The growth of prepaid mobile phones exceeds that of post-paid mobile phones

The growth of pre-paid mobile phones exceeds that of post-paid mobile phones. The US mobile phone industry has always been dominated by traditional post-paid mobile phones. But looking at the past three years, post-pay...

The growth of pre-paid mobile phones exceeds that of post-paid mobile phones. The US mobile phone industry has always been dominated by traditional post-paid mobile phones occupying most of the market. However, judging from the past three years, the market development of postpaid mobile phones has become slower and slower, while the prepaid mobile phone market has shown an upward trend. In the fourth quarter of 2009, the growth of prepaid mobile phones exceeded that of postpaid mobile phones for the first time. This gap is predicted to widen in the future. The traditional post-payment method is that after a month, a user pays according to the length of time the mobile phone is used in the month. Generally speaking, mobile phone operators will confirm two things with customers: Check the customer's credit record. A good credit history is a relative guarantee that customers will pay on time. Sign a one- or two-year contract with the client. If the customer wants to terminate the mobile phone service before the contract expires, the customer needs to pay an early termination fee, which is generally more than 150 US dollars. Prepaid cell phones work differently. Customers' credit records will not be checked and there is no need to sign a two-year contract. Customers only need to deposit money into their mobile phone account in advance, and then charge according to the charging standards set by the mobile phone operator, such as ten cents per minute, or US$100 for 1,000 minutes, etc. Generally speaking, for a user who does not use a mobile phone frequently, the phone bill for a prepaid mobile phone is cheaper. Prepaid cell phones are actually more popular in Europe than in the United States. For example, in the third quarter of 2009, prepaid mobile phones in the UK accounted for 66% of all mobile phones, and prepaid mobile phones in Germany accounted for 55% of all mobile phones. In a market survey conducted by Deloitte in the United States in November 2010, one-fifth of postpaid mobile phone users said that they are likely to switch to a prepaid mobile phone within the next six months. Smartphones have boomed in recent years. Smartphones are getting cheaper and cheaper. Mobile phone operators are also launching a variety of prepaid smartphones to attract customers. This will push US prepaid mobile phone growth to outpace postpaid mobile phone growth.