BOSTON—Family plans are still driving growth in North America, according to a Yankee Group report—but prepaid plans will continue to be a significant factor for the U.S. market.
About 54 percent of adult postpaid customers are on family plans in the United States—up from 49 percent last year, Yankee Group reported. The vast majority of teens between the ages of 13 and 17—81 percent—are on family plans. In Canada, meanwhile, about one third of postpaid subscribers are on a family plan.
Although the Yankee Group called family plans a “driving growth factor” in the North American market, it also concluded in its annual survey of North American mobile users that “prepaid plans will drive growth, particularly in the U.S. market.”
The report also noted that North American wireless customers “are not overly impressed by carriers’ efforts to improve customer satisfaction,” and that Canadian users in particular are “frustrated with overall customer experience due to high service prices, a lack of nationwide calling and long contract terms.” That frustration is at the root of slower mobile market growth in Canada as compared to the United States, the Yankee Group concluded.
