out the Len Clements Podcast page; particularly the podcast dated 8/11/09 which has most of the post mortem information.
This is a perfect example of a network marketing company that created a lot of brief success through buzz. Unfortunately the buzz was not backed up by any actual product; in fact there was ‘buzz’ early on that there were problems with delivering the product and in the end; that turned out to be the case. And the whole thing faded away to gray. This left a lot of burned distributors who were going on nothing but trust.
Folks, if you are going to join a network marketing business, make sure you do your due diligence. If you are unclear on how to select a good network marketing opportunity, check out my free eBook here. I’m not saying some trust isn’t involved, but don’t jump into something based entirely on trust. Otherwise, it may end up being fiction like Buzzirk Mobile.
It’s the attack of the NetBooks! Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of commercials on TV by both AT&T and Verizon for their netbook products. This is an interesting development because it merges the concept of cellular phone plans with a computer and internet access. In Verizon’s case, it uses their own proprietary Mobile Broadband for internet access with a two year plan.
The two year plans are priced by megabytes per month. There are two price levels. 250 Meg for $40 per month and 5 Gigs for $60 per month. It is calculated by combining both upload and download volumes according to the agent I spoke with. That would make the 250 meg per month rather skimpy especially if you are downloading any large files, like photos and videos. Still this is very interesting since it uses a plan with a computer. The concept of Netbooks has been around for a few years now, but now these two companies have put it to use.
Can it replace someone’s internet access completely? Not sure but if you want to see how much you download each month, check your “Temporary Internet Files” in Windows. You might be surprised how much you download without knowing it. Every time you open a previously unvisited web site, it will cache some files. So I can see that 250 meg plan not being good for anyone except a light internet user.
For now, my Lightyear Wireless phone provides my “pocket internet access and I’ll stick with that.
Have you ever had the exasperating experience of not being able to find your charger and then having to order a new one? Or going to nearest Verizon store to find the right one for your phone? Or not being able to lend your friend your charger when she needs to charge her phone? Those days should be coming to an end soon.
Earlier this year, a group of wireless phone manufacturers have agreed to use the same charging port on all their models by 2012. The companies who agreed to this are Nokia, LG, Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. I don’t know if Apple has agreed to this which might be a strike against the IPhone in an open market. The idea here is that manufacturers can ultimately safe money by shipping mobile phones without a power charger. Since power chargers will be standard, they’ll be a commodity item which you’ll probably be able to get at the corner 7-11. No more worrying about losing your charger!
Prepaid plans were once the ‘dirty distant cousin’ of wireless plans. However, this sector of the wireless industry has taken its rightful place with regular wireless. And it’s gaining ground on the regular wireless. According to this source, prepaid carriers added 2.625 million subscribers in the first quarter making it the surprise banner story of the 1st quarter.
This is cementing my theory that it’s not just people with poor credit who are going after pre-paid wireless plans. People with perfectly normal credit are going after these plans too because everyone is doing what they have to in order to minimize risk. A two year wireless plan for someone who isn’t certain about their ability to pay for the next two years is a risk factor.
Also consider how long two years is in an industry like wireless. So much changes in two years that people don’t want to get ’stuck with something’ for two years. I don’t know if this surge to pre paid wireless will continue, but it’s good to know that Lightyear Wireless is right on top of it. There is a reason they offered this service: people are demanding it.
It’s an easy choice when looking at Cell phone and Notebook computers. One fits in your pocket, the other does not (and ends up getting left at home much of the time). Assuming your cell phone has a data plan, you can get access to the web on your phone. But unless you use one of the smart-phones like the Blackberry World or the LG Rumor, web surfing is difficult at best. Without the full QWERTY keyboards these smart phones provide, texting and typing in URLs or search terms will be cumbersome - very cumbersome!
That’s where netbooks are supposed to come in. They’re supposed to be ultra small computers designed for maximum portability and wireless access and not designed for desktop type applications. In theory, they’re a cross between the highest end smart phone and a notebook computer. However, even the current generation of so called netbooks (aslo called mini notebooks) are still too big to fit in the pocket - even a large pocket. See the Dell Inspiron Mini’s for example.
Still too big to carry with you everywhere! Netbooks offer interesting possilibilies but they will need to get smaller before they can take over that ‘gray area’ between smart phones and full computers.
Yesterday I posted about the demise of wired phone service. No where is this more apparent than in my own neighborhood in Seattle, Washington. I live right in the city in a neighborhood called Greenwood. When I moved here years ago, the local phone company (Qwest) had not yet upgraded their cabling infrastructure to allow for DSL. Now here in 2009 six years later, they still have not! I just checked a minute ago. This was the message:
Our network is continually being expanded, and we don’t want you to miss the opportunity to get a broadband Internet connection that can save you time, help you enjoy online activities, open up the option to work at home, and more! Please fill out the form below, and we will let you know when Qwest Broadband becomes available.
Yeah sure, and I won’t hold my breath. It looks a lot like what they told me years ago. In today’s economy, it’s not a good bet that companies like Qwest will be doing any kind of expansion. I recently read about a heap of layoffs at Qwest and upgrading their infrastructure is probably way on the back burner now.
And this is not some out of the way suburb; this is right in the city and should have been upgraded years ago. Fortunately for me, Comcast (the cable company in my area) is more than happy to provide broadband service. If you are planning a move and want DSL broadband, make sure your new neighborhood supports it. Meanwhile, the wireless industry flourishes!
Old school wired phone service (known at POTS lines) is certainly destined for the technology graveyard. And for those people who still use them, you are likely to find your prices continuing to rise on this. As it moves closer to full legacy status, fewer resources will be put into it and naturally prices will go up. This would go on until such time as it becomes no longer available.
There are two reasons why the phone company wired service market is deteriorating: Wireless and VOIP. Most people are choosing the flexibility of wireless service over wired service. Still others who don’t mind tying their phone service to their computer can choose a VOIP service like Lightyear’s X-STREAM VoIP. VOIP services like X-STREAM cost at least half of what the local phone company will charge for its standard wired residential service. For people who still prefer a wire, this can be a great way to save money on phone service.
But most people will want a wireless solution like the ones Lightyear Wireless provides. Either way, the future does not look bright for phone company POTS.
Here is a thought provoking article about the way people see smart phones. When you shop for a computer, you tend to look at the best value and at the ones that will do the things you need fairly well. Like its ability to be a general purpose device. In the past, people have tried to compare smart phones to computers. But according to this finding, smart phones (like the Blackberry and the enV) are more like appliances. People buy them according to the job they do the best. The reason I chose the enV is the flip open full QWERTY keyboard. The reason I chose this is because I find text messaging to be painful on the standard phone keyboard and I wanted something slimmer than I could get in a Blackberry. People like Blackberrys for specific reasons and people like iPhone for specific reasons. Read about them at the article below.
Smartphones as appliances
wireless industry | Ross | 
November 6, 2009 9:39 pm | 
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