AT&T Mobility is reportedly set to increase its presence in the prepaid game with a new standalone offering designed to take on smaller rivals.
According to Retail Results, AT&T Mobility is on the verge of launching its All In One Wireless offering to battle T-Mobile USA’s recent push into the no-contract space, Sprint Nextel’s various prepaid brands and the plethora of mobile virtual network operators targeting the rapidly growing market. The All In One Wireless platform is expected to provide unlimited talk, messaging and data for basic phones for $50 per month, with a smartphone option providing 2 gigabytes of data for $60 per month. Retail Results noted that the offering is likely to run across the carrier’s HSPA+ network with the possibility of refurbished iPhones being offered and a bring-your-own-device option.
The service is set to launch in Tampa and Orlando, Fla., and Houston on May 1; expansion planned for Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Miami and San Francisco for late summer; and a nationwide rollout into next year.
AT&T Mobility’s current no-contract plans are offered under its GoPhone platform that provide unlimited voice calls, messaging and 1 GB of data for smartphones at $65 per month. That platform also provides various prepaid buckets, daily and per-minute options. AT&T Mobility lost 166,000 direct prepaid customers during the fourth quarter of last year and managed to attract only 128,000 new direct prepaid customers for all of 2012. Those results were down significantly from the 159,000 direct prepaid customers it added during the fourth quarter of 2011 and 674,000 direct prepaid customers added in all of 2011.
“If AT&T advertises the product well and establishes good store distribution, the impact to MetroPCS and Cricket could be material,” noted Retail Results. “The new entry could also prod Sprint to push their Boost Mobile concept more aggressively. If T-Mobile completes their merger with MetroPCS, three of the big four will have a major presence in prepaid wireless as they fight for customers using multiple strategies. AT&T’s All In One Wireless could become a significant player in the Prepaid wireless arena and bring more competition to a crowded wireless landscape.”
T-Mobile USA late last month did away with its contract offerings, moving to a complete no-contract model for its rate plans. That switch also saw the carrier bolster its device financing option allowing customers to make scheduled payments for all devices as part of their monthly rate plan payment over a two-year period. The carrier is also set to begin officially offering Apple’s iPhone 5 later this week after having targeted AT&T Mobility’s iPhone customer base with an aggressive unlocking campaign that managed to attract 1.8 million customers by the end of last year.
The offering seemed to have spooked Sprint Nextel as its Virgin Mobile USA brand yesterday rolled out a promotion offering T-Mobile USA customers $100 for switching to Virgin Mobile USA’s smartphone plan.
Verizon Wireless earlier this year tweaked its prepaid plans to offer unlimited voice calling, messaging and 500 megabytes of data transmission for $60 per month, or for $70 per month will throw in 2 gigabytes of data. Those plans are currently limited to 3G devices running Google Android, BlackBerry’s BlackBerry and Apple’s iOS operating systems, though the carrier did note that customers would be able to bring an already owned smartphone to the rate plans.
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