 |
No Contract Cell Phones - The Truth Behind Prepaid Wireless!
Are
no contract cell phones the same or different than prepaid wireless?
The short answer is "yes" they're the same thing!
So why
did we see a change in the marketplace in 2009 with a shift from using
"prepaid" terminology to the "no contract" terminology?
Prepaid
wireless has been the traditional term in the U.S. market since
probably the beginning of time. It's really synonymous with
pay-as-you-go. In other words, you add money to your phone
now,
and buy services only when you use them, like making a call or sending
a text message. This is instead of using your services as you
need to, but receiving a bill at the end of the month for changes you
accumulated.
To read more about prepaid
wireless, the
benefits, and why you might want to seriously consider it to save
yourself headaches and of course money, please check out the following
links:
What
is Prepaid Wireless?
Why
Prepaid Wireless?
So
why the change to the term "no contract"? Well, there are a
number of reasons:
- While
pay-as-you-go
(PAYG) or prepaid wireless does
tell you how you pay for your cellular services, it doesn't really
speak directly to the benefits. On the other hand, "no
contract
cell phones" screams loudly one of the major benefits over classic
postpaid plans. Note that although it would be an accurate
statement, calling it "control your spending phones" wouldn't quite
roll off the tongue or look good on a poster ;-).
- In
North America there's historically been a huge negative connotation, or
stigma surrounding prepaid wireless as being only for people with
little or no credit, or even for drug dealers or other
such unscrupulous people. Well, that's no longer the
case.
No contract phones have become popular amongst the
mainstream who are simply sick of being locked into contract plans that
don't meet their needs over time, and limit their ability to
control their spending. So the reality is that changing the
way
companies refer to these plan types is an attempt to reposition the
service to broaden its appeal.
- In
the early days of
prepaid wireless, plans were extremely straightforward, charging a flat
rate per minute. Simple but expensive! Over the
years,
prepaid providers have made no contract cell phone plans much more
competitive, offering better pricing on classic PAYG plans, as well as
introducing Daily, Monthly, and even Monthly unlimited plans.
To
learn more about the details of these offerings, feel free to visit the
Prepaid
Wireless Plans page.
The
bottom line is that it makes
sense to shift from the term "prepaid wireless" to the more meaningful
term "no contract cell phones." North America remains the
only
continent where no contract phones, and no contract cell phone plans
have a negative perception. Ultimately, we will catch up to
the
rest of the world, and hopefully even something as simple as a change
in terminology will help to move us there!
Return from No Contract Cell Phones to Prepaid Wireless Guide Homepage
|
|
