Why Should AT&T offer a Prepaid iPhone?

Network operators like AT&T do well off of prepaid plans in multiple ways. Most obviously, when users fail to use minutes they've purchased, the operator does not have to refund the prepaid balance, therefore it goes straight to their bottom line as profit.

Less obviously but perhaps more importantly, prepaid rate plans enable carriers such as AT&T to improve their cash flow. This is because when a customer purchases a prepaid phone, or tops off their prepaid balance, the carrier is paid before they deliver the service.

While this usually won't be counted as profit until the service is used or expired (due to standard accounting principals), it does help the carrier by providing them with cash that they can use for other purposes, such as expenses or investments. Furthermore, the operators can earn interest on the cash flow that has been paid by the prepaid subscribers starting from the first day the consumer activiates their plan.

Finally, offering prepaid plans allows operators to expand their customer base. Typically prepaid plans are most popular within the lucrative youth markets, and they also allow the carriers to serve credit-challenged customers and markets who might not otherwise be accepted for their traditional post-paid plans.

So to sum it up, here are the Top 5 reasons Apple and AT&T should release a pre-paid iPhone.

Why do consumers want a Prepaid iPhone from AT&T?

Prepaid cell phone service has become extremely common around the world. For many people, a prepaid phone plan is more convenient, more accessable, more affordable, and more responsible. How? I'll explain by presenting the following Top 5 Reasons America Wants a Prepaid iPhone.

Top 5 Reasons America Wants a Prepaid iPhone

Below are the Top 5 reasons America wants a Prepaid iPhone...

What are my iPhone options?

Today, if you want an iPhone and you want to be able to use it as an approved AT&T cell phone, you have to sign up for service with AT&T. AT&T doesn't offer all possible rate plans for the iPhone however, limiting it to some of their more expensive plans. Therefore you have to:

Pass a "qualification" check that will inspect your background and credit history, to determine if you are worthy enough to be an AT&T customer.
Sign a two-year contract with AT&T, which binds you to their service at the risk of paying exorbitent service termination fees
Sign up for a rate plan, the cheapest of which is $69.99 per month for 450 minutes. By contrast, the 450 minute plan for people with other phones (not the iPhone) is $30 less, at $30.99.
- Should iPhone users really have to pay $360 per year more just for the privledge of using an iPhone?

Prepaid iPhone Alternatives

Written by ApplePrepaid.com

What are the other alternatives for obtaining a prepaid iPhone?

Hack the iPhone

If you're brave, you can always try to hack the iPhone in order to get prepaid service from AT&T. There are a few sites detailling how to hack the iPhone and then activiate a GoPhone service in order to work around the system. But in doing this you run the risk of decreased support, and possibly even violating your warantee. That is a risk many customers may not be willing to take.

Tuaw has a series of articles about how to hack your iPhone to work with Prepaid:

Phonenews.com has a guide:

How To: Get an iPhone 3G for $199… Without Contract! (Updated)

Cellfanatic also has a guide:

Iphone GoPhone Prepaid Service: Unlimited Text, Internet + 200 Minutes

Get a Different Phone

Obviously there are hundreds of devices out in the market, many of which are great devices and are available on prepaid service plans. If you are willing to live with something other than an iPhone, they might be worth looking into.

AT&T has a nice selection of phones compatible with their GoPhone prepaid plans:

The Nokia 6555 has an MP3 player, camera, and much more.
Sony offers a W580i Walkman phone that is geared toward supporting music and multimedia needs
The popular Motorolla RAZR V3 is one of the best selling phones lately, and is available as a prepaid GoPhone.

The Samsung Instinct on the Sprint network is a decidedly successful iPhone-like device, however Sprint also is not currently offering prepaid service for this phone. There have been rumors that it may become avialable as a prepaid device in Canada, but that is unconfirmed.

Move Somewhere that has Prepaid iPhone

Since prepaid plans are more prevalent around the world, many other countries customers have the option of purchsaing a prepaid iPhone. The tradeoff is that the phone is more expensive with upfront costs, because the cost of the phone cannot be subsidized. Without listing all international carriers that offer prepaid plans for the iPhone, just know that if you live in Europe or Asia there is a good chance your local iPhone carrier will be offering this as an option.

Main Menu

Top 5 Reasons

Sponsors