Sprint today officially unveiled its multi-segment strategy for the prepaid market, including new products coming out of its acquisition of Virgin Mobile USA.
Since bringing Virgin Mobile into the fold late last year, the company has been developing the pieces of its multi-brand prepaid strategy, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse explained in a press release. “Our approach to the prepaid market can truly set us apart from the competition with tailored offers that will address specific needs in this growing market,” he said.
Dan Schulman, president of Sprint’s prepaid group, said the no-contract market has clearly moved beyond the credit-challenged and lower income segments. “In the first quarter of 2010, more than half of the mobile gross additions in the U.S. selected prepaid, and we predict that approximately 70 percent of the net adds in 2010 will choose plans without a contract,” he said in the release. Almost 60 million people now are on prepaid.
In their first-quarter earnings call, Sprint executives referenced another new brand to launch this month targeting budget-conscious customers who spend less than $30 a month. Today, the company said it plans to offer a new pay-by-the-minute brand. It didn’t give a name for the new offer, but the company says it expects to initially debut it at retail in about 16 markets. About 63 percent of the no-contract market chooses to pay by the minute or by the day, the company says.
Meanwhile, it appears that Virgin Mobile will be the data-driven brand, introducing a product offering that focuses on serving customers who use text and data services to connect with their social networks. Plans will start at $25 and include unlimited messaging, e-mail, data and Web. The company says Virgin Mobile offers the lowest-priced BlackBerry service plan on the market.
On May 12, Virgin Mobile will unveil three new “Beyond Talk” plans that all include unlimited messaging, e-mail, data and Web with no incremental fees or taxes. The Blackberry Curve 8530 smartphone will be available for $299.995 at retail and online at the end of May. Other devices in its line-up include the LG Rumor Touch, the LG Rumor 2 and the Kyocera Loft.
Sprint’s Broadband2Go, launched last year under the Virgin Mobile label, also targets the high data-using crowd. Schulman said sales have tripled since the company expanded distribution, lowered the price and added more data capacity. Plans call for further enhancements to this product line, possibly under multiple brands to include new services, including 4G where available.
The Boost Mobile brand continues to drive consumer demand with more CDMA handsets in the line-up. Earlier this week, Boost added 411 calls, e-mail and instant messaging to its $50 unlimited monthly plan, which also features unlimited talk, text and Web access.
Sprint’s Assurance Wireless brand, launched late last year, is a free wireless service developed for the 37 million eligible low-income households. Customers get a free cell phone and 200 free minutes of airtime for local and long-distance calling each month they qualify. The program is now available in Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia and will expand as more states approve the program. Sprint expects Assurance Wireless will be available in about 25 states by the end of 2010.
